`Why should we hanker after Cannes?'
THE TIME BEGINS NOW: Nandita Das (left) and Sharmila Tagore inauguarating the CII pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival.
SHARMILA TAGORE made her maiden presence at the Cannes Film Festival this past week. She took out some time to answer a few questions from NEETA LAL on her arrival back home.
Since this was your first visit to the Cannes Film Festival, what impressions did you gather of the place?
Well, the first impression I got of Cannes is of loads of glitz and glamour. It really is a gargantuan event and very in-your-face. There's such a mix of people - wannabes, talented artists, formidable directors. But despite it's size, the event is very well organised and executed superbly.
Because I was there for only three days, I could catch up with only two films - "Lemming" and "Matchpoint" starring Woody Allen - in between the flurry of sundry dinners, receptions, meetings and film screenings, etc.
Why do you think India failed yet again to make a mark at this forum despite us churning out nearly 800 films a year?
Well, I really feel we ought not to rush things as far as Indian cinema's global mark is concerned. Our prime focus should be to make good films and not ones that are manufactured to get noticed at Cannes. I'm not running down the festival but what I feel is that if our filmmakers focus on the task of crafting watchable films - with a measure of aesthetic content - things should flow from there. We have a huge domestic market that is crying out for good films, then what is the need to hanker after Cannes?
But surely there are other spin-offs if get noticed at a global forum like Cannes - the market for your films improves, your saleability is higher, plus your esteem improves by a few notches.
I wish I could put a finger to what exactly our films lack but I feel that though our films have improved tremendously as far as technique is concerned, the gut and spontaneity is missing. There's really no spectacular, gutsy cinema happening despite a huge amount of artistic talent. Perhaps we fail to translate our vision onscreen, perhaps it's the execution that's weak...May be our selection needs to be better. We need to introspect a bit.
You didn't visit Cannes in your capacity as the Censor Board chief. So was this a private visit?
You could say that I was travelling as a Satyajit Ray groupie!
Then why did the government sponsor your airfare? Also, there was fracas over who will foot your travel bill with the I&B ministry asking you to travel at your own expense!
Actually there was a little logistical problem. You know how the government works, things have to be routed through various departments and clearances are sought at the eleventh hour, so there was a delaying exercise but the reports in some papers made it seem as if I was denied an air ticket which isn't true at all. The government never did say no and I was given a complimentary ticket to travel to Cannes by the ministry.
Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali opened the Classics Section of the festival a few days ago. How did it feel considering you've been a Ray heroine yourself?
Oh! It felt wonderful and the film got a great response too. People were queuing up to buy the film's tickets, clapping at various moments while viewing the film, appreciating its aesthetics etc. And this is where Ray's genius lies. His films are culture-specific but at the same time they transcend barriers of language and context by having a universal appeal. They are timeless classics.
So what lessons can India learn from this year's Cannes festival?
That it really is a tough marketplace out there. And that if we are to succeed at such forums then we really need to get our act together. We need to work synergistically, we need to be more focused. Look at China - it did so well this year only because it's onslaught was so focused! So we have to get to understand the dynamics of the Cannes market really well if we want to sell there. But at the same time, I'll say that though this international pressure is there, our films shouldn't lose their Indianness. Our work has to reflect India first. We have to bring an Indian perspective to cinema and not emulate blindly. But at the same time, our films should have a universal appeal too. This could be our mantra for success.
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