Sabar Bonda director Rohan Kanawade: Now is a good time for independent films in India

Earlier this year, Sabar Bonda won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema: Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival. In doing so, it not only made history by becoming the first Indian feature to win the honour, but also became the latest entrant in the list of Indian independent films that have been making waves on global platforms. As the film gears up for a theatrical release today, we speak to director Rohan Parshuram Kanawade about the push the film got after the Sundance honours, indie films and more. Excerpts from a chat:

‘The film’s idea originated from me trying to find a temporary escape’
For Rohan, 2016 was a big turning point in life. He lost his father and had to travel to his ancestral village in Maharashtra for the last rites. “My mother wanted the final rites to happen at our village where all our relatives were. I hadn’t been there in 10 years because everyone there would keep asking when I was going to get married,” shares Rohan, who is queer and had only told his parents about his sexual orientation. He adds, “In fact the marriage question was something that even my straight friends were bothered with regularly. And the moment we reached there for my father's rites, it started again. There were so many customs associated with the funeral that I was not aware of. Amid all this, I was trying to find a temporary escape. I was wondering if there was a friend around who knew about me. That’s when the idea of this story started taking shape.” But it took another four years for Rohan to finally start scripting Sabar Bonda.

‘During lockdown this story brought me out of a low phase’
Post 2016, the story of Sabar Bonda took a back seat. Rohan was writing something else, which he was positive about, but others weren’t. “I wrote another story that I gave a few people to read. But I got horrible feedback on it. Everyone said it needed to be politically correct and that the protagonist should be an ideal person etc. I didn’t want to do any of that, but the feedback made me question myself,” says Rohan. The questioning went to a point where Rohan thought he should stop writing altogether. “I almost went into depression. I would just lie in bed thinking how bad a writer and filmmaker I was. During this phase, the story of Sabar Bonda came back to me, and it made me feel positive. So, I started writing it and five years later, here we are,” he smiles.

‘The Sundance win put things in motion’
In case of many indie films, acclaim on a global platform opens doors. The same happened with Sabar Bonda. “The Sundance selection got us noticed and the win further boosted our journey and put things in motion. Many agencies and distributors who had seen the film before had rejected it. Post the win, they started calling back. But we were clear that we didn’t want to go with them now since they just wanted to piggyback on the fame,” he says. Eventually, Rana Daggubati showed interest in distributing the film, and names like Nagraj Manjule, Nikkhil Advani, Vikramaditya Motwane and Sai Tamhankar got on board as executive producers. All this contributed to the film getting a theatrical release. Rohan adds, "Rana Daggubati's team had seen Sabar Bonda before Sundance. Since they also distributed Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light, I wanted them to be associated with this film, and I am glad that happened."

‘Independent films seek festival premieres for better prospects’
It’s not easy for a small budget independent film to get a theatrical release in India. Rohan says that there’s a perception around such films that prevents this. He shares, “There’s a perception among the audience as well as distributors that festival films are of a specific kind and that people may either not understand them or not get entertained. Yes, some films are like that but not all. Parasite had premiered at a film fest and people lapped it up. Fandry and Killa too were what we call “festival films”. Quentin Tarantino premieres his films at film fests. So, I think we need to get out of this mentality that indie films are beyond understanding. So many good independent filmmakers are struggling to get distributors due to this. They seek festival premieres for visibility and better prospects.” That said, the filmmaker feels things are changing. “September alone has multiple indie films releasing in theatres. That’s a positive change. I think right now is a good time for independent films in India and it will only get better. “It’s not that good films weren’t made in India but the world is only waking up to them now. I am glad Payal (Kapadia) said in her press conference at Cannes last year that the fest shouldn’t wait another 30 years to bring an Indian film in the main competition section. The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this year had so many Indian films. That fests are giving a bigger platform to Indian films is very good,” he says.

On Sabar Bonda and its experience...
While the film is releasing in cinemas across the country, Rohan says he is aware of what the audience generally expects from a theatrical release. “People say that a theatrical film should be entertaining and grand; the other films we can watch on OTT platforms. I don’t understand why, because an indie or small film can also give you a memorable experience. Sabar Bonda doesn’t have background music. It gives you a calm and peaceful experience, which too matters. For me that’s entertainment too. It’s not just action or superhero films that can be called entertaining,” says Rohan.

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