These days it is all about making it to the international film festivals and once you have the
validation from them, it is all about skills in marketing your film. Celebrated Indian
filmmaker Chandrakant Singh flirts with both the commercial and the festival cinema. His
latest short film, Being Alive, featuring Rajpal Yadav, Sezal Sharma, and Niharika Raizada,
was showcased at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024 and is now available for streaming on Jio
Cinema.
 
Interestingly, Singh’s trilogy of short films—Scapegoat, Parchaiyaan and now Being
Alive—have all garnered critical acclaim, Parchaiyaan at Puente Cinematográfico
International Film Festival, further.  Singh remains relevant in the mainstream cinema as
well. His Kya Masti Kya Dhoom, premiered last month on the Waves OTT platform.
For a director who made his debut in 2008/ Rama Rama Kya Hai Dramaaa, Singh has since
then made a variety of films, Bin Bulaye Baraati/ 2011, Be Careful/ 2011, and Main Zaroor
Aaunga/ 2019.

Actors don’t like playing roles where the characters need to don a moustache or a beard and yet they have to do it time and again. Amitabh Bachchan once explained how the gum bites into the skin and causes discomfort. Rishi Kapoor wanted to leave Kapoor & Sons because he could not bear the process of prosthetics and Kamal Haasan has gone on record to admit that only a very patient actor can endure the prosthetic trauma. But it appears that technology is changing and there are better adaptations of prosthetics.

Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott, who portrays Blake in Wolf Man has shared that the idea of wearing prosthetics was weighing him down but the prosthetics team ensured that there was no discomfort all the way. Wolf Man is about Blake and his family who are attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, they barricade themselves inside a farmhouse as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable that soon jeopardizes his wife and daughter.

From an ancient vampire haunting shadowy corridors to a menacing otherworldly clown lurking in the sewers, Bill Skarsgård has become a defining figure in modern horror. With striking features and a remarkable talent for transforming into his roles, the Swedish actor brings chilling characters to life. His performances, ranging from the twisted clown Pennywise in It to the unsettling Keith in Barbarian, showcase his depth and unpredictability. Now, with his upcoming portrayal of Count Orlok in the Nosferatu directed by Robert Eggers, Skarsgård continues to build on his legacy, solidifying his place as one of the genre’s most exciting and versatile stars.

My favourite of the actor is Boy Kills World, Skarsgård where he played a deaf-mute protagonist who trained to become an assassin after his family’s murder.

Filmmakers need to think of novel ways to release their film posters. These days most of them prefer to travel to Cannes festival and do the honours but director Ramkamal Mukherjee has released his upcoming film Binodiini – Ekti Natir Upakhyan at the Binodini Theatre (Formerly known as Star Theatre). The poster introduces actor Chandan Roy Sanyal in a transformative portrayal of the revered Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa Deb.

The film narrates the inspiring yet heart-wrenching journey of a young girl from the red-light district of North Kolkata who dared to dream of becoming a theatre sensation. However, her rise was riddled with societal prejudice and challenges, as the shadow of her past continually threatened to overshadow her achievements. Binodiini sheds light on the untold stories of women who dared to dream.

It is sad that we know the journeys of only the top banners because there are so many unsung success stories in filmdom. Bohra Bros began a career in movies many decades ago with Lachak featuring Geeta Bali followed by super hits with Dara Singh namely Hercules and Thief of Bagdad.  Some more moderate budget-moderate hits followed like Dr. Shaitan, Golden Eyes, Puraskar, Bijlee, Behroopia and Al Hilal. In the 80s the focus shifted to mainstream movies of mostly Amitabh Bachchan, Kaalia, Mard,Ganga Ki Kasam and slowly went on to make cult films like Gangs of Wasseypur, Michael, Not A Love Story and Mastram. The banner also presented films like Tanu Weds Manu, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster and Chittagong.  Over the years the banner has dabbled in Gujarati films and now struck an alliance with an International Studio and the slate of 2025-26 will be announced in the first quarter of 2025.

In 1975, half a million dairy farmers in Gujarat donated two rupees each to help make a movie on their lives. The film was called Manthan and it was directed by Shyam Benegal. When a young Benegal went to Verghese Kurien with the idea of The Churning Kuien said his co-operative organisation is not in the business of funding Hindi movies. But Shyam Benegal convinced Kurien that his film would convert more farmers outside of Gujarat to join the milk cooperative movement and make his co-operative a bigger force. But Kurien was hesitant and so the duo came up with the idea of crowdfunding the film, requesting a Rs.2 donation from each of the 500,000 milk farmers. The farmers were excited that a Hindi film was being made on their lives and agreed.

Manthan raised Rs.10 lacs in less than a week and Benegal completed the film in 45 days with Naseerudin Shah, Smita Patil, Girish Karnad and Amrish Puri, who lived in the villages of Gujarat like commoners. When Manthan was released, 500,000 farmers and their families hired buses to go and watch the film in theatres and Kurien distributed the film for free to teach more farmers about starting cooperatives. He sent his teams with the movie reels and projectors to villages across India.

India today has 18 million farmers associated with milk cooperatives, supporting over 80 million rural households with jobs and incomes. Manthan was not just a film, but a movement and Benegal not just a filmmaker but a revolutionary.