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Sulagna Chatterjee’s independent film Olakh raised nearly 80% of its production budget through crowdfunding, with 230 patrons contributing Rs 10 lakh over four months. Starring Nikita Grover and Suhasini Mulay, the Mumbai-set film explores women, identity, love and sacrifice through food. It will have its world premiere at IFFM

230 patrons. Four months. One independent film.

Olakh was built, quite literally, by a community. Nearly 80% of the film’s production budget was raised through crowdfunding over four months, with 230 patrons from across India and around the world contributing to help bring the film to life. The film, by Sulagna Chatterjee, shall be having its world premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).

Olakh unravels on a cloudy Mumbai afternoon, when a grieving widow and her recently heartbroken domestic worker discover that they have both sacrificed pieces of themselves to be loved. As they cook a long-forgotten recipe together, they begin reclaiming their identities, one ingredient at a time.

A conversation we had with Sulagna revealed not only how tough it is to make a film, but the reality of film festivals behind the glitzy red carpet moments we associate them with. "Film festivals are extremely unique experiences for every filmmaker. And when it comes to shorts especially, the manual becomes even leaner. Every person gives their own two bits of advice which may or may not work for your film. So, as the director, you have to trust your gut. Festival submission fees become another big hurdle. Festivals are expensive! Traveling to them is expensive! Everything is expensive! And there’s no guarantee that even after acceptance and wins, it’ll translate into a long-term success. The lack of predictability makes this really volatile," Sulagna told us.