01 July,2019 07:02 AM IST | | Dalreen Ramos
TV actor Nakuul Mehta at BollyCon event in 2017
In an age where your tweets can stir a controversy faster than the printed word, how do offline platforms for discussion become relevant? That being said, with an overload of content and the buzz around it being created, how do you make your mark and where do you begin? This is the question Filmy Labs, an event hosted by desi pop culture convention BollyCon at co-working space Social Works, aims to address this week by talking about where Bollywood stands today and its future.
Explaining why organising a convention is more relevant today, BollyCon founder Kenneth Hopkins mentions a crucial point - self-validation. "When you meet people, you realise how they share the same thought process. Today, people want to see flawed characters and the real human narrative. Movies with all the flash, boom, bang are losing out on audiences. People want to see themselves being represented onscreen and we're catering to that psychographic," he says.
Kenneth Hopkins
With topics ranging from visual effects (VFX), screenwriting, content and desi pop culture, panelists include RJ Rohini Ramanathan, Ajay Singh, one of the first people to venture into writing for web series and who now works for projects on Amazon and Hotstar, Sunil Nair, COO of Alt Balaji and YouTuber Sonup Sahadevan who runs Bollywoodwala.
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The VFX panel with Hopkins as the moderator will talk about the gap between Indian and international cinema. "If we don't want an imported film to be the highest grossing one then we must empower our VFX artists. Similarly, with the screenwriting panel, we're not only addressing OTT as a budding platform but also the nuances of screenwriting, like where do you get your inspiration from, how to get on-ground experience, the grammar of a screenplay and also, if you should write a novel first because people tend to think that it is easier to publish a novel," he shares, adding that most don't even know concepts like Campbell's Hero's Journey, which is crucial to understanding the character arc.
As Hopkins says, "The purpose is to have some discourse in the content ecosystem and bring some coherence along the way."
On: July 5, 3 pm onwards
At: Fun Republic Social, opposite New Link Road, Andheri West.
Log on to: insider.in
COST: Rs 1,000 (Rs 500 cover)
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