GUWAHATI, Oct 29 - �Classic films of the world have a unique scripting structure due to which those are not easy to remake. Already many attempts to remake many classic films went futile. Again, it is also very tough to do shot-by-shot prediction of a classical film,� said acclaimed film critic MK Raghavendra while speaking at the open forum on the topic �Scripting Success in Stories� in the second edition of the Guwahati International Film Festival (GIFF) at the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra here today.
The film scholar, who had received the national award for best film critic in 1997, while speaking about the technique of script writing today, also laid stress on how to engage audience in every scene of a film.
�It is the credibility of a scriptwriter to engage audience in a film. So, scripting is the most important part of filmmaking where it is also necessary to mind the need of audience in some instance,� Raghavendra said.
He also said that in our society, there are some elements beyond politics which should be properly depicted in films so that they can easily touch the people�s heart.
Giving his view on entry of commercial films in the film festival arena, Raghavendra said, �A film festival is a place for good films. On the other hand, it is very hard to differentiate between art and commercial films. In GIFF, I have seen entry of some Italian and Marathi comedies which have not got very good response from the audience.�
Speaking at the forum, Madara Dislera, a filmmaker from Latvia said, �I come from the northeastern part of Europe. In my country there are two types of cinema, one dedicated to audience and another dedicated to art. Again, scripting style always follows some rule in Europe.�
The filmmaker, whose film Paradise �89 made the Asian premiere in the second edition of the GIFF on Saturday, said, �I think, filmmaker should have to give more stress on feeling while making a film along with the script. We should have something unique in thinking while making a film. Moreover, I also agree with the idea that there must be some magic to make a film successful.�
Indian filmmaker Karaan Guliani, who was also present at the open forum as a panellist, said, �The epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata are a storage of lots of great stories. Anyone can make a film by adapting any story from those epics. The success will depend on how a filmmaker goes through the story. I found various stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata even in many foreign language films. Interestingly, if we analyse the storyline of a film, then we surely see a link with the stories of those epics.�
The director of Sarvann, a Punjabi thriller released in 2017, also said that while roaming in Guwahati during the past few days, he found stories floating in the air. �How to tell those stories will depend upon the filmmaker. As a commercial filmmaker I also want to say that during scripting it is necessary to keep audience in mind.�
Assamese filmmaker Hemanta Kumar Das, who was also a panellist of the forum, said that he had learned to write scripts through the comic books he had read during his childhood. �In Assam we have seen that during scripting the writer is always concerned about whether the film will be a commercial one or an art film,� he added.
The maker of the critically acclaimed Assamese Othello, while explaining about the film said, �The film is not an adaptation from the work of Shakespeare. The story is totally different, but it has some similarity with Shakespeare�s work. Interestingly, all the characters of the film had read Shakespeare�s work in their college days. I believe that it is better to take a new story rather than adapting one. There are many stories in our society. I think cinema should be like creation of a new poem and painting,� he added.
