Anubhav Sinha: Movies have power to shape attitudes

Mumbai, Dec 13  Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, who has completed a decade in films as a producer, feels that movies and pop culture can shoulder a major change in the society.

For him, the past decade has been a learning curve as an artiste producer and a storyteller after he found his true niche in conscientious films which reflected in the choices of his production house, Benaras Mediaworks.

Looking back at his journey as a producer, Anubhav says, “I have had the most delightful 10 years. They have been a learning process for me. I have come on my own and found the films that I want to tell. In ‘Mulk’, ‘Article 15’, ‘Thappad’, I found stories that struck a chord with me personally. I want to make movies that make people think and start discussions.”

Talking about his perception towards film in terms of nation building, he says, “Movies and popular culture have the power to shape attitudes. They send out a message that will be picked up by people. So yes, I am an entertainer. But I am not just an entertainer. I am a filmmaker who wants to leave you with a thought that’s played on my mind for far too long.”

“It’s such a strong thought that I have felt compelled to translate the story to screen. I want you to discuss casual sexism, caste disparity, Islamophobia and everything else that I am discussing with my family members, my peers. The next few years will be about pushing the envelope beyond, telling more power-packed stories and taking forward the agenda of creating cinema that hopes to do more than entertain,” he adds.

With much-awaited films like ‘Anek’ starring Ayushmann Khurrana, ‘Faraaz’ directed by Hansal Mehta, his untitled quirky thriller with Sudhir Mishra amongst others, the director-producer is charting his own course of meaningful and entertaining cinema.