When you have a Khan or a Kapoor in your film, getting producers isn't one of the worries for a filmmaker. However, if your film has no A-lister, your struggles as a director gets doubled up.
Giving us this reality check, Konkona Sen Sharma made some really important points.?
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Konkona Sen Sharma, whose directorial debut A Death In The Gunj has opened to glowing reviews, got just limited screens and that itself speaks a lot about the film industry and monopoly of commercial films that are backed my big production houses.
In an interview with PTI, Konkona revealed how she believes that making and promoting a niche film is not easy. The actor says while both commercial and independent films are important, alternative cinema has a difficult journey from production to the ticket window.
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She said,
¡°It is important that all kind of films are made. Mainstream cinema exists in most large industries and then there is the alternative cinema which does not follow the conventions of the mainstream movies. But when your film is small and does not have A-listers, then you have a limited budget and it becomes hard to release your film. Stars are a part of our emotional psyche but audiences should also support a good indie film which may not have a big star."
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Vikrant Massey, Gulshan Devaiah, Tilottama Shome, Kalki Koechlin, Om Puri, Tanuja, Ranvir Shorey, Arya Sharma and Jim Sarbh feature in the movie and Konkona says most of the actors took a cut to help the film get made.
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Talking about all the actors, she added,
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¡°I am lucky to have got such a fabulous cast and crew. Veterans like Omji added a certain integrity and value to the movie. Vikrant is amazing in the film. I am grateful to all my actors. They are the ones who came forward and did not charge their market rate to help me make this film. They knew that making such movies is not easy.¡±
It was a bit of a struggle for the actor to get the movie financed but she credits her filmmaker mother, Aparna Sen, who pushed her to get the film made. She added,
¡°Once the script was ready, I sat on it because I did not think anyone would spend money on it. But my mother told me to shop the film around. I went to some of the bigger studios and they were kind enough to give me a meeting. They said they liked the script but it was not something they were looking to produce."