'Masaan' director Neeraj Ghaywan says South Cinema is doing well because of authenticity

The 'Masaan' fame director shared that South films continue to do well because they prioritize lived-in experiences over surface-level characters.

He stated, "I feel the reason why the southern industries are doing so well is because their lived reality is so authentic, and their characters are rooted and real. Here (in Bollywood), the characters are sanitized for a certain audience. It has to go via Bandra. It doesn't feel real. In the process of making film palatable to a certain audience, you might lose what is real."

During one of the sessions named 'Alternative Reality' hosted by 'Mrs' and 'Aarya' writer Anu Singh Choudhary, Neeraj Ghaywan also noted the lack of "independent funding" for films- which exists in Europe but not in India. He said that this has made it difficult for indie cinema to thrive.

The filmmaker revealed, "The challenge is to make what you want with the studios while keeping your integrity intact. Recovery has to come from music or casting a particular actor. You have to battle your way through to achieve your vision."

Neeraj Ghaywan was joined at the panel discussion by filmmakers Shoojit Sircar, Megha Ramaswamy, and Kanu Behl.

Known for films such as "Titli" and "Agra", Kanu Behl said, "Independent cinema is dead. There's this black hole where you don't know if whatever you're working on will ever get made."

The 7th edition of the Indian Screenwriters Conference saw renowned screenwriters and creators including Shoojit Sarkar, C Prem Kumar, Christo Tomy, Hemanth M Rao, Vivek Athreya, Biswapati Sarkar, and Anand Tiwari coming together to share their experiences, techniques and the secrets behind their most successful works, and how they negotiate the changing dynamics of the industry and its 'New Reality'.