Kamlesh Mishra: OTT platform has given new life to documentaries

India is in a good phase where not just films and web series, but documentaries are also getting a platform to get a wide audience, says Kamlesh K Mishra, director of National Award-winning documentary ‘Madhubani: The Station of Colours’.

India is in a good phase where not just films and web series, but documentaries are also getting a platform to get a wide audience, says Kamlesh K Mishra, director of National Award-winning documentary -- ‘Madhubani: The Station of Colours’.

Kamlesh K Mishra (Sourced photo)

“OTT platforms have given a new life to documentaries and short films. I am sure these are going to be the next big thing as more people will make documentaries,” he says.

A native of Gopalganj (Bihar), Mishra has been living in Delhi and Ghaziabad for 25 years while work also takes him to Mumbai.

Telling us about his journey, Mishra said, “I started with print media, and for a few years I worked with electronic media. Soon I realised that this is not my cup of tea. My first directorial venture was ‘Yeh Hui Na Baat’ anchored by Jaya Jaitley and then Kiran Bedi for DD National. It was made on real stories and then fictionalised.Then I made a lot of documentaries and travel shows for various channels,” he tells.

To take a plunge into commercial cinema, he started a film ‘Parindey’, which could not be made. “Then I did production for TV. But since cinema was in mind I wrote a story ‘Azamgarh’ that is based on a sequence of events from 9/11 (US attacks) to 26/11 (Mumbai attack). I finally made my film (‘Azamgarh’) with Anil Sharma as protagonist and Pankaj Tripathi playing an important role. I hope we will release it on OTT in a few months,” adds Mishra.

He has also made a short film ‘Kitaab’, which happens to be actor Tom Alter’s last film. It has been showcased in various categories at over 50 film festivals and 25 award functions. “I met Padma Bhushan Bindeshwar Pathak and then wrote and directed ‘Madhubani: The Station of Colours’, which won the National Award for best narration under non-feature category in 2018,” says Mishra.

His latest project was an 80-minute documentary, ‘Delhi Riots: A Tale of Burn & Blames’. “A year after the riots in Delhi, we released this documentary which captures the real picture, eye-witnesses accounts, agenda and propaganda that triggered the violence.”

Mishra is now gearing for the release of his debut feature film, ‘Azamgarh’, which he says, is based on terrorism but also has an emotional connect. He is also working on two films, of which one is a love story set in lockdown.