Bangalore, March4, 2025:The third day of the 16th Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFES) was vibrant with workshops on the making of blockbuster film‘Amaran’, Engage with Zee5 and a press conference with directors from various places around the world.
Highlights of the Day-3:
- Makingof Amaran
- One of the highlights of Day 3 was the session on the making of 2024 blockbuster film ‘Amaran’. Moderated by Latha Srinivasan, journalist and film critic, featuring speakers Rajkumar Periasamy, Director, Ch Sai, Cinematographer, Sugamya Sankar, Actress and R. Kalaivanan, Editor.
- They highlighted the key characteristics of a biopic and research involved alongside the technicalities and duration of filming, budgeting and the casting process that was undertaken prior to the filming of the movie.
- The directorial decision to portray the movie through the eyes of Indu (Major Mukund’s wife) was stressed upon in order to add to the emotional depth and impact on the audience.
- Periasamy also shed light on the challenges while filming, such as permissions from military and environmental factors playing a major role in the filming process.
- They also mentioned how the entire crew and cast take the vision of the movie forward and bring it to life.
PRESS CONFERENCE
- The first panel of the day comprised of a series of directors whose films are being screened at 16th Moderated by Mr. N Vidyashankar the panel included Dr Jayanta Madhab Dutta, Mr. Vinod Kapri, Mr. Dastan ZhaparRyskeldi and Mr. Edgar Baghdasaryan.
- The directors began their talk by discussing the theme around which their film revolves and a synopsis of the storyline.
- N Vidyashankar mentioned about how all these films represent a common segment highlighting the stories of marginalized people from an individual’s perspective.
- Talking about cinematic consciousness Dr Jayanta and Mr. Vinod Kapri toldhow these films reflect upon subjects that exhibits socio-cultural identity.
- Edgar Baghdasaryan reflected upon how he will continue making films from Armenia and his portrayal of war zones and stories of natives being affected by same.
- The second panel of the day comprised of a series of directors Mr. Samik Roy Choudhury, Mr. Sudhir Singh, Mr. Nanda Kishore Emani and,Dr. Bobby Sarma who spoke about their respective films and the challenges undergone during the filming process.
- They spoke on an array of topics from issues of the mind, existentialism, loneliness and individual expression while stressing on the fact that films are often recognized through the actors and not the directors or message.
- A prime topic in focus was the breakage of stereotypes through the use of cinema and how it is a means to redefine some of them. Mr. Nanda Kishore highlighted this by giving example that often in children-centric films, the role of the father is usually villainized.
Engage with Zee5
- Siju Prabhakaran, Chief Cluster Officer- South (Linear and OTT) at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, discussed the significance of regional language content in the world of commercial art and business.
- Prabhakaran highlighted the importance of representation of 2 and 3 tier class of society in films, and the need for creators to wear the consumer’s lens when telling stories.
- The discussion emphasized the growing demand for culturally rooted stories that resonate with local audiences, the need for Kannada cinema to evolve and focus on authentic storytelling, the difference between creator and consumer behavior, and how understanding this gap is crucial for success in the OTT space.
- Speaking on the occasion, Siju Prabhakaran said, “At Zee5, we believe in self-regulation and the power of regional language content to connect with audiences across India”.
