During a recent panel discussion as part of the 3rd edition of Critics’ Choice Awards 2020, celebrated filmmakers Sujoy Ghosh and Prakash Jha spoke about the changing face of cinema and how content has evolved in the Indian entertainment industry, with different kinds of mediums coming in, other than feature films.
Throwing light on the dynamics of short films, filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh said, “It took me six years to get my head wrapped around short films. I just couldn’t figure out how to tell a story in 12 minutes. How do you start? How do you get a middle and an end to a short film? What was really confusing me was the question that why do I want to make a short film? What is the necessity? When you’re making a short film, you have to not only look at the content but the way it is delivered.”
On the other hand, filmmaker Prakash Jha, best known for his movies like Raajneeti, Gangaajal and Satyagraha, among others, spoke about the rise of web series. He said, “The year 2020 has been revolutionary. We have seen the medium of OTT give us the exhibition of feature films and web series. Having made feature films, all my life I found that web series give you the latitude to be able to indulge in each and every character subplots and make them into important plots and spread your story. At the same time, each capsule has to be engaging, has to entertain.”
Ms. Soumya Vajpayee
Senior Entertainment & Lifestyle Journalist
