MOVIES. Change the way you make films: Goutam Ghose

At the Indywood Film Carnival being held at the Ramoji Film City near here, Ghose recalls how film making changed over a period of time.

“You have cameras all over. People take huge number of photographs using their mobile phones. They take selfies all over. In this backdrop, you can’t make movies in the same manner you did earlier,” he points.

In a career spanning over 35 years, Goutam Ghose made about 15 movies. But he won as many national awards that put him in the select club of great film makers that India ever produced.

“You need to constantly explore newer ways of presenting things. Otherwise people don’t watch your movies,” he says.

Ghose took the film world by storm by making Telugu movie Maa Bhoomi (Our Land) in 1980. Woven around the land issue, the film received widespread acclaim not only in Telugu-speaking areas but also in other parts of the country and abroad. Set in the backdrop of Nizam’s oppresive rule in the pre-Independence era, the film struck an emotional chord with people in Telangana.

Ghose poins out it is a challenge for film makers to relate the stories in a more engaging way after the advent of smart phones.

“The realistic portrayal of art faced a challenge as cameras arrived to do the job. They, then, took to forms like Impressionism to be relevant and make it appealing to the connoisseurs. The film makers need to invent methods to present things differently,” he argues.

Ghose says he is in the process of learning new techniques of story telling.

As they change the way they present things, film makers must also take enough care about content.

“Dalits and Adivasis live in very bad conditions. their lives are not shown. We need to take care of them. It is very important for us lend voice to their issues,” he says.

Though development is important, it is equally crucial to ensure it is constructive. “If development results in displacements, it would lead to conflicts. You need to balance the act in order to avoid conflicts and ensure peace,” he observes.

Ghose is currently workingon an Indo-Italian project. “It is about a courageous boy. Through his journey, we will see the new India, both the developed and the under-developed,” he sums up the conversation.

COMMENT NOW