A Potpourri of Vestiges Feature
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I am
really a nobody, and, yet, as somebody who loves cinema and follows it very
closely, I feel quite disturbed by the latest developments at FTII. Now, we all are aware that the going has been tough at the premier film and television institute for quite
some time now, long before the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman. Let's try and figure out the all important cause! The long term success of every institution rests on the shoulders of its Alumni. There is no doubt in my mind that the FTII alumni ought to have contributed more whole-heartedly to
their Alma Mater during the last decade or two. As a matter of fact,
anyone associated with cinema ought to have done more in order to nurture young
talent in the country. Alas, the big
celebrities from Bollywood simply don't care! They would raise their voices
against someone like Gajendra Chauhan but not many would be willing to leave
their lucrative assignments in the tinsel town in favour of a mentoring role at
an institute like FTII. It’s as simple as that! What they say carry little
weight unless they actually started contributing seriously to the cause of
cinema in India.
The bottom line is that today FTII needs a luminary figure
at the helm. But will someone like Amitabh Bachchan volunteer to take up the
mantle? What can possibly be more important for a person of Mr. Bachchan’s
stature at the age of 72 than
nurturing the young Indian talent? Despite being in a rather dilapidated state,
FTII continues to produce highly talented directors, technicians and actors.
With little more help from the film fraternity, this number can drastically go
up.
After all, cinema is a fraternity and everyone who is a
part of it needs to contribute to its cause. Call it philanthropy or whatever,
but just like other social causes, cinema also needs a lot of nurturing. The
people who have made a name in a field ought
to be responsible towards that field. Like say a neurosurgeon who has made a
name for himself in the profession would want to nurture young talent so that
he has someone to pass the torch when the right time comes. The same applies to
cinema. FTII is a powerful vessel to facilitate this nurturing process. And,
yet, I don't see it getting the attention it deserves. The government has
little understanding of cinema and so one would expect it to act like an
imbecile. But, I think the film fraternity needs to look beyond cinema's money-making
aspects. The academia and the industry need to be brought closer. And the onus
truly lies on the film fraternity to bridge the gap.
When we go to a place like Iran (recently a filmmaker
friend of mine had gone there), we easily notice the difference.
Everyone associated with the filmmaking process is willing to serve the cause
of cinema. Irrespective of whether one is Abbas Kiarostami, Majid Majidi, Asghar
Farhadi, or someone completely unknown, one gets the same support from the film
fraternity. Everyone is always willing to help one another. This ensures that a
healthy competition is always in place which leads to a greater and a lasting global presence.
When Ismail Merchant and James Ivory had started out, they
were completely at a loss as to how they should go about making films. So they
approached the great Satyajit Ray seeking his help and guidance for their debut
film The Householder (1963). And Ray, ever so willing to help the young talent,
obliged by rendering them all the creative and technical support they need: He not
only supervised the film's music production and edited the film (both un-credited)
but also lent his cinematographer Subrata Mitra for the film. I wonder how many
young and upcoming filmmakers in today's time can expect to get such backing
from the leading filmmakers in the film industry?
Not many, I guess! The real problem is not Gajendra Chauhan or the government.
The main problem is the lack of efforts on the part of those who can actually make
a difference.
— Murtaza Ali
Readers, please feel free to share your views/opinions in the comment box below. As always your feedback is highly appreciated!
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Great article. Sounds good!!
ReplyDeleteI heard and read about the struggle going on with in FTII, however, yours is a perspective which I haven't heard till day.
ReplyDeleteI believe, Indian Movie industry - yea, don't like Bollywood - and the veterans of the fraternity should provide at least an ear to the younger generation. I heard Karan Johar speak at an interview that he has a team of professionals who are hired to read through all the scripts sent to Dharma Productions. He also says that each individual in the team goes through at least one script a day, but was disappointed with the kind of quality he has received over the time.
I would like to hear more and more of efforts like these from many others too.