Ananth Narayan Mahadevan on timing his directorial venture Bittersweet for a December release
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; October 17, 2020)

Anant Mahadevan plans to book a December slot for his upcoming Marathi film, Bittersweet. "I have kept the story ruthlessly true to its core to garner a global appeal," says the director, who hopes to capture world audience with his tale about women workers in the sugar fields of Beed district in Maharashtra, who are forced to get a hysterectomy to survive.

After being nominated for Jiseok Awards at the Busan International Film Festival, he wants to send the movie to the Oscars. "I want to take Indian cinema to a level where it won't be scoffed at during festivals. I want to release Bittersweet theatrically in December because that's the cut-off date for Oscars selections," says the director, adding that after releasing in theatres, it will be distributed digitally.

While there is no confirmation that the world would achieve normalcy by December, Mahadevan says that the project deserves a 70mm release. "It will be a pity if it is doesn't release in theatres. Even if the film is screened digitally, it is eligible for the 93rd Academy Awards, as the rules have changed." While he is confident of the Akshaya Gurav-starrer, Mahadevan is uncertain about the jury's approach. "If they treat the film only on the basis of merit, we will sail through."
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Shreya Mukherjee (HINDUSTAN TIMES; October 17, 2020)

After seven months of complete shutdown, theatres have finally started reopening, albeit with 50% occupancy. Happy with this move, filmmaker-actor Ananth Narayan Mahadevan feels now is the time when small-budget films, which are high on content, can lead the movement.

“The darkness between you and the big screen and community viewing is the irreplaceable magic that cinema creates. You can’t have that 70 mm feel on a mobile, tab or a small screen,” he says.

However, the 50% occupancy norm is something that Mahadevan finds amusing, as for him, even if 40 people are watching his film in a 100-200 seat hall, that’s enough. “I’ve been telling multiplexes to give small-budget films like ours — Gour Hari Dastaan starring Vinay Pathak — a few good timings for a couple of weeks with reduced ticket prices, and see how it draws sizeable audience, but that never happened. Now that the world has been churned and turned inside out with no big budget films taking the chance of releasing now, smaller ones that didn’t get much space earlier can be the saviour,” he explains.

Mahadevan is of the view that it’s time the industry understands how the audience’s mindset has changed, as even in the absence of the box office, there are films releasing on digital platforms that aren’t doing well. “Audience won’t accept something mediocre, even if they get it for free. It’s not about the Friday, Saturday and Sunday anymore. Now, they want films that would last for 30 years,” says the National Award-winning director.

Hopeful that things will work out for theatres, he mentions that this leap of faith was much required. “Imagine, James Bond also ran away to 2021,” he quips, adding, “We needed to take this leap of faith. And I think we’ll survive this one.”

Meanwhile, Mahadevan’s Marathi film, Bittersweet, which highlights the plight of sugarcane cutters in Maharashtra, will premiere at the Busan Film Festival.

A still from the film