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Magazine
FACE TO FACE
Sensitive touch
ZIYA US SALAM
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Producer Peter Fudakowski talks about the making of the Oscar-winning film “Tsotsi”.
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Realistic: Peter Fudakowski.
Even in this land of film hero worshippers, Peter Fudakowski won’t be mobbed on the roads. Chances are, beyond the elite multiplexes, he might actually go unrecognised. He is, after all, the “behind-the-scenes” man, who sees a scrip
t and loosens the purse strings if he likes the subject. His film “Tsotsi”, screened to a tumultuous reception at the recent Goa film festival, won an Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film. Fudakowski happily acknowledges that the award helped. “Without the Oscar it would have been difficult to get the attention of cinemagoers here. In China, the Oscar helped too because not more than 20 foreign films manage a release there. But when we decided to make this film the Oscar was not on our mind.”
Budget issues
He talks of how, like most producers, he went overboard with the budget. “When we looked at the story, we thought we can do it for $2 million. Then we thought we would do it for three million. Then I had to put in more money. Ultimately, it proved to be the right decision because the film not only won the award but we also made profit too. It was a high risk commercial venture but you do get rewarded for taking risks. There are no rewards if you play safe.”
Incidentally, “Tsotsi”, relating the story of a South African teenager who grows up to be a gangster until a chance encounter with a three-month-old baby changes him, has come in for praise for its depiction of the gangster world. A common theme has been a handled with a touch of sensitivity.
“The theme is universal. It is a simple but moving story. We get to see so many gangster films in Hollywood and also in South Africa. We do have gangsters in real life too. Here we have tried to depict the emotional side of a gangster. It is a novel approach because the focus is not so much on the action and blood. It is a genuinely human character.” And this “genuinely human character” is Presley Chweneyagae, relatively less known at the Indian box office.
Mainstream vs. art-house
“It is the same everywhere. The masses go for mainstream movies. Mine is a mainstream art-house film; an international market film. I don’t know whether making an out and out commercial film with special effects and the like is more difficult or an art-house saga. But when you narrate a film like ‘Tsotsi’ you have to have a focussed vision to deliver this powerful story.”
Today, after all the rave reviews, Fudakowski is realistic about the film’s box office prospects in India. “It will not be a huge release. You don’t release a film like ‘Tsotsi’ the same way as, say, ‘Spider-Man’. It will not be dubbed and comes with subtitles. It is sub-titled everywhere. Some people have prejudice against sub-titles. They say watching a subtitled film is like reading a ticker. I expect them to break the prejudice as the film comes with minimal dialogues. You can simply ignore the subtitles and still watch the film. It is a human interest story that strikes a chord.”
Come January, when the film is slated for an all-India release, we shall know! Meanwhile, Fudakowski, the smart producer that he is, is on the look out for a subject that would keep him engrossed for a couple of hours. “I don’t know if my next film will be a serious one or a fun film or even an action thriller with special effects.” Never mind. If you take the word of those who have seen “Tsotsi”, it will be special!
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