Sudhir Mishra: A two-hour film is still the best way to tell a story than a web series

Even with the popularity of OTT platforms, Sudhir Mishra isn’t of the opinion that box office won’t be a benchmark for success

Even with the popularity of OTT platforms, Sudhir Mishra isn’t of the opinion that box office won’t be a benchmark for success. The director feels there’s “something democratic about box office” as “a whole group of people (audience) were determining who is the bigger star”.

Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra will be directing actors Bhumi Pednekar and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in his next.

He adits being not aware of the pros and cons of the digital medium though. “OTT is a wonderful place. To begin with, the economics of a platform do not necessitate that every film be a blockbuster. Economics works on the overall profit of the platform. All sorts films can be made and discovered, like books on a shelf. So, I think it’s quite nice. I enjoy watching some of it. That being said, a two-hour film is still the best way to tell a story,” the 62-year-old tells us.

The length of a web project also needs to be defined, according to Mishra and it cannot afford to be lengthy. He explains, “There are some projects, which require 10 episodes, like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul or The Wire, so that works. Web series or long form cinema gives you the time to develop the overall story. Going into a larger variety of characters, delving into various sub-plots... All this is great in a web show. But I don’t like a never-ending web series,” says Mishra, who is working with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Bhumi Pendekar for his next project.

The technology available today, too, he feels, aids the big-screen experience. “With the new kind of hardware that is available, I can watch it on a huge screen and it’s a wonderful time to be a young filmmaker. I hope the young take more chances,” Mishra ends.