PANAJI : Indian-origin Canadian film director Richie Mehta feels the country has a very rich heritage of literature “on par with the world” but it is not reflected in the movies made here.
Richie, known for directing critically acclaimed films like “Amal” and “Siddharth”, says he is highly impressed with the literary work in the country, but it is yet to find space in cinema.
“When I read a book from here, it boggles my mind with just how well written it is. But it doesn’t translate to film scripts. The quality of Indian literature is not reflected in the quality of Indian scripts, by and large,” he told repeaters here.
“In order to survive as a viable industry, specially with the changing face of distribution, the script will always be important,” he added.
The filmmaker’s recent project “India in a Day” was screened at the 47th edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
Richie feels there is an obvious disconnect between literature and films here, something which is not necessarily a criticism but more of his idea.
“I’ve recently come to feel in this country one thing that excelled in the arts and cultural sectors is literature. The level of literature that has come out of the country in the past is unmatched in the word. It is on par with the rest of the world, easily…
“But why is it that Indian literature is studied all over the world and Indian cinema is not. There is s disconnect there. This is not a criticism. This is an idea.”
The director acknowledge that writing for books and films are two different things.
“When an Indian author writes his or her own book, it is their reflection. They only have their alphabets to work with, they know how to wield those letters.
“But the language of cinema is much more complicated because you are wielding letters, images, every colour of the spectrum, every sound.”
It is in this context, that Richie feels it is extremely important that writers come up with top-notch scripts as they can sail through everything.
“The distribution is already collapsing, we are seeing it in the studios here, they are all starting to not fund the big films. But a good script will pass through. It will get made.” (AGENCIES)
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