Don't call me a festival film director: Vikramaditya Motwane

When Vikramaditya Motwane a man who got recognised and hailed for the slimbudgeted indie film Udaan mdash which went onto pique curiosity at international film fests and even swept trophies at one of Indiarsquos biggest mainstream film awards mdash says he doesnrsquot want to be called a ldquofestival film directorrdquo we think that odd Itrsquos odder still because of the timing The 38yearoldrsquos last film as producer was another indie mdash the 2015 release Masaan Crematorium which received a rare standing ovation at CannesVikramaditya MotwaneLetrsquos add another irony His last commercial nonfestival film Lootera starring marquee names Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha was a visual treat but declared one of 2013rsquos biggest flopsldquoA lsquofestivalrsquo tag sometimes alienates your audience Itrsquos hard for smaller indie movies They not only have to be good but very good Thatrsquos the only way word of mouth will work and draw people into the hallsrdquo he explainsA still from 2015rsquos Masaan produced by Vikramaditya Motwanersquos Phantom Films PicSharad VegdaItrsquos a little while before indie movies do well at the box office if they ever do Itrsquos a game of ldquoshouldrdquo vs ldquowouldrdquo he thinks ldquoOf course multiplexes should play more of the smaller films and for longer but will they Most probably notrdquo he saysBut festivals like Mumbai Academy of Moving Image MAMI have been ambassadors for small budget cinema Motwane has directed this yearrsquos MAMI campaign film which sees film personalities from the industry narrate their connection with the city of dreams At Phantomrsquos Oshiwara office we are discussing why we need film fests to showcase a niche film like MasaanA poster of Shaandaar Masaan directed by Neeraj Ghyawan who assisted Kashyap on Gangs of Wasseypur although critically acclaimed and a poignant love story played out against the ghats of Benaras was released in theatres immediately after the success at Cannes it barely managed to recover costsMotwane chooses to laugh in selfdeprecation ldquoWe released it in France and Belgium too but they were having a lsquogoodrsquo summer and so no one went to the movies Everyone was at the beachrdquoBehind the humour is a lesson learnt and filed away A sharper budget a better name couldrsquove helped ldquoHow do you sustain a marketing campaign for less How do we distribute better How can we go bigger internationallyrdquo These are the questions that Motwane and his partners Vikas Bahl Anurag Kashyap and Madhu Mantena of Phantom are asking Even the cultclassic Bombay Velvet made on a budget of R84 crore proved teacherldquoResearch said that people didnt come for the movie because they didnrsquot like Ranbirrsquos hair The trailer was all wrong toordquo says Motwane bluntly ldquoAnd once again itrsquos about spending less always spending lessrdquoPhantomrsquos next release Shaandaar is a masala film with popular names mdash Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt mdash set against the big fat Indian wedding Its overthetop song picturisation and largerthanlife romance is a fry cry from Masaanrsquos middleclass setting Itrsquos a film that the trio hopes will rake in the money to help them continue to ldquomake movies we love to makerdquo He is aware that what they need is a robust business model ldquoOf course you want to make profits you want to grow with every film We have realised we donrsquot want to restrict ourselves to one kind of movie We want to make movies for everyonerdquoAnd so Phantomrsquos indie spirit will continue to glow in Abhishek Chaubeyrsquos next story about the drugs business in Punjab Anurag Kashyaprsquos directorial next is says Motwane a small film as is his own AK vs SK starring Shahid KapoorldquoWith these indie movies you donrsquot think letsmakemoney Neeraj Ghaywanrsquos career has taken off post it and Phantom has grown Sometimes the investment return is not about money but brand equityrdquo he explainsMotwane is optimistic about the independent film scene In the last year Marathi film Killa Bengali film Labour of Love and Tamil movie Kaaka Muttai have all seen critical success ldquoItrsquos been a good year wonrsquot you say It will only grow from hererdquo he says ldquoYou canrsquot compare them to the big movies like Bajrangi Bhaijaan But once in a decade an indie film comes and breaks through that ceilingrdquo Letrsquos hope thatrsquos coming soon