R V Ramani - Documentary Filmmaker  

"Film making is a very lonely experience" - R V Ramani, documentary filmmaker

When R V Ramani decided to follow his heart, there was no stopping him. Lack of audience or sponsors did not deter him. Photography was not just a passion, but an obsession. He moved from still photography to motion pictures like a fish to water. Today he has over 10 documentary films to his credit. His latest passion drove him to film German artist Ulrike Arnold in the wilds of Badami in Karnataka for 30 long days.

Mumbaibest.com looks into the life of a documentary filmmaker.

How did you get interested in making motion pictures?

I studied in Khalsa College in Mumbai and while I was in my second year of college I got interested in photography as a hobby. It became so obsessive that by the time I finished my graduation, I decided that photography was to be my profession. Then I became a photojournalist and was freelancing for magazines and newspapers. I then joined the magazine 'Bombay' as a staff photographer. After a brief stint with the magazine, I quit and became a freelancer for the Daily and Sunday Observer.

At that point I did 'stills' for a feature film, for a friend of mine and Navroze Contractor was the cameraman. That got me interested in motion picture photography. So I joined the film institute. By the time I finished I am a filmmaker reborn. Still photography and motion pictures are two different ways of functioning and thinking. So I stuck to the latter.

How difficult is it to find sponsors or assignments?

There are no ready sponsors. There are corporates who want to make films, or films for government propaganda machinery or a handful of people who want documentary films for their personal use. There is no room for free independent film-making / documentaries or respect for a filmmaker as an artist. A documentary filmmaker is looked on like someone who is delivering a brochure or a PR piece.

I have chosen never to work with sponsors. I have found that many of my friends have reached frustrating levels towards the end of the film, when people who pay for it make a lot of cuts. It really breaks down the process of creativity. You reach a certain high when you finish a film, at that point everybody becomes possessive. Usually the sponsor or the person who pays for it becomes most possessive then and the power equation shifts. It usually the filmmaker who suffers. Up to 2 to 3 years ago social issue films were working, now because of the news channels no one is interested in issue-based documentaries.

So, I do camera work with other filmmakers, that's my specialisation and my bread and butter. This money I invest into my own documentary films. I have been able to create my own individualistic and almost personal style, which is not answerable to any sponsor. I am only answerable to myself.

Are there audiences for documentary films?

I have to search for audiences. I have been making films for the past 10 years and I can safely say that there are 150 people in each of the 5 metros willing to watch my film. So, 750 is my ready audience today. Maybe I can force another 2 to 3 times that number. If my film gets shown on television everybody watches, that has a far wide reach and is out of my hands.

Usually after my screening I retreat into my own space and think about how many people liked it, how many people did not like the film, feel the tension, sometimes feel let down, high or low. It is a certain lonely experience I go through every time, whether people like the film or not.

What is your series 'Whispering Images' based on?

'Whispering Images' is a series of films under one title. I worked in abandon on these films addressing areas of expression - full-fledged expression, half-baked expression, expression that has not come about, expression struggling to come out, people at various levels trying to express something. It is largely on people consciously working towards expression like artists, musicians and performers. Even a housewife works at expressions, though not explicit. Ulrike is more explicit in her idea of expression. A painter is trying to express something through a different kind of medium.

Your work is mainly centered around artists. Comment.

Almost all my films are centered around artists. I have also worked with politicians, who to me are also artists. They believe in people and their medium is millions of people. They play a kind of choreography with the masses. I made an election film in Tamil Nadu, which portrayed the character of politicians. It was a by-election, Seshan's last campaign and Jayalalitha's last victory. It was exciting to capture this on film.

Is there a difference between documentary filmmakers in India and abroad?

World over documentary filmmakers are struggling. Abroad all the filmmakers are talking about is money and there is never enough of it. There are few organisations abroad that fund documentaries, identify film makers or invite proposals. A filmmaker is a creative person who cannot commit himself to how the film will be after it is complete, he can only follow his instincts.

Are documentary films only addressed to intellectuals and less to the common man?

All these films are for the common man. Unfortunately, the common man in India is preoccupied with earning his bread and butter. I never think about for whom I am making the film, or a target audience. If one makes a commercial or Ad film, the first thing you take into consideration is target audience - lower middle class, upper middle class, urban sector, rural sector or semi-urban or the theatre 'A' grade, 'B' grade theatres, Metro, Chandan or Minerva. You categorise people and you conclude even about their taste. I cannot make a film for someone else, I make it to satisfy myself.

By: Anupama Vinayak

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