We were lucky to catch up with Rajendra Thakurathi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rajendra, thanks for joining us today. Is your team able to work remotely? If so, how have you made it work? What, if any, have been the pitfalls? What have been the non-obvious benefits?

Filmmaking is largely a collaborative work where you need dozens, sometimes hundreds of people to make one creative work. While some of the stages of filmmaking can be remote, some of them warrant physical presence, like the actors on set or the cinematographer or the make-up artist. But at the peak of the pandemic, there were a couple of productions that we did — completely remote. It was August 2020 and we had to make a short film for Hooked TV, a mobile app where you can watch and read shorts and video content on your phone. Being in the middle of the pandemic, I didn’t want to pass on the opportunity, so took up the challenge. We were able to combine creativity and technology and kind of achieve something that astounded ourselves. It needed a little bit more prep than usual. But we were able to find a way to send feed from the cameras (which we sent at the two actors’ houses in two separate locations) directly to the monitors of our crew (who were all in separate locations). We did lighting, gaffing, sound setup, rehearsal all remote, without ever having to physical meet. It was new and innovative and an unusual thing and we were proud of what we were able to achieve. It made me think how at every stage of filmmaking, you need creative problem solving. Ever since then, the way I work has definitely evolved. Meetings, collaborative work that can be done remotely, I definitely prefer that. That not only is convenient and efficient where you are able to take multiple meetings like auditions and crew meetings back to back, it’s also cost efficient and minimizes the carbon footprint. Some of the pitfalls include the lack of spontaneity of working in person where you can see the body languages of each other more, which communicates much more than words. Having someone there in-person also adds to the bonding and camaraderie. Non obvious benefit include not getting stuck in LA traffic. And also you can’t ever say “Sorry, running late. Stuck in traffic.”

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a Nepali filmmaker currently based in Los Angeles. I write and direct primarily, but also do edit and producing work on the side whenever time allows. I have worked in over 200 film, tv and video projects in various capacities. Some of them include 20th Century Fox’s sleeper-hit Barbarian, Pixar’s Onward and Lionsgate’s Detective Knight Trilogy, among others. I got into the industry for the love of visual and narrative storytelling. I have always loved taking pictures, listening to music, writing stories, exploring human psyche. Film is an amalgam of all these and I absolutely love about that.

What I do doesn’t necessarily solve problem. It’s an entertainment business where I’m a content creator and my content is aimed at entertainment and fun. If I’m able to slip in anything profound in my work, that’s a bonus, but I don’t try to force it. I mostly make films, but sometime I also do commercials and music videos that have more specific purpose like to promote a product or promote a song or an artist. I work with highly creative teams under a budget to make things that can be fun, visually striking and something you can be proud of.

My audience are probably the millennials and the Gen Zs (16-40), more on the liberal side on the spectrum.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I built my audience in a traditional sense on and off social media. At first, my audience included close friends, who probably were lying they liked my work. But that’s ok. Artists tend and need to find positive encouragement from wherever possible. At least I do. Then it started growing to other friends, classmates, colleagues, and so on. With social media, I think this trend followed a similar suit. Posting regular content also helped. Even though it was tempting, I tried not to do or post things for “likes” and “comments”. It was rather an outpour of my stream of consciousness. I could probably tell what thoughts or emotions I was going through at the time of making a content by just looking at them now. Some of them are that personal.

Because I wasn’t chasing likes and followers, I think I betrayed my audience at some point because I was trying to do what came organically rather than forcing something creative out, in my own voice and vision. So, I have a modest following on social media. It’s not huge huge, but I’m fine with that. With more followers, I think I’d have to be churning out content to keep them engaged, sometimes even betraying my own voice. I don’t want to do that. Will let it go where it goes.

For others who are just starting to building the social media presence, I’d say keep doing what comes naturally. Audience is fickle, like Billy Wilder used to say on writing. They keep on changing. If you chase and do what they want all the time, then you risk losing your voice. So better do what comes naturally oozing out of you and the universe will take care of the rest.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is probably the dopamine hit that we give the audience, even if it’s for 1 second. The sparkle in their eyes, the chuckle on their lips, the twitch on their faces (and sometimes disgust on their faces) as they watch or read something I came up originally is probably why we create this. I like to create things that have some relevance to the society, politics, culture or human nature. So, if I’m able to entertain, challenge, serve them and let them see the world a little differently, I think I have done my job and I don’t need to get big awards or honors.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.rajendrathakurathi.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rajnroll/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajendra-thakurathi-84774015/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/rthakurathi

Image Credits
All mine.