With the increased bundling of content and filmmakers diving into long storytelling formats in the form of web series, OTT platforms have portrayed themselves as not only the present but also the future of the cinema industry. Despite this, veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal has revealed that he has no intentions of switching to the new format. In a candid conversation with the Times of India at the recently concluded Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), the senior filmmaker said that at his age, he can’t “make a sustained web series.” Not only this, but Shyam Benegal also stated that he doesn’t have any plans to stop making feature films.
Despite being the creator of the iconic historical drama show of 1988, Bharat Ek Khoj, Shyam Benegal said, “Although OTT is an exciting medium, I do not believe that I can make a sustained web series at my age.” In addition, he said that it is because of his deep roots, he relies on his formats.
TOI quoted Shyam Benegal as saying, “Temperamentally, I am a long format cinema filmmaker.” Talking about MIFF, the veteran filmmaker said that he has been witnessing the festival since it began by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and it was initiated “to recognise the short filmmaking as an art form”. But sadly, it was only used to deliver “information and education”, until this year.
He said, “I have been witness to all the Mumbai International Film Festivals ever since the festival began. It was started by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to recognize short filmmaking as an art form in its own right, which until then was only recognized for its worth as a vehicle of information and education, rather than for its artistic worth.”
Shyam Benegal went on to say that short filmmaking received the push through the added incentives at the MIFF this year. He said, “It was the disbursal of substantial prize money, for winning entries. This has helped not only to revive short filmmaking in India but also to enthuse and attract cineastes to this form of cinema. Earlier, short filmmaking survived mainly on the films produced and distributed by the films division.”
The filmmaker, who awaits the release of his upcoming Bangladeshi Bengali film Mujib: The Making of a Nation, concluded by saying that he doesn’t want to stop being a director. He said, “I have never stopped making feature films and will not stop until nature intervenes.” Coming back to Mujib: The Making of a Nation, the film is a biography movie that portrays the childhood and political inception of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
