Prasoon Joshi advocates decentralised storytelling and accessibility in filmmaking

New Delhi, Nov 23 (FN Bureau) Acclaimed lyricist, author, and Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) Chairman Prasoon Joshi on Thursday emphasised the need to make the filmmaking process accessible and transparent and said it was important that storytelling did not remain centralised to a few cities. Captivating audiences at the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) with his thought-provoking masterclass titled “The Journey from Script to Screen: Writing for Film and Beyond,” Joshi said practising one’s craft continuously has no substitute as one cannot start the practice when opportunity knocks at our doors.today in Goa, Shri “The true content is not restricted by language and that way we can say that best poetry happens in silence and Silence is the eternal sound that connects us. Silence is the ultimate language.” he emphasised in the masterclass, held on the sidelines of IFFI 2024 “There is the need to make the filmmaking process accessible and transparent,” he said. While delving upon the journey of thought to film, Joshi drew from his childhood incidents which were the inspiration for his songs in “Taare Zameen Par” movie. “When you narrate something deeply personal it becomes universal,” he said.

“My mother used to comment upon my usage of difficult words in poetry which shaped my writing process enabling me to write the content which would resonate with the readers and will not gratify just me.” he stated. In a candid discussion on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Joshi said he was not taking it lightly. “It was supposed to hit creative fields the last, however it has affected the creative fields the first. We have to remember that whatever centres on mathematics can be mastered by Artificial Intelligence. “However, if one’s poem or story has emerged from some ultimate truth, then AI cannot produce that. With AI getting dominant it is the creator who is getting affected and not the creation,” added the CBFC chairman. “We have to see that storytelling does not remain centralised to a few cities alone and the Creative Minds of Tomorrow (CMOT) initiative tries to decentralise this process by enabling storytellers from mofussil areas to emerge,” he opined. He said one cannot effectively tell the stories from small cities and towns unless filmmakers emerge from those places. “If you want true stories from India to come out you have to make film-making accessible to people in the farthest corners of the country,” he summed up.