Showing posts with label Dhag. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dhag. Show all posts
Hold the applause: Funding still a huge struggle for Marathi cinema
8:25 AM
Mithila Phadke (THE TIMES OF INDIA; April 19, 2015)
It was the little film that could. When
Shwaas opened in 2004, it was dubbed a “breath of fresh air“ for
Marathi cinema. Shot over a single month on a budget of Rs 65 lakh, by
first-time director Sandeep Sawant, it notched up glowing reviews and
several awards. The story of a little boy about to lose his sight to
cancer and a grandfather determined to show him as much of the world as
possible before the operation, stood apart from the bloated potboilers
that had become the norm.
“It drew people's attention to the Marathi film industry, and many offbeat films were made in the following years. Funding became a little easier, producers started thinking, Okay, so something like this can also work!'“ says film critic Ganesh Matkari.
Despite the tremendous buzz Shwaas had generated around alternate Marathi cinema, it took Sawant 10 years to make his second film. The problem: funding. Sawant and his wife Neeraja Patwardhan, the upcoming Nadi Vahate's costume designer, had to raise the budget of about Rs 4 crore themselves. They approached banks for loans, and dipped into their savings to add the rest.
Finances
continue to remain a worry for independent filmmakers, despite the
rahrah for Marathi cinema every time a debut director manages to push
his film to the theatres, an actor turns producer or a corporate house
bankrolls a project. Not just Sawant, several other indie filmmakers
maintain that the much-talked-about groundswell of support for Marathi
films is actually very limited. “There is definitely a greater
interest in producing Marathi cinema today, especially the
content-driven kind,“ agrees Sawant. The problem,
he explains, is with the numbers.
The Marathi film industry churns out close to 120 movies a year. These include the masala kind like Lai Bhaari and Timepass, and the offbeat, such as Fandry, Tingya and the just-released Court. Of these, not more than a dozen actually reach audiences, says Shivaji Patil, director of the acclaimed Dhag. “From this lot, maybe two or three will be offbeat, quality films. These are the ones that get talked about,“ Patil says, adding that for every Court and Fandry, there are several that go unnoticed. Or they win awards, but can't draw audiences due to meagre marketing budgets. “A Dhag, a Gandha - how many people saw them?“ asks Matkari.
When his father, the writer Ratnakar Matkari's novella was adapted for film in 2013 the team screened it for small groups from production houses like Essel Vision “They all loved it,“ says Matkari, associate director of the National Award-winning Investment. “But the matter didn't go any further.“
Financial support is relatively easier to get for middle of-the-road films like Coffee Ani Barach Kahi. “For the more serious, darker subjects production houses are hesitant.“ The budget tends to be a “safe“ one of Rs 1.5-2 crore so that the returns are assured Sawant says. His film Nadi Vahate, shot across villages in Goa and Sindhudurg, required a larger budget that producers were unwilling to provide.
Bhaurao Nanasaheb Karhade, 30, is well aware of the challenges. Earlier a farmer in Ahmednagar's Gawadewadi and then a communications student in Pune, he sold his five-acre plot of land back home to finance his film. He had approached “close to 40“ producers for Khwada, which is about a shepherd family that moves to the city. No one helped. But Karhade's family stood firm behind him, and the film, made on a budget of Rs 2 crore, snapped up two National Awards. “The first thing the companies think is business. And I don't blame them,“ he says. “But if I hadn't managed to find the money, the film would have never been made.“
Nikhil Sane, Business Head at Zee's Essel Vision, a leading producer and distributor of Marathi films, feels it's unfair to generalize. “How much support a production house gives its filmmakers and believes in the project - it depends on the company,“ he says. “We have produced films across the board--from Elizabeth Ekadashi to Timepass 2. If we were solely concerned with the returns, we wouldn't have taken on Fandry.“
The problem though, as producer Sanjay Chhabria from Everest Entertainment points out, is that there just aren't enough production houses. There are about three main players. “I can only do about 2 or 3 films in a year. We don't have the bandwidth to take on more,“ he says.
Directors Sunil Sukhtankar and Sumitra Bhave, makers of critically acclaimed films like Dahavi Fa and Astu, had approached production houses for five projects. “It's always been the same case,“ says Sukhtankar. “The artistic committee watches the film and they love it, they are moved to tears. Once it reaches the marketing department, things come to a grinding halt.“
“It drew people's attention to the Marathi film industry, and many offbeat films were made in the following years. Funding became a little easier, producers started thinking, Okay, so something like this can also work!'“ says film critic Ganesh Matkari.
