EXCLUSIVE! Farhan Akhtar on Superboys of Malegaon: ‘Audience expects honesty from filmmakers, every character is important’ | Firstpost at Red Sea International Film Festival

Actor and filmmaker, Farhan Akhtar talks about cinema changing and why it is important for filmmakers to make movies with honesty. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost at the Red Sea Film Festival , he very clearly says that the communication with your audiences has to be correct. And most importantly, you need to be honest in what you put out. You cannot disappoint your audiences because to be disappointed when you go to a theater is the most horrible thing to happen. So, he makes it very clear that filmmakers today need to understand that to not take audiences for granted because there are many other sources of entertainment other than just films.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

Cinema is changing and what do you have to say about that?

There are all types of films that are being made and that kind of movies are being made for years. There was always a conversation between art Vs commercial cinema. But now the lines are blurred. Now, it is either a good film or a bad film. It is either the people like it or they don’t like it. It is good that is happening.

And the appetite for good cinema is also increasing for the audiences as they have the exposure now?

Yes, communication about your film is very important now. We can’t take our audiences for granted anymore because now they have many other avenues of entertaining themselves now because earlier there was nothing else other than cinema for people to do.

So, now if you want people to come to the theaters to watch your film. There really has to be something in your film. The communication with your audiences has to be correct. And most importantly, you need to be honest in what you put out. You cannot disappoint your audiences because to be disappointed when you go to a theater is the most horrible thing to happen. So, they are expecting honestly from the filmmaker whatever kind of film it is and if they can connect with what you are saying that will make for a good film.

Audiences are also evolving. Each and every movie is different. I am not only talking about the digital platform, but theatrically too. And everybody is a critic in their own way. What do you have to say about this beautiful change?

 I cannot speak for everyone, but I genuinely feel whether you are a writer, producer, actor, your responsibility is to make your film as honest as you can. I feel, if you start thinking that this is what the audience wants, then I think that is the first step to disaster because the audience keeps evolving and their tastes keep changing.

This generation of influencers are completely different from the generation before. You can only be honest to their aesthetic and sensibility in what you say. And try not to be smart and when you try to be smart in your writing and performance, that is where the problem starts. There is no rocket science to make a good film.

Coming down to performances, if you look back in the nineties, apart from say lead actor or lead actor’s father or mother, the rest of the cast the dialogues were so bland and performances so predictable. Now every single character is important and cannot be ignored. Every role comes with a believability factor now. The best thing now is that the writers just can’t write anything and put it out there.

WATCH the trailer of Superboys of Malegaon here: