‘It all depends on how entertaining the film is’

Amol Palekar

There is no formula for success. If this sounds an oft-repeated line, director and ace scriptwriter Honey Irani goes on to add that it all depended upon how entertaining a film-maker could make his/her product. She, however, agrees that people’s preferences could never be predicted.

“Our own set of rules adapted over a period of time, is wonky. Film-makers and critics do not think twice, before saying that viewers do not like a particular concept, format or a storyline, and it is not easy to reconcile oneself to luck, or the lack of it. The trick lies in being different and being honest in showcasing the passion for storytelling,” says veteran actor-director Amol Palekar.

Here in town for the 18 International Film Festival of India, Ms. Honey Irani, best remembered as a child artiste in about 70 films and screenwriter of a dozen-and-a-half films, including the latest Hrithik Roshan-starrer,

Krrish 3 , says films have become more technical and film-making faster than ever.

“Lots of change we are seeing over the decades - from shorter duration, differently engaging-story lines, evolving content and the like,” she says, underscoring the need for filmmakers to keep such things in mind. Mr. Palekar says children today know so much about technology, and that everything is just a mouse click away.

Information at hand

“But, because of such access to information, thanks to technology, I feel the urge to know more stops at that initial level. For example, there is nothing wrong about using Google and Wikipedia. But, have you cross-checked? We forget to cross-check. There were times when we had to spend hours in a library, checking books and even cross-references,” he points out.