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10 years ago, Rajat Kapoor and Sanjay Misra set out to narrate an introspective tale of a man who decides to believe only what he sees, aka ‘Look openly’ and often ends up questioning reality. In a day and age when fake news has shot through the roof, director Rajat Kapoor sheds light on adapting the ‘Ankhon Dekhi’ concept in 2024, reveals the reason why he couldn’t make a sequel to the film and how OTT is more of a boon and not a bane.
With the outpour of fake information, do you feel people should adopt the ‘Ankhon Dekhi’ concept in 2024?
It’s not a bad strategy! Of course, you can’t go mad like Bawuji did, because there are truths that are beyond perception, that are undeniable. Four or five years back when this post-truth term came up, I didn’t quite understand it. But in the past couple of years it has become a bit clear that there is no truth at all! Since everything is changing, you can bend words and facts into whichever way you please. History is changing every minute and every day. Any fact can mean anything or the opposite of it. Anything can be twisted to mean whatever. So, yeah, it’s always open to interpretation. But then words have lost significance in that sense and so has truth. And that is why I think ‘Ankhon Dekhi’ is a little relevant in that sense also, beyond the obvious philosophical idea in the day-to-day, combating the social environment also.
While Ankhon Dekhi seems relevant in today’s time, would you want to make a sequel today with new characters?
I had a great idea for a sequel. But I don’t think anyone wanted to back it. So, yeah, it kind of died.
But even in today’s time, when there is OTT and things are more approachable?
No, they’re not. It’s a myth that we keep repeating. Things are not better, things are worse. I think 10 years earlier, it was easier to make a film of this kind. Now, it’s become very hard because of backing issues.
Do you feel that producers are only looking for masala content and big stars?
It’s not just the producers. They still have some guts. But how do you distribute a film when it’s made? And the OTT platforms have not been very kind. They only take certain kinds of films. And they have made a decision to go for a certain kind of film for star faces. What the studios and the producers were doing earlier, the OTTs are doing the same thing now. The OTT platforms are deciding what kind of cinema we must watch.
So, is OTT actually a bane instead of a boon?
It’s a myth that cinema has moved to a better place after the OTTs. That’s what I keep saying to everyone. Maybe in the initial years it helped but not anymore. They have pretty much decided which side they are on. And again, the side is always that of money. As everybody else, they are choosing money. Who can blame them? And it’s always been presented that OTTs have come across as a big thing for the industry and saviors, but it is a lie.
So when money is worshiped, do you feel like real-life stories are losing somewhere?
Not real-life stories, but at least meaningful cinema is losing out on it. This is a hard time for independent films. Really, it was easier 10-20 years back. 95 percent of mainstream cinema is catering to a fantasy world. It happened earlier also, in the late 60s, early 70s, when there were many patriotic films at that time. And then the slogans of the government were repeated in the films. And now it’s happening again. People will get tired of it and want something else. The thing about mainstream cinema is, in a way, it’s very secular. In the sense, because only money is worshiped. So once the money dries up, they move on to the new fight. I hope it will change in another one or two years.
Lastly, shed light on your upcoming projects…
I’ve written four scripts and I’m looking for money. It’s very hard to make a film and find a producer who will back an independent film. In ‘RK/RKAY’ and ‘Kadakh’, I put a lot of my money. Both these films were made because I put in about 60-50 percent of the money. So now I’m waiting to get a producer on board. As for acting projects, I have ‘Lootere’ which recently debuted on OTT and a few other acting projects in the pipeline.
With the outpour of fake information, do you feel people should adopt the ‘Ankhon Dekhi’ concept in 2024?
It’s not a bad strategy! Of course, you can’t go mad like Bawuji did, because there are truths that are beyond perception, that are undeniable. Four or five years back when this post-truth term came up, I didn’t quite understand it. But in the past couple of years it has become a bit clear that there is no truth at all! Since everything is changing, you can bend words and facts into whichever way you please. History is changing every minute and every day. Any fact can mean anything or the opposite of it. Anything can be twisted to mean whatever. So, yeah, it’s always open to interpretation. But then words have lost significance in that sense and so has truth. And that is why I think ‘Ankhon Dekhi’ is a little relevant in that sense also, beyond the obvious philosophical idea in the day-to-day, combating the social environment also.
While Ankhon Dekhi seems relevant in today’s time, would you want to make a sequel today with new characters?
I had a great idea for a sequel. But I don’t think anyone wanted to back it. So, yeah, it kind of died.
But even in today’s time, when there is OTT and things are more approachable?
No, they’re not. It’s a myth that we keep repeating. Things are not better, things are worse. I think 10 years earlier, it was easier to make a film of this kind. Now, it’s become very hard because of backing issues.
Do you feel that producers are only looking for masala content and big stars?
It’s not just the producers. They still have some guts. But how do you distribute a film when it’s made? And the OTT platforms have not been very kind. They only take certain kinds of films. And they have made a decision to go for a certain kind of film for star faces. What the studios and the producers were doing earlier, the OTTs are doing the same thing now. The OTT platforms are deciding what kind of cinema we must watch.
So, is OTT actually a bane instead of a boon?
It’s a myth that cinema has moved to a better place after the OTTs. That’s what I keep saying to everyone. Maybe in the initial years it helped but not anymore. They have pretty much decided which side they are on. And again, the side is always that of money. As everybody else, they are choosing money. Who can blame them? And it’s always been presented that OTTs have come across as a big thing for the industry and saviors, but it is a lie.
So when money is worshiped, do you feel like real-life stories are losing somewhere?
Not real-life stories, but at least meaningful cinema is losing out on it. This is a hard time for independent films. Really, it was easier 10-20 years back. 95 percent of mainstream cinema is catering to a fantasy world. It happened earlier also, in the late 60s, early 70s, when there were many patriotic films at that time. And then the slogans of the government were repeated in the films. And now it’s happening again. People will get tired of it and want something else. The thing about mainstream cinema is, in a way, it’s very secular. In the sense, because only money is worshiped. So once the money dries up, they move on to the new fight. I hope it will change in another one or two years.
Lastly, shed light on your upcoming projects…
I’ve written four scripts and I’m looking for money. It’s very hard to make a film and find a producer who will back an independent film. In ‘RK/RKAY’ and ‘Kadakh’, I put a lot of my money. Both these films were made because I put in about 60-50 percent of the money. So now I’m waiting to get a producer on board. As for acting projects, I have ‘Lootere’ which recently debuted on OTT and a few other acting projects in the pipeline.
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