The Indie Genius

It is a movement alright,agrees Juyal,of free thinkers and keen observers who are delivering a cinema that pulls one out of their comfort zone and makes one think. “Mumbai works in a very strict framework. The indie scene does not operate like that. Today,you can shoot on your mobile,upload and grab couple of thousand eyeballs,” tells Juyal.

As the Independent Film Festival at Lala Lajpat Rai Bhawan gained momentum,more filmmakers joined in. Hemant K Gaba,who is making waves with his inspirational film The Shuttlecock Boys,has been in love with cinema for four years,and chucked a plush investment banker’s job in New York to make films. “I tried music,but I realised that I was more of an audience. I wanted to do something that would make me lose sense of time,and writing and directing was it,” says Gaba,who is now working on an edgy and dark film called Defiance. Surviving as an indie filmmaker is challenging,but Gaba has found ways to scrape through. “Your first film is like your visiting card. Once that is made,investments for others come in and one can always get satellite rights to distribute on television,” says Gaba. More advise flows in for budding indie film aspirants,“keep it real,and have a job that sustains this passion,” says Nitin K Pamnani,who has made documentaries Black Pamphlet and Main Tumhara Kavi Hoon. His mode of survival is to take up corporate film jobs. He has also started an online portal called itokri.com,wherein he wants to sell independent films for Rs 1.99.

While the number of independent filmmakers is on the rise,is the movement a myth? Three time national award-winner and director of film Brothers of Malana,Amlan Datta has his reservations. An FTII graduate,he has been making films since 1994,and is still waiting for India to embrace the ‘indie genius’. “There is no agency that funds independent projects,no distribution network or support system. Internet,crowd funding are all theories. Even a national award is Rs 50,000. A film takes five years to make and what does one get,50,000?” laments Datta. According to him,indie industry is aided a lot by international fundings. All set to work on an animation,Datta’s films are rooted and a sharp comment on the establishment. “Well,someone has to stand up and shout that the Emperor is naked,” says Datta,who also runs the Bom-Bom Charitable Trust.

“Cinema is in a constant state of transition,and this phase is interesting. It’s a time when we need to chuck the copyright and say copy left. Upload these films,show them on television,in multiplexes,in small screenings organised at home or at some centre. We just need to open up to that first step,” says renowned sound recordist Asheesh Pandya.