Filmmakers Payal Kapadia, Varun Grover, Anuparna Roy and Vasan Bala have issued a joint statement urging fair access to movie theatres, highlighting that despite global recognition for pushing the boundaries of Indian storytelling, they are still fighting “to be seen” in their own country.
The filmmakers pointed to Kanu Behl’s critically acclaimed film Agra as an example, noting that despite strong audience interest and media attention, it has faced challenges in securing fair and accessible showtimes across multiplexes.
“Over the last decade, Indian independent cinema has carried the country's creative identity to the world-premiering at Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Sundance, Locarno, Rotterdam and Busan. These films have expanded the idea of what Indian stories can be. They have been celebrated globally for their honesty, courage and craft. And yet, within India, these films continue to fight simply to be seen. This reality has resurfaced sharply with the limited release of Agra, directed by Kanu Behl,” read the joint statement.
Co-written by Behl and Atika Chohan, Agra hit theatres on 14 November.
Throwing light on the situation, Behl said, “Update on ‘Agra’, the film: We’re being denied shows because of the so called ‘big blockbusters’ and because small films ‘don’t fit into’ multiplex chain programming. It’s up to you the audience now! Speak up and tag the chains. Say that you want to see the film.”
On Monday, Behl shared a joint statement on X from independent filmmakers across India, urging the industry to acknowledge and address persistent systemic challenges.
Nandita Das, Chaitanya Tamhane, Gurvinder Singh, and Aamir Bashir, noted that the struggles faced by Agra reflect a longstanding systemic issue affecting independent films, which often encounter severely restricted screenings, weekday- or morning-only showtimes, abrupt cancellations, opaque programming decisions, and a clear preference for big-budget releases.
“As a collective community of filmmakers, writers, producers and artists working across regions, we urge exhibitors, OTT platforms, policymakers and cultural institutions to address this crisis with structural reforms,” they said.
“This creates a ‘closed-loop’ ecosystem where independent films are asked to ‘prove’ themselves in theatres while simultaneously being denied theatrical access... We are not demanding exceptional treatment. We are demanding fair access to the right for Indian audiences to discover Indian films,” they added.
The filmmakers are demanding that all Indian independent films releasing theatrically be guaranteed a minimum number of accessible showtimes, including at least one screening after 6pm.
They are calling for transparent programming practices, with clear criteria for screen allocation across multiplex chains to ensure fairness and accountability.
Furthermore, they advocate for institutionalised monthly or quarterly indie film cycles to foster discovery, audience-building, and visibility, supported by public-private initiatives to create a national exhibition network for independent cinema.
Alankrita Shrivastava, Aditya Kripalani, Arati Kadav, Ruchi Narain, Raam Reddy, Honey Trehan, Leena Yadav, Dibakar Das Roy, Karan Talwar, Megha Ramaswamy, Devashish Makhija, Karan Tejpal are among the filmmakers who have signed the statement.
Agra premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight, an independent section of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
The film went on to receive multiple accolades, including the Special Jury Award at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, Best Indie Film and Best Actor at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, and both Best Film and Best Actor at the 2024 New York Indian Film Festival.
Agra, an Indo-French co-production between Saregama India Ltd, UFO Production, and O28 Films, is Behl’s second feature film following Titli (2015), which also had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
