Band of Outsiders Directors' Cut

A few rebellious Indie filmmakers are rescuing Hindi Cinema from the trappings of Bollywood; one movie at a time. We talk to three of them about their most recent work and their take on everything Current Cinema

- Ananya Ghosh

While last year, the Bollywood mass entertainers made a roaring toe the line declining to fit their art into the Procrustean bed of comeback ensuring the audience throng the theatres once Bollywood masala movies. But is Hindi cinema and its audience again, it was also a year when Hindi movies making vehement finally coming of age. In an attempt to separate facts from fiction, attempts to extricate themselves from the Bollywood's straitijacket we talk to three of such unconventional filmmakers, Kanu Behl, stereotypes found their audience, albeit mostly on the OTT Devashish Makhija, and Rajat Kapoor, whose recent works were platforms. 2024 also looks promising with a cool lineup of films screened at packed auditoriums at the latest edition of Jio MAMI helmed by maverick filmmakers who over the years have refused Mumbai Film Festival Excerpts:

RAJAT KAPOOR

MOVIE: EVERYBODY LOVES SOHRAB HANDA 

What was the starting point of this movie? 

The starting point must have been a whodunit. I like genres and would like to delve into all of them, including horror, sci-fi, and gangster… and maybe one day, a musical as well. I started with this idea of a whodunit using its tropes of a secluded location, many possible suspects and so on. And once I got the central idea, I was hooked.

What was the most challenging part?