Manisha Koirala, Vikramaditya Motwane talk about streaming versus theatrical
Celebrated actor Manisha Koirala (“Bombay,” “1942: A Love Story,” “Khamoshi”) and filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane (“Udaan,” “Trapped”) discussed the evolving landscape between theater and streaming platforms during a session at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa where Koirala also revealed plans to write a comedy book about 1990s and 2000s actresses adapting to the Gen Z culture.
“For me as an actor, whether it is for the big screen or web series, it is the same amount of work that is required, and sincerity. The preparation, the mindset, everything is the same,” says Koirala, who recently played the lead role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s hit Netflix series “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.”
Motwane, who directed Prime Video’s “Jubilee” and Netflix’s “Sacred Games,” noted that streaming offers more creative flexibility. “The great thing about streaming is that with theatrical you don’t have to say: OK, you have to make a film for two to two and a half hours. You have a story, you have a tie-in – this could be a movie, this could be ten one-hour episodes over five seasons, this could be 20-minute episodes.
The filmmaker, whose debut feature film ‘Udaan’ was screened at Cannes, revealed that ‘Sacred Games’, an adaptation of Vikram Chandra’s best-selling novel, served as a learning experience in a series format. “Netflix said okay, here’s the book. We took the book and broke the book down. It took six months longer than it should have, but we figured it out. Understanding how this format works, what a cliffhanger is, why you need a cliffhanger at the end if you want people to jump to the next episode.
Both agreed that streaming has opened up more opportunities for diverse stories and roles for veteran actresses. “Thanks to the OTT [streaming] platforms, plus the audience, even in cinema the older actresses are playing meaty roles,” Koirala noted. “The space is there for them because the minds and hearts of the audience have expanded.”
The filmmaker revealed that working in streaming has made him more efficient in making feature films. “My lessons from ‘Sacred Games’ and ‘Jubilee’ really helped me with the features because I can shoot much faster now. We completed five pages a day. The entire 10-episode ‘Jubilee’ was shot in 90 days, including 10 lip-sync songs.”
Motwane pointed out that India is still adjusting to the showrunner format that is common in international series. “We are still not used to the showrunner format in this country. We have to continue this, we have to build this up a little bit further, and that way you will get many more new directors.”
The rise of private viewing on mobile devices has also impacted content consumption patterns in India, according to Motwane. “India is a country that first introduced internet through its phones, and not through broadband. Most people’s first device of choice is their phone, allowing it to be viewed privately.”
The session was curated by festival director Shekhar Kapur.
