Giving voice to a message

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">We seemed to have reached the crest of a grand new era of documentaries. The millennium, in fact, is proving to be good for the expansion and wider acceptance of the genre. With an increasing number of youngsters wanting to take up documentary film making as a career option, this belief comes from Rahul Roy, documentary filmmaker since 1987. He brings with him an understanding and appreciation of the art form, dispelling the myth that good documentaries hinge on availability of funds. In town for a seminar on censorship in films organised by Critique, Panjab University, he tells <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Chandigarh Times</span> that money is a problem till people let it be.<br /><br />"There has been a tremendous demand to screen documentaries in the last two or three years. Under all situations," Roy sounds heartened by the prospect. With growing awareness about the information packed in a documentary, his observation isn''t surprising. "Documentaries give voice where there is none. And the impact is manifold. Even the most trivial of subjects can be magnified to tell the viewer how it affects his life," he affirms.<br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal">Roy disagrees with the fact that documentaries combine social message with the art of technique. "I don''t think the two have ever been separate. Keeping the subject clearly in mind, there has to be a certain way a documentary is shot. The only difference between all films is the weightage that each director gives to his theme and his expertise," he tells. Choosing a middle path for himself, Roy has been making documentaries on issues centred on gender, communalism, labour and now male sexuality. With almost little or no money. "That''s the beauty of documentary films. They don''t cost all that much and one can always improvise to do a good job despite such pitfalls," he avers.<br /><br />Having decided very early that making documentaries was what he wanted to do, Roy set out with a lot of enthusiasm from his training ground, the mass communication research centre at Jamia Milia. But it wasn''t easy. "Getting access to good work proved to be a big problem. There just weren''t enough libraries," he recalls. And constantly working towards putting an end to this difficulty, the solution came in the form of Films for Freedom last year. "We are all documentary film-makers who have collated our work to make it accessible to the scores of youngsters who are showing an interest in the art form. Such a step would go a long way in ensuring that the interest turns to much more," Roy states.<br /><br />With numerous talented youngsters in Chandigarh itself, Rahul Roy''s words are that much needed nudge to bring out that ability.</div> </div>