VENTURING OFF THE MAINSTREAM
New Directions in Indian Cinema
A Panel Discussion with Hansal Mehta, Rajat Kapoor, Q and Umesh Kulkarni.
Moderated by Aseem Chhabra.
The last few years have been an exciting period for independent filmmaking in India. Unexpected hits like The Lunchbox have demonstrated the existence of a more discerning audience, willing to take a chance with non-mainstream movies. Even as a new generation of filmmakers, armed with Canon 5Ds and Final Cut Pros, are boldly breaking new ground with more experimental and purist low budget films, others are attempting to bridge that elusive gap between auteur-driven cinema and commercial feasibility. Is this the dawn of a brave new world of Indian filmmaking? Or will the compulsions of mainstream cinema overwhelm and suffocate this new wave just as it has in the past?
Our panel includes an intriguing mix of filmmakers, spanning generations, styles and approaches. But they share one thing in common: a deeply personal stamp that immediately marks their films out of the ordinary.