Indie filmmaker Sourabh Shukla says ‘getting seasoned industry guys to work with us is not easy’

New Delhi: The director of Kannada thriller ‘1888’, Sourabh Shukla has opened up on the biggest challenges he has faced as an independent filmmaker, sharing that getting the seasoned industry guys to work with them, and aligned with their vision is not easy.

Talking to IANS, Sourabh spoke about challenges faced by an indie filmmaker, his directorial style, film festivals and more.

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced as an independent filmmaker, and how did you overcome them?

Sourabh said: “An Indie filmmaker’s journey is obviously not easy. I mean for any filmmaker. Even those making films within the confines of a single room with a solo actor have their own challenges, so do those making a big budget superhero film. But there are certain challenges we enjoy because they are more in the creative or the production domain. The ones pertaining to business like finding a streaming partner etc seem like a mountain that can’t be climbed because the factors there are not in our control and the learning there in my personal opinion is more of a setback and business oriented rather than creative.”

“One of the biggest challenges was shooting the movie itself. Everyone agrees that Guerrilla filmmaking is not easy and even more so when you want to shoot a mainstream action thriller. Primarily due to both budget and resource constraints. Not to mention the fact that we are outsiders with regards to the film industry and whatever little we spoke to someone from the industry we felt more like outsiders. So, getting the seasoned industry guys to work with us, aligned with our vision is not easy. There was a lot of rework that we had to do too,” he shared.

He further said: “Also, whenever the funds dried up, I had to wait for the month end for the salary to be credited before we could resume shooting. This budgetary constraint and resource constraint also meant we did a lot of begging and borrowing. Some well-known actors like Neethu Shetty were used to big unit productions and the comforts that come with it which I obviously could not provide. However, all these challenges were enjoyable and there was a certain learning.”

What inspired you to become a filmmaker, and how did you develop your unique directorial style?

Sourabh said: “Cinema has been an integral part of my life. It’s there since birth, because for the longest time I remember I have been watching films and all kinds of films – Bollywood, Hollywood, Kannada, Malayalam, European, Art-house films, Chinese kung fu films etc. I must’ve been around five or six years old and I remember being awestruck by Satyajit Ray’s ‘Pather Panchali’ and Ketan Mehta’s ‘Mirch Masala’.”

“Whenever I watch movies, it’s not just for entertainment or because they are serving as an inspiration. Even as a teenager or child when I would watch films, the hidden filmmaker in me would have a lot of questions – Like why was this shot framed in a certain way? Was this scene really necessary? Could the background score be a little more subtle? etc. and it was not necessarily critical always but also appreciative like a performance that leaves you in awe or sometimes you visualise yourself as the director and wonder if you could make the similar story as brilliantly as it came out,” he said.

“So, for someone like me who is so passionate about films and open to learning it is natural to see a lot of things from a director’s lens. When I’m telling a story it doesn’t fall under a certain category or template. I just go with my heart and because I’m also an engineer I try to optimise on resources and budget. I do a lot of jugaad and that’s also probably because I do not know how to work with a mainstream setup like units, studios etc. I prefer doing most things on my own and learning something if I don’t know it. That’s why Guerrilla filmmaking in my case was not primarily by choice but lack of choice rather,” he shared.

‘1888’ is set during India’s 2016 demonetisation period. The film has earned accolades at several international film festivals, including winning the ‘Best Director Award’ at the ‘Onyko Film Awards 2023’ in Ukraine, and the ‘Outstanding Achievement Award for Best Debut Filmmaker (Sourabh Shukla)’ at the ‘World Film Carnival 2023’ in Singapore.

How much does film festivals mean to you as a filmmaker?

Sourabh said: “It absolutely depends on the film festival/award, as in the organisation backing it. What I realised after applying to multiple film festivals and bagging awards, is that a lot of these film festivals, especially those that are online-only are not even genuine. They are basically scamming to make some quick bucks. Sending your movie entry there and winning an award is actually a waste of time and money.”

“Apart from that, winning an award at the festivals that have been around for a long time and have an esteemed jury, is definitely special. Even more if the competition is stiffer in terms of the quality of films submitted and the number of films from all parts of the world. Sometimes just being selected by a prestigious film festival feels more special than winning an award in a smaller film festival,” he added.

‘1888’ focuses on a former actress-turned-politician (Neethu Shetty), an LIC agent (Prathap Kumar) and an anonymous individual (Manju Raj) all in pursuit of a bag of cash.

–IANS