Despite the tremendous buzz Shwaas had generated around alternate Marathi cinema, it took Sawant 10 years to make his second film. The problem: funding. Sawant and his wife Neeraja Patwardhan, the upcoming Nadi Vahate's costume designer, had to raise the budget of about Rs 4 crore themselves. They approached banks for loans, and dipped into their savings to add the rest.
Finances
continue to remain a worry for independent filmmakers, despite the
rahrah for Marathi cinema every time a debut director manages to push
his film to the theatres, an actor turns producer or a corporate house
bankrolls a project. Not just Sawant, several other indie filmmakers
maintain that the much-talked-about groundswell of support for Marathi
films is actually very limited. “There is definitely a greater
interest in producing Marathi cinema today, especially the
content-driven kind,“ agrees Sawant. The problem,
he explains, is with the numbers.The Marathi film industry churns out close to 120 movies a year. These include the masala kind like Lai Bhaari and Timepass, and the offbeat, such as Fandry, Tingya and the just-released Court. Of these, not more than a dozen actually reach audiences, says Shivaji Patil, director of the acclaimed Dhag. “From this lot, maybe two or three will be offbeat, quality films. These are the ones that get talked about,“ Patil says, adding that for every Court and Fandry, there are several that go unnoticed. Or they win awards, but can't draw audiences due to meagre marketing budgets. “A Dhag, a Gandha - how many people saw them?“ asks Matkari.
When his father, the writer Ratnakar Matkari's novella was adapted for film in 2013 the team screened it for small groups from production houses like Essel Vision “They all loved it,“ says Matkari, associate director of the National Award-winning Investment. “But the matter didn't go any further.“
Financial support is relatively easier to get for middle of-the-road films like Coffee Ani Barach Kahi. “For the more serious, darker subjects production houses are hesitant.“ The budget tends to be a “safe“ one of Rs 1.5-2 crore so that the returns are assured Sawant says. His film Nadi Vahate, shot across villages in Goa and Sindhudurg, required a larger budget that producers were unwilling to provide.
Bhaurao Nanasaheb Karhade, 30, is well aware of the challenges. Earlier a farmer in Ahmednagar's Gawadewadi and then a communications student in Pune, he sold his five-acre plot of land back home to finance his film. He had approached “close to 40“ producers for Khwada, which is about a shepherd family that moves to the city. No one helped. But Karhade's family stood firm behind him, and the film, made on a budget of Rs 2 crore, snapped up two National Awards. “The first thing the companies think is business. And I don't blame them,“ he says. “But if I hadn't managed to find the money, the film would have never been made.“
Nikhil Sane, Business Head at Zee's Essel Vision, a leading producer and distributor of Marathi films, feels it's unfair to generalize. “How much support a production house gives its filmmakers and believes in the project - it depends on the company,“ he says. “We have produced films across the board--from Elizabeth Ekadashi to Timepass 2. If we were solely concerned with the returns, we wouldn't have taken on Fandry.“
The problem though, as producer Sanjay Chhabria from Everest Entertainment points out, is that there just aren't enough production houses. There are about three main players. “I can only do about 2 or 3 films in a year. We don't have the bandwidth to take on more,“ he says.
Directors Sunil Sukhtankar and Sumitra Bhave, makers of critically acclaimed films like Dahavi Fa and Astu, had approached production houses for five projects. “It's always been the same case,“ says Sukhtankar. “The artistic committee watches the film and they love it, they are moved to tears. Once it reaches the marketing department, things come to a grinding halt.“
Filmmakers independently sending their films to the Oscars; faith in the official choice lost?
8:48 AM
With more and more filmmakers independently sending their films to the Oscars, does it mean their faith in the official choice is lost? On their own
Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; December 21, 2014)
Several Indian films have made their way into the eligibility list to contend for the Best Picture category at the 87th Academy Awards in February 2015.
