Jyoti Kapur Das: Intent to make a film translates on screen

Writer-director Jyoti Kapur Das, known for her award-winning short films Chutney (2016) and Plus Minus (2018), says that in making any project, it’s the intent that matters most.

“Film banane ki niyat screen pe translate hoti hai…you just can’t fool the audience,” says the filmmaker on her recent visit to Lucknow.

Kapur agrees that the web and OTT platforms are filled with short-format content but very few projects are tasting success. “The problem is that people have started creating shorts to catch eyeballs! I had no idea Chutney would get such success and become viral. We made it with a lot of love and dedication. Currently, I feel that the quality has declined substantially. I see a lot of filmmakers making shorts as a showreel just to impress producers to pitch for a feature film.”

The Good Morning (2021) director adds, “Short film format ke saath beimaani ho rahi hai! No matter the format, the audience always knows if the maker is being honest or if they are manipulating cleverly! Dunno how the message is conveyed to the audience be it in cinema, small screen or mobile screen. The same applies to remakes as well, and probably that’s the reason the best of the remakes fall flat!”

Kapur, however, is happy that short films are now a recognised format. “Earlier, few people made it for festivals and laurel wreaths but now it has got commercial legitimacy. With makers like Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Zoya Akhar getting into short film format it has become a legitimate format of storytelling. Everything fell in place for short films — free data, short duration and streaming on phone.”

She is looking forward to doing a project a Lucknow. “I had two visits in two months and I am in talks with some locals to make a film with talent from Uttar Pradesh using a story and the backdrop with a local flavour.”

On the work front, she says, “I have finished shooting a fiction which turned out to be a 90-minute film. Actually, there were six songs which I weaved into a story and it turned out to be an interesting project. It’s currently in the editing stage and we plan to release an OTT release.”

Back in 2002 she first made the short film Lucky Day which she plans to bring out now. “After film institute, I assisted many directors and then I got married and had a child. So, to restart I wrote this story and Raghubir Yadav came on board. It went to many festivals and was later uploaded to YouTube, but there are very few views. I’m thinking of re-releasing it now,” says Kapur.