Exclusive: 'I admire Shoojit Sarkar for the gravity in his films', says Natak Pictures founder Rahul Bhatnagar

In these changing times, cinema has now got a new face with the advent of OTT space. Rahul Bhatnagar, founder of Natak Pictures in an exclusive interview with Zee News Digital opened up on moving ahead in the digital space and his favourite filmmaker. After making several short films, he is now looking forward to working on web shows. 

Q. Tell us about your venture Natak Pictures

A. Films have always had a special place in my life and have intrigued me since childhood. I started Natak Pictures as a passion project alongside a 9-9 job. After investing 13 years in advertising, I decided to follow my passion to have my own content company. Today, our work has not only been acknowledged by celebrated film festivals but has also been appreciated by the audience who is no more ready to compromise with poor quality content.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Natak Pictures™ (@natakpictures)

Natak Pictures aims at providing meaningful, high-quality, relatable, family content through the most economical means, without the need to become a paid subscriber on a platform like YouTube

With its strong focus on ‘hyper localization’ and ‘hyper personalisation’, the Company today has produced over 16 short films on diverse and engaging topics, garnering around 30 million views on average on YouTube  

Q2. What’s in store for the OTT world?

A. The migration of audiences from traditional platforms to digital ones has been quite evident over the past few years. The entertainment industry is changing at a fast pace today, with the rising popularity of OTT content along with their ability to cater to tier 2 and tier 3 cities, the Indian audience has certainly become a flag bearer of quality content

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Rahul Bhatnagar (@rahullbhatnagar)

Most of our creations such as a Kati Patang, Pinki ki Shaadi, Chhodh Pakad etc are already streaming on MX Player, Hotstar and Shorts TV as well

Now we are taking the next step ahead with the launch of our new web show ‘UNSORTED’ in the coming month and most likely it shall go live on an OTT platform only. Having said that, we have already started to plan other web shows, which too will release in 2022. 

Q3. What pushed you to experiment in the digital arena?

A. As I mentioned before, being a filmmaker, it's only natural to be hungry for quality content. Considering the digital arena demands content creators to deliver quirky and relatable content frequently, the advertising industry was the best field to try. As years passed by, I created Unarranged, along with a 9-to-9 job. The film got an overwhelming response, which indeed made me more confident about my decision. 

Having entered this space now, my aim is to provide quality content absolutely free of cost from a platform like YouTube. I want to break the stereotypical belief of the YouTube audience being a passive entity. In fact, it is as intelligent as any OTT Platform. 

Having said that, the digital arena allows the writer to experiment with different elements in their storytelling which perhaps other mediums might not be able to offer. 

Q4. Who's your inspiration?

A. There is no one individual I have taken inspiration from. I prefer to extract knowledge from every person from whom I have gained even the slightest knowledge of filmmaking. Ultimately, I prefer to seek inspiration from real-time life experiences rather than individuals alone. 

Q5. Your favourite Bollywood filmmaker?

A. There are multiple filmmakers I have learned from. For instance, I admire Shoojit Sarkar for the gravity with which his film flows or Shakun Batra, who allows the relatability quotient to take the front seat in his storytelling. Filmmakers like these have offered a new layer to Indian cinema.