Master class with Mani Ratnam

I had the extreme privilege to attend the master class with my favorite director Mani Ratnam during Bangalore International Film Festival 2016 in February. As much have been written about it then by the press I had not spent time in penning down my thoughts. Yesterday was his birthday and I thought  this is a right time to share some of the key takeaways from his session. Instead of giving an account of how the whole conversation went I would like to highlight the 3 key takeaways for aspiring filmmakers as shared by the ace director himself.  Here is this week’s Friday Fundas

The masterclass to some extent has been a fanfare more than a discussion for the popularity he has.  Amidst of all that there had been few gems and very practical advice that would be useful for filmmakers.

1. Assistant Direction vs directing Short Film

Gone are the days where you had to serve as an assistant director to learn about film-making then go on to become a director. He said you learn a lot more in making short films than being an assistant director. The reason is in making of short films you are exposed to the whole project as compared to being an assistant director where you get a partial view into a large project.

2. Character evolves through collaboration between the actor and director

When you write a script you develop a character. This evolves and adds new dimensions as the actor gets into the shoes of the character. The end result of a character is the healthy collaboration between actor and the director to let it evolve and become real. Good actors are key to bring the characters to life.

3. Don’t procrastinate writing a screenplay

Everyone wants to make a movie but they often delay creating the screenplay. As much as this is delayed so will the movie. Keep a daily target for completing the script and follow it religiously.

Hope you found this useful. Leave your comments if you had further thoughts on this.