The Bengali New Year has always been about new beginnings. It’s a time to cement friendships and herald a fresh start. Actors Jisshu Sengupta and Saurav Das have got together to start their own production company, Why So Serious Films. A t2 chat.
What is the purpose of your production house?
Jisshu: We will produce films in all languages and try to empower directors and support their vision. We hope to produce films in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and more. We want to give back what we have got from the Bengali film industry. We would like to put Bengal on the national film map. That is our goal.
Saurav: Film is a director’s medium. But gradually, we started to notice that it is becoming a producer’s medium. We believe that cinema should be a director’s medium, which is why we decided to become producers and turn it into a director’s medium all over again. The directors who will work in our production house will be able to take the creative call. The director’s vision will be paramount.
Jisshu: We are also on the lookout for new actors, directors, cinematographers and music directors.
Saurav: We have so much talent in Bengal... when we work in other industries, we see the respect the people there have for talent from Bengal. We also see good actors and technicians from Bengal leaving the place to seek work in other parts of the country. They don’t get the right kind of opportunities. I have spoken to brilliant theatre actors who want to do great work. We want to set up an audition process where actors can send their audition videos for roles. In that way, directors would be able to cast the right actor for the role. There are surely thousands of brilliant actors who are losing out on roles because they do not know how to reach out to the right kind of people. We can facilitate the audition process.
How many films would you like to produce in a year?
Jisshu: We can produce one film or we can produce five. It depends on the content. We will produce music also. We are here to entertain people through our content. That can be a film or web series or television show or music video or an event. We are here to make friends with people and make good content.
Will you handle the marketing and distribution of films also?
Jisshu: We will decide as we go along. In the future, we might get someone or we will do it ourselves.
How can aspiring talent reach out to you?
Jisshu: We will update information on our social media pages. There will be email IDs. When we are looking for new stories, we will communicate that through our social media pages. We want to create a bank.
Are you guys always on the same page, or do you have creative debates?
Jisshu: We have debates, but at the end of the day, we both know what we are working towards. It is always for the larger vision; we are fighting for a cause. Cricket has brought us together.
How confident were you to open a production house at a time when the industry is going through a transitional phase?
Jisshu: We are not even thinking about that. If we think about the negative part of it, we won’t be able to create something exciting. Bohurupi and Khadaan made waves at the box office. People are there to watch good content. We are willing to produce all kinds of films — they might be commercial or serious films.
Both of you are busy actors. How will you give time to the production house?
Jisshu: We will make sure that we give time. If I am not around, Saurav is there, and when he is busy, I’ll take care of things. We will make sure that we schedule our work in that manner. We are not in a hurry to finish a film and release it quickly. We will give it time. I am not in a race with any production house. We are not here to compete with anyone.
Who will decide on the content of your films?
Jisshu: We both will decide.
Saurav: We are working on two to three stories.
Jisshu: Probably, Saurav will direct his first film from this production house, or I might direct.