Cinema makes me happy: Sujoy Ghosh

Insider's view:
Sujoy Ghosh
Filmmaker

Growing up, I didn't watch too many films. To be honest, I did not understand cinema much those days. As long as a film (be it Hindi or Bengali) was entertaining and the hall air-conditioned, I was game.

It was during my university years that I became a movie buff. What I liked and still love about cinema is that it makes me happy. That is still my only demand as an audience. As a maker, I love the fact that I am allowed to create a world, to tell a story which has been told before and to convince you, maybe even manipulate, but essentially make you listen to me. It's great fun.

Over the years, the audience has changed and so have the techniques of filmmaking. Sound, cinematography, editing, visual effects etc have progressed incredibly. They have become crucial to the presentation of a film and if used properly, they really help you to tell a story. Content is also diversifying -- this was earlier unique to regional cinemas, but is now getting stronger in Hindi cinema as well.

All this is possible because the audience is changing. We have a much more global audience now who allow us to be more brave. I don't think I would want to bring back anything--the past is good as a reference, the future is what we should work towards. I would like to continue the creative search for the perfect film.

Today our cinema completes 100 years -- it's a great number to achieve. The idea, however, is to go beyond a 100 and in our case hopefully the fantastic cinema that we have now will only get better and better in the years to come.

-- As told to Jigar Shahu00a0