New Delhi: Court director Chaitanya Tamhane said that he never expected the Marathi film to have the kind of a journey that it has had but it was a story that he always believed in.
"I feel very fortunate and grateful for the way it (
Court) has been received. We did not make the movie with that many expectations. We were not sure what will happen but we were surprised constantly. It is my debut film so it is a great feeling," Chaitanya told PTI over the phone from Tokyo.
Court faced competition from 29 other films including
Killa,
NH 10,
Bajrangi Bhaijaan,
Baahubali,
Haider and
Masaan, to be named as India's official entry for the Oscars on September 23.
The director said that the announcement came as a surprise as they had kept their expectations low, considering the unpredictability around the selection.(Also Read:
Court Picked For the Oscars, Slow Clap From Bollywood)
Chaitanya and his friend, actor-producer Vivek Gomber are now consulting their US and French distributors to take their campaign forward for the Oscars next year.
"Vivek plans to rely on the expertise of our distributors. They are quite experienced and they have had a few films which have won Oscars and have been nominated. Our Paris based distributors are also involved. We plan to reach out to the Indian producers who had their films as official entry to the Oscars. We hope to have a plan in place once we return to India," said Chaitanya.
Chaitanya started writing the film when he was 24.
"I was 24, broke, with no money and there was a lot of pressure from my family to earn. Till that time, I had done my own projects like a play, a short film and a documentary but that did not earn me any money. I was very depressed at that time," he said.
"Vivek was a friend and I had directed him in a play. He knew that I wanted to develop an idea and that was
Court. He offered to help me as a friend and said I will give you a monthly stipend to sustain yourself, you go and develop your script. I wrote
Court in a year and after some research. Vivek read the script and decided to produce it," added Chaitanya.
Court is based on the trial of a folk singer. Chaitanya said that it was challenging and expensive to shoot the film in Mumbai.
"There were many challenges. We had a big cast of non- professional actors and shooting in Mumbai is very expensive. Also, people have very set ways of working because they have worked in Bollywood and this was a different way of filmmaking but in the end it worked out well for us," said Chaitanya.
Chaitanya also said that the appreciation has given him confidence.
"The appreciation gives me confidence and courage to do my kind of work but I can't take it very seriously. I don't want that responsibility. I don't want it to cripple my vision. I don't want to start second guessing my instincts," he said.