Filmmaker Prakash Jha is gearing up to attend the London Film Festival and has shared insights on how to enhance the landscape for independent cinema in India.
Improving Exhibition Avenues
During promotions for the festival, he noted, “Eventually you look at it both ways. In terms of exhibition avenues, the multiplex gives you the bandwidth. What has gone wrong is the process of releasing films in multiplexes because whether your film is a INR 500 crore rupees film or INR 5 crore, the parameters become the same in terms of distribution cost. So, that is where I think there should be pragmatic thinking. I am also a multiplex owner. So, I do talk to the community that one has to consider the independent films to be released in prime time at lesser cost.”
Shifts in Advertising
Jha emphasized that in the past, when multiplexes were non-existent, there were still distributors willing to promote independent films, albeit in a niche market. “Now the advertisement costs have gone up; because there is nothing local, the advertisement has become global and national,” he said.
The Need for Pragmatic Thinking
He further asserted, “The cost of preparing digital content has gone up so I think there has to be pragmatic thinking because independent cinema is the cinema which can talk, which can have a dialogue with society. It is important, so we should be spending more time in writing and making films which we believe in, but there have to be avenues for distribution.”
Challenges on OTT Platforms
Discussing the OTT landscape, he remarked, “See even on the OTTs, it is the usual nonsensical commercial films which get the preference. So they may possibly be very special platforms for independent films or the major platforms should talk to acquire these independent films even if they are at lesser cost. There has to be access to independent filmmakers for exhibition to be able to, you know, make the next film. I think that’s just to say that in terms of the filmmakers.”