Making a Film is not easy, It’s like bringing up a child: Director Subodh Bhave

Making a Film is not easy, It’s like bringing up a child: Director Subodh Bhave

Younger Generation responds to all forms of music which has quality: Shankar Mahadevan  

The director and cast of the new Marathi film Katyar Kaljat Ghusali interacted with the media here today. Katyar Kaljat Ghusali is a Marathi musical based on the play by the same name and is directed by Subhodh Bhave. The film marks the acting debut for Shankar Mahadevan and a directorial debut for Subodh Bhave.

The media session began with the screening of the trailer of the movie. Briefing the media, Subodh Bhave disclosed that he had made a musical play by the same name five years ago.  I wanted to present the story in detail and on a larger platform in the form of a musical film and am proud that it has been selected in the panorama section, the director said.   It wasn’t an easy job to make a film, its like bringing up a child, Subhodh explained. The purity of classical music in the film has erased the generation gap and made a mark on one and all, he said.

Elaborating on the reason of immediate popularity of the film , which was released on 12^th November this year, award-winning composer and playback singer, Shankar  Mahadevan said that the youth are very intelligent , and if they are offered something of a standard quality, they will lap it up immediately and this is what is happening with the film. The film has given me three opportunities, as  a music composer, singer and actor disclosed Shankar Mahadevan. Acting is not only dialogue delivery or emoting, one has to open all doors and immerse oneself in the role, only then one can give the best, he explained.

Actor Sachin said he was very happy to play a different role ie a negative role for the first time.  He has been closely associated with the Urdu language since childhood, so he felt very comfortable in playing the Urdu speaking role, Sachin explained.  “I still haven’t got out of the character!”, he said laughingly.  “This was a really big challenge for me since am a virgin to playing negative role, after this experience I have to think several times what to do next. But I promise to take up different and challenging roles in the future” said Sachin.

The film Katyar Kaljat Ghusali attempts to explore the relationship between intellect and emotion through the story of Sadashiv and his two gurus- Panditiji and Khasaheb. Sadashiv’s overwhelming success at the Dussera concert establishes the fact that his guru, Panditji’s mark can never be deleted, because his music is a blend of the intellect and emotion, and is as much soul as technique.

Director of the film ‘the Silence’, Mr Gajendra Ahire also interacted with the media here today.  The film is based on the issue of child abuse. The film has travelled abroad including Brazil and we found that the taboo on the issue of child abuse exists across the world, nobody wants to talk about it, so we called the film ‘ the Silence’ explained Gajendra.  The story doesn’t talk directly about the child who has been abused but speaks through its effect it has on the parents, friends and other associates of the child.  With the making of the film, I have grown personally as well as a director, said Gajendra. 

The story has been written by one of the producers of the film, Ashwini Sidwani, who disclosed that the script was inspired by the true story of a girl and the case moved her a lot. “It was difficult to go along with the tragedy while making the movie”, she said.

 Based on a true story, the film revolves around a little girl growing up in poverty with her father in a rural area. When he’s unable to care for her himself, he sends Chini to her uncle in a nearby town, where life-changing events occur. Late at night on a local train in Mumbai, young Chini witnesses an incident that forces her to face up to demons from her past. Blending past and present and with forceful drama, the film tackles crucial taboo topics, tracing the recurring question of responsibility- or silence.

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Maintaining Digital Film Records more Expensive than Celluloid: Milton Shefter

National Film Heritage Mission of India, a Welcome Step in Preserving The Film Legacy: Milton Shefter  

Restoration and preservation of digital records is sixteen times more expensive than that of celluloid films according to Milton Shefter, an eminent member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. “The two methods of capturing and storing information have both advantages and disadvantages but I personally prefer celluloid tapes as keeping and maintaining digital records are laborious and cost intensive. With temperature and humidity regulation, celluloid tapes can be preserved for centuries but same does not hold for digital films,” disclosed Milton Shefter in a media interaction here today. Milton lauded the efforts of the Government in coming out with a project like National Film Heritage Mission and appreciated its commitment to preserve classic films for future generation. 

Responding to a question, Shefter highlighted the need for innovation in finding a ‘durable medium’ in storing and preserving film records. Regarding the cataloguing of archival records, he said that there are standard practices and systems in place though the process is challenging.

Milton shared his knowledge on film preservation and restoration, in the ‘Master class’ Session at 46th IFFI here yesterday. He is known for the two reports he co-authored, ‘The Digital Dilemma” which has been the subject of numerous international press reports and discourses on film preservation.

He continues to work and lecture worldwide on issues of media asset preservation and the effects of the digital technologies on long term access of created content. He has presented Master classes on media asset preservation digital issues at several Film Festivals, focusing on emerging filmmakers.

Milton R. Shefter is the President of Miljoy Entertainment Inc, a Project Management Consultancy specializing in media asset preservation. He worked on major preservation projects with Hollywood Studios including the Paramount Pictures library/archival project to catalogue, inspect, repair and build archives in several locations to house their moving image and recorded sound collection.

He received the Society’s (Society Of Motion Picture And Television Engineers) Archival medal for his work as a leader in media preservation. He is an active member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science and Technology Council. He chairs the American Society of Cinematographers annual outstanding Achievement Awards and received that organization’s Outstanding Service Award.

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Busan International Film Festival provides opportunity to young film makers: Young Woo Kim

National and international festivals provide a good platform for marketing films: IoannaStais 

Young Woo Kim, Programmer – Asian Cinema, Selection Committee – Busan International Film Festivalinteracted with the media at IFFI, 2015 here today. Young Woo Kim said many Indian films including documentaries and short films, are being shown every year at the Busan International Film festival.‘3 Idiots’ and ‘My Name is Khan’ were very popular with the viewers there, he added.

He said that India has many languages and each language has a market for films. Replying to a question on the criteria of selection of films at the festival, he said that he should like a film first. He explained that the BusanFilm Festival provides an opportunity to young film makers.

The Head of Festivals and Sales, Heretic Outreach, Ms.Ioanna Stais also addressed the media here today. IoannaStaissaid that marketing of films is very important for their success and sales. She emphasized upon the need for a strategy to be made in advance, well before the completion of the film and the film makers should talk to distributors in advance. She also said that the national and international festivals provided a good platform for film marketing.Commenting upon Indian films, she said that Indian film makers should make efforts so that their films get noticed in advance. Replying to a question on co-production of the films, Ms. Ioanna Stais said that co-production is important, but the small budget Indian film makers who do not go for co-production, should focus on the strategy to market it. As long as the film is good, it does not matter whether a film is an independent film or a coproduction, she explained. 

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