Costao director Sejal Shah: Cinema’s real competition is with social media reels
It’s no surprise that creative breakthroughs have become few and far between in Hindi cinema. Nothing really works, and what does is either incendiary or formulaic. OTT, which was once considered as the beacon of hope for mid-budget, content-driven cinema, has also shifted course to greener pastures of star-driven vehicles. At a time like this, Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer Costao, although not exemplary, felt like a calming, meditative biopic in a sea of too much noise.
In a freewheeling chat with debut director Sejal Shah (who, before this, has backed films and series like Serious Men, Decoupled and Asur 2), we discuss biopics in Bollywood, if content-driven films have any takers, and how OTTs have changed course.
Most biopics coming from Hindi cinema are hagiographies. They aren’t exactly about the person and feel like mere vehicles transporting ideas of patriotism or some sort of empowerment. Costao felt internal. What was your approach while making the film?
You are absolutely right. Most biopics that come from Bollywood are whitewashed. There is hero-worshipping and all that. While approaching the subject, we knew that Costao is a patriotic, honest man, but more than that, what fascinated me, Bhavesh (Mandalia, the writer) and Nawazuddin (Siddiqui), is that he was also a very nuanced character. He wasn’t completely black or white, there were shades of grey. When you see heroes, there is a certain romanticisation; they all win in the end, and all that. But Costao lost a lot. The reality is that being a hero is very hard. We set out to tell the story honestly, and sometimes truth isn’t exactly pretty.
What’s your take on the kind of biopics that are made in India? They are mostly larger-than-life, almost fantastical…
Firstly, I think all kinds of films should be made. The biopics being made these days are a different kind of films, I like some of them, some I don’t. Everybody makes the kind of film they understand better. For me, it is difficult to make straight biopics because so many of them are already there, and there is nothing to add. A lot of people saw Costao and said that they expected more heroism, a happier, more dramatised ending. But I don’t see cinema like that, I don’t see people like that. I like seeing flawed human beings on celluloid because in life, people are flawed.
It seems like the mid-budget, content-driven film has lost its market. People aren’t flocking to theatres, and to an extent, ticket prices are to be blamed. OTTs too are going the star-way. As a creator, what do you make of this?
Post-Covid what has happened is that people have become more miserly with their time and money. There is so much entertainment around you already. Cinema’s real competition is with social media reels and YouTube. People have become much more discerning with the kind of films they want to engage with. I don’t think ticket prices are a problem because there were so many takers for films like Oppenheimer, Barbie; recently Chhaava did very well. There is also this conversation about how there should be more theatres, but it’s not like the current cinemas are full. There is a need for not just good films but also entertaining ones.
You have backed films and series like Serious Men, Asur 2, Delhi Crime 2 and Decoupled, all of which put forward content. How do you think OTT’s approach towards shows and movies have changed since they first came in?
If not for OTT, we couldn’t have been able to make Serious Men. It was so liberating for us that we had just started in the industry, and we had a gig with Netflix. But things have drastically changed since then because now all the platforms need numbers. To get that, they go for these big shows with big stars. Everything has become broad-based. OTT wants people all over India to watch their content so that their subscriber base increases. That is a clear brief. You can only go and pitch them certain kinds of shows and movies. It’s a fact.