A candid interview with the multitalented Anurag Kashyap helped the Mumbai Young Critics Jury understand that there need not be any trend or set rules for a film to be successful.
The Dev D director said that a film always speaks more than what it shows. “One must go for a film with an
open mind; a film best impacts you when your mind is a blank page to the film,” he advised. Kashyap’s views on censorship were radical too. He encouraged self-censorship instead of complete censorship because according to him, a person should individually decide what he or she wants to see.
On being asked about the release of his controversial film Paanch, he said that he still had hope and the film may release sooner or later.
Tell a story
A movie is all about telling a story. And Anurag Kashyap is one of the best storytellers in the business. The interaction with Kashyap was mainly in the form of an address to the team of young critics— a panel of 20 students from various colleges across Mumbai that will be deciding the winner of the ‘Young Critics Jury Award.’ Having been on the jury of the Venice Film Festival recently, Kashyap offered some valuable ‘gyan’ to the young critics.
“The censor boards are mere redundant forces conspiring to keep the ‘bold’ films out of reach of the audience. My movies merely mirror the society. What others may consider ‘bold’ is commonplace for me. I think we just fail to acknowledge that. We need to talk about issues which are generally suppressed,” expressed a concerned Kashyap.
Giving his take on film scripts of today, the director said, “At the moment, a lot of screenwriters feel suppressed by producers, and there is very little scope for them to write. India needs better producers than screenwriters. No producer wants to invest in out-of-the way scripts. Right now, I am making my own film, that I have produced myself and am shooting on the streets of Mumbai with my own script, free from any interference from a producer.”
When asked how a critic should go about perceiving a film, Kashyap explained, “Every film has an origin. It is made under certain circumstances and that is a very important point that should be kept in mind during a review. It is okay to have a different opinion. A film is subjective. One may not look at a film in the same way as others. There are no guidelines as such.”