NT NETWORK
Ketan Mehta the man behind famous movies like ‘Mirch Masala’ and ‘Hero Hirala’ and the recent one ‘Mangal Pandey’ is now busy exploring the possibilities of branding Goa as a hub for filmmaking activities.
The noted director is presently in Goa to initiate a two-day visionary film workshop on Adaptation of Literature in Cinema at the International Centre, Goa that will be formally inaugurated today by the Speaker and Chairperson of ICG, Mr Pratapsingh Rane at 10 a.m.
During a media interaction on Friday, Mehta said, “I have been coming down to Goa for quite sometime now during IFFI. During my interaction with the members of GCCI and ICG we thought of exploring the possibilities of filmmaking here in Goa.”
Mehta who is the brain behind the Indian Independent Filmmakers Worldwide believes that this is an exciting period for independent filmmakers. “Now is the exciting time for independent filmmakers as we have the best technology of the world. And with Mumbai bursting with possibilities, Goa can be an ideal centre for independent filmmakers.”
The workshop that is beginning from today will also be conducted by actor-producer, Deepa Sahi, actor, Vipin Sharma and filmmaker, Bhuvan Lall. On the first day they will speak on the crisis of script writing and also how actors interpret scripts and stories. Talking about scripts, Mehta added that the creativity of a filmmaker is the only limit as all other technical barriers have been overcome.
On the second day, the facilitators at the workshop will speak on the possibilities for international co-production.
Mehta lamented the fact that commercial interest in cinemas was fast gaining ground. “There are some filmmakers who look mainly at the commercial interest, some others at the creative and most of them are in between. But the challenge is to maintain a balance,” he asserted. He further mentioned that he was optimistic about the current scenario and said that movies like ‘3 Idiots’ were opening up new horizons.
During this workshop, Mehta will also showcasing his next film, ‘Rang Rasiya’ that is based on the 19th century painter, Raja Ravi Varma’s life. This will be held at the ESG on March 20 at 7.30 p.m. “It is based on a Marathi novel written by Ranjit Desai. It is also being made in English under the title ‘Colours of Passion,” Mehta informed.
Mehta’s last film, ‘Mangal Pandey’ that featured none other than Aamir Khan didn’t create any magic at the box office. So the director has made a conscious decision to stay away from star power. “For this movie I selected relatively new cast like Randeep Hooda and Nandana Sen because of the fact that it is on a bold subject and it needs to be done in a compact manner.”
Speaking further about this issue Deepa Sahi who is also the producer of this film added that when a star is involved in a film the character is shadowed. She also mentioned that this film is close to Ketan Mehta as it speaks about freedom of expression.
Mehta who always had a close association with the Censor Board as most of his films have run into controversy believes that there should be no censorship in filmdom.
“I believe that censorship is against the freedom of expression. When I make a film I put my life into it and it is my way of expression. So, I believe in self-censorship,” concludes Mehta.
