Director Sanjiv Jaiswal, known for directing socially relevant films such as Shudra: The Rising and Pranaam, believes that the current phase is the best for making films with tough themes.
Director Sanjiv Jaiswal, known for directing socially relevant films such as Shudra: The Rising and Πραναάμ, believes that the current phase is the best for making films with hard themes. The Lucknowite has also made two films and a series about the class divide during the ongoing pandemic.
“With the OTT boom, the audience has been exposed to all types of content, which has made the audience viewing options huge. “Today, it is possible to work on any socially relevant topic and if the content is good it can reach a wide audience around the world,” says Jaiswal.
His upcoming direction Quota: The reservation, starring Anirudh Dave and Garrima Kapoor, has been selected for Best Foreign Language Film at the London Independent Film Awards 2021 and is an official entry to the Berlin International Art Festival.
“When I started as a director with Sundra… (2012) which revolved around the history of class division I encountered many problems during its circulation and also suffered losses. First, we had problems with the censorship panel that was followed by multiple cuts and then during the release there were protests again and what not! But that did not deter me from making films with what I thought. My next movie Πραναάμ “(2019) with Rajeev Khandelwal was again based on a very social issue of that time”, he adds.
His next three works are all based on the caste gap in the country.
“As the name implies, Rate… concerns the education system and the problem faced by students due to caste discrimination. Then I do a series of OTTs Ambedkar: The Legend who has veteran actor Vikram Gokhle playing the role of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar. “Both will be available on the new Baba Play app, which is dedicated to socially relevant paid and promotional content,” says Jaiswal.
The director says that his film Bagawat starring Rajniesh Duggal, a sequel Sundra…, will be released in cinemas of the year. “When I produced Fareb it was a completely commercial film. Then Anuar I touched on the Hindu-Muslim chord and since then I have only stuck to relevant stories. I believe that movies and music have a big impact on the public. It may take time, but the issues, if posed through visual medium, hit the viewers. Fortunately, this is the right time to do it, as we have different means of delivering content to a wider audience, ”says Lucknowite, who has shot six of his seven works in his hometown.
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