How did Christopher Nolan shoot something as epic as The Odyssey in less than 100 days, especially when long shooting schedules, re-shoots, rising cost of production budgets, working hours and more have become such a topic of conversation in India? Filmmaker Pawan Kumar, known for helming films such as U Turn and Dhoomam and the web series Leila, believes that the answer lies not in the director or the lead stars, but in the crew around them.
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Pointing out why the same cannot be possible in India, Pawan added, “On the other hand, we expect every asst director to become a director one day, make him or her feel like that is when they have finally made it. So a director usually is working with new teams, interns, who have no experience, paid less.”
Recently, Telugu star Nagarjuna Akkineni also drew an analogy to The Odyssey while discussing the delay in the shooting and release of films in Tollywood. He stated that the film must be handed over to the post-production team at least 2 weeks before release, so the post-production team can focus on the post-production aspect.
“The Odyssey has recently been released. They announced the release date a year ahead. Why aren’t we able to do that? And when we do, why do we have to postpone it?” he questioned, adding, “I did it too for Lenin. I announced a June 26 release date, but we had to postpone. We completed shooting, but the post-production wasn’t.”
Nagarjuna also recalled how there was a time when Tollywood would have films ready a month before release. “It’s just a request. Because I remember very well how, for my films Ninne Pelladata or Annamayya, we would watch the release copy a month ahead. My question is, why aren’t we able to do it now?” he said, requesting, “For the good of cinema, for the health of cinema, I think we must do this.”
Based on Homer’s Greek epic, The Odyssey is written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron. The film opened to good reviews and earned $264 million worldwide in its opening weekend.
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Pawan took to his Instagram Stories to answer the question: “How can Nolan complete shooting in 91 days?” Crediting his direction team, he wrote, “Because he has a team of professionals who get paid and get recognised for what they do. His first Assistant director has been the same for more than a decade.”
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He summed it up with, “While a director needs clarity, which I am sure Nolan had, it’s the super efficient passionate professional team that makes it really happen.”
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He spoke of the situation in India, adding, “His aunt and friends are not asking him when he is going to become a director. He is paid what he deserves and also given dignity for what he does. Same with 100s of other people who work on his unit.”
