AlternateTake Adda

Mike McCahill had always wanted to be a journalist of some nature. He recalls being deeply influenced by the early independent cinema of Spike Lee, Tarantino and Linklater in the 90s, talks about the dangers of approaching the star rating as shortcut than shorthand which he prefers, and ruminates on certain shady practices of film festivals. He also delineates his enduring long term association with MAMI and Indian cinema. He advises aspiring writers on film to religiously watch stuff outside their comfort genre and read all kinds of criticism. He swears by Lijo Jose Pelissery, and to know his favorite football teams and beloved Indian films , hear the interview!

For Abhiroop Basu, the primary challenge in Laali was to make something awkward believable and compelling. He insists on 'thehrav' being the cornerstone in making the short, talks about being drawn to time chronicles, the soullessness of contemporary Bengali cinema, an industry being stuck in the same references, the climate of hero worshipping in the nation and the lack of space for expression. He also shares his concerns on studio tie ups with OTTs roping in massive stars to feature in shorts and the ensuing paucity of freshness, and reminds of the necessity of learning to laugh at ourselves. He gives plentiful scoops on some exciting new projects.

Megha Ramaswamy is a screenwriter, director and producer. She has written Bejoy Nambiar's Shaitan, directed two short films , the documentary on acid attack survivors Newborns and Bunny, an exploration of the many fears and fantasies of childhood. Her debut feature directorial is What Are the Odds, a glimpse of a day in the life of two teenagers in Mumbai who discover friendships in the strangest of places. It's marked by cheerfully insouciant storytelling, and revels in the dreamlike wonder of life.

Rohit Mittal, director of Autohead, spoke to us about his film being a product of the noise and chaos of Mumbai, investigating the truthfulness of documentary. He likes his camera to stay as intimate as possible to the actors, and he believes that the only responsibility artists have is to stay true to their personal voices. He also gives us a peek into the slew of projects he has been juggling, his next feature Pop City slated for an OTT release around year end.

National Award winning film critic Saibal chatterjee spoke about that entry point into writing on film, how the film federations memberships opened up his world, his learnings from decades of staying the course in his profession, jury experiences, and shared his thoughts on the Bengali contemporary cinema, and the Bengali OTT space, why he's most concerned for the longevity of filmmakers in Bengal who are at least making some dent and shifting away from the usual modes and styles of storytelling, and offered us a peek into what upcoming shows he's excited for .

" In those fleeting moments (in a theatre, when everyone reacts with similar precision to a line of dialogue), you feel human, not alone, and you feel wondrously connected".

Tanul Thakur combines fine eloquence with a rip roaring sense of humor. Among other things , he talks about single screens as great leveller of all tastes , the constant conversation of the audiences with the screen, the multiplexes theatre chains as 'architects of intimidation', the gentle, humane and empathetic way in which Roger Ebert approached films ( if you haven't , check out his piece on Ebert). He also stresses on the vital need to have more pursuits besides covering Hindi films, as a means to stay sane. He also talks about the almost now-cartel like PR structures that's detracting entertainment journalism from having any nuanced engagement .

We got just some 20 minutes but her infectious enthusiasm was palpable throughout, and her sparkling congeniality laced our conversation. Film Companion founder and leading film critic Anupama Chopra talked to us about Indian film journalism getting precariously indivisible from PR works of a film, shared her thoughts on the streaming space , some guilty pleasure films, the experiences of being the MAMI director, why we have to move away from a star driven conversation on cinema , and more. Her advice to aspiring critics ? Just open a blog and start writing !

Arati kadav wanted the tech in Cargo to be endearing instead of being intimidating. She talked to us about her nostalgia for analog and retro sci fi, the particular joys of its inherent clumsiness . She spoke about staying determinedly passionate about sci fi despite projects being shelved which she only took valiantly in her stride and as a challenge to push herself into that space even more , and also emphasised the importance of the kind of collaborators in filmmaking who also look at their jobs as a growth opportunity and being open to as many creative suggestions as possible. Besides giving peeks into fascinating back stories of the side players, of course , she also talked about how that amazingly infectious Megha Ramaswamy's song Forget Me Not came into being.

Vint Chandrashekharan spoke to us about the journey from the idea of an anthology short to feature form Bodhi, the intensive research that went into it, carefully and sensitively straddling the issues the film treads, casting and production intricacies and the staid, stagnant government and public response to the farmer suicides, and more. Most importantly he stresses the need to keep the conversation around independent cinema alive.

In this chat, Cat Sticks director Ronny Sen spoke how he's interested in the inherent capability of the image to breathe, on being labelled a crusader of addicts and being perceived as a Foucault-quoting psychiatry basher, working with the extraordinarily talented cinematographer Shreya . He also stated the war for indie films can be won only if there's more interests, and that before thinking of ameliorating the lives of addicts, we have to first look at addiction as a disease that's incurable but that can be arrested, which is obsessive , and has nothing to do with morality and it's more of a biological conditioning. To be assertive, but not violent, and give them dignity and respect is what's essential.