‘Lot of Dramas Are on OTT Now; It’d Be Difficult To Do a Feature’: Rohan Sippy

Rohan Sippy further talked about how a film like 'Bluffmaster' might not work now.

Filmmaker Rohan Sippy who has directed films like Kuch Naa Kaho, Dum Maaro Dum, Nautanki Saala, and Bluffmaster! Said in a recent interview that while that time was a “good time in cinema”, audience’s are expecting something different now. 

Sippy told Indian Express, “It was fun, it was a good time for cinema but now the important thing to learn is to give an experience to the audience. A lot of the dramas are now available on OTT so I think that would be hard to do as a feature now.”

He added, “I don’t know whether it’s got strong music elements or whether it’s got very strong action elements, but the movie watching experience has to be created."

"I’d love to do something that would have the kind of music we grew up with, I see less and less of that in movies now. So I think there is an opportunity for that if done nicely and see how families — from young kids to older members — react and connect to that. So whatever it is that I do, I want songs and music to be a big part of it.”

Rohan Sippy to Indian Express

The filmmaker added that he never ‘stopped making films,’ “I have been watching shows for a long time and we have a great tradition of weekly TV when Doordarshan and satellite TV started. Then suddenly it all went away and it all became daily television. So there is a great role for that kind of serialised content which we have seen in the last five-seven years. You get an opportunity to tell a story with a different kind of layering and nuance, the kind of actors you get to work with.”

“A supporting actor in a film may have two or three scenes but here they have much more to do. The kind of actors you get a chance to work with, say I wouldn’t get a chance to work with someone like Pankaj Tripathi in films,” he further said. 

Rohan Sippy has worked with Pankaj Tripathi in Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors and Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach. Talking about the shows, Sippy had earlier told The Quint, “The good factor of the series is that you can get very attached to a character. So, there was a huge advantage to taking Pankaj Tripathi's character forward across the three seasons."

Sippy also talked about his father Ramesh Sippy’s legacy and if he felt any pressure because of it. The latter has directed films Sholay, Shaan, Seeta Aur Geeta, and Andaz. “I am standing on the shoulders of a giant so I’ve had opportunities that otherwise I wouldn’t have. If anyone is comparing me to him then that’s very flattering, even if I am just 1% of what he is then it is a very huge compliment for me. So I don’t see it as a pressure, maybe thirty years ago that was a thought. I hopefully will let his legacy grow,” Sippy said. 

Rohan Sippy has most recently directed the second season of the web show Duranga starring Gulshan Devaiah, Drashti Dhami and Amit Sadh. The series is an adaptation of the Korean drama Flower of Evil.