Courage to be distinct ebbing from our culture, says Bhatt

PUNE: As filmmaker-producer who looks out for individualistic voices to tell stories with novel approach in mainstream Hindi cinema, Mahesh Bhatt highlighted the importance of script at the first Vijay Tendulkar Memorial Lecture at the 10th Pune International Film Festival on Monday. "The courage to be distinct is ebbing from our culture. We are busy trying to belong to the flock," he said.
Dedicated to the late playwright Vijay Tendulkar, Bhatt highlighted Tendulkar's style which puts him in a league of his own. "His works are distinct because they are based on his study of human beings and their complexities, which he has presented with such simplicity. He celebrated the extraordinary, dramatic punches in the lives of ordinary people. Tendulkar retained his own voice and dared to be distinct," Bhatt said.
As full-time producer, he prefers to look for filmmakers and screenplay writers with distinctive voices that can speak through their films. "You can only be you. Only people who have the guts to be themselves can become great artists. Problem is we have stopped looking at the world from other people's eyes. This very attitude is killing empathy. I'm very happy that Marathi cinema, today, is flourishing. While we look into global cinema, our own indigenousness and cultural rootedness need to be brought back into our country," he said.
Considering screenplays as artistic, he said, "Anything that is not built on genuine emotions does not qualify to be a work of art. A narrative crisis going on in our cinema today. This is because filmmakers are not engaging in fresh matter or giving it novel perspective. The landscape is so saturated that now it's challenging to make out distinct voice heard. Also, the danger lies is in monkeying or imitating a model created by great filmmakers who chose to have their own voice.
He said the craft of filmmaking can be learnt, but what's important for filmmakers is to bring their own understanding and worldview to their work. "Scanning through your own emotional debris is important to come out with your own melody. Great writers are the people who have been grappling with emotional burns.
As per his observations, Indian mainstream cinema is becoming uni-dimensional. "We see certain homogeneity in the way films are being made and publicised, especially their promos. We are only imitating our icons. That's why our artistic culture is lacking in freshness," he said. Voicing ground reality in Bollywood, Bhatt says most filmmakers and producers are primarily businessmen today. "If they feel a project can bring them good business, they will go ahead and make the film."
However, despite being associated with 60 films in his long career, he still have problems green-signalling a project. Satisfying the audiences is important. "Competition in the industry is very tough. Releasing big budget films, too, is a big challenge even for filmmakers like me. Plus, I want to make films that appeal to people from all strata of society, so I water down the story and implement it accordingly," Bhatt said.