'He has been a big influence on me': Anurag Kashyup

Films are meant to tell a story and strike a chord with the audience regardless of their language. Cinema in India is at a very interesting phase with the advent of what is often termed as ‘new age’ or new wave of cinema.

When we talk of new Indian cinema, we only talk about Hindi cinema and forget the real new wave started down the South and the name we often skip out is that of Bala. He is the man who with Sethu brought in a sensibility and fathered a movement that became the precedent to what’s happening now.

He has always been a big influence on me and Paradesi is his most accomplished and accessible film yet. I have always been a huge fan of his work and my film GOW was a dedication to him. Paradesi is surely one film, which I wish should be watched by as much a wider audience as possible. I have always liked his work and thought that not only South but the entire country should know him and see his work.

I liked the film a lot, and have a strong belief that the audience across the country will like it as much, and thus we are presenting the film in territories, where traditionally films from the South are not released.

The sole reason for helping release the film in North India is that I feel it’s about time we introduce the audience to this wonderful filmmaker. Also, with a title like Paradesi, the film is much more relatable in the North Indian market. I am so glad with the response the film is getting, especially the online medium.

I also ran a contest on Twitter and got such an amazing response and infact we will have 10 lucky winners watching the film with me tonight as an outcome of the contest. It’s great to see the level of intrigue and interest Bala’s masterpiece is getting and I hope that it manages to set a president for more fantastic talent to come to the fore from various parts of the country.