From meeting Phoebe Waller-Bridge to Colin Trevorrow, BAFTA Breakthrough India alumni share their experience with the program

Karthikeya Murthy, Arati Kadav, Sumukhi Suresh

"As Netflix, it is necessary that we give back to the creative community. No great entertainment is possible if you don't keep backing new voices from coming, new narratives from coming, and talents that can breakthroughs. This is something that is very essential to us. it is the core DNA of Netflix," says Monika Shergill, Netflix's Vice-President (content). This is Netflix India's third year in supporting the BAFTA Breakthrough program, which is in its fourth year in the UK and USA. BAFTA Breakthrough showcases and supports the next generation of creative talent working in games and television, identifying excellent individuals who have had a breakthrough year in the industry.

At Mumbai's Netflix office, Monika Shergill and five BAFTA Breakthrough participants from the past - comedian/actor Sumukhi Suresh, music composer Alokananda Dasgupta, writer-director Prateek Vats, music composer Karthikeya Murthy, filmmaker Arati Kadav - shared their experiences along with BAFTA director of learning and training Tim Hunter. This year's application process is ongoing and it closes on July 5.

Arati Kadav, who is known for her sci-fi film ‘Cargo' starring Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi and Vikrant Massey, through the program, got a chance to interact with ‘Jurrasic World' director Colin Trevorrow. "I got to understand from him how one makes an independent sci-fi that has a very niche fan following. Directing something like Jurrasic World is a life goal of mine. I was trying to understand how he got the tool and how it helped him scale up and changed his way of working. He spoke about how you have to maintain your core submarine team with whom you work. But still, when you work with the big studios you will have to communicate every decision to everyone which is very different than independent filmmaking. There were just 5 of us in the session (zoom session) where he was talking to us. The session helped me in understanding how to move ahead in my career and answer the question of what next," she shared.

For Prateek Vats of ‘Eeb Allay Ooo!' fame, the highlight of the program was his conversation with screenwriter Paul Laverty. "I have admired his work for years. It's so nice to talk to someone like him outside of any agenda of taking feedback on a particular script."

"I also had a nice conversation with Mark Gattis. Sherlock is something I really liked. A round table with Asif Kapadia was nice," he added.

"It's a huge thing for me as someone who has just started working. It's so easy to lose focus. You make all your currency by doing experimental work and suddenly you are expected to do a different kind of work. That's the consolidation everybody expects. Just to talk to a man who is making film after film, one is 88 (Loach), one is 75 (Laverty)… That's the focus, the long haul," he added.

Music composer Karthikeya Murthy got the chance to interact with English composer Henry Jackman who has composed music for films like ‘Captain America', ‘Kong: Skull Island', Kingsman'. "Henry heard all my tracks, and compositions. He came very prepared for the meeting and then fortunately he referred me to collaborate with his partner Victoria De La Vega. I have actually just completed a project with her." He also said that now he can now message Canadian composer Howard Shore anytime he has any questions related to work. "That is the relationship BAFTa has given me," he says.

Sumukhi Suresh, popularly known for her stand-up acts and web series ‘Pushpavalli' said BAFTA Breakthrough India happened to her right after she started her own venture, Motormouth, which was mainly to get writers together to create shows and movies. "(The BAFTA initiative) It is about two things: international exposure and meeting producers and writers which really helps you. You see that everybody is going through the same thing," she said.

"I have been writing a show for the longest time - it's a mix of immigration, comedy and spy universe. I genuinely don't want to take a name because I'm superstitious but I'm close to delivering my final episode to them to see if it can happen.I don't know if it will happen or not, but to reach a certain point, that you've arrived there, you have given that faith… That's a lot to do with BAFTA and the writing workshop I did with Netflix during the pandemic," she added.

Composer Aloknanda Dasgupta who shone with her work for 'Sacred Games' and 'Jubilee' feels that very rarely has stars aligned for her. "One of the things that made me get through when life was tough was Fleabag. I spoke to Phoebe Waller-Bridge and it was just amazing. Just chatting… We just spoke like we have been friends forever…"

The Rahman connect:

At the round table, three of the talents- Arati Kadav, Karthikeya Murthy, Aloknanda Dasgupta- flexed their AR Rahman moment.

Kadav calls her meeting with Rahman one of the best she had through the program. "He is a huge fan of science fiction and interactive storytelling. We had a long meeting where we were watching VR videos. We were like just two kids in a candy store. It was so good to see that excitement (in Rahman), to keep that alive in spite of having worked so much. I hope we collaborate soon," she said.

Dasgupta echoed the sentiments and shared, "I was guest lecturing at New York University and Rahman sir wrote about my Sacred Games music on Twitter. All my life I have been trying to meet him and I thought it would never happen. But it was a chance meeting in the snow. It was very magical where we just spoke of work".

Flexing his equation with Rahman, Murthy shared, "To me, the biggest thing is that Rahman sir remembers me by name. In 2007, I was part of a band hunt show on which he was the judge. He remembered me only by the song's name. At last, BAFTA made it happen. The meeting that happened with him through BAFTA opened my eyes to music that is outside of films. He told me about so many opportunities. He is a great mentor."

BAFTA Breakthrough India:

Participants receive full membership of BAFTA for a year including access to BAFTA's virtual program of events and screenings for 12 months, one-on-one industry meetings, access to career coaching sessions, support with professional skills development, and global networking opportunities both with industry professionals and peers. Shergill says, "It's as exciting for me to go through the applications as for talents to apply. Defining the breakthrough year is important because only those whose works have come out in the public domain can apply. So, a breakthrough year mostly is after a debut when the director or composer or performer can be guided to navigate how best they can take their art a notch higher or forward. It helps connect with the right people."