Vikramaditya Motwane
| Photo Credit: Joseph Gnana Satheesh X@Chennai
Vikramaditya Motwane has such a varied, innovative filmography, it resists nostalgia. He strikes you as one of those creators who is always forging ahead, tinkering with screenlife thriller (CTRL) or period prison drama (Black Warrant). Still, it’s been a long road for Motwane, and it doesn’t hurt to look back. Two of his most accomplished films — Udaan and Lootera — are back in theatres this month. A lush, lilting romance set in post-Independence Bengal, Lootera is riding the wave of recent re-releases. Meanwhile, Udaan, Motwane’s landmark debut feature, will be shown at the forthcoming Red Lorry Film Festival. Motwane is also on the jury for the festival’s inaugural competition section.
A slender, springtime alternative to MAMI, the 2025 edition of Red Lorry will take place in Mumbai from March 21 to 23. The festival is also travelling to Hyderabad this year.
The competition segment is split into two categories: The Frontrunner, for the best cuts of world cinema, and Fresh Frames, to honour debutant directors. The main competition shortlist includes, among others, When The Light Breaks, the Icelandic film that opened the Un Certain Regard of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, and The 47, the Spanish bus driver drama that became a runaway success in its home country.
Motwane has done jury work before, but only for shorts and screenplays. “This is the first time I am judging features,” he concurs. “I will certainly not watch them on my iPhone or iPad.”
It’s important, when watching and curating films, not to make rash judgments and to wait for the mood to settle, Motwane says. It prompts a throwaway question: Has he ever revised his opinion of a film on a second viewing? “Interesting one. I wasn’t a fan of Interstellar (2014) when it came out. But people were like, ‘It’s Nolan’s best work.’ But in that moment, it didn’t do as much for me as it did for others.”
Like most festivals these days, Red Lorry leans hard on retrospectives and restorations. As many as 120 classic films (old and contemporary, Indian and foreign-language) will play across the three-day programme. If you always wanted to see Guru Dutt’s Mr and Mrs 55 — one of his funniest works, with wondrous song choreography — on the big screen, before slipping away for a late show of David Fincher’s Se7en, now is your chance. There is also a 45th-anniversary screening of Subhash Ghai’s iconic reincarnation rock opera Karz.
“I am excited for Karz as well as the Vijay Anand lineup including Jewel Thief and Johny Mera Naam,” says Motwane. He is unsure if Udaan can be called a ‘classic’ yet. I nod that it can. “I am thrilled to screen it and have the audience see it again.”
Lootera, Motwane’s second film, was beautifully mounted and shot — though it’s only been 12 years, the film seems to belong to another era in Hindi cinema. It had a tremendously challenging shoot, Motwane recalls, with its snow-bound Dalhousie schedule falling through on two separate occasions. “Our set collapsed and cast members including Ranveer (Singh) were injured.” The sequences were eventually shot in the month of May, with ladybugs in the ground and greenery everywhere. “We got a snow technician from the UK and it was my first time using major VFX to deck up the backgrounds.”
In a Twitter AMA some years ago, lead actor Singh was asked about a potential sequel. Though he shot down the idea, he expressed interest in collaborating with Motwane again. “Ranveer and I have been discussing ideas, but we haven’t found anything that we both are super thrilled about. Maybe soon.”
At present, Motwane is chalking out a second season for Black Warrant and writing “a bunch of stuff”. His archival 3-part documentary series, Indi(r)a’s Emergency, shelved by Netflix, may yet see the light of day. “It is a tough time for anything borderline political. But we will fight the good fight.”
Political cinema, in the current climate, needs the cushioning of genre, Motwane stresses. His Bhavesh Joshi Superhero (2018) had a scene where a character is nearly lynched on the basis of a viral video. A series as boldly political as Sacred Games is almost unimaginable today, but Motwane places his hopes on clever subversion combined with compelling storytelling.
“Even as pure a genre film as Die Hard talks about racism and the police state. In fact, more than Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, my most political film is CTRL.” Featuring Ananya Panday, the film looks at surveillance capitalism and AI.
Given his penchant for compulsive genre-hopping, I ask Motwane science fiction will be his next stop. “I have an idea, but it’s at a nascent stage. I haven’t got down to writing it.” He adores Back to the Future, and has admired homegrown sci-fi efforts like Arati Kadav’s Cargo and Kalki 2898 AD.
“There was also Love Story 2050 back in the day… but I don’t think that counts.”
Published – March 10, 2025 04:12 pm IST
