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Link to Part 1 of In The Lime Light With Karthik Shamalan
If a random person walks up to you and says he/she wants to be a film
director, what would be the first thing you tell them.
"First
thing is make sure you know the basics and make sure you have the interest to
keep learning. I still have the fear in me because I didn’t have the basic film
background. When I first started, I was condemned. People kept asking what does
this guy knows about cinema. What they ask wasn’t wrong.
The
first thing people asked me was “do you know what is 3 act structure?” At that
point I really didn’t know what that was but I knew that a movie should start
like this and end like this. I was surprised when people asked me this and the
person who asked me this was a very big person.
After
that I took a decision that moving forward no one should ever ask me a question
like this and I should be ready for any type of question. Therefore, until
today I am constantly learning because I am always worried that tomorrow a big
director asks me some other term and thinks that what la this guy doesn’t even
know this. I have that fear.
And
that’s the same thing I will tell those who asks me about wanting to be a film
director. It hurts when someone condemns you, but you shouldn’t see it that way
and turn it around as weapon for yourself.
You
should learn the basics and come. Doesn’t mean you have to go to a film
college, but if you go it is better. It is okey if you didn’t. Google is there
and everything you need is there. That is how I learned as well. All you need
is the interest to learn.
You
need to know the basics of what is script writing, why scripting writing, what
is direction and why direction. I always ask them what do you do as a director.
They need to know that."
What do you think about our people reviewing films. Should it be
encouraged. How would you define a properly done review?
"I’ll
be honest with you. The moment you are letting someone to view your product,
you must accept the feedback that comes from that person. Especially if they
are paying to watch your product, then they have all the rights to say whatever
they want because they have paid for that.
At
the same time, you must remember one more thing. If a person who pays RM 15 and
watch a film can say so many things, you as a director/producer who puts in RM
150, 000 has the rights to take in what only I need to hear. If this is
understood, reviews won’t be an issue and it should be encouraged.
In
fact, I think reviews are one of the best thing that came to Malaysian Tamil
Cinema and it should develop more as it allows film makers to learn from it.
For
example, you told that you felt EVT was a little draggy at parts. I did it
intentionally, but you were not the only one to say it. Which means next time,
if I am going to do something like that again, I should treat it in a different
way where you don’t feel draggy.
There
is no such thing as a proper review. There are 2 types of audience. One who
understands films and another who doesn’t. A reviewer should be able to give a
review which satisfy both these audience which is understandable for them."
In your opinion, despite various directors providing quality films,
theater occupancy reminds low. How can we unlock this issue to get more
audience?
"End of
the day you need to know 2 things. One, you really need to be strong with your
marketing. Which means you need at least RM 100,000 to RM 150,000 in your hands
just for marketing.
Second,
if you don’t have this money, then you need to be ready to sacrifice your movie
to build an audience for the Malaysian Tamil Film Industry. You need to do
either one of it. It is either you sacrifice your movie with low collection and
build your audience for your next film or have the money to do good marketing
and build your audience."
Who would you nominate next to be interviewed by Boggler Blogger?
"I
think you should interview Shanjhey Kumar Perumal of "Jagat". He is a man who is really
living for Malaysian. I think Malaysians should really appreciate him and
celebrate him. I think you should interview him next."
With that, this is the end of In The Limelight With Karthik Shamalan. I hope to come back to you with another big name interview soon. Stay tuned and don't forget to like our Facebook Page in the link below
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