I am just happy making small films: Dibakar Banerjee

Dibakar Banerjee explains how making small, unconventional films works best for him.

Of late, the ­exorbitant budgets of commercial Bollywood films have been a cause of concern for the industry as it leads to lesser profit margins for the makers. But one filmmaker who seems unaffected is award-winning director Dibakar Banerjee who has given hits such as Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006), Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008) and Shanghai (2012).

Filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee. (PTI)

The ­filmmaker whose latest ­directorial, Titli, stars actor Ranvir Shorey and newcomers Shashank Arora and Shivani Raghuvanshi, says, “The trend of decreasing profits of big-budget films is not ­alarming for me, as I want to make films which are small, and make a small or tidy profit for producers so that one can have the independence to tell stories which are ­different from commercial mainstream cinema. The more trouble the commercial mainstream has, the better my existence will be.”

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The 46-year-old adds, ­however, that getting ­financial backing for ­unconventional films like his has always been a task. “It’s always hard to get finances and it has been like that for so many years. Films with different subjects always find it hard (to get backing) but they are the ones which eventually change the face of mainstream cinema,” he says, ­adding, “With my upcoming film, this is an issue right now. The budget is so ­minuscule and we have to think of ways to get the interest of the audience. It is an intense task. I am sleeping only five hours every night at this time because I keep awake thinking of innovative ways to ­promote the film.”