Bejoy Nambiar: Making my next feature still a struggle

Bejoy Nambiar

Filmmaker Bejoy Nambiar says every time he begins work on a new film he has to start from scratch as the struggle to find people who would back his "kind of movies" is endless. Over the years with films like Shaitaan, David and his last release Solo, Bejoy has cemented his position as an edgy storyteller.

"Every feature has been a struggle for me and that continues to be so. After every feature I find myself starting from the scratch like it is my first film. At the end of the day, you need to be relevant enough, viable enough for people to have that faith in you.

"When you are constantly trying to push the envelope - in terms of content you are trying to make - and when it hasn't had that kind of wide acceptance, you will keep struggling to make your next. I am no different," the director told PTI in an interview.

The filmmaker is currently trying to get his next Hindi feature together but says he is looking forward to dipping his feet in the digital space.

"I am swimming with the tide and trying to figure out the digital space here. On one hand, I am trying to mount my next feature and on the other, I have interesting offers to do something on the digital front. Though my heart is still set for a feature, it will all depend on the story," he said.
Bejoy's short, "Dobaara" recently released online as part of the ZEE5 film festival. The "Wazir" director said he had the idea for the film since a very long time and wanted to turn it into a Malayalam feature film.

Things did not come to fruition but the story stayed with him, until 2015 when he got the chance to make it for ZEE5. The short comes at a time when there is a growing discussion among the audience and film industry if streaming services will take over theatrical release, but Bejoy believes both the mediums can co-exist.

"It is an interesting time. The way we consume entertainment is evolving. But I don't see digital completely taking over feature film industry as such. There will be a dent in the number of films being made for the screen and the amount of content made for digital," he said.

"That gap will increase but feature film won't go away completely. The kind of films made for the screen will change. The small-mid range films will definitely gravitate towards the digital while the big-ticket tentpole films will draw the audiences to theatres," the director added.

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