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When the world of streaming meets the grandiose world of Sanjay Leela Bhansali you are safe to assume something big and beautiful is coming. With the announcement of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s first-ever OTT series enticing fans of the filmmaker, we can’t help but want to know more about the project. Luckily for us, the CEO of Netflix Ted Sarandos on February 18 sat down for a conversation with the filmmaker about the future of storytelling.
While Bhansali spoke about the series, Heeramandi, which had been in the works for over ten years and finally with the help of Sarandos saw the light of day, the Netflix CEO talked about the evolution of how we consume content. This was when the audience comprising film students, journalists and the Netflix team posed a question to the two- What would be their advice to aspiring filmmakers?
Bhansali, who had earlier mentioned how strenuous and boring he finds research to be although it is very important for filmmakers, was taunted by his actor Sonakshi Sinha who yelled, “Do your research!” This had the filmmaker covering his face and he asked his friend Sarandos to take the question.
Sarandos started by stating that as creators, “you live in a very unique time.” He explained that the tools which are required to make and distribute films have never been more “accessible, affordable and usable.” He exclaimed that these tools are “probably in your pocket right now” in the light of so many great films being shot on phones, “you can make a movie, cut a movie and mix a movie and put it online where millions of people can see and that’s never been the case before in the history of storytelling.” His advice for people is to chase their ideas. “If you want to shoot, then shoot. Try to get out there even if no one sees it or even if you don’t make any money.” he suggests that when you have made your films no matter the resources you can always “point somebody to it who asks what you do or what’s on your mind.” he concluded by saying that this, ” has never existed before” and that we should not “squander it.”
In 2012, Netflix debuted its first original called Lilyhammer which introduced the world to binge-watching. The following year Netflix released House Of Cards which was the first online-only television series to win a Primetime Emmy Award, making Netflix the first-ever streaming platform to win an Emmy. Since then the streaming platform has created over hundred originals.
