Films play a huge role in our lives, by influencing our decisions and nurturing our philosophies while also being entertaining.
Priyankar Patra, our next pathbreaker, works as Producer and Screenwriter mostly with an independent production company “For Films” which is based out of Mumbai.
Priyankar talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about his screenwriting career, and a film he produced, Once Upon A Time In Calcutta, which premiered at Venice International Film Festival and is now preparing for a theatrical release.
For students, the best way to convince the world is to show them what drives you and if you just keep at it, you can possibly make a career out of it.
Priyankar, can you share your background for our young readers?
I was born and largely raised in Kolkata in a middle class joint family filled with people who were all artistic but never pursued careers in the arts. So I was exposed to different forms of art from an early age; I just didn’t know if it was possible as a career. My father was in IT but he could play many musical instruments. My mother was in banking before she became a homemaker but she was always a brilliant and sensitive poet. I got into dancing at a very young age, then into theater and eventually photography. All of these somehow culminated into my interest in films. A lot of my memorable childhood memories are of watching films with my parents or my uncle-aunt and cousin across the corridor. Films of all kinds — from world cinema (which I hardly understood back then) to very mainstream Bollywood and Bengali films. That was the real inception of my interest.
What did you do for graduation/post graduation?
I knew I wanted to be a writer-director pretty early on in life. Maybe it was just naivety or just unfiltered passion for the medium. My parents were encouraging too; unlike the majority around the country. They probably saw some drive in me which I find hard to grasp even to this day. But for my undergraduate degree, I wanted something a little broader. Film courses in India were few in number for undergraduates and the options that were available were very expensive. So I enrolled in Journalism and Mass Communication for my undergraduate. During that time, I worked for t2, the very popular entertainment wing of The Telegraph, which exposed me to a lot of people in the industry. And suddenly a career in films felt more tangible because I was around people who were earning a living in films. I knew I wanted to do a masters / further studies before working full time, so I started looking at options. I got a generous scholarship from Northwestern University in the US. With the scholarship and a lot of silent sacrifices from my parents, I was able to travel across the globe where I specialized in an area I always wanted to study — screenwriting. It was a MFA program and very workshop oriented where you learn by doing. Those were the two of the best years of my life.
Can you share with us some of the key influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional, and unique career in Films?
My interest in films started at an early age. I just didn’t know what I wanted to do in films. I was interested in everything related to films. I wanted to write about films (journalism / film writing), I loved shooting (cinematography), writing, directing and also acting. So it was all over the place. I think it was when I went to watch “The Dark Knight” right in between my class 8 half-yearly exams that was really a deciding point for me. It was the moment in the film where The Joker escapes from the prison, sticks his head out of the police car and enjoys his dose of anarchy when the entire audience (including my uncle who reluctantly accompanied me to watch the film) gasped at the sight. I looked at the faces of people around me in that theater and wanted to do something in life which would evoke the same or similar response from a collective group of people. I think since then, I have just been making films with my school friends. We made a short film, and really marketed it all around the school. We had a trailer cut, a poster, we burned DVDs, had DVD covers with the poster on them. It was very professional. But the short film was not as good as our collective ambitions. When our friends, teachers or distant relatives watched it, everyone laughed. It was embarrassing. But that’s a deciding factor really. What do you do when you fail and get embarrassed? My friends and I didn’t care. We made another film, and then another film, and then another film. These were films made on weekends, with pre-owned digicams, phone cameras or camcorders with less than a hundred rupees. We didn’t care if we failed a hundred times. We were just happy making films. And our parents were also happy that their kids developed a hobby that’s keeping them busy. At this point, my parents saw that this is something that I could potentially turn into a career if I kept at it. So in a way it was maybe easy for them to see that I could study films academically because they have seen me always making or talking about films. It was then a lot of conversations with my parents and friends that really helped me lock down what I wanted to do especially in it — writing. I enjoyed that process the most as a high school student when I was making these shorts with my friends.
How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted? Or how did you make a transition to a new career? Tell us about your career path
It was a gradual transition. I always knew what I wanted to do. So it was always a one-small-step at-a-time kind of approach. Academic training, internships and then followed up by hands-on training.
My screenwriting work is still in production and will soon be released. But so far, my work as a producer has been released. A film I produced, Once Upon A Time In Calcutta, premiered at Venice International Film Festival and is now preparing for a theatrical release. The Daughter, a short film I produced is available on JioCinema, available to stream for free.
How did you get your first break?
After graduating from Northwestern, I was looking for jobs in the US itself. But the offers that came my way, which were more suited for international students, weren’t something I was interested in. So when I got a call from Aditya Vikram Sengupta, a celebrated independent filmmaker in India to assist him in a film, I didn’t think twice before saying yes. It was closer to what I wanted to know —- the action of set and story creation.
It was a rollercoaster ride. Though I started the project as an assistant director, I soon realised I didn’t have the skillsets. Unfortunately, the production company which was producing the film dissolved and they needed someone in the team to step up as a producer. So that’s how I evolved into a producer. As a producer, I made sure the film was completed in the timeline set within the required budget and also was a part of the conversations to design the film festival strategy as well the sale of the film.
What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?
Challenge 1: To adjust to the unpredictable nature of the profession. Decisions are made over coffee, sometimes without documentation, and are very emotion driven. I had to find a structure in the chaos that worked for me and stick to that. And slowly once I get to work with the same team again and again, a common language develops.
Challenge 2: Understanding that, like many other professions, opportunities are created mostly through networking. So you have to go out of your way to ensure people know you. If you’re uncomfortable with it, you need to train yourself to get used to it.
Where do you work now?
I work as a producer and a screenwriter. I mostly produce with an independent production company called For Films which is based out of Mumbai. We are in the process of developing multiple new film and series ideas. I also write scripts. A large part of the development process is writing. No two days at my job are the same and that’s honestly the best part about my job.
How does your work benefit society?
It may not be direct and in a short term cause-and effect way. But, films play a huge role in our lives. They influence our decisions, nurture our philosophies and are inherently introspective while also being entertaining.
Tell us an example of a specific memorable work you did that is very close to you!
A film that I produced premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in 2021. I represented the film and travelled to Venice. It was my first time at such a large cinematic stage. It was truly an amazing experience. It was eye opening because for the first time I got to see how films, besides being an art form, are also a business, an industry. And it shouldn’t be forgotten.
Your advice to students based on your experience?
If you want to have a future in something niche, it will always be difficult for people around to understand and support you. The fault isn’t theirs. They just don’t know any better yet. That’s where you come in. Show them you’re really passionate.
Show them that passion drives you and if you just keep at it, you can possibly make a career out of it.
Future Plans?
I am developing my own feature film and will make my directorial debut soon.