Sarfaraz Alam Safu: Russia loves Indian films, but doesn’t know what’s releasing

After an Indian delegation travelled to Russia for the Indian Film Festival, a delegation of Russian actors, producers and film industry stakeholders recently visited India for the Russian Film Festival, highlighting the ongoing cultural and cinematic exchange between the two countries.Sarfaraz Alam Safu, actor and producer known for films such as Zero and Sardar Udham , who was part of the delegations in both Russia and India and has spent considerable time in Russia, spoke to us about the collaboration. “It was a great initiative by the Indian Embassy in Moscow and in Tatarstan, they organised the business dialogue under Waves Bazaar and the Indian Film Festival. The response was huge, and the organisational level was very good. My two films – Snow Fower and Gems – were screened in Moscow, Tatarstan, and St Petersburg. The response was great. Russians were crying while watching Snow Flower . I want to thank the Embassy for organising this event,” he says. ‘We need to filter out partners’Addressing collaborative efforts and market potential, Safu points out that both sides are keen for co-productions, adding however, “We lack understanding of the real players who can convert the conversation into a product.” He says, “Panel discussions in Russia and India made me realise that we have to identify the people who will actually bring a project to life. Hollywood films are currently banned in Russia, so this is the prime time for Indian filmmakers to enter the market. It is a huge market. They love Indian films, but they don’t know what is being released or when. There is no proper distribution, no producer or actor going there the way Raj Kapoor or Mithun Chakraborty used to.”Safu, who has four Indo-Russian coproductions, adds, “Indian filmmakers find Russia intriguing, and for Russian filmmakers, India is the perfect location – heaven. Russia also has huge geography. But people need to tap into the right stakeholders to convert dialogue into real work.” ‘Understanding language and culture for both sides is important’Safu highlights the importance of cultural understanding through such exchanges. “Such delegations help in networking. Understanding of language and culture for both sides is very important. If someone is going to Russia, they should know about Russian films, writers, and filmmakers, and vice versa. While delegations are taken every time, there are never writers in the delegation. Writers should be taken to both the countries.” He also shares how these interactions lead to collaborations. “At a previous edition of the Russian Film Festival, I met the producer of my film Gems . She told me that a part of the film could be shot in India. I sat with her writer, we created scenes to be shot at the Taj Mahal and other places, and that’s how the film happened.” Cinema as a cultural bridgeThe Indian Film Festival in Russia was organised by the Embassy of India with support from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and held across St Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Yakutsk, and Vladivostok A special programme of open screenings in Delhi was presented by the Russian Cultural Foundation in partnership with ROSKINOand the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, featuring films from Russia, Belarus, Serbia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.In Russia, Ambassador Vinay Kumar inaugurated the Indian Film Festival in Kazan alongside Tatarstan Deputy Prime Minister LeylaFazleeva and Deputy Culture Minister Damir Natfullin on the sidelines of the India–Russia Business Forum. In India, the Russian delegation’s visit to Delhi coincided with President Vladimir Putin’s visit, during which a business session titled Cinema as a Cultural Bridge : From Shared Values to Joint Projects was held.