Actor-filmmaker Javed Jaffrey says he had mixed feelings upon recieving a National Film Award for his production venture "Inshallah, Kashmir", a documentary on contemporary Kashmir. He feels there is a need for more avenues to exhibit such cinema.
"There is a dichotomy of emotions which I felt while receiving this award. I feel great that the film has been recognised by the highest body, but then where do we go from here? We are looking at how these films can be exhibited," Javed told IANS in an interview.
He collected the best investigative film award, along with the movie's director Ashvin Kumar from President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi Friday.
"Inshallah, Kashmir", Javed says, is a "raw film".
"In a feature film, the question of censorship always comes up. This film is completely different. It is in your face. These are real people who have not been given lines to narrate. It shows the amount of turbulence which is prevalent in the system today," he said.
For such cinema to reach a wider audience, the government and media will have to lend it more importance.
"The filmmaker puts in a lot of money and labour into the film. The government, people and media need to encourage such cinema. We are not looking at a Rs.200 crore film, but basic respect of good cinema should be given," he said.
Talking about how the film was conceptualised, Javed explained that while shooting for another documentary "Inshallah, Football" in Kashmir, they came across a lot of material for "Inshallah, Kashmir".
"We had a lot of material which was not used. There were hard-hitting problems and the director Ashvin Kumar was very keen to make this film," he said.
After being in the industry for over two decades, Javed said that he has learnt to make the best of what he has.
"What exists, exists. You cannot change that. It is very important to move on and the make the best of what you have," he said.
The filmmaker is all set to make his next documentary soon.
"A documentary can be made if I find a producer. I cannot finance it again. There are two to three issues, which I want to incorporate," he said.
