Indrasis Acharya: The path you are forced to take to make a Bangla film often leads to compromise with your dignity | Exclusive

Indrasis Acharya: The path you are forced to take to make a Bangla film often leads to compromise with your dignity | Exclusive

Indrasis Acharya

In 2022 January, Indrasis Acharya gave up his corporate job to pursue his love for filmmaking. After two years of what he identifies as rigour, the director has gone back to his corporate life. In August 2024, Indrasis took up a job at a multinational company. In a no-holds-barred interview, Indrasis talks about the reasons for taking up the job and also opens up about the ordeal he went through. Read on…

Indrasis says that it’s impossible to live just by making Bangla films

By his own admission, Indrasis took up the job for financial reasons. “It took me two years to realise that it is practically impossible to live a moderate life just by making Bangla films. You can survive only if you make multiple films a year. Many directors do that. But I cannot. I’m incapable of making multiple films a year. It is my shortcoming. Hence, it was imminent for me to have a stable source of income,” the director says. 

Also read: Niharika review: Indrasis Acharya pens a melancholy ode to our solitude

Compromising with dignity

However, Indrasis clarifies that it was not just the financial securities that induced him to take the job. “The Bengali film industry is not very conducive for a filmmaker. The path you are compelled to take to make a film often forces you to compromise with your dignity. In the majority, financial commitments take a back seat before and after the work is done. You often don’t get paid what you have been promised. That is very alarming,” he says.

Disastrous independent film scene

Indrasis further added that making a film independently is an ‘ordeal’ in Kolkata. “I’ve made a number of independent films and those journeys were nothing short of ordeals. When you have a limited budget you tell the ‘authorities’. They then decide on your team’s headcount. Moreover, the process is so limiting that if you are identified as a small-budget filmmaker, you are not even ‘allowed’ to use big, high-end cameras. The seal here is you will have to compromise with the quality if you want to reduce your production cost but you cannot easily make your own team to work with. I have always believed that only a robust environment for independent filmmakers can help a healthy and qualitatively superior film industry. We are far from there,” he confesses. 

Also read: Indrasis Acharya on Niharika: People are duped in the name of cerebral cinema in Bengal

However, despite all the hurdles, Indrasis is sure to make more films. “I made Bilu Rakkhosh, Pupa, Parcel, etc while working at my previous job. I will keep on making films simply because it brings me joy. However, my dream of being a full-time filmmaker was nipped in the bud. I hope someday I will be brave enough to take that challenge up once again. For now, I look forward to releasing Goodbye Mountain and Rather looking forward to completing and taking Gajoner Dhulobali for a good round of festival run and good release at theatres in a big way,” he signs out.

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