Held by the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the Cannes film festival is not only about red carpets and stars, but also about serious business interactions and decisions that take place in plush hotel rooms and country pavilions. It’s about countries showcasing their prowess in the film world and in cutting-edge technology. This year was special because after a long, silent spell of COVID-19, the world came together in a big way for the occasion.
Amidst the hustle-bustle and the enthusiasm, the India Pavillion remained busy. Nabanita Sircar catches up in Cannes with Prasoon Joshi, renowned poet, writer, lyricist and chairman of India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), to talk about the film festival and Indian movies in a changing world.
What is special about the Cannes film festival this year for India as it celebrates its 75th year of independence?
Cannes has always stood for great cinema, it’s a congregation of cinema lovers. From that point of view, it’s a great place for firing up your imagination. With India completing 75 years [as an independent country], we have come a long way and we have progressed in our own special way, be it in terms of our society, development, education – everything. Similarly, cinema is very much a part of our society. India is a country of storytelling. Even before writing was invented, India had an oral tradition and storytelling had a unique role, as it’s not only entertainment but also a way to preserve our knowledge. This is through songs as well – I am a songwriter, and I will tell you, so many things that are ingrained in me, so many things I would learn from my grandmother, so many things that I decided later, are actually folk songs that had a lot of knowledge and native wisdom embedded in them.
In India, storytelling has been an art form much before cinema or organised theatre was there, and in that way, the country has been a very significant market or society where storytelling has played an important role, and cinema has been a reflection of it.
How can Indian cinema leave a mark on international fora?
There are two ways of seeing India. One is to view India as a content market, and the other is to see it as a content creator. India as a content market has been seen organically by many like any other consumer product, but India as a content creator is what you are asking about, and that is our focus this year…
Why is it important? It’s important for our economy, for our people who create that. We definitely would like to consume world content but we also want the world to consume our content.
When we talk about world content, a canvas where we want to paint our content, one option is to go the Korean way, like with K-Pop and K-dramas. But my understanding and analysis is that Korea first defined its market – that this is the world market and this is how we can, through our own way, our lexicon, reach out to it. What is more complex than that? What they have done is commendable. I have great admiration for the way they have developed content in their own country – what is more difficult is to also take your thought process outside, your thinking.
People can say it may be fuzzy, but I think India has a special way of thinking, as a civilisation we have a special way of thinking … a culture develops a certain ethos and we need to celebrate that. And if we really want to celebrate that then we have to celebrate India’s thinking. So, what is India’s thinking? Let me give you an example – today we talk of environmental problems or sustainability, and sustainability is almost an afterthought. We believed in never conquering nature or competing against it. I was brought up in the mountains and I have been told you have to bow down to nature, you’ve got to befriend nature, it’s a nurturer, it’s not your competition, you don’t have to conquer or beat nature … That thinking gives birth to a certain mindset where sustainability will not be an afterthought as there is no conflict.
That is a thinking of a certain kind that gives birth to ideas. But it’s a lot more difficult to take this thinking to the world and present it in an authentic way, rather than just catering to a market.
Is it more difficult? Yes. How can India do it? By constantly trying. And this is the best time because we are, as a world, interacting like never before, all thanks to the Internet. For instance, you can go home and get the films being shown at Cannes streamed online … It’s easier because you are connected to various cultures of the world.
Do you think that with the growing number of OTT platforms and with regional films getting exposure, the Bollywood style of storytelling and typical commercially viable films should not be India’s focus for an international audience?
I think if you can understand the various tools of storytelling without losing authenticity, for example, language... Say you make a film in English, which is a popular language in India (and Indians are making films in English). I don’t see any harm in doing that. I’m more concerned about the thought process that should be a little more hardworking. To mirror what the world is doing is an easier task. If there is any country that can truly understand diversity, it is India – kos kos par pani badle chaar kos par bani (the water changes every few miles, and so does the language) – this is India.
So, if you ask us whether we know how to connect with a diverse set of people, yes we do. But it cannot be that we make all our products so palatable that they lose their authenticity … I am not for a world that is standardised and uniform, I’d hate that world, it’s the diversity that makes it beautiful.
You have spoken about nature and sustainability. But now, with the kind of sustainable, cutting-edge technology that’s in use, countries like Kazakhstan are fast becoming popular destinations for film settings. Do you think the Indian government should encourage such technology?
India has great technological minds and wherever possible, the government should support that. Actually, what we have to do is make filmmaking easier. What happens is agar yeh sirf himmat walon ka kaam hai, aur itna mushkil hai (if we think that this work is only for the courageous and it’s full of hardships), then people get discouraged. The real storytellers should not get discouraged by the logistics of filmmaking, it should not become so difficult that we are looking up to half the people who are making films and say kya mushkil kaam karta hai – achcha kaam karta hai, mushkil nahin (“he does such a tough job” should not be the view – he does a good job). Also, if a handful of people make films, it will be a very linear way of looking at India.
So, it is important that we get regional cinema, as is already happening, even that coming from the grassroots. If you want an authentic farmer’s story, why shouldn’t a farmer’s son who wants to pursue filmmaking [tell it]? Or people from other communities like traders or teachers? Their experiences are very different from somebody who has been brought up in the Mumbai film industry and is making films just because it is in continuation of his/her family tradition. If you get people from diverse backgrounds, it is very important we get them exposure. That is where corporate and government partnership comes in, for educating and taking filmmaking to more people so that we get diverse stories. In an industry that has a limited set of people, they become self-congratulatory and true diversity and true representation does not happen.
I know art is instinctive and cannot be forced, but opportunity and infrastructure must be made available for a level playing field, and for that, efforts have to be made. Yes, creating something is always challenging, but the challenge should be in creativity, not the logistics…
Why is it that many talented actors are not commercially prominent within the Indian film industry but find recognition abroad, such as the late Irfan Khan and Om Puri, or Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Anupam Kher, etc?
You have to understand that there is a staple cinema in India in which people need stars. That’s a very different mindset … And that cinema will always have stars because people form a certain relationship with them. It’s a relationship that the Western world will find very difficult to understand.
On the other hand, there is cinema that talks about certain subjects or societal issues, which are easier for the world to connect with. Hence, they relate to that kind of cinema more than star-led Bollywood masala films. Both kinds will exist. And that’s for every society, though in India it’s more so. Issues-based, cause-based cinema gets more currency in the West.
In today’s world, with OTT platforms, we are seeing that certain movies do not work in theatres. What has happened is that people have realised that going to the theatre is a well-thought-out decision that requires planning, and so, the film has to be worth it … If it’s a personal interest subject, it’s best enjoyed at home. They have realised that there is an option. So, it’s not that theatres will not work, but all subjects will not work in theatres. For a spectacle cinema, they will step out to the theatres, but something that is very personal, say a relationship between a husband and wife, is going to be enjoyed on OTT at home.
How does an event like the Cannes film festival impact Indian cinema and vice versa?
It actually brings cinema into discussions, which is very important. We don’t just talk about ourselves, we talk about the rest of the world, things like technology come to the forefront; it gets into our consciousness and something comes out of it. I think it’s that it gets a spotlight in our busy lives and you get some time out to think about cinema.
What are you currently working on?
I am working on a couple of scripts. Right now, I am completing my book of poetry, doing a couple of songs with AR Rahman and working on a musical.
(Nabanita Sircar is a senior journalist based in London. She tweets at @sircarnabanita.)
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