{"id":10729,"date":"2020-10-24T09:29:05","date_gmt":"2020-10-24T09:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/planetbollywood.com\/wp\/?p=10729"},"modified":"2020-10-24T10:40:41","modified_gmt":"2020-10-24T10:40:41","slug":"theatre-has-been-my-teacher-and-cinema-is-my-lover-gulshan-devaiah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetbollywood.com\/wp\/interviews\/theatre-has-been-my-teacher-and-cinema-is-my-lover-gulshan-devaiah\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cTheatre has been my teacher and cinema is my lover\u201d \u2013 Gulshan Devaiah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Around a year back, Gulshan Devaiah<\/strong> firmly believed that feature films should only be released in theatres and no filmmaker should be deprived of the joy of presenting his labour of love on the big screen. Now, he is of the opinion that films can be made both for the big screen and the small screen. As his new feature length film ‘Footfairy\u2019 is about to release on television, he speaks about fulfilling his long-standing dream of playing a cop, how films releasing directly on OTT platforms and TV will help smaller filmmakers, favourite thrillers, what theatre taught him and why he has \u2018indefinitely retired\u2019 from the medium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember when we spoke sometime last year, you stated that you were not in favour of films releasing on streaming platforms. A couple of months later, we had another conversation and you said that you have made peace with this particular practice. Your new film \u2018Footfairy\u2019 is about to be premiered on television. How do you feel about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grew up falling in love with cinema and the magic of watching films in theatres. Initially, I was quite apprehensive about films releasing directly on streaming platforms but slowly, I realized that there were many benefits or advantages associated with it. The whole business model of theatrical release is very rigid and burdening on filmmakers, especially the ones making smaller budgeted films. A lot of these filmmakers were able to tell the stories they wanted to because of OTT platforms. Television taking this initiative to make original films forward is a welcome idea. It brings another avenue for filmmakers. \u2018Footfairy\u2019 is an &Pictures original film which was made with the intention of releasing it on a small screen. Theatres will continue to exist and we will keep watching films on the big screen. But now, because of OTT platforms and television, we are getting to see a lot of films which, perhaps, would have never made it to theatres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the late 80s and early 90s, one saw many films like \u2018Janam\u2019, \u2018Daddy\u2019 and \u2018Phir Teri Kahaani Yaad Aayi\u2019, among others, releasing directly on television. Why, do you think, that trend did not pick up back then?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I guess TV was not the same back then. I am not an expert on Indian television but from what I know, the TV boom happened in the early 2000s. Back in the 80s and the 90s, not everybody could afford a television set. With time, it became much more accessible as a medium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the internet boom, TV is still the medium of the masses.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is right. With \u2018Footfairy\u2019, I hope the trend of releasing films on television sees a revival. It will open up another avenue for filmmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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