The film director Chaitanya Tamhane sprang
to fame at the 2014 Venice Film Festival with
his debut feature, Court, which was awarded
Best Film in the Horizons category and
has since won more than 30 further awards
worldwide. Tamhane started making films
after graduating in English literature
from Mithibai College, Mumbai, and also
writes and directs his own plays. In 2014
The Hollywood Reporter singled him out as
one of the world’s most promising filmmakers
under 30. He has been mentored by Alfonso
Cuarón, the Mexican film director best
known for Gravity and Y Tu Mamá También,
who is currently working on his new film,
Roma, set in Mexico.
How would you sum up the scheme?
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for
someone like me, who’s making independent
films in India, to meet someone like Alfonso,
but it’s also been amazing to meet all the
other protégés and to be part of this group
of such talented people from all over
the world doing such different things.
Has the time you have spent with
Alfonso Cuarón on the set of Roma
changed the way you think about cinema?
Absolutely it has – I have never been
so sensitised to the image before. Alfonso
is a master of light: he’s obsessed with every
tiny detail, every reflection. Of course,
he’s also super-skilled in directing actors and
all the other aspects of film, but he’s reallyopened a window in my head when it comes
to using the image. I’m also writing in a
different way as a result, thinking much more
visually, where I used to think mostly about
character and narrative.
What will you be working on next?
My new script is based in the world of Indian
classical music. It’s a coming-of-age film,
if you like, though you could call it a very
late coming-of-age film, since the concept of
time is very different in Indian classical
music; you’re a beginner for many years. It’s
set across three different decades. I’ve been
researching it for the last 18 months, and
I’m hoping to have finished it soon, so I can
show it to Alfonso when we meet up again.
courtthefilm.comCHAITANYA TAMHANE
Mentor: Alfonso Cuarón
FILMTamhane at an old
single-screen movie theatre
in Mumbai with collected
books, props and curios.
‘They relate to my process
of writing, my hobbies
(magic and board games),
and my filmmaking,’ he
says. To the left is a poster
for his film, Court, created
by Polish designer
Mieczysław Wasilewski‘CHAITANYA BECAME
MY ONLY SOUNDING
BOAR D ON THE SET OF
ROMA. I WAS INTRIGUED
BY HIS OPINION.
HE WAS AMA ZING’
— A LFONSO CUARÓN
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Intelligence
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