Does Bollywood exist? Is filmmaking an industry? Are filmmakers part of a system or are they freelancers doing their own projects? Is showbiz actually a business? When these questions were asked to four filmmakers – Sudhir Mishra, Hansal Mehta, Sriram Raghavan, and Abhishek Chaubey – at a session titled ‘Creating the magic of cinema’ at FICCI Frames, they shared how the magic of movies works on them.

The filmmakers, who have spent over 20-25 years making movies, spoke about how the industry is more than just the term Bollywood, it’s a place where people support each other, and that it’s an industry based on emotions.

Talking about the film industry, Hansal said, “Bollywood doesn’t exist. There is no Bollywood. What exists is a lot of respect for each other and each other’s work. There is a desire to share what you have done with each other. Say, the preview of Udta Punjab – every director who was assaulted was there to support and watch the film. That for me is an industry – where you are supporting each other’s’ work.”

Agreeing with Hansal, Abhishek, who has directed films like Udta Punjab and Sonchiriya, recalled, “When Udta Punjab got into all sorts of problems, a press conference was organized. Literally, the entire industry turned up...They are talking in one voice for the film of a guy they don’t even know really well. In that sense, it was brotherhood or fraternity, or whatever you may call it. We are not an industry in the traditional sense, but we pretty much are. I love the medium of movies and I thrive on it. It is the only sensible thing I do in my life.”

Hansal said that for him, an industry is where filmmakers appreciate each other’s work and learn from it. He recalled, “When I saw Vishal’s (Bhardwaj) film Maqbool… I called him, and said, ‘Vishal, I wish I had made my first film after I saw this. I would have learnt from this and made a better film.’ That’s what happens when you see the work of a colleague and you see the work around you. When I saw Jubilee, I messaged Vikram (Motwane), ‘How do I even try to become like you?’ I think that, for me, is the beauty of the industry.”

Recalling when his first film (Jayate, 1999) made it to the Indian Panorama section (of International Film Festival of India), Hansal was told that Sudhir Mishra was on the jury. “I knew that Sudhir Mishra made Dharavi (1992). When I met him, he hugged me and said, ‘Bahut achhi film banayi hai yaar tu ne,’ and that was it! It’s now been 26 years since that day and I think that pat on the back, that hug was the industry. Everything comes out of passion and emotions. It is an industry based on emotions.”

Sudhir, known for films like Chameli and Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, said he “never liked the word Bollywood” and would rather call it “the Indian film industry”. He added, “That’s why I’m very comfortable with Vetrimaaran or somebody in the Kerala industry or Bengal, because we always grew up in the independent cinema movement. (It’s not) that people are understanding internationally our cinema (now)… they understood it with (Satyajit) Ray, no? Now, you have to set up stalls. When Ray was making films, you just had to walk around Cannes and say ‘Hey, Satyajit Ray film’ and everybody went to you. There has never been a person like him.”

Sudhir added that the money aspect of filmmaking is necessary, but that’s not what cinema is about. “I think we are all fanatics and we love this muse called cinema. We are slightly upset, deformed madmen who hang around here, and like he (Hansal) said, we have hung around here despite not being paid for many years. I often put in my director’s salary to complete the post-production. Why? It’s kind of lunacy... People who are in cinema can’t do anything else. I think that’s why they stick around. The medium loves us. It cured me. I’m sane because of it. There is so much that it does for me. Can I screw it for money? No.”