This frustrated film school graduate sent Anurag Kashyap a long Instagram DM, got his first break: ‘You can join me’
Here's the latest update from the Bollywood world:
Filmmaker and writer Shivam Shankar calls Anurag Kashyap his “teenage hero”, and his short movie Bhed Bakri Bhoot carries hints of the filmmaker's dark, witty, and unabashedly raw world. The movie, which is now streaming on YouTube, had a successful festival run, including Best Short Movie at IIFSA Toronto and Best Indian Short Movie at Yellow Stone.
Adding to this, Award-winning short movie Bhed Bakri Bhoot writer-director Shivam Shankar spoke about starting his career with Anurag Kashyap. In a recent interaction with Hindustan Times, Shivam spoke about how a single Instagram message helped him land a job with Anurag Kashyap , how young filmmakers like himself view their audiences, and why he believes Hanuman Ansh benefited from its small budget.
Meanwhile, The germ initially came from the urge to make a short movie because that is where we can practice direction as a medium. As a new filmmaker, there are a lot of restrictions that we have to respect. We have to limit the movie to a single place. I had written films set in a flat and a restaurant. But that was not really exciting. Then this idea came -- why not set something in a washroom, because that is a public place where people of different class, culture collide. I think it's a very modern Indian aesthetic that we ignore. While researching, I came across a few short films that are already set in a washroom. So, it was like people have attempted this setup as well. Also, I read in a book that had a very beautiful line -- 'More revolutions have happened on the walls of toilets than in parliament.' That is how it began.
Notably, I don't think so. It really comes from a lot of naivety. You are not thinking of the consequences when you are 25. It also was a lot of innocence, and obviously, my intent was never to attack someone. There is no direct attack on someone. I'm really trying to have a conversation about the country. So there is a left side; there is a right side. Between both of these walls, I really wanted to talk about democracy. The idea was never to attack any religion, any person, any caste, creed, nothing. It was simply that I wanted to have a conversation. Do I understand the complete politics of this country? No. Maybe I am still on the way.
As per the latest buzz, When I was writing this, I was very aware that I could not reach a conclusion. All I was trying to do was between all this chaos, between all these sides, the state of the place is getting degraded every day. What are we doing about that? The change begins with us. If you see in the entire movie, no one even cleans one aspect of the washroom. Everyone has a very strong opinion. So I as a filmmaker and writer, I took a step back and I didn't want to have an opinion but to reflect and put a mirror to what I have seen growing up.
In further updates, My first thought is, 'Am I keeping the audience engaged?' Because only then can I have a dialogue and show them what I want to talk about. The second part is that I don't really want to sugarcoat, at least at this level. Because I was aware I was making a short movie, I have a certain kind of freedom, and I am not a well-established filmmaker. I know the eyes are less on me. I take that responsibility of showing it in the purest form that I have seen it.
On top of that, I was very aware while shooting this because, in the country I have grown up in, every other curse word is related to a woman. The movie has a lot of a regressive approach in terms of abuses and a lot of sex references. I come from Bihar and I have seen that this is such a common thing on walls in this country. So I just wanted to paint a picture of what we see and ask: what are we doing about it? Did anyone even take a step to erase it? Because everyone had a medium to write on the wall, but no one erased it. In the end, everything was whitewashed. So that was the idea.
And then obviously, entertainment, because I wanted to be very loud and very subtle through the songs at the same time. These three aspects I was really trying to focus on while I was directing it and writing it.
Source: Hindustan Times