Mumbai, Dec 22 (IANS) Filmmaker Prakash Jha, who is set to attend the London Film Festival, has shared how the situation for independent cinema can be improved in India.

The filmmaker spoke with IANS during the promotions of the London Film Festival, and said, “Eventually you look at it both ways. In terms of exhibition avenues, the multiplex gives you the bandwidth. What has gone wrong is the process of releasing films in multiplexes because whether your film is a INR 500 crore rupees film or INR 5 crore the parameters become the same in terms of distribution cost. So, that is where I think there should be pragmatic thinking. I am also a multiplex owner. So, I do talk to the community that one has to consider the independent films to be released in prime time at lesser cost”.

He further mentioned that earlier when there were no multiplexes you still could find distributors for independent cinema, it was very niche, but they were willing to take it and advertise it at a certain level now the advertisement costs have gone up because there is nothing like local now the advertisement has become global and national.

He went on, “The cost of preparing digital content has gone up so I think there has to be a pragmatic thinking because independent cinema is the cinema which can talk which can have a dialogue with the society, it is important so we should be we should be spending more time in writing and making films which we believe in but there have to be avenues for distribution”.

“See even on the OTTs it is the usual nonsensical commercial films which get the preference so they may possibly be very special platforms for independent films or the major platforms should be kind of like you know talk to to acquire these independent films even if they are at lesser cost. I mean it's there has to be access to independent filmmakers for exhibition for being able to you know on enough to be able to make the next film I think that's just to say that in terms of the filmmakers”, he added.

--IANS

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