Local is the only universal

Audiences today are a lot more welcoming to new content than studios and production houses, Ritesh Batra, writer-director of the highly acclaimed The Lunchbox, says.

November 22, 2014 05:30 pm | Updated 05:30 pm IST

Ritesh Batra

Ritesh Batra

The writer-director of The Lunchbox Ritesh Batra may have made just one film, but that was enough for him to prove a lot of people wrong. And it’s been one hell of a ride — from being the highest grossing indie in the country to becoming the highest grossing foreign film in the U.S., despite being snubbed by the local film bodies voting on India’s official entry to the Oscars. The jury had controversially selected The Good Road instead of the highly acclaimed and studio-backed The Lunchbox .

Recently, he was part of the competition jury himself at the Mumbai Film Festival.

Does he view festival films as being any different from commercial films, I ask him during an interview, given that The Lunchbox is the first indie festival hit that also tasted unprecedented commercial success in its space.

“A festival’s job is to connect filmmakers to audiences and films to audiences. If that happens more and more, the distinction really evaporates,” he says. “But as far as films breaking out and becoming commercially successful, that’s entirely up to their content. As a filmmaker, it is hard to anticipate that. If you get into that mode of thinking, there’s no way to succeed in that. All you can do is make a film and be honest to every moment in it.”

“No matter what happens, no matter what anyone says, a film has its own destiny. If the content can connect to an audience, it will find its way. You are aware of the Oscar (entry) controversy. It felt like a big jolt to the ability of the film to travel at the time it happened. It was not a good thing. Because the film could’ve gone much further. But eventually, it released in the U.S. and became the highest grossing foreign language film of the year. It’s been a blessing, you know,” says Batra.

He believes that this distinction is an Indian phenomenon. “This distinction between festival and commercial films doesn’t exist in the rest of the world. Because a film that does well in Sundance over there is acquired by bigger studios and goes on to find its audience. The same thing happens at Cannes.”

“It’s a function of so many things,” says the filmmaker. “It’s a function of India being esoteric for so many years. We’ve been a closed country. When I was growing up (I am 35), if you got introduced to someone who had travelled abroad, say London, it was a big deal, wasn’t it? Our films have also been very closed. Young people are getting exposed to great content, because of the torrents.”

A filmmaker giving torrents some credit?

“Torrents are a great blessing. I know it’s piracy but for our country, it’s a blessing to get young people exposed to that kind of content. Every young person I know downloads movies. As a filmmaker, I am opposed to that on moral terms, but I think it is great to get people exposed to content even if it is through piracy or YouTube. They will start demanding more. And when they start demanding more of the local industry, it’s either going to deliver or people will start looking elsewhere. We’re just at the cusp of a huge change. We can say now that the local content is very different but in five years from now, the studios and production houses that haven’t changed are going to become so irrelevant.”

The audiences today are a lot more welcoming to new content than studios and production houses, he adds.

“I was on a flight from Delhi to Mumbai and met someone from Ajmer who had seen my movie. He told me the theatre was packed and they clapped at the end. In many ways, the audiences are leaving the industry behind. You read the paper today and see a film has made Rs. 150 crore but the audiences are not stupid because they know that the film cost Rs. 160 crore to make. It should have crossed Rs. 300 crore to be a viable economic success. It’s easy to see through these things.”

The world has opened up to local content, observes Batra. “Even the international market is responsive. The local is the only universal.”

How does he see films when he’s part of juries these days?

“I see how it speaks to me emotionally. I love a film that makes us feel something, that makes you question our place in the world. If a film does that to you, it’s a good film.”

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