Critically acclaimed actor Adil Hussain was on Thursday announced as the mentor and brand ambassador of PickurFlick, a digital platform that supports independent cinema.
“It is across formats – short films, feature, documentary, anything that is non-studio. We have even worked with grassroot filmmakers and first time filmmakers. It’s the content and intent that we look for. We look at the craft of filmmaking and story,” Abhishek Sinha, founder and CEO, PickurFlick, said here.
Adil believes that cinema is a powerful medium.
And for him, meaningful cinema is a film which “makes sense to me, makes me question my belief, my values, understanding of my life and relationships and gives me nuanced objectivity towards people I am around or towards the society that I am in.
“When it gives me critical understanding and emotional depth to view my life and others life…I call that piece of cinema – art. Cinema doesn’t have to be a medium of product…which it has become.”
But the “Lootera” actor stressed that he is not against using cinema as “medium of products”.
“Everybody is free to do what they want to do.”
He is against “allowing only those cinema which has got enormous amount of money to make sure that people are bombarded with advertisements and lure people to watch those kind of films”.
“It sidelines those films which PickurFlick would like to pick and choose and curate so that the audience would have the choice to choose between different kinds of films and not only the films that are bombarded by the film industry with monstrous amounts of budget. So, I am grateful to be a part of this endeavour.”
Unlike most digital platforms, PickurFlick doesn’t have a subscription model.
“As a viewer you can watch the films anytime you want to and submit films whenever. Most of the content is free. There is some premium content which is on pay per view basis,” said Sinha.
Sanjay Sarma, Brand consultant, founder, Design Worldwide, and advisor to PickurFlick, said: “We wanted to provide a platform to independent filmmakers who never get a platform to present their ideas in a way they would want to because of lack of finances or not finding theatres to release.
“We have heard of so many films that have done well in the international circuit. We want to watch them but we don’t know where. That is one problem that it solves. It gives a platform which is completely transparent.”
Another advisor and National Award-winning filmmaker Utpal Borpujari added: “The effort is to create a platform and connectivity between the audience and films which do not have a platform to be shown. We have films like ‘Village Rockstars’.A
“If a film like that is released in Delhi then maybe only 30 people will turn up for each show. But there are many people across India who can watch it with people within comfort of their home. So that way such platforms help films to reach their target audience. I don’t think volume of that audience is small.”
