Having directed critically well-received and socially conscious films for decades, national award winning director Devashish Makhija is well-known as a screen-writer and director with films like Bhonsle (2018), Joram (2022) and Ajji (2018) under his belt. While film enthusiasts know him as the creator of stories that typically follow a character locked in a fight against the system, be it a tribal man labelled as a maoist trying to escape with his baby daughter in Joram, an older Mahrashtrian cop forced to retire in Bhonsle, or a grandmother seeking justice for a sexually assaulted child, the film personality is also a prolific fiction writer and now a published poet set to take part in a panel at Bengaluru Poetry Festival.
Titled ‘Serenading in 70 mm’, the panel will see Makhija, media professional Archana Vasudev and young lyricists Neeraj Pandey and Ritwik Kaikini discuss how poetry elevates narratives in cinema. Makhija says, “We are hoping to explore how poetry finds its way into cinema beyond lyrics and how being a poet shapes our approach to storytelling in cinema.”
Reflecting on his own approach to writing poems, recently released as a collection Bewilderness, and for film, he notes a vast difference, “Because a film reaches so many people, writing for cinema is trying to reach out to an audience. But poetry, for me, is inward and a lot more intimate. If it reaches out to people, it’s a bonus.”
However, he also finds that one form has influenced the other, saying, “I work really hard to ensure that every word is earning its place in my poem. All of that informs my film writing. The other way around, because film is primarily an audio and a visual medium, I’ve seen my poems have started becoming more image heavy and sound heavy in the last 15 years.”
There have been reports of Makhija directing an upcoming Tapsee Pannu-starring action film, but when asked, he remains tight-lipped, refusing to share any details. He does, however, share that he is planning to take a turn towards mainstream films with his next few projects. While independent cinema might have brought him critical acclaim, making them has become financially unsustainable, he admits. “I’ve often made films because there’s something I want to say, and when they don’t make their money back, the next film is that much harder to find backing for. While Joram got a lot of critical acclaim and love from audiences, it really broke me financially and I still haven’t recovered from it. I’m sitting on 16 ready screenplays, but nobody wants to finance them. People are either afraid of [films] asking questions or people in power are afraid of answering them.”
Despite this upcoming shift, Makhija notes that he is trying to balance his unique vision and mainstream appeal. He says, “Otherwise, what is the difference between me directing a film and someone else who’s been in the mainstream for 20 years directing it? I’m hoping that if I’m bringing some of my voice, it will stand out, but at the same time, I’m extra vigilant about not alienating the mainstream viewer who’s coming for a certain kind of experience.”