Konkona bats for Indie films

Actor-turned-director Konkona Sensharma said though she feels at home in the space of independent cinema, it is difficult for her style of filmmaking to succeed without alternative marketing strategy. The 37-year-old filmmaker, who presented her directorial debut A Death in the Gunj at this year’s Dharamshala International Film Festival, said small budget independent films need to work out a viable business model so that they continue to be made in future. “I think I would be comfortable in this zone. I don't see myself making something big in that sense. I’d like it to be small. But I’d like it to be worthwhile for the people who are putting so much effort (giving their time to a film like this) at one time. It is after that when you’re going in for distribution and PR that it begins. How can you compete with films who have so much budget? And it’s done through songs, that’s the format. You have to come out with a song to reach out to people. So we have to find other ways to advertise a film without songs,” Sensharma said.

The director said she did not expect anyone to finance her film. Sensharma said she visited a lot of studios to tick them off her list. She said they eventually refused to fund the script, despite appreciating it. “Even while developing the script, I never thought it will get made because I know the world we live in. We know what gets money what doesn’t. It’s always been like this. I didn't think anyone will give me money. So that kind of freed me to do whatever I wanted to do. Independent is, I guess, alternative kind of content. Filmmaking is a particular space with certain conventions. If you don't follow that, you don’t get any funding. That it got funds, I guess I got fortunate as it was easy for me to put foot in the doors and get a meeting with producers as I was a well-known actor. So I was privileged to get my film made. I was lucky to come across some people who agreed to give me some money,” she said.