Zoya Akhtar calls Bollywood 'star-driven industry', says 'we aren't interested in anything with no stars' | Interview

Zoya Akhtar has executive produced Shape of Momo, a Nepali-language Sikkimese film that released in theatres this week.

In a career spanning two decades, Zoya Akhtar has backed more films than she has directed herself. As a producer or executive producer, she has been championing independent films for a while now. The latest of these hidden gems is the Sikkimese film Shape of Momo, directed by debutante Tribeny Rai, which was released in theatres this week. Ahead of the release, Zoya spoke to Hindustan Times about the ecosystem for indie films in India and the pros and cons of India’s star system.

Zoya Akhtar opens up about the existing ecosystem for independent cinema in India.

‘There has to be a distribution system’

Shape of Momo won awards at festivals all around the world, including at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival. Eventually, it found its way into theatres in India. “These films were occasional events, but that is becoming increasingly frequent,” says Zoya as she talks about acclaimed independent films from India. “Whether it was Village Rockstars, All We Imagine as Light at Cannes, Boong, or Sabaar Bonda at Sundance, it’s happening constantly.”

So far, such films have largely seen the light of day in theatres thanks to the support of established filmmakers. “Filmmakers have been championing each other forever, and that’s not going to stop,” says Zoya. But she agrees that an institutional push for indie films is needed as well. She argues, “People are waking up to it. It’s going to find its rhythm. There has to be a distribution system that is targeted to the audience, because there is definitely an audience for these films. We have to make it accessible to that audience, and it will thrive.”

‘We are a star-driven industry’

Zoya, director of commercial hits like Gully Boy and Zindagi Ne Milegi Dobara, admits that Bollywood is an industry dominated and driven by its stars. “We are a star-driven industry, and there are pros and cons to a star system,” she says. “The pros are that we survived the onset of Hollywood. We have our own stars, and we like watching them. We have a thriving ecosystem because of that star system.”

But Zoya adds that there is a downside to being so dependent on stars as well. “Whatever doesn’t have stars, we are not interested in that. We have to keep our star system and make more stars. Auteurs are also stars,” she says, adding that if independent filmmakers can be turned into stars, smaller films can thrive too.

One of the biggest roadblocks for indie films is the growing importance of box-office collections as a metric of ‘success’. Zoya says, “We can’t focus just on money. It’s an art form, so we need to focus on other impacts. Nobody cares how much money Kaagaz Ke Phool made or which was the biggest hit that year. But everyone remembers Kaagaz Ke Phool even 70 years later. There are different kinds of successes.”

Shape of Momo, directed by Tribeny Rai and backed by Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, and Payal Kapadia, is currently running in theatres across India.