Filmaking with quality

When his film The Last Mural got completed, Bengali filmmaker Saibal Mitra decided to send it to the 21st edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala. His main target was to screen his film in the India Cinema Today category. It was when he received a message on WhatsApp from one of the festival officials that he came to know that his film was not included in that list. “I could not see my film’s name in the India Cinema Today section. It was on further search, I understood that my film has entered the competition section. In fact, it was really surprising. Still I do not how it happened,” says Saibal, sitting outside the Tagore Theatre in Vazhuthacaud, where his film is being screened. “The Last Mural is my... (He counts)... yea... it is my fourth feature film. Apart from that, I have directed some documentaries too. In this period, the only award that I got was for the best director, that too, 16 years back. ”

“To be frank, I am not bothered about awards and that is why I don’t send my films to any award committee,” says the director, who represents the Bengali film industry which has gifted many memorable films.

So what does he do if he receives an award? “Of course, I will spend that prize money for the production of my next venture. If there occurs any lag in the production, I will definitely use it for day to day matters as I do not have any other income,” he laughs.

Saibal says that Bengali film industry is going through a pathetic phase. “As you all know, it was from Bengal that many good films came out during 50s and 60s as we had many master directors like Sathyajith Ray and Rithwik Ghatak. In fact, the next generation of filmmakers from our place could not follow that legacy. In the meantime, many filmmakers from down South succeeded in that. But I feel many new generation directors are coming up with good works. The main issue is that they are trying to mix up commercial elements, which force them to compromise with the quality of films. The only director who could make many fans by doing both types of films was Charlie Chaplin,” he says, adding, “I cannot do such commercial films. I believe in doing good cinema, which is normally tagged as art cinema or award cinema. In fact, that decision is that factor which makes me wait for a long period to find a producer.”