Hindi pulp fllms of the 1990s had a cult following, sometimes making more money than a movie with a top star, says director Vasan Bala who tracks the glory and fall of the “underground cinema movement” in the OTT series “Cinema Marte Dum Tak”. “The show is not just fun and games but a deep dive into who these filmmakers were and what kind of lives they led and what happened to them,” Bala told PTI about the series on the movement that ran parallel to mainstream Bollywood, and sometimes even bested it.
“I think people need to know the story and we have tried to present it in the most honest possible way. They will understand the glory and the fall, the aftermath and also the comeback. It makes for a great structure.” Bala, whose films “Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota” or “Monica, O My Darling” are filled with his favourite movie references, serves as the creator alongside co-directors Disha Rindani, Xulfee and Kulish Kant Thakur. The series premiered on Prime Video on Friday.
The Vice Studio Production's six-episode reality docu-series brings together era stalwarts such as J Neelam of "Sadhu Bana Shaitan" and 'Tadapati Jawani" fame, Vinod Talwar, who made "Raat Ke Andhere Mein" and "Khooni Panja", Dilip Gulati of "Jaan Lada Denge" and "Jungle Beauty", and Kishan Shah of 'Tann Aggan" and "Murda Ghar".
“This (docu-series) is beyond an underdog story; this is actually an underground story. We wanted to understand, in a very non-judgmental way, their process and the lives that they (the filmmakers) have led. We were careful not to make it a spoof. The documentary is just us trying to get close to them and then let them explain where they come from. “Through this, we got to meet fascinating characters and got to know interesting anecdotes from the era. Meeting these people and understanding their cinema is a huge tick mark on my list,” Bala said.