When shutterbugs turn into filmmakers

Two Pune-based photographers have directed Pindadaan, their first full length Marathi feature film, and it certainly looks promising

From being friends in college and spending most of their time together even after class, to being business partners for the last 25-odd years, Bunty Deshpande and Prashant Patil, popularly known as Bunty Prashant, have come a long way.

Being their first film, Pindadaan is obviously close to their heart and they have their fingers crossed for a positive response from the audience. The film revolves around a love triangle between Siddharth Chandekar, Manava Naik and Paula McGyynn. The mystical love story hopes to be an emotional journey packed with suspense and drama. The film’s music that released just last week has been well accepted.

While directing a film, one of the most important things for Prashant is that it must convey a message. “Cinema is a powerful tool of communication. Entertainment happens along the way. The audience must be able to take something back home,” he says. This was one of the main reasons why they decided to make Pindadaan their first film and are now looking at some other scripts too. While Prashant directed the film, Bunty was in-charge of the cinematography.

Working together for so many years, they are like a well-oiled machine and play off each other’s strengths and shortcomings to create the best result. Their own background has ensured that the film is visually appealing and this is a huge point in their favour. The subject is mature, educative and the actors too have beautifully complimented each other making it a very well-rounded package, they add.

When asked what made shooting the film easier, Prashant says, “If a crew believes in the film that they are making, then the process can never be difficult. Even if it is a fictional work, the trust factor can bring out the best in every person working on the set.”

The one thing that they have kept in mind while making the film is to keep its universal appeal intact so that even though it is a Marathi film, a non-Maharashtrian too can enjoy it equally. Visualisation is another important factor, they point out. If you can see every shot in front of you, you are guaranteed a good end result.

salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

Originally published on The Golden Sparrow