No Future for Independent Films
Hit the Road, Dev.
Actually, Dev Benegal has made quite a name for himself these days, making like a nomad and traveling to just about every corner of the Earth, all in the name of promoting his critically acclaimed film, Road, Movie. Woe is him, for he thinks the recent buzz about his cinematic depiction of India’s diverse landscape will not translate to long-term success for him in India – or any other independent director, for that matter.
In fact, the rising star of a filmmaker says only Bollywood films have a chance at long-term success, commercial or otherwise, in India. Benegal is quick to tell anyone who lends an ear to him what many cinema experts have already said – there is little appreciation for anything artistic on the big screen in the world’s second largest country by population.
“There is no future for independent films in India,” Benegal told the Press Trust of India in a recent interview, adding that even independent films are basically shells of the major studio-based Bollywood productions the masses are used to watching. “The only thing that survives is Bollywood or Bollywood Lite. (Independent films have) the same formula, the same structure without A-list stars.”
Despite his sentiment, Benegal has done quite well for himself while traveling the film festival circuit. His film, Road, Movie, was well-received at several major showcases, including Cannes (picked up by global sales agent Fortissimo Films), Toronto (debuted as a “Special Presentation”) and Tokyo (nominated in the competition section). In fact, Road, Movie was the only Indian film to have debuted as a “Special Presentation” at TIFF.
A tale of a young man who leaves his family and travels across country in a truck with a gypsy woman and two old projectors, Road, Movie delves deep into India’s varied landscape while also exploring a few positive human emotions. Benegal added that elements of the film were inspired by his own career development as a filmmaker, making Road, Movie semi-autobiographical.
“It’s about the incredible beauty and the raw, rugged quality of the Indian landscape and finding love and laughter,” he told PTI. “Special economic zones are flattening the landscape for people to shop. I had to make it before the Indian landscape disappears.”
While Benegal is pleased with all the buzz surrounding his film, despite competition from bigger-budgeted Bollywood films, he told PTI independent filmmakers still face several large hurdles and obstacles in funding and distributing their movies.
Despite the welcome reception of the Indian audience for independent films, Benegal insists that it is an uphill task to get funding and arrange distribution for off-beat films in the country.
“Bollywood does not allow for any other expression,” he said in his interview. “It is tougher to make movies in India than in any other part of the world. With 8 out 10 movies failing, Bollywood is a model of failure, not of success.”
Benegal, though, is quite the model for success himself, with good fortune gracing him from the day he arrived on the scene. His 1994 debut film, English August, starring Rahul Bose, won the National Film Award for the Best Feature Film in English.
A graduate of Cambridge University – which recently hosted a conference on the prospects of Indian cinema succeeding in the West – Benegal also worked with his uncle, Shyam, on several projects. In addition to Road, Movie and English August, Benegal also directed Split Wide Open. He also worked seven documentaries in his career, the last one being Shabana! in 2003.
With all of his films, Benegal, 49, has not only directed films with a social consciousness but he established himself as the exception to the rule that there is no place for independent filmmakers or creativity in Indian cinema.
