Actor Adil Hussain has multiple reasons to celebrate. His film “Footprints On Water” had its premiere at the UK Asian Film Festival, where Hussain won the Best Actor award. The film, directed by debutant filmmaker Nathalia Syam from Britain, also received the Best Debut Film award at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF).
During a chat with Hindustan Times, Hussain shared that the film is the first attempt to explore a subject that is usually not discussed in this part of the world. The film focuses on the struggles of illegal immigrants in the United Kingdom. However, he is disheartened that despite international acclaim, such films often go unnoticed by Indian audiences.
“If you ask me, it’s not the audience who is to be blamed for this, as they haven’t really been educated by the Indian filmmakers since the last 30-40 years. The kind of films that Indian mass audiences have been given to watch by all the industries, are more black and white, typical ‘good boy, bad boy’ [stories]. That’s probably one of the reasons why Indian audiences are not used to watching complex films and their awareness of watching good films is not really cultivated,” he said.
Adil added that he would like to put the onus on the filmmakers and tell them it’s easy for them to sell films which are black and white, instead of those with grey shades. He believes that a significant reason why such films often go unnoticed is the lack of financial support for their production and promotion. In India, producers are hesitant to invest in these films and create awareness among the public. Theatrical releases require substantial funds, making it challenging for films like “Footprints On Water” to reach audiences unless they find a platform for streaming. “Producers [in India] are not ready to trust the content, and put in money to bring these films into public consciousness and awareness. And even by promoting it, there is very little chance that films such as this would be available for public viewing, as theatrical releases need a lot of money. So, it might land on an OTT platform, but unless it is duly promoted, people would not know that such a film even exists,” he added.
Adil rued that even when such films make it to OTT, people tend to ask, ‘Who is the star?’. “OTT platforms are following almost the similar thing like mainstream Indian cinema, except some series [where they cast fresh talent],” he said.
Adil Hussain was recently seen in the web series Tooth Pari: When Love Bites.
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