Actor-producer Richa Chadha states that independent films often face challenges in attracting audiences to theatres, especially when competing with big-budget blockbusters that have strong distribution and marketing support. However, she asserts that releasing her first film production, "Girls Will Be Girls," digitally was not a concession.
Chadha, who backed the notable film along with her husband, actor Ali Fazal, through their production company Pushing Buttons Studios, mentioned that one should not expect to revolutionize the entire system with their inaugural film.
"Girls Will Be Girls," directed by Shuchi Talati, began streaming on Prime Video starting December 18.
When asked if it might have been a smarter choice to release the film in theatres, the novice producer stated that their main objective with the film was to reach the largest audience possible.
"I want to nip this in the bud. When you tell a story, there are structures like exhibition, distribution, number of screens, publicity and advertising... How the big films work... The choice for us, as filmmakers, is whether to tell the story, make the story accessible and have more people see it, or change the structure.
"You can't do everything in your first film. You can't change the structure and tell the story. In (terms of) the big films that are hit films, none of them have changed the structure. They take the structure and they exploit the structure. We are not interested in changing the structure, we want to tell the story," Chadha told PTI in an interview here.
"Girls Will Be Girls", starring Preeti Panigrahi and Kani Kusruti, has garnered acclaim at several international festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival, Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, and MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024.
At the upcoming Independent Spirit Awards, the movie has received twin nominations: John Cassavetes Award and Kusruti for best supporting actor.
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