Saptaswa Basu - The Film Industry Has Been Cooperative and Helpful in My Filmmaking Journey (Film Director/Writer/ Producer)

Human beings can be more fearful than any supernatural entity, and our past is haunted, sometimes leading to unsettling incidents in our lives.

1. Tell us about your background and journey.

I grew up in an ordinary middle-class family. My father, a retired civil engineer, and my mother, a homemaker, had no connections to the film industry among our extended family or friends. I pursued a BTech in Electronics Engineering and excelled in academics. While everyone predicted a future in technology and engineering for me, I remained dedicated to my dream of filmmaking. I attended film workshops, studied books, watched films from around the world, and started making short films. Back in school, I ran a theater group with my friends, directing and acting in plays. I always had a knack for storytelling. 

After completing my studies, I ventured into independent filmmaking and finally filmed my first feature, NETWORK, starring renowned actors like Saswata Chatterjee, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Rini Ghosh, Saayoni, Indrajit, and others. My close friends played a significant role in supporting me throughout the journey of making my first film, which took about two years to complete. The film industry has been cooperative and helpful in my filmmaking journey. 

During the pandemic, like the rest of the world, we faced many challenges, especially in the media and entertainment sector. Surviving those years transformed me as a person. Such hardships make one more focused, determined, and centered. They helped me grow as a filmmaker, connecting me more with the societal issues and inspiring me to tell engaging stories about our socio-economic fabric. As of the current date, I have made four feature films, a series, and many shorts, music videos, and more. I have plans to work in other languages as well. I believe cinema is a universal language that transcends borders and connects people worldwide.

2. As a Writer-Director-Editor, you have a hands-on approach to filmmaking. Can you describe how you manage and balance these roles during the production process?

Pre-production is the most critical phase of any film project. We dedicate at least a few months to the script, shot design, and scheduling. Budget constraints in Bengali films require us to use our resources efficiently. Without a well-chalked-out script, clear character attributes, and plot, we do not begin filming. I have a writing team, and some brilliant minds and writers have worked with me. We stay updated on works happening worldwide and strive to broaden our audience base through modern and intriguing storytelling. While I have hands-on knowledge of editing and VFX and used to handle these aspects myself in my shorts and ad films, I have now delegated those roles to colleagues who bring my vision from script to screen. Balancing each aspect of filmmaking is challenging, and it requires creating timelines and executing the project flow accordingly.

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

 I realized my passion for filmmaking at an early age. I started a small theater group when I was in 6th grade, performing at school functions and holding plays during vacations in drama clubs and theaters. I had a deep interest in storytelling and used to write short stories and scripts during my free hours. Watching films was a significant part of my upbringing, both Indian and American. I used to watch films in theaters with my parents and friends, attend film festivals, and even attempted to create a DIY projector with a cardboard box, a bulb, magnifying lenses, and photo reels from cameras. I fell in love with the craft of inventing new visual techniques and experimenting with basic visual effects during my high school days. So, even though I completed my BTech in Electronics Engineering, I continued to pursue my dream of making feature films. It wasn't just a passion but an ambition and my chosen profession.

4. What are the essential skills one should have to be a successful cinematographer?

 Cinematography is the soul of a film, as it brings out the essence, mood, and drama. Technical skills are crucial for a cinematographer to work in challenging situations with limited resources. Lighting is vital for creating a balanced separation between the foreground and background and for portraying characters effectively. Maintaining a realistic ambient light without making the skin tone appear unnatural is integral to a cinematographer's role during filming and in color grading with the DI colorist. A deep understanding of exposure and lensing is a must. Each scene requires its unique set of lenses to bring out the thematic philosophy and subtlety of the script. A cinematographer must present scenes organically, allowing the audience to relate to them.

5. Which film(s) do you appreciate the most for its cinematography and why?

 There is a vast number of films where cinematography has moved me. It will be very hard to choose and name a few. I have followed the works and interviews of many renowned cinematographers, such as Nykvist, Roger Deakins, Subrata Mitra, Wally Pfister, Hoytema, Avik Mukhopadhyay, Sudeep Chatterjee, Lubezki, Storaro, to name a few. This list is huge, and I'm a fan of their filmography. Right from "Pather Panchali" to "The Dark Knight" and a plethora of films before/after and in between, so many works have created wonders entirely through the photochemical process, while some have mastered image manipulation with digital technology. The visual process creates an entire set of meanings and elevates a story, compelling you to watch a film and have an emotional journey with the characters. Be it "Chinatown" or "Avatar," our eyes are glued to the screen to absorb the mesmerizing cinematography and the film techniques involved.

6. You have worked with renowned actors like Parambrata, Subhashree, Saswata. Can you share your experience collaborating with such accomplished artists and how does their involvement impact your storytelling?

 It has been my honor to work with some of the best actors we have. They are genuinely great human beings as well. Be it Parambrata or Saswata, Subhashree or Saayoni, Paayel, Sabyasachi, Bonny, and others, they are extremely cooperative throughout the entire process. Multiple script reading sessions have happened with each of them before any project, and every time they dedicated hours to discussing how to make the scenes more compact and exciting. They follow different techniques of acting. Parambrata, being a director himself, improvises a lot while staying in the flesh of the character, while Subhashree follows her own method and exactly replicates each scene from start to end. Saswata, Sabyasachi, and others are seasoned artists and have inspired me for a long time. I have learned a lot from their process of deconstructing a scene and making the characters organic. I am definitely looking forward to working with them in more films.

7. Can you share the idea behind your creation of 'Jotugriho' and 'Doctor Bakshi' and what message you want to convey to the audience through these?

 "Jotugriho" is a social horror film, whereas "Doctor Bakshi" is a medical drama with sci-fi elements. "Jotugriho" is written by Arnab Bhaumik, who has worked with me on multiple film projects. We designed a classic horror film set in the mountains with mysterious characters and a sense of doom. Due to a restricted budget, it is not possible to create grand horror scenes as seen in Hollywood films, so we shifted to atmospheric horror with a hidden social message. I wanted to emphasize that human beings can be more fearful than any supernatural entity and that our past is haunted, sometimes leading to unsettling incidents in our lives.

"Doctor Bakshi" is a very different film that deals with crimes, criminals, punishments, and the justice system. The film is based on many real incidents, and this kind of medical thriller is rare in Bengali cinema. The film shows a fight against corruption existing in the medical field and how common people are being cheated. The film further suggests whether our current justice system is enough to bring reform to the criminals and what Doctor Bakshi has planned with his unique methods forms the crux of the film. A large number of people have related to the film, and we have thought of designing a sequel as well.

Bio-

Born in 1991 in a Bengali middle-class family. Studied in the field of Electronics and in parallel to that, took workshops in filmmaking. Started to make feature films in 2019. Contents have garnered acclaim in terms of unique storytelling and bringing in new styles and genres in Bengali films. have made the first medical thriller in the Bengali genre and the first spin-off movie in Bengali.

Interviewed and Edited by - Arunangshu Chatterjee