Mumbai: Bollywood filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane of ‘Udaan’ and ‘Lootera’ fame is all set to judge a filmmaking competition, where contestants will be asked to make short films on social issues as an initiative by Yes bank. Vikramaditya is on the panel of judges along with Shoojit Sarkar, Pritish Nandy, Guneet Monga (Producer of The Lunch Box) and Kailash Surendranath. They will be mentoring and judging the entries. We caught up with him and discussed social issues in Bollywood his upcoming project and more.
Which social issues would you like to see covered in films.
There’s nothing in particular that I want to see. I would really be happy to see anything that can make a change in society. There are a lot of social issues in the country it would be nice to see those topics covered.
When you make a film with a social message how do you keep the viewers interest without trying to be preachy?
The only way to do that is to tell a story with your film. If you start with the intention of preaching, you will not make a connect with the audience. So it's important to tell a good story that keeps the audience’s attention.
Have you ever made short films with a social message?
Yes! I actually did. Years ago I had made a film on noise pollution during Diwali, it was a public service announcement for a music channel.
Both of yours film don’t have a hint of social issues in it, so due to commercial factors involved, have you felt restricted to write it for the big screen?
No, not really. I would love to make films like ‘Peepli Live’. Films that are made in a very engaging way.
What about your upcoming film ‘Bhavesh Joshi’ is it different?
Yes, yes, it’s very different. It’s different in its own way. But I don’t want to reveal anything more about the film.
Vikramaditya’s upcoming film will see ‘Ek Villain’ star Sidharth Malhotra as the lead. He will apparently play the role of a Gujarati boy with superhuman powers.
