Film fest's label keeps audiences away from good stories: Nandita Das

Published September 1, 2015
Nandita Das — Photo courtesy: Tumblr
Nandita Das — Photo courtesy: Tumblr

Actor/filmmaker Nandita Das has a bone to pick with film festivals. She feels that festivals restrict the audience of films by screening them at platforms only accessible to a particular class, reported Times Of India.

Das was speaking at a session titled 'What is regional cinema, what is national cinema' at the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali.

She opined that many moving stories haven't been able to reach a larger audience because of their restricted accessibility: "When you are making an independent film (for the lack of a better word) and then you are also doing the festival thing and not be labelled as that this is a festival film, this is for the classes, this is not for masses (sic). Who is going to decide that the man on the street is not ready to watch it? It's, I think, our arrogance and the class that we belong to, that we think it is for us and they are not ready to watch it."

She elaborated about the rift created by such films: "It doesn't have to be a festival versus audience kind of a film. These regional films while they cut across, while they can be the international thing... finally, a filmmaker who makes it would want all audiences to watch it in their own city, state and all over. This divide is where one is uncomfortable."

The filmmaker, who is known for her powerful acting in such films as Mehreen Jabbar's Ramchand Pakistani, Deepa Mehta's Earth and Fire, in addition to many South Indian films, also commented on the complications of the issue: "That's why we keep coming back to the fact there is too much interference and nexus between the producer, distributor, audience and all of these people, and the director is kind of (caught) between them."

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.