FICCI Frames '14: Independent films to evolve with time

FICCI Frames 2014, a three day global convention covering the entire gamut of Media & Entertainment like Films, Broadcast (TV & Radio), Digital Entertainment, Animation, Gaming, Visual Effects, etc. had interesting sessions and panel discussions on the first day of the event held at Hotel  Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre. The session titled, 'Three Sixty of Film Production: A Producers Masterclass gave an overview of how film production as an integrated part of film making is an essential task and discussed the challenges faced by the different genre of film producers.

The panelists in this session included Abhay Deol, Actor and Producer, Andy Paterson, Producer, UK, Guneet Monga, CEO, Sikhya Entertainment, and AKFPL. It was hosted by anchor Colin Burrows, CEO, Special Treats. These creative producers who help their director in achieving his vision whilst sticking to their budget have their own limitations too.

A film producer is far more than a money man. This session, looked at how the best creative producers from around the world support the director in achieving his vision whilst still keeping the budget. Producers are known to originate material themselves, then cast the right director and actors to achieve both creative and financial success. They have also taken on board their filmmakers’ vision and helped them to realize it. How does the process work and where are the boundaries in those relationships? These were some of the topics discussed at the session.

When asked what exactly matters to a producer apart from budgets, Paterson averred, "For any producer, having skills of conveying story to masses through the available mediums is a very important thing and that is what really matters to us. When it comes to film productions abroad, right from the writers- producers- directors and casts all are equally responsible and are part of Hollywood films.”

Monga sharing her views on the topic said, "Being a producer we all have our own perceptions towards the stories we work on. Apart from deciding the budget part of any film, protecting the film in all aspects is really important for us. Right from big budget films to small budget films the process remains the same, the thing which changes in the journey is the content on which we are working or the one which we choose."

“When we talk about Bollywood films, I feel that making an art film or an off- beat film is really a struggle for producers in terms of getting distributors for the films in India. The reason is simple that audiences are slowly accepting the different genres of films, which are different in terms of content from regular Bollywood films," said Deol sharing his inputs.

With time, we have actually seen loads of film producers/directors like Kiran Rao, Anurag Kashyap and others who have made films which have set a different trend in the Bollywood  film space.

So, what kind of future do independent films have? Sharing his thoughts on this Abhay Deol said “I feel making an independent film and producing it gives an opportunity to express your thoughts towards a specific story and that is what matters to a producer like me."

The whole genre of independent films is evolving with time and in the recent past Bollywood has seen loads of experimentation in this space. To name a few Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus, Hansal Mehta’s Shahid and Ajay Bahl’s B.A.Pass and Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox and others are an examples of such experimentation.
Paterson believes, "Independent films were and are an essential part of the entire film industry which is making pace with time and today there are a hub of young directors, writers and producers making their ways towards it."

“I think all kind of films can be worked out if it has content and a right power. In India if channels start buying satellite rights of these (independent) films there is more chance of exposing this genre which audience’s can explore" added Deol.

In her concluding remark, Monga said, "Today we have a smart set of audience and they know what kind of content they want to watch and being producers we always try to deliver it in the best way possible."