The recently-released list by The Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences has 323 films. The Indian films include two Marathi movies — Shivaji Lotan Patil’s Dhag and Mrunalini Bhosale’s Kapus Kondyachi Goshta. The list also includes Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox, Girish Malik’s Jal, Soundarya R Ashwin’s Kochadaiiyaan, Vashu Bhagnani’s Youngistaan and Ravi Kumar’s Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain.
Jal’s music has also found itself on the list of 114 films that have advanced into the second stage in the Best Original Score category of the Oscar nominations. The music has been composed by Sonu Nigam and Bickram Ghosh.
AR Rahman with three of his films — Kochadaiiyaan, Million Dollar Arm and The Hundred Foot Journey — is on the list too.
In the past
It is not the first time that so many Indian movies have been sent to the Oscars. In 2012, Nila Madhab Panda’s film Jalpari — The Desert Mermaid was sent as a direct entry to the Oscars. The film took on the subject of female foeticide.
In 2006, when Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti was nominated, Vidhu Vinod Chopra sent his film Lage Raho Munna Bhai as an independent entry. Again in 2007, when Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Eklavya was chosen, Sheetal Talwar, the producer of the film Dharm, had threatened to send his film to the Oscars. Jahnu Barua had also done likewise when his 2005 movie Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Maara failed to get a nomination by the Film Federation of India (FFI).
Weighing the options
So does it mean that filmmakers are losing faith in the FFI or is it more beneficial for them as direct entries? Producer Guneet Monga, who is credited for bridging the gap between Indian films and foreign buyers, says, “There is a sincere need for the process to be more transparent in India. Irrespective of which film goes, we need to weigh the merits of the movie in the right light and its entire campaign dynamics.’’
Guneet is happy that independent entries are being sent by filmmakers. She points out, “I think it’s great that filmmakers are taking this in their own hands — it’s empowering. Ultimately, if the film is good and has people supporting its journey, then more power to them.’’
Of course, there is a disadvantage too. She adds, “With the regulations of the Academy Awards being such, when you apply directly, suddenly you are competing with all the films in the main categories and not in the foreign language category. The competition is tougher, especially with the who’s who of studios competing with you.’’
Something’s amiss
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta had been vocal when the FFI chose Liar’s Dice this year over other films including his film Shahid. He has filed an RTI to know about the selection proceedings. Hansal questions, “Did we have faith in the FFI in the first place? Their process and their credibility to send films for the Oscars is questionable. My RTI on their process, criteria and requesting crucial information on the FFI’s own eligibility filed nearly two months ago is yet unanswered. I’ve noticed that people are entering their films directly, but they are unable to enter their movies for the foreign language section where the rules (unlike the Golden Globes) allow for only one entry per country.”
Director Girish Malik feels that the FFI has a tough task in choosing one film for Oscars. He says, “It is difficult to say which one would be the right choice and which one would not be. It’s a creative medium and opinions differ. I believe they try to make as best a choice as they can.’’
Girish sent his National Award-winning film Jal as a direct entry. He says, “I always had confidence in my film and my content, so we decided to send Jal as a direct entry. Jal is the kind of work that cannot be repeated and so, even when I was not getting a lot of support earlier after the film was completed and at the time of release, I was sure that I will take it to as big a platform as possible and kept trying. The film has been recognised on different platforms for its different aspects — cinematography, visual effects, the screenplay has been invited to the Oscar library and, of course, the best original score and the best picture contention at Oscars.’’
Wide reach
Girish does agree it is going to be a tough competition. He says, “Jal is a small independent film with no studio support. I am happy it is being noticed on the biggest platform for cinema. It gives me a lot of hope and courage to make the kind of cinema I believe in. I do believe in my film and though we have little means, we will try our best and hope for the best. It was a was a complete surprise and we will now start planning our Oscar campaign.’’
Opens new markets
While Girish is looking at giving his best to promote his movie, there is another National Award-winning film, Dhag, starring Usha Jadhav also in contention for the Oscars. Nisha Joseph, who is managing the promotion of the film says, “The reason for taking Dhag for the Academy Awards was its content. It was one of the best films recently made in Marathi. Even though the movie was made two years ago, its run was between January 1 and December 31, 2014 which helped it to fulfill the eligibility criteria.’’
She adds, “It is tough to get a nomination, but the Oscar contention itself can open up international markets for the movie for which a marketing campaign is simultaneously on. Above all, getting a venue for competing with international projects is a different experience altogether.’’
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