Natak Pictures, a brand by Seven Constellations Media Network Pvt. Ltd. specialising in short-film and creative content production. A Delhi-based studio which began its operations in 2017 has today become a renowned one-stop platform for short films from different genres. With its strong focus on ‘hyperlocalisation’ and ‘hyperpersonalisation’, the Company has produced more than 10 short films on diverse and engaging topics, garnering more than 20 million views on YouTube, and is now venturing into catering to the audiences across different states of India through its multi-lingual short films. Owing to the success of Natak Pictures, the full-time advertiser has now turned into a full-time filmmaker.
Rahul Bhatnagar, Founder & CCO, Natak Pictures in an exclusive chat with Medianews4U speaks on his journey from an Advertiser to a full time filmmaker.
Can you talk to us about your journey from advertising to short film making? The challenges in the journey?
The journey has been both interesting and rewarding. Films have always had a special place in my life and have intrigued me since childhood. I had begun my career as an Assistant Director for the Hindi feature film Do Dooni Chaar- an experience that had left me in complete awe of the film making process. To understand the art of storytelling better, I then then picked up Advertising as my career. Working with some of the best creative agencies and minds for over a decade, I learnt the process of creating a compelling and convincing story (in both large and short format) better. It was at one of the advertising agencies itself that one fine day I thought of starting my own content channel for short films- Natak Pictures. And today that name has transformed into a creative content company. Hence, I shall always be grateful for my journey, and the experiences I’ve had through it.
Juggling between making films while working full time as an advertising professional, was bit of a task. However, I strongly believe that following one’s passion is always worth the time and efforts, if the determination is strong and true.
What is the strategy of ‘Natak Pictures’ and the vision?
Every day, in each of our conversations, we all have a story to tell. We, at Natak Pictures, just bring those simple stories to life. Our ‘slice of life’ approach is what has made our content relatable and likeable, and had kept us moving. We strongly believe that the best stories are the ones that are understood and related to, easily.
We envision to create a watch-place for all (across gender, age brackets and geographies) through Natak Pictures.
Today with the pandemic, more and more people have moved on from traditional TV to other platforms, what are the trends you are seeing in the industry?
The migration of audiences from traditional platforms to digital ones has been quite evident over the past few years. The entertainment industry is changing at a fast pace- today, with the rising popularity of the recently introduced short form content on social media platforms, the meaning and medium of entertainment has really expanded.
The recent transformations have also resulted in evolution of the way content is being thought through and marketed, as the recall for entertainment pieces (films/shows/reels/videos) has reduced significantly. We see short form content (short films/ web shows with short episodes) to be the preferred form of entertainment this year.
When it comes to short films what is the criteria in terms of content?
We have never restricted ourselves to a specific genre or category of films. If we believe in the script and the story, we simply go for it. However, having produced some popular short films around weddings, we can say we have an expertise there.
Now with OTT surging not only in Hindi but also in regional, will you now venture into web series?
Yes, absolutely! In fact we are already working on two web shows, which our audience would soon be able to watch on OTT platforms. Talking of regional content, Natak Pictures has recently launched its new content channel called Natak Local for content in regional language. In the coming years we shall also look at creating some web shows in languages other than Hindi.
The way forward for Natak Pictures in 2022?
We have a lot in pipeline for the year 2022. While we’d be continuing with our short films, we shall also go hyperlocal, catering to the audience in different parts of the country through content in regional languages. However, the main event for us in the year 2022 will be our entry into web shows. We are also looking at expanding our audience globally this year by establishing production studios outside India.
