NO COUNTRY FOR INDIE FILMS

Director Kanu Behl speaks about the problems plaguing independent filmmakers, AI filmmaking, and the need to have cinema that contributes to culture and not just coffers

- KARTIK BHARDWAJ

LAST week, 46 independent filmmakers signed a statement calling for action on the problems plaguing small and mid-budget films in the country.

This has been a long time coming. Sandhya Suri’s Santosh, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was the UK’s entry for the Oscars, couldn't find a display at both the big screen and the small one in the country where the film is based in. It came as a surprise when Aranya Sahay’s critically acclaimed Humans in the Loop found a space on Netflix, a platform which was once considered a beacon of hope for independent filmmaking. Post the pandemic, content-first cinema has found itself homeless, stuck in a vicious cycle. Theatre chains won’t feature these films in accessible outlets or give them proper show timings, and OTT giants refuse to stream them, pointing to dismal theatrical performance.

The statement came after director Kanu Behl rued on social media that his film Agra, which received a standing ovation at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, is being sidelined by multiplex chains. He stated that Agra is getting dumped into cinema halls that are on the city’s periphery, thus making its access difficult for most cinema goers. Also, it is not getting the appropriate show timings. In a freewheeling conversation, we spoke to Kanu about the difficulties faced by independent filmmakers, and more.