Filmmaker Reema Kagti has a thing or two to say to those who revel in hate-watching: be mindful of the beast that you empower.
The acclaimed filmmaker says that audiences today need to step up and extend genuine patronage to indie films for the ecosystem to thrive, instead of falling into an algorithmic trap that rewards projects which the viewers themselves dub a "cringe binge".
"On some level, you have to start consciously thinking about what you are consuming, and why you are doing it," Kagti tells THR India as she sits down to talk about filmmaker Tribeny Rai's indie gem Shape of Momo.
Kagti has boarded the project as an executive producer alongside filmmakers Zoya Akhtar and Payal Kapadia, with the film slated for a theatrical rollout on May 29 via Rana Daggubati’s Spirit Media.
"I would encourage people who genuinely like films, the true cinephiles, to go out and patronise these projects," Kagti said.
"Give patronage to films. This word 'support' is not a nice word to use, but art has historically always been propagated through patronage. We need to see it as exactly that: patronage. Don't look at it as just buying a movie ticket for a smaller film, as opposed to an algorithm deciding the films you hate to watch."
The filmmaker noted that a bizarre paradox occurs when one engages in hate-watching: it directly rewards the exact style of storytelling that the audience itself acknowledges is subpar.
"You engage in hate-watching, but because you are hate-watching, they are going to keep making these films! Because you are watching them so much, as a 'cringe watch'. I mean, what even are these terms"
"They are going to keep making these films because the algorithm is showing that a lot of people are watching it! Yet, the very people who are streaming it are also simultaneously saying it's a cringe watch. So, you have to start consciously thinking about what you are doing, and why you are doing it."
When asked what success looks like for a film like Shape of Momo—which is set in a Himalayan village in Sikkim and traces the lives of women across generations within a single family—Kagti noted that success, generally, is simply being able to do what you like and want to.
For Rai, that means she has made the exact film she wanted to make, choosing not to conform or craft something that merely tries to be conventional.
"But as they say, I think the responsibility is not just on filmmakers," Kagti asserted. "Perhaps it lies with journalists who could suggest to the audience that numbers are not what makes a good film."
Kagti also acknowledged that numbers are undeniably important since cinema is an inherently expensive art form, and nobody is suggesting that creators should just keep drowning money. "But you have to balance that aspect."
"If you look at her budget, or you look at the budget of a film like Boong, and see the impact these films have had — it's crazy. This is especially true when you contrast them against films that have spent ₹100 crores or ₹150 crores. Sure, you will watch those big films, eat your popcorn, and enjoy a lot of noise and fun at the movies.
"But by the next day, there is not one single thing that sticks to you. Somewhere, people need to start seeing film as art, and not just pure entertainment. It has to be a mix of both."
The filmmaker emphasised that she is all for having a good, entertaining experience in a theater, but that "simply cannot be the only thing available to us."
"As a complete lover of cinema, if I only had that option, it would be really depressing. I need all of it," she added.