Journalism of Courage
Aniket Dasgupta and Swati Sethu Madhavan’s documentary film ‘The Other Way’,explores the struggles of independent film makers
A candid conversation about the popularity of Bollywood and the glamour associated with the Hindi film industry was enough to set the wheels in motion for Pune students Aniket Dasgupta and Swati Sethu Madhavan. As they discussed the larger than life setting of the film industry,they also talked about the state of independent film makers. The debate,which took place around five months back,prompted these youngsters to make a documentary ‘The Other Way’ that deals with the lives and struggles of independent filmmakers. The film is being shot across the nation and will release by December. It is not anti-Bollywood or anything, clarifies Dasgupta,adding cheekily,We are just highlighting its less fortunate cousin through our film.
Being shot in a digital format,the film details exclusive interviews with independent film makers regarding their works and their struggles to get their film a mainstream release. Currently they have already finished interviewing five documentary film-makers from Pune,Mumbai and Kolkata. Over the next one month they will be shooting the documentary in Bangalore,Chennai and Delhi. We have obtained a wealth of archived footage. Listening to their stories itself is a huge fillip. Some of them have gone against numerous odds to complete their film. At the end seeing the film release on the silver screen is a thing of joy for all of them, he says.
Shot on a shoe string budget,the filmmakers are raising money as they are shooting. The total estimated budget is Rs 80,000 for us to shoot comfortably. Right now,we are compromising on food,travel and other compartments so that the film can be made well, says Dasgupta. This first hand experience,he says,has got them close to the issues faced by independent film makers.
