"Success is a marathon not a sprint." - Sanil Gosavi

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1. Tell us about your background and journey.

I come from a family of entrepreneurs and always hated doing traditional jobs or following rules since I could perhaps remember. Films always interested me and I remember going for a movie to the theatre every weekend ever since I was 4-5 years old. That’s where my passion for movies began and I always knew I wanted to do something within the field. 

At 16 I made my first short film on a handy cam along with a bunch of friends and slowly went onto work within shows like Jhalak Dikhlaja and also worked on movies like Tumhari Sulu. Simultaneously my short films such as 'My 5 minutes with god' and 'My Mother’s Wedding' along with my film review career gained me a lot of traction on the internet and suddenly I started getting pushed towards freelance filmmaking. Now in 2020 I have co-founded a media conglomerate named 'Pause Media Collective' where we produce TVC’s, short films, web series, wedding films and even provide digital media marketing solutions. It’s been quite a ride of learning within the last 10 years and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead.

2. How and when did you realize your passion for creating films?

As I said watching films every weekend made me realize my passion for cinema but I knew I wanted to become a film director when I was 16 years old. A close person to me had exited my life back then which led me towards creating a tribute video for them. In the process of creating that video I realized how much I love the process of creation and telling stories. Soon enough, I was picking up my father’s handycam and I was shooting stories I wanted to tell with known associates and close friends. The amount I’ve learnt from my short filmmaking days is something even film school could never teach me.

3. What are the important skills one should have to be a successful director?

Passion and a clear vision are the most important skills a filmmaker must have in order to be successful. Being formally trained is extremely overrated, film schools charge passionate students large sums of money to teach them skills that can be learnt very easily on the field or even online for free. Infact some of the greatest filmmaker’s in the world aren’t formally trained. All you need is to keep on practising your craft by constantly trying to create something and learning from mistakes you commit during that process with a clear vision in mind. The other way to learn those skills is to work on a set. What practical on-field knowledge can teach you is something no book in the world can. 

My advice to every aspiring filmmaker out there is take your cell phone or a camera get a basic microphone, find a partner who knows the basics of editing or learn it yourself if possible and just start telling your story. The audience primarily cares about the story you have to tell, not the fancy equipment you’ve used and if your story is good enough you’ll find your audience. So be focused primarily on your script first and train yourself into finding affordable solutions to tell the story you’ve written. Such a process helps you work efficiently in pressure situations and alleviates the pressure of a ‘budget’ on your mind.

4. Which film(s) do you appreciate the most for their direction and why?

There are many films that have impacted me throughout my life but the one film that changed my perspective towards cinema forever is ‘Interstellar’. That was a movie that spoke to me on every fundamental level. It’s a film that blew me away for its visuals, brought me to the edge of my seat for its background score and brought me to tears for its simplicity of telling a very effective story about love between a father and a daughter. The story is undoubtedly complex but the message that it sends across about love is something no movie has explored in such depths yet. If you haven’t watched that film I suggest you go watch it right now.

There are other movies such as Black, Lion King, 3 Idiots and even The Godfather that have impacted me greatly and shaped my creative outlook as a filmmaker but nothing has spoken to me on such depths the way Interstellar did.

5. What has been your biggest learning from your job?

Success is a marathon not a sprint. What scares many talented individuals away from this field is the stability factor about our profession. But now, the one thing that we can all agree upon is that after the coronavirus no field is actually ‘stable’. Everything in this world is unstable and prone to failure. It’s upon you and your willingness towards working hard and keep going at it until you make something out of yourself. Due to the pressures Indians face from their parents and the timers we tend to put on ourselves towards success and ‘settling down’ is what oppresses many talented individuals to sit back and let their talent go waste. 

Our understanding of success needs to change altogether and we must realize that every journey is different, every story is different. Don’t sit back and let your dream die just because you think it will take too long. It’ll take its time but it will happen, all you need to do is not burden yourself with expectations and work hard towards your end goal and if you passionately do that, your dream will come to its fruition.

6. How would you guide the aspiring youths who wants to be future movie directors?

Building a reliable team and practising your craft by constantly working on passion projects is a good way to start. In our industry there are a lot of people out there passionate about the craft who’ll actually team up with you for free to tell a good story. The explosion of digital media has led to a huge surge of short film viewing. By capitalising on this you can actually train yourself, build a formidable team and gain a very brutally honest audience on YouTube for feedback. By constantly doing this you will find a way to build your own niche, create a reliable team, learn from your mistakes and simultaneously improve upon your craft without having to spend exorbitant amounts of money on film school.

I’d also suggest watching movies constantly because every film has something to teach you, especially the bad ones. If you’re watching really carefully then you’ll know exactly what mistakes NOT to commit while making your own project. But never for once think that you can do everything on your own. Successful filmmaker’s over time develop a 'God Complex' where they feel they can do everything on their own. You’ll be surprised to learn how handicapped you become without your team which is why building a team and respecting their contribution towards your cinema is paramount to being a great filmmaker.

7. Which is your favourite book and why?

I recently developed the habit of reading and haven’t had the opportunity to read many books within my lifetime. Having said that the best book I think I have read or will ever read in my life is undoubtedly the 'Shrimad Bhagavadgita'. The Bhagavadgita has changed my outlook towards life. It’s take on how one must approach their work and constantly self-improve to make a better version of themselves has been transformational for me. It’s the best self help book out there and can guide you through any walk of life. What I like about it the most is that it’s not religious or dictatorial in its approach. It’s an earnest attempt at trying to help every individual in the world to become the best versions of themselves.

I urge filmmaker’s out there to read the chapters about ‘karmyog’ within the Bhagavadgita, if you understand what the book is trying to say and implement it within your own life, I guarantee you success and prosperity. It’s helped me get ahead and I know it will help you too.

- Sanil Gosavi

Interview by - Mayuresh Sangale