While news of some big studios shutting shop for local productions may be creating frown lines for the film industry, there’s a completely different breed of young Indie filmmakers who seem to have cracked a different code to circumvent these cash crunches. In their own search and struggle to work against the budgeting odds involved in movie-making, these young guns are redefining the Indian film business like never before. And one of the most promising names from this growing tribe is the 25-year-old National Award winning director Shubhashish Bhutiani, whose debut feature film ‘Mukti Bhawan’ (‘Hotel Salvation’) is all set for a world premiere at the upcoming International Venice Film Festival. Interestingly though this Indie film is rooted in India and at its core a story which is extremely universal in appeal.
Having earned a National Award, besides a spot in the race for the Oscars with his very first short film ‘Kush’ that was shortlisted for the 2014 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, the young talent has also wowed international audiences at over 25 prestigious film festivals the world over including winning the Orrizonti Prize for Best Short Film at its premier at the Venice International Film Festival. And now with his debut feature film, Shubhashish is setting the perfect example of how young Indie filmmakers are not just making independent cinema at responsible budgets but are also putting them up on the global cinema map. The fact that this new breed of filmmakers are making audiences across the globe sit up and take notice of relatively smaller films is redefining the business of movie-making in the country, which has largely has been dependent on the star power and bigger budgets.
Talking about this, Shubhashish says, “We have a lot to learn from regional cinema which creates great content and from how the film world globally is digitising, giving us newer avenues for release and newer audiences.” A family film rooted in India getting to premier at such a prestigious festival to an international audience says much.
The promotion and marketing through social media enables awareness to be brought to films through relatively inexpensive methods and of course the digital distribution space is fast replacing the traditional cable & satellite viewership which is encouraging for Indie filmmakers, who see a new way of breaking free from the established and dominant set-up of movie-making here.
Starring powerhouse performers Adil Hussain, Lalit Behl, Geetanjali Kulkarni and Palomi Gosh amongst others, the film has been developed by the La Biennale di Venezia.
A Red Carpet Moving Pictures Film, Producers Sajida Sharma, Sanjay Bhutiani, Executive Producer Dina Dattani.
