Indraneil has done a great job: Anjan Das

Director Anjan Das, whose ���������Achin Pakhi��������� is going for the Cairo International Film Festival, says Indian movies have no buyers abroad.
Your ���������Achin Pakhi��������� has been selected for the Cairo International Film Festival?
Yes. My film has been selected in the Festival of Festivals section at Cairo. ���������AP��������� is an ethnic movie with five songs.I hadn���������t expected it to make it to Cairo since the Western audience doesn���������t quite appreciate such movies. Though this will be my first Egypt visit, the nomination doesn���������t mean much to me. I don���������t have any illusion about festivals. A lot of Indian directors make huge claims of making a lot of noise at international festivals. But apart from Buddhadeb Dasgupta, no one else has been selling their films at festivals abroad.
Where lies the problem?
We don���������t make films on international subjects. The festival audience of 2,000 to 3,000 movie-goers might appreciate our work. But our films don���������t have mass Western viewership. Money is the most important reason for us not being able to choose international subjects. Mainstream cinema does get budgets of `2 crore to `3 crore. But when we are making our kind of movies, we have to work on shoestring budgets.
There���������s been a clear sweep of Bengal at this year���������s National Awards. Does that say anything about the standard of contemporary Bengali cinema?
I���������m happy that many Bengalis have bagged the Award this year. But I can���������t say whether anyone has been deprived or not. I don���������t give too much importance to Awards. Two of my films, ���������Saanjhbatir Roopkathara��������� and ���������Iti Srikanto���������, were blatantly deprived at the Awards. My ���������Faltu���������, which wasn���������t as good as these, bagged the Award.
Recently, Adil Hussain mentioned that your producer didn���������t want to cast him in ���������Bedeni���������. Do you regret it now that he is doing ���������Agent Vinod��������� and walking the red carpet in Rome?
While I���������m happy for Adil, I have no regrets. Adil would have looked older for the role. I think, Indraneil Sengupta has done a great job in this role.
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