Asked if the digital platforms have helped in facilitating content-driven films to reach a wider audience, Sanjay told IANS: "I think indie films are real stories that we are making out of passion. We do not have anything -- the luxury of the budget or the star power to pull the audience in the theatre... Nothing.
"All we have is a story. Yes, in the last few years, the opportunity of telling slightly out-of-the-box stories has increased. But releasing and marketing a film has become tougher than ever, and that is worrisome for filmmakers like us."
Sanjay co-owns the banner Anticlock Films with filmmaker Onir. They have produced films like "My Brother Nikhil", "I Am", "Chauranga" and "Shab". Their new project is "My Birthday Song", which marks the directorial debut of Samir Soni, features Sanjay and is releasing on January 19.
"There is a monster called paid promotion or what you called advertorial that is ruining the room for us. Look at any mainstream media today. We do not get a place to promote our films because we do not have such huge budget.
"I think we should learn it from southern film industry where they have a limitation on promoting a film and its ticket price. I know it is an anti-capitalist, free market also, but today this mindset is reflecting on every publication where they are supporting some trashy films because that banner is able to pay the amount of money to the publication.
Looking at the transformation of pop culture, it is interesting to observe how the people are developing an interest in watching a film in a multiplex with its comfortable environment, and so, the lines between an audience -- say for a "Om Shanti Om" and "Heyy Babyy" vis-a-vis a "Bheja Fry" -- are blurring.
Sanjay said: "Well, you have to understand that every offline space is known for certain things. There is a theatre in Kolkata called Nandan, which is known for exhibiting certain kind of films. On the other hand, a shopping mall is known for selling products. So when someone is entering that space, they may not be interested to watch a film that is showing a mirror to the society.
"They would rather prefer to watch a film that suits the pop-culture, and watch our film on Netflix. We cannot change that, but at the same time, film education for the audience is needed if we want our films to survive."
Whether a superstar like Aamir Khan is narrating the story of a father who struggles for preparing his daughters to become wrestlers or Akshay Kumar addresses some social issues like open defecation -- the Hindi film industry is seeing that big stars are backing thought-provoking subjects with their movies.
Asked if he looks at that change as a ray of hope for film producers like him who support meaningful cinema, Sanjay said: "If I am making a film without a big name, it is still as difficult as it used to be. We can make a film in Rs 50 lakh now, but surely cannot release it on that same amount. That scene has never changed for a producer. No."
"I think in the coming few years, many indie filmmakers will find a prominent space in digital media, and will be making more web-series and short films. It's going to be a gradual shift, but I can see it is happening."
Watch the movie Chauranga on the free film streaming website www.onlinemovieshindi.com (new web URL: ). Online streaming or downloading the video file easily. Watch or download video Chauranga online movie Hindi dubbed here.
Dear visitor, you can download the movie Chauranga on this onlinemovieshindi website. It will download the HD video file by just clicking on the button below. The video file is the same file for the online streaming above when you directly click to play. The decision to download is entirely your choice and your personal responsibility when dealing with the legality of file ownership. Regards, Online Movies Hindi Website.
The same as other websites such as hdmovieslatest, filmypunjab, moviemora, fridaybug and etc. You can watch the free online movie Hindi dubbed here. HD movies latest to see without a proxy unblocker app.
Four hundred people joined us in making the film after asking for help on social networking sites. We got a decent theatrical release without Media Net and paying for promotions. Now I think the National Award has given us a lot of validation. Because somewhere you lose energy on your path, and that was beginning to get to me and I started thinking that maybe my next project should be a designed commercial film.
The Incredible India party was the talk of the town; everybody wanted to be there. It was like art house dancing to Bollywood numbers. I think I saw Harvey Weinstein walking in and then he disappeared. That would have been quite a top 10 pitch; though I would have pitched as an actor not a producer (Laughs).
The red carpet only happens for films in competition. If you want to attend you need to let them know and you get a badge. Now you get points on that badge for the number of films you watch. So if you miss films and you waste that pass, which means an empty seat, then you lose points and they take that into account the next time you want one. So very organised.
In our last interview you had talked extensively about your experience in Kashmir and the trauma you faced. Does that still haunt you and do you think the situation is any better today?
An edited version of this piece can be found here. Copyright 2016 The Hindu. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.&
Is it an attempt to test waters with his fans or an attempt to change his fans? Rajni in one of his interviews has mentioned he is more of a catering service- serving his fans what they want and not the one who experiments.. So I feel this is an attempt towards evolution for the SS as the dynamics of his fans have changed. Hope this movie lives up to the noble intention and the SS can continue with such attempts.. SS and Karthik Subbaraj will be a deadly combo and only a successful Kabali can facilitate it, which means one more combo of SS and SaNa..
I part disappointed and delighted with ulagam oruvanukkaa. Rajni intro songs are meant to be instantly orgasmic, exciting and gooseflesh inducing ones. But, ulagam oruvanukkaaga serves the characters more than the man, which is all welcome.
Music Director and Composer are interchangeable in the context of film music. Basically, music director is an Indian-ism. As such, the person who comes up with the music for a song is the composer. The strict traditional connotation would be a person who writes the score (in staff notation) for a composition (usually classical) but the interpretation has become broader with the advent of popular music.
Arranger is the person who comes up with instrumental, usually orchestral, arrangements for the song. Usually engaged because the composer does not have the skill to come up with an orchestral arrangement by himself. Many art rock bands in the West used to hire arrangers in the 70s to embellish their recordings with orchestra. Ilayaraja may have hired an arranger owing to sheer paucity of time; otherwise he is reputed as someone, among the few, who can ideate, write the music, devise the arrangements and also conduct the musicians. All in all azhagurasa.
To add to what Madan has said, I believe Lakshmi Pyare used to divide tasks . Lakshmi was the composer and Pyare was the arranger and producer. A similar division exists between Salim and Sulaiman , with Salim doing the composing and Sulaiman doing the arranging.
@ Rahul: Not connected to music as such but one of my good friends has his own progressive rock band. And yeah, very much into music, can sing to a half decent, though not professional, level. About Pyarelal, his arranging skills are well known in Bollywood and he handled the arrangements for the title track of Om Shanti Om (the version that comes in the climax).
To be fair to SaNa, he himself freely admits that he is a project manager of sorts and delegates the work to the right people. He even admits that his music and singing involves heavy use of technology so much so he is not comfortable performing outside his studio. I like this openness and humility.
Should the creator provide an idea as to what he is trying to communicate in a film before its release? Will it keep the viewers focused on what he wants to convey? Or does that take the whole movie interpretation experience away from the viewer. In this new age where the life span of a movie is only 2 weekends what are the chances of a viewer think through the movie and come back to verify? Even you missed the Dalit point of view in Madras- would your movie watching experience be different had you known about it up front?
My opinion of the movie changes if I understand why a character behaves a certain way, talks a certain way. However like you said at this point it becomes more of a dissection of the movie rather than having the purest opinion of the movie.
You said it beautifully. So all these discussions result in us getting different nuances and perspectives from our own, so when we watch a film like Madras or 2001 (or whatever) again, we watch it with a new understanding of THOSE particular nuances, THAT particular perspective.
@BR: Congrats BR on 14 years of film writing. I recently started following you and am a big fan of your writing. Sometimes more than the reviews the discussions that follow are very interesting. Thanks for allowing the discussions to happen.
@Raj: I disagree that Hollywood trailers are good. I hate going to movie theaters early in the US, because most play trailers for 25 minutes (so if the ticket says 8 PM, the movie actually starts at 8 25). Most trailers are terrible, and many reveal the story as well as the only good lines in the movie.
795a8134c1