Not enough avenues for 'different-from-Mainstream films: Nandita

New Delhi, Oct 18: Amid much talk of ''winds of change in Indian cinema'' throwing up a host of opportunities for makers of ''different-from-mainstream'' films, actor Nandita Das feels avenues for such films continue to be limited even today with the result that these movies earn the sobriquet of ''festival'' films.

''The belief that mainstream films are for the masses and the 'different-from-mainstream' ones for the classes or the festival audience is a myth. I feel that every filmmaker, be it of a film made at a cost of Rs 30 lakh or Rs 30 crore, wants his or her film to be viewed by as many people as possible and not just remain confined to the festival circuit only,'' Nandita said during a media conference last evening for her latest film 'Maati Maay'.

The film has been creating ripples on the International festival circuit, having received an overwhelming response at the Toronto film festival last month.

''Unfortunately, even today there are not many avenues for a filmmaker venturing into 'alternate' or 'different-from-mainstream' films made on a limited budget. So, in the absence of any other avenue a screening at a film festival is the only platform available to these makers to showcase their work to the public,'' she added.

Nandita said given a choice the makers of 'alternate films' like 'Maati Maay', which is the story of a woman caught between her instincts and tradition who gets subjugated by society when she dares to stand up to her beliefs, would want their films to reach out to as wide an audience as possible.

''Sadly, that seldom happens. For example, if today I go in search for DVDs of some of the films I did in the past few years, I am not able to find any,'' she said.

Endorsing Nandita's statement, the producer and director of 'Maati Maay' Chitra Palekar, who has earlier scripted TV serials like 'Kacchi Dhoop' and 'Naquab' and films like 'Thodasa Romani Ho Jaaye', 'Kairee' and 'Dayara' and who is making her directorial debut with 'Maati Maay', said,''I don't think any filmmaker makes a film only for screening at the festivals. In the past, whenever I have scripted films, I have wanted as many people as possible to see them. So now, when I am producing and directing my first film, I would definitely want the film to be seen by as wide an audience as possible.'' '' I feel every film should make it to the theatres as otherwise how will the maker know whether people liked it or not. All the films have something in it for the audience. All one needs is the space to screen it,'' she added.

Refusing to bracket films in categories like art and commercial cinema, Chitra said,''I feel that any film which is touching, shakes the audiences or moves them will definitely draw in the crowds.'' Talking about 'Maati Maay', which released in Pune recently and is scheduled for release in Mumbai on November 17, Chitra said,'' The film is the story of Chandi, a gravekeeper trapped between her instincts that make her want to give up her work as a gravekeeper once she gives birth to her son and pressures and compulsions of the social system that prevent her from giving up the work, which is her ancestral profession. It's about how, when a woman wants to follow her instincts and stand up for her beliefs, she is forced by society into subjugation.''

Based on a short story by noted litterateur Mahasweta Devi, 'Maati Maay' features Nandita Das as the woman chandi and Atul kulkarni as her husband and Ksitij Gavande as their son. ''I had read the story several years ago and it stayed in my mind. In fact, it was at the back of my mind for the last two to three years. There was something about it that when I read it for the first time, it came visually to me. In my mind's eye, I could actually see the image of a huge plateau. Moreover, I love to deal with the intricacies of human relationships and Mahasweta Devi's story contains all the possible dynamics of relationships - between husband, wife and child which keep on changing throughout the film,''she said.

On choosing Nandita for the role, she said,''I wanted a good actress for the role. I have seen many of Nandita's films and liked her work. So I approached her even though I knew she does not know Marathi. Fortunately for me, she liked the script. When you are doing a piece of 'alternated cinema' it is very important that an actor is convinced about the theme and content. For, it is only then that the performance of the actor comes across as convincing.'' For Nandita though, speaking dialogue in Marathi proved to be an arduous task.

''Speaking dialogues in Marathi was tough more so since the language spoken by the characters was a Vidarbha dialect of Marathi.

But I've always loved challenges. Also, I was helped by the fact that all members of the cast and crew spoke with each other in the language. This helped me pick it up faster,''Nandita says.

In fact, she later even dubbed for the film herself.

''I was impressed by the fact that she mastered the language so fast. She has a flair, an ear for language,''Chitra said.

On why she chose to make her directorial debut with a film in Marathi and not Hindi considering that she has scripted many Hindi films in the past, Chitra said,'' A film like this needs to be placed in a particular geographical milieu. As for doing it in Marathi, it was because beging a Maharashtrian, I knew the milieu. This way, it was possible for me to be more honest to the subject.'' At the same time, she clarified that the film was not merely targeted at the Marathi-speaking audience. ''The story has a universal appeal. In fact, it is a Bengali story which has been translated into several Indian languages. In this sense, it is as much for a Marathispeaking audience as for anyone else,''Chitra said.

Agrees Nandita, who has earlier done socially relevant films like 'Bawandar' and Deepa Mehta's 'Fire'. ''The events and happenings in the film are something many women across the country would identify with. Such happenings are a usual occurrence, not only in the villages but also in the cities.''

UNI