Morung Express News Kohima | May 11 Renowned Meghalaya Filmmaker Pradip Kurbah shared the challenges on filmmaking during the screening of his feature film Onaatah at the Nagaland Film Festival organized by Dreamz Unlimited in collaboration with the Directorate of Information and Public Relations on May 11. Onaatah, a feature film directed by Pradip Kurbah, is a story of a rape victim Onaatah who, despite the tragic memory that continuously haunt her for years, finds a new lease for life after deciding to live in her uncle’s village. The film deals with societal pressures and depression a rape victim goes through in her quest for justice, as the character aptly mentions that she is raped every time she is questioned during the trial against the accused. Despite, the accused being punished with imprisonment, the character questions what is imprisonment when her soul is murdered. The film also captures the scenic beauty of the Khasi Hills. After the screening, a discussion with Pradip Kurbah was held where Naga filmmakers and other aspiring filmmakers asked the Director on the challenges of filmmaking. “If you are driven by the passion for filmmaking you overlook the problems,” said Kurbah who mentioned that when the film industry started growing in Meghalaya, it was really challenging because theater was the biggest concern for independent filmmakers especially with the domination of Bollywood and Hollywood. Kurbah also highlighted on the importance of Film policy and the locations to film. “Because now technology is as such, it is easy to make films, but releasing the film is tough,” viewed Kurbah, mentioning that Onaatah was filmed with a budget of Rs. 22 lakhs but they had to spend 8 lakhs just to release the film. However, despite the financial difficulties, Kurbah said, “If you are driven with the passion of making films, you overlook this and you just focus on what you have to do, and doing with honesty and belief in yourself.” For the film Onaatah which was shot in 18 days, the team had to rehearse for almost forty days where the lead actors had to study and research the characters which were set in the rural areas. The weather was also a challenge, according to Kurbah, especially in controlling the lights during the shoot and maintaining the continuity of the lights. In the creative process of filmmaking and team collaboration, Kurbah stated that one needs to get people on board who can point out one’s mistakes and people who are keen in doing good work. Three people who are very important in film, Kurbah pointed out, are the cinematographer, soundman and the editor. “These three people, you should never compromise. They are the people who will completely change the whole beauty of the film,” affirmed Kurbah. Scriptwriting is also an important aspect of filmmaking, noted Kurbah and added that the North East region still lacks in good script writers. “It’s very important that you have a team that understands screen play very well. The more people you have in your writing, the better it gets for the script. At the end of the day what is important is that your storytelling has to [make] impact,” Kurbah maintained.
