It was in 2010 that Pinaki Sarkar and I decided to join hands and begin our film-production house, Alter Ego Films. In the last seven years, we’ve created several short films, commercials and documentaries, which have received a number of awards and accolades along the way.
But this year, we branched out to try something different – our first feature film, “Bultir Result”. The concept for “Bultir Result” was born almost 10 years ago – when Pinaki, writer and director of the film, witnessed a real-life incident that permanently changed the way he perceived mainstream media. His friend, who worked with a news company, had shared an experience of working with a school-topper, who was forced to film with the news company for an entire day, without food or rest. The pitilessness and callous attitude of the media made a very serious impression on Pinaki which has culminated in “Bultir Result” – almost a decade later.
The film follows the story of Bulti, a brilliant small-town girl, who defies expectation and tops the West Bengal state board examinations. In no time at all, a media house picks up on the story, pluck Bulti from her town and take her to Kolkata – thereby throwing her life into utter chaos, both in the media house and in Bulti’s hometown. With the film, we attempted to explore intersecting themes – the complexities of living in a middle-class Bengali household, the loopholes in the Indian (particularly West Bengal’s) education system and the lost integrity of media organisations in the race for higher TRPs.
The journey wasn’t an easy one. For instance, we initially tried to get the film financed – but wherever we went, it was the same story – the investors were simply not as invested in our film as we were. They demanded that commercial angles and selling points such as action sequences or a romantic angle be added to the film – irrespective of whether it fitted in the script or not.
However, Pinaki and I were absolutely averse to the idea of compromising and embellishing Bulti’s story to satisfy the demands of producers who were clearly not as invested in the film as we were. Instead, we decided to make the film on our own.
The challenges in making an independent film were unlike any other we had encountered. From getting good actors on board to finding locations and building sets that did justice to the script – we faced many difficulties. For a film running on a negligible budget, building sets is not really much of an option. Instead, we were forced to rely on shooting at real locations. Consequently, it took one-and-a-half years to complete filming – but we persevered and finally finished it!
Today, after all our hard work, “Bultir Result” is in the post-production phase. Having given our all into making this film, we decided to look for alternative avenues for finance and settled upon crowdfunding it. After all, what better way to get your film to the audience than asking them for help? So, we decided that it was time we asked film lovers all around the world who are willing to support independent film-making to pitch in and make “Bultir Result” a reality.
We launched our campaign with a target of raising ₹8 lakhs – and the project has already raised close to Rs. 3 Lakhs! And if all goes well, “Bultir Result” will make history as the first ever independent Bengali film to be crowdfunded!
You can help Bultir Result become a reality too! If you wish to support this film and make way for a thriving future for independent cinema, visit the campaign page of “Bultir Result” on Wishberry to know more!