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HT Brunch Cover Story: Five stars and the ultimate producer
HT Brunch gets five talented young film people to meet Netflix founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings and ask him questions only a visionary can answer
Planning an interview with Reed Hastings is no mean task.
First, I’m intimidated by the fact that the last two interviews in India with the Netflix founder and co-CEO were conducted by HT’s Editor-in-Chief himself, one at the prestigious Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2019.
Second, the teams that surround Reed want to know every little detail: How much time? What are the questions? Where will the shoot take place?
I’d like to take him to an Irani café, I suggest. Not enough time, I’m told.
So we do the next best thing: create an Irani café in a studio.
I beat my concerns about the interview by riding a creative brainwave: instead of just me asking the questions, why don’t we get five young Netflix India stars to ask Reed Hastings things they’ve always wanted to know?
Reed loves the idea, his team says. We are on.
Happy as the situation should be, my experience tells me to expect the worst. Bringing five successful stars together on one morning to shoot a video and pose for a cover shoot would be the biggest challenge of them all, I think.
It isn’t.
On the day of the shoot, Reed is as casual as ever, greeting everyone with warm hellos, and sticking to his no shaking hands policy.
And the stars? Three of India’s top actors and two successful filmmakers turn up on time with their best faces forward. Is this the new professionalism in the film industry? A fly on the wall tells me to dispel these illusions. “The reason is just two words: Reed Hastings!”
![Reed says that in old times, [film] people stuck within the formula. But now they are willing to take risks, and producers are willing to back those risks (Subi Samuel)](https://images.hindustantimes.com/img/2021/10/17/original/893cdbc2-2d2b-11ec-be0b-d2c840e92b17_1634468599461.jpg "Reed says that in old times, [film] people stuck within the formula. But now they are willing to take risks, and producers are willing to back those risks (Subi Samuel)")
Reed for thought
Welcome to India, Reed, I say. As a country, we’re quite proud of the fact that we produce as many movies as Hollywood does. What do you think of the escapist nature of popular Indian cinema; and isn’t it percolating into Western movies as well?
Reed’s answer is politically correct. “We are excited to be a growing supporter of Indian film, both here in India and around the world. People love escape; this pandemic has been hard. People just want to see something and feel something new.”
On the other end, OTT has allowed non-commercially viable, gritty, more true-to-life cinema to come to our screens. What are your favourite productions in this genre, I ask.
“There are some interesting crossover ones. Haseen Dilruba is one I loved,” he says. “It starts off like a regular Indian story with a mother-in-law etc, and then gets extremely dark. Then, of course, there’s Sacred Games, which is also dark and gritty. But we also love just happy rom-coms. The thing that’s great about Netflix is variety.”
Tell us honestly, Reed. Do you really think watching Netflix at home can ever replace the experience of going to a cinema?
“You know, everybody cooks at home and they also like going to restaurants,” Reed says, sidestepping my question with ease. “So it’s very compatible: people will watch a lot at home and then go to the cinema. We just want people to be able to choose. We’re big fans of both!”
Another fallout of streaming services is the crossing-over of cultures. People in Asia are watching Spanish telenovellas, Indians are following Turkish soap operas and everyone’s going crazy about Korean pop. Did you think this would happen?
“This week, there’s a new Korean show called Squid Game and it’s amazing,” says Reed. “People in debt come together to play a game, and then it turns into something deadly serious. It’s a perfect example of sharing the best of each other’s culture.”
Can you name some Netflix productions from India that are on par with the best in the world? And who is your favourite Bollywood star?
“There are different types of bests,” says Reed. “White Tiger is an award-winning movie made by an Iranian director, so it was like a fusion Indian film. Haseen Dilruba was very popular for us. And then there was Indian Matchmaking. It really opened up that world and humanised it.”
And the Bollywood star, we prod. “We have come to know Shah Rukh Khan, who is a very bicultural guy. And he’s also the biggest star...”
Masaba Gupta
Her own muse
The star of Masaba Masaba was one of the entertainment world’s biggest surprises. Masaba is a successful fashion designer, so when the show hit our screens, it left everyone entertained, but also confused. Was it autobiographical, or was it fiction? Was Masaba playing herself, or will she cross over to acting?
Masaba Gupta’s question to Reed Hastings addresses just that: “When my show first came out, there was conversation about it being a reality show. No one got that it was a mix of fiction and reality, a genre that’s getting a lot of attention around the world today. My question, Reed, is this: if you were to have a series on your life, what would be included, and what would not?”
Reed laughs. “There will be many small chapters with different stories of all that happened. It will be, sort of, pretty hopeful, and then there will be a dark phase... I think it would be a great Netflix success around the world!”
Sudha Kongara
Culture cuts
The filmmaker whose sensitively-told story of a trans woman in love with her best friend formed a part of the anthology Paava Kadhaigal and left audiences teary-eyed, has a question on the crossing of cultures.
“As Bong Joon Ho said, once you cross the inch-high barrier of subtitles, your world opens up to amazing films,” she states. “How was Paava Kadhaigal accepted across cultures, given that it addressed issues that were so local in nature?”
“When there was only theatrical exhibition, small films never got shown,” answers Reed. “We are streaming small films to create bigger audiences. The great thing about the internet is that we can break through some of the barriers to share content that we would never have been able to do before.”
Adarsh Gourav
Talent powerhouse
The star of White Tiger, who stood his own in his debut film against acclaimed talent like Rajkummar Rao and superstar Priyanka Chopra, has a question straight from his own age group.
“How are you able to take bets on younger talent compared to tried-and-tested actors?” he asks.
Reed replies, “The good news is that we make shows that feature young people, so that’s a natural fit. But to be honest, we do screen tests and look into talent, and it’s always great to discover new people.”
Rana Daggubati
Voice of reason
Before Rana can ask his question, Reed remarks, “I need a voice like you…”
Even the tall, imposing Rana Daggubati is taken aback. He accepts the compliment, then asks a question representative of the region he comes from.
“The Telugu film industry has seen a shift in storytelling in the last four to five years. From mainstream, big-spectacle cinema, we are an industry that is now telling local stories that are travelling the world. What should a local filmmaker keep in mind?”
“What a filmmaker has to do is find something unique that the audience hasn’t seen before,” Reed replies. “In older times, it was expensive to make films, so people were cautious and stuck within the formula. Now people are willing to take risks, and we are willing to back those risks”
Guneet Monga
The winning hand
Producer of Lunchbox, festival director, winner of an Academy Award in 2019 for the Best Documentary Short Subject, film festival director, and India’s face in Hollywood, Guneet Monga wears many hats. Her question to Reed tries to put him on the spot.
“We’re in the golden era of content,” says Guneet. “Is there any one title you wish you had on Netflix?”
Reed tackles it like a pro. “Oh, there’s more than one,” he says. “I’ve been watching Hex, which is a great HBO-style comedy. And then there’s Ted Lasso on Apple TV!”
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From HT Brunch, October 17, 2021
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