Shlok Sharma: A film’s acceptance is the fuel to keep the fire in a filmmaker burning
Filmmaker Shlok Sharma is proud that he will be representing India at the Tribeca Film Festival, and tells us that it says a lot about Indian talent.
Shlok’s Two Sisters and a Husband is the only Indian film which will be screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, to be held in New York in June. The messy, twisted and dingy tale of a family gone wrong is the official selection in the International Narrative Competition.
“The journey of festivals for our film has just begun. Every experience is yet to soak in,” says Sharma, who made his debut as a filmmaker with Haraamkhor (2015) starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Shweta Tripathi Sharma.
He believes it is acceptance that drives a filmmaker to take more risks and explore the cinematic world. “Like any art form, a film is also about finding its audience and getting some form of acceptance. That acceptance is most important, and is the fuel to keep that fire burning,” shares the director.
The 37-year-old adds, “As a filmmaker, I feel that I can only express myself honestly if I delve into settings which I have grown up in, the elements of India which are in my subconscious. The idea of this film was living with me for decades. While growing up, I knew one family with such an arrangement, in very close proximity. Their situation, in some ways was even more twisted; and in others, way simpler than what has been represented in the film. However, their conflicts were those of most man-woman relationships.”
Shlok is honoured about heading to the global fest with his third feature film. “It is an incredibly proud moment for me to be a part of the festival, a place which has celebrated filmmakers whose work I have grown up watching. I think it is the best platform our film could have asked for,” signs off the filmmaker, who is excited to go and attend the festival in person.