Slam a movie, but hear out director as well: Sudhir Mishra

People have every right to criticise a movie, but they should also take into account the views of the filmmaker, ace director Sudhir Mishra has said.

Responding to a query on politics and religion infringing on creative space in the context of a controversial song, Mishra said film lovers must engage in dialogue to understand differing views.

Listening to both sides should not be limited to films, even people in a family should discuss any issue that crops up to understand each other’s views better, he said.

“It is (a) tough time and strange time,” the 63-year-old three-time National Award-winning filmmaker said while replying to an observation by Bengali director Arindam Sil that politics and religion are infringing on creative space.

Sil cited the controversy over a song in Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukon starrer ‘Pathaan’ which is yet to be released.

''I can't say you can't attack my films. I say let's there be a conversation. We should not stop having a conversation. Holding conversations makes us aware of the other view,” said the maker of ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’ (2003) which was set in the backdrop of the Emergency in 1975.

Mishra was delivering the annual Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture as part of the Kolkata International Film Festival.

''We must agree that if I make something that might disturb you, you can of course react... If one side comprehends the reason why the other side was disturbed, the issue can be better handled. But, to know what is right, I have to know what is wrong,'' he said during the lecture.

Speaking on the topic, ‘Understanding cinema in changing times of OTT’, the subject chosen for this year's Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture, Mishra said that OTTs tend to allow another way of seeing things.

Had Ray been around now, he would have definitely embraced OTT as a medium of storytelling and adapted it in his own style, the director of ‘Dharavi’ (1992) said.

Stating that OTT demands a loyal audience, he said, “He (Ray) was not just a filmmaker popular in Cannes, he also had a large loyal following who loved his craft.'' “It is wonderful that all sorts of actors are getting work. Pankaj Tripathi, K K Menon, Taapsee Pannu, Nawazuddin Siddiqui – all,” Mishra who himself directed a web series on an OTT platform said.

The West Bengal government must support young filmmakers, he said.

“Pather Panchali was possible because (then state chief minister) Bidhan Chandra Roy had stepped in. He had opened that window for Ray but afterwards, Ray did not need anyone.... Young people need guidance and advice from the right sources. That can be the function of the state government,” Mishra said.

A young filmmaker should get handholding by the state government for three movies at the most, the veteran director said.

Mishra also said that taxes earned by governments should be given back to cinema.