Filmmaker Ursula Manvatkar speaks on life, movies and inspirations

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

UAE based filmmaker Ursula Manvatkar (she is a writer, director and actor as well) with a background in casting and production, has created numerous award winning short films. She has recently forayed into directing also. Her latest offering is psycho-horror flick, “The Last Chance.” Born in India and brought up in the UAE, a social worker, she left a lucrative corporate career to pursue filmmaking. She now owns a production company that offers budget-friendly film making services to clients. Manvatkar in “action!” as Gulf Today rolls questions

How different is being behind the camera as producer and being with the characters as director?

It is indeed very different. As a producer, one does not get involved much in the creative process. A producer’s role involves putting the team together as well as the financial aspect of getting the job done for as little cost as possible, making sure the post-production timelines are adhered to and confirming distribution of the film.  In short, all the legwork is done by the producer. However, as a director, one has to completely immerse oneself in the creative aspect of the film and get fully involved in the script, screenplay, mood, feel, characters, performances and art, in a way that viewers get the best visual and emotional experience of the film. The director has to ensure actors understand the objective of the film and their individual roles, and get the best performances out of them. Many a times, you’ll find limitations in certain expressions or voice throw or mood and attitude challenges. These things need to be managed and controlled by the director.

What made you think of directing ‘The Last Chance’?

I had been very reluctant to get into directing before this film happened, as I had no prior directing experience. “The Last Chance” is my most unplanned film till date, because it was initiated entirely on a whim. The idea for the film took root when I had just casually discussed a few horror stories with a friend years ago. It was an informal discussion, which lasted only few minutes and was long forgotten. Fast forward to 2019 when, after the success of my previous short film — Sameir Ali’s “The Final Straw — I” was encouraged by friends to invest in my own camera and other filming equipment.

Driving into danger in ‘The Last Chance.’

One fine day, Sameir and I decided to shoot ‘something’ on a weekend, at the last minute. I then quickly lined up all actors for the film and asked them all to come to shoot the next day in Ras Al Khaimah.  Embarrassingly enough, I had no script or story detailing until 12 pm on the day of the shoot. After filming the first day, guerrilla style, I realised this film won’t take only two days, but much more, and thus started the long painful weekends of overnight shoots.  A lot of re-shoots happened as well over a period of one year. My team has been very supportive and helped me complete the project successfully in whatever little resources we had. And fortunately, the story also evolved in the process with valuable creative feedback from many people - and in the end we now have a pretty decent film.

What are the plus and minus points of filmmaking in the UAE?

The plus points of being in the UAE are great locations, availability of several ethnicities as talent and a rather small and a tight circle of professionals, which makes it easy to collaborate. On the minus side, one needs to be aware that filmmaking is an expensive career and hobby to embark on.

A lot needs to be discovered and organised in terms of avenues for independent filmmakers to seek out commissioned/funded films and find suitable distribution for their self-funded projects. Most of the OTT platforms and other channels (for Indian audiences) have their headquarters and decision makers based in India; thus accessibility depends on how well you know people in the Industry. Self-funded filmmakers can only invest so much into their projects, and if there was a hope of recovering their investments and getting stronger distribution, it will encourage more people to get into filmmaking as a full time career, rather than a hobby. In India, every State has its own industry, and many opportunities and channels for actors, crew and directors to fit into. We are very much limited that way currently. But I am optimistic that things will change for the better in that direction and independent filmmakers will have more avenues to showcase their work, apart from film festival runs.

How has your corporate innings and social work helped you as filmmaker?

I learnt so much during my corporate career of six years before moving on to entrepreneurship and then film making. My corporate career helped me understand the basics of creating a product to a certain target audience and also market it in a way to create a good distribution network, thereby earning income for the creators. My social work background has helped me get an insight on issues that need highlighting/awareness and perspective on pros and cons of how certain things should be portrayed on film.

Do you have directors you look up to, in Bollywood and Hollywood?

Yes, I do. Stanley Kubrick is my favourite Hollywood director, along with Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino. As far as Indian filmmakers go, I have a long list. I have always been inspired by film makers such as Shyam Benegal, Shoojit Sircar, Shekhar Kapur, Mani Ratnam and Vishal Bharadwaj.

Their films are of a serious nature and portray pertinent topics well. On the art and entertainment front, I have thoroughly enjoyed films made by Priyadharshan and Rajkumar Hirani and the very artistic Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

What are your future movie making projects?

I have three Hindi short film projects in the pipeline (Gustaakhi, The Switch and The Complete Woman) and one Marathi feature film, which I co-produced, called Pichchkari, which is currently on post-production stage. I also am working on a science-fiction concept for a series called La Rouge, which is currently in planning stages.