Renowned poet, lyricisit and screenwriter Prasoon Joshi has said that film making should not be the job of a ‘himmatwala’ and instead it should be the job of someone who has talent.
Addressing a Master Class virtually at the 17th Mumbai International Film Festival MIFF 2022, he said “we talk about diversity, but how will diversity come unless film making is democratized. If the same set of select few keep making films, we will keep getting films with similar linear narrative.” He added that we will get real films only when people coming from diverse background begin making films, and this is how our cinema can get enriched.
Joshi further said that the centre point of making films should be idea with the focus on storytelling and not the process. He said stories come from imagination and giving examples of ‘Gandhi’ and ‘Gandhi My Father’ he said the narrative comes from how you approach it. “The same story can be told differently if we approach it with a new thought” he said and narrated the example of ‘Rang De Basanti’ which looked at the subject-matter of revolutionaries from a very new perspective.
“‘Hazaar Bar Yahan Se Zamana Gujra He, Nai Nai Si He Kuch Teri Reh Gujar Phir Bhi.’ The story could have been said a thousand times before, still it can be narrated thousand more times in a unique way, because every man is nothing but an untold story, unfulfilled dream, assortment of experience. One can always tell a beautiful story from his own perspective,” said Prasoon Joshi. He added that we have a lot to learn from India’s history and its rich culture.
Joshi said, “It is very difficult to understand the ultimate truth, which is perceived differently by different people. Everybody has a unique and authentic vantage point. You can’t be everywhere, so you should approach the subject from your perspective in a genuine way. That will make the story interesting and engaging.”
Prasoon Joshi encouraged the young aspirants to begin writing stories based on their own first hand experiences and how they feel about them. “Write about what you know and what you feel about it. You are most comfortable about that. The next stage would be to write drawing from others’ experiences” he remarked.
