In a career spanning four decades, Sooraj Barjatya has given some of the biggest family dramas in Indian cinema. Even as the landscape of Indian storytelling has shifted toward flashier, more glamorous tales, the filmmaker has stayed true to his roots. As he moves to OTT with his new show, Sangamarmar, Barjatya says he is still committed to telling simple stories that families can watch. In an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times, the filmmaker opens up about the show, the limitations cinema faces today, and why streaming is liberating.
Sooraj Barjatya on Sangamarmar
Sangamarmar stars Sheen Savita Dass and Sourabh Raaj Jain in a love story that traverses decades. Talking about the title and premise, Barjatya tells us, “When this story was conceived, we set it in Agra because of the Taj Mahal. Sangamarmar represents the marble used to build the Taj. This show is the story of a couple who are not married, but for 25 years, their relationship grows. We wanted a title that shows everlasting love. That is where sangamarmar comes in, to show a love that doesn’t fade but stays constant in spite of all the winds and storms it faces.
Having made films for three decades, Barjatya moved to streaming relatively late. But he doesn’t feel the change of platform affects his storytelling. “We are here to tell stories, whether it is on film, TV, or streaming. There are so many stories around us, in each family. Some of those can be told in 2.5 hours, but others need 6 months. Then there are some that fit neither. Credit to Jio Studios here, who said they needed a story that could bridge television and OTT,” he says.
But Barjatya, who has directed milestone hits like Maine Pyaar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Koun, does feel that he can bring his style of family-oriented stories to streaming. “In today’s time, when (stories of) crime do better on OTT, we are getting a chance to tell our kind of story. Every platform has its sur, and this platform allows us to delve deep,” he explains.
‘This format is much more intelligent’
The filmmaker says, contrary to popular perception, there is no compromise in quality of work when moving from the big screen to streaming. “There is no compromise. In fact, we have learnt how to tell stories in a format that is much more intelligent,” he says. “In cinema today, you have to keep in mind that in certain areas, you have to tell the story simply for the audience to understand. Streaming gives you a much bigger platform.”
Streaming also allows filmmakers to move away from box office pressures. Barjatya says he never cared much about box office performance, but admits that the focus on ‘weekend collections’ has reached creators now, and is affecting their processes. He explains, “Today, a lot of young makers come to me, and they have the story in place. But they say, ‘Yeh nahi rakhte hain, yeh weekend collections laata nahi hai (Let’s not take this because it doesn’t get weekend collections). Immediately, I tell them, as creators, you should not look at all this. Focus on editing, sound mixing. Focusing on whether you can cut a trailer or not is not your job. In films, marketing has taken preference over art.”
But he is quick to add that adherence to the market cannot guarantee success. “The market can never dictate what will be liked because all the real successes have been path-breaking. That is a big correction we all need to make in films,” he says.
Sangamarmar, Sooraj Barjatya’s new show, is now streaming on JioHotstar.
