Mumbai: IFP rang in its sixteenth season with an eventful first day on October 24 at Mehboob Studio, Mumbai. Amid a packed lineup, Rana Daggubati drew a full house with ‘More Than a Star: On Nurturing The New Wave,’ an unfiltered chat with Swati Chopra where he broke down why box office numbers don’t capture cinema’s tre impact. From recalling how Bollywood has influences everything to expressing why cinema’s power to connect people across languages and social backgrounds deserves greater recognition, Rana spoke with such honesty and candour that had the room fully tuned in.
Questioning the tendency to measure a film’s success through its box-office collections, Rana argued that cinema’s influence on society goes well beyond numbers. He said, “This is a 100 crore film, this is a 500 crore film, but whether it’s the theatre guy, the producer or the director or none of them see that money except on a poster that’s creating some kind of hype for you. And that’s a measure to cinema which I think is quite an archaic lens. Cinema does far more things.”
Reflecting on how films shape everyday culture, he added, “We have sangeets today because of Bollywood. You have music and clothing because of Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra, Shah Rukh Khan type of movies that happened. I’m saying all part of your life has been influenced by that greatly, but not given its due credit.”
Rana also highlighted cinema’s unique ability to connect people across languages and social backgrounds, arguing that its cultural significance cannot be captured by industry figures alone. He said, “And I think I can only see three things in India that connect us as Indians. All three. The first being God. The second being sport, which is cricket, and the third being cinema.”
Explaining this shared experience, he added, “But when you go to a cinema hall, lights are shut, you’re sitting. It doesn’t matter who sat next to you, in front of you, behind you. Everybody cried, laughed, everything together. So there’s a far greater value which is not being able, which we were never able to communicate.”
From a 50-hour filmmaking challenge that began in 2011 to a multidisciplinary creative platform bringing creators from across the world together, IFP brings the 16th season with the same idea at its heart: make something, put it out into the world, and see where it takes you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=RtToJsBhYBatUrym&v=mOuYNSdhjHA&feature=youtu.be
