Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra opens up on evolution of storytelling

Storytelling is not new and has been here for thousands of years. Travellers in the olden days used to entertain each other with stories about their countries and travels.

Mumbai: Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who has directed films such as “Rang De Basanti”, “Delhi 6” and “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag”, attended a cultural festival on Friday, where he reflected on the evolution of the art of storytelling.

Talking at Arth: The Cultural Fest, the filmmaker whose last directorial was “Mere Pyaare Prime Minister”, said: “Storytelling is not new and has been here for thousands of years. Travellers in the olden days used to entertain each other with stories about their countries and travels. Even when we look at the etching on the ancient caves, there were storytellers there as well. From there, it moved on and got the expression of folk, songs, writing, photography and then it progressed to moving pictures.”

Narrowing down to Indian cinema, the filmmaker is of the opinion that Indian filmmaking has always adapted to the country’s emotional state of mind.

He said: “Indian cinema has always reflected the emotion and story of the country. It could be a feeling of patriotism during the post-Independence days or amplifying the voice of the youth during the era of globalisation and liberalisation. The possibilities are endless.”

Mehra is gearing up to release his upcoming film “Toofan”, which stars Farhan Akhtar. This is the second time the director-actor duo are collaborating after 2013 film “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag”.