The morning of a release day for a filmmaker is usually filled with hope, excitement and anxiety about the audience’s response. But for director Kanu Behl, it was marked by struggle and disillusionment. After a wait of almost two years, Behl’s Agra released on Friday on 70 screens across the country. The filmmaker criticised multiplexes on social media over the film’s showcasing. “We’re being denied shows because small films ‘don’t fit into’ multiplex chain programming,” he wrote on X.
On a call with mid-day, Behl shared his frustration over the relentless fight he had to put up until the day before the release. “Till the last minute, we were told [by theatres], ‘We’ll figure, but nothing [happened],” he said.
Kanu Behl
When told that only four shows were available in Mumbai on the opening day, Behl pointed out the irony. “On Thursday night, we held a screening in Bengaluru. We had to turn away people because it was houseful. We got a standing ovation. I did around 12 pre-release screenings in India and at least 10 were with aam janta. It played to packed halls,” he said.
Agra has also gained recognition on global platforms, premiering at the Cannes Film Festival 2023. The anticipation was heightened because this is Behl’s theatrical comeback after the 2014 acclaimed Titli. It’s why the cold response of theatrical stakeholders has alarmed Behl — not for himself but for the future of young filmmakers. “If this is their treatment of a film that opened at Cannes, I shudder to think what younger filmmakers and the next generation will go through. Then they [multiplexes] turn around and say, ‘Aisi filme chalti nahi hain.’ And those they run across 2000 screens, play to empty theatres. So when is this system going to change?”
Behl shared that releasing a film on the big screen is becoming a mental health crisis for independent filmmakers. “The illusion that multiplexes were there to accommodate all kinds of films is long gone. Now it is just about fighting for survival. But I am not going to fight for survival anymore. Either this system has to work or I’m out. I don’t want to do this anymore. How long will a filmmaker fight? This is a larger mental health issue within the industry. This happened with All We Imagine as Light and Sabar Bonda. It will keep happening,” he lamented.
Compelled to put the onus on the audience, he says, “I want to reach out to the audience and say, ‘It’s in your hands. You come and watch this film, and show these guys how much money a film like this can earn or I’m quitting filmmaking’.” He is certain no one from the industry will act against this crisis. “Because they are a cabal. It is an incestuous sort of mafianess. So they are not going to move,” he said.
It has been so long fighting this battle. Indie makers and their art often get overlooked in the wider cinema space. Keep at it, Kanu, your effort truly matters. Everyone should come forward and support small meaningful cinema by asking their theatres to give these films a fair chance
— Manoj Bajpayee