Bollywood is shaping our identities: Bedabrata Pain

He may be far removed from the world of filmmaking, but newbie producer-director Bedabrata Pain insists he didn't have much catching up to do with his Bollywood counterparts in India, when he decided to make his debut film.
Pain, who has been away from India, for the past 26 years, reveals he is a big fan of Indian cinema. "It's not as I don't watch several Bollywood entertainers, but maybe that's not the kind of films I want to make".
The man definitely wears many hats -- a former NASA scientist has written, directed and produced, Chittagong, a film based on the uprising in the 1930s against the British Raj where a bunch of children handed out the first defeat to the invaders. But do Indie films have an audience in India? "There has been a rising wave of indie films in India, but I wouldn't really put my film in the same bracket. It's not parallel cinema, not an out-and-out commercial film either, it's good cinema," says Pain, emphatically.
The film has also drawn several comparisons with Ashutosh Gowariker's Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey. "There is very little similarity between both the films. Only the background events are the same," says Pain, who was also in the news for approaching Abhishek Bachchan. Prod him about the details and he says, "Well, that's not true. I went to Jayaji's (Bachchan) house to narrate my story to her. She is one of my favourite childhood actresses and she asked Abhishek to come down for a narration too. Both loved it, but it didn't work out".
So, is filmmaking a long-term passion for Pain who switched careers to jump into the hardened world of Bollywood, more interested in fantasy than reality? Right now, he's shunting between Mumbai, Kolkata and US. "This is a project I felt very strongly about and I am sure the plot will resonate with the urban Indian audience. It was a hard decision, because I had the option of retiring as a chief scientist. But Indian cinema is changing, Bollywood is in a way shaping our identities and TIFF got so many Indian entries that were talked about," he shares. So, is he in for a long haul? "I want to take a break after the film's release and reassess my position in Indian cinema. I am more interested in the art of story-telling, and that's why I say I am an artist, not a filmmaker".
Buzz has it that Pain bankrupted himself for Chittagong when the post-recession realities caught up with him. "Practically speaking, I did not zero my account. But yes, I did put in all the money that I earned into this project", he laughs.