Indian film director Vijay Krishna Acharya has described his filming experience in Malta as “excellent” and said he would definitely recommend peers to consider filming here.
“I loved working with the Maltese crew. I really had a fantastic time in Malta. People are really nice and genuinely helpful,” he told The Sunday Times of Malta.
“I’ve shot in the US, I’ve shot in Greece, Thailand… I shot a lot out of India, and I have to say that my experience of the Maltese crew and of their expertise and their willingness to go the extra mile was great.”
Mr Acharya wrote and directed the 2018 blockbuster Thugs of Hindostan which was partly shot in Malta and which opened the first edition of the Malta India Film Festival on Friday. Twenty Indian and six local productions are being screened in Valletta and India concurrently, with the closing and awards ceremony being held in Mumbai tomorrow.
The director spent 65 days at a stretch shooting the action sequences of his $20 million production at the Malta Film Studios in Kalkara. Set in the 18th century, Thugs of Hindostan features a battle on the high seas in which the British East India Company is pitted against a commander named Khudabaskh fighting to liberate his country. It stars some well-known Bollywood actors such as Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Katrina Kaif.
Their willingness to go the extra mile was great
Mr Acharya, who is a member of the festival jury, was very excited about the event. He was, first of all, looking forward to see more independent films, not just mainstream Hindi or Hollywood films.
His second, and “perhaps more selfish reason”, is that he might have more opportunities to visit Malta regularly. According to Mr Acharya, Malta and India are more similar than one might possibly think.
“We are both extremely passionate, opinionated, argumentative, we gesture a lot and everybody thinks that their mothers’ cooking is the best…,” he quipped, while adding that he really loved the food in Malta.
He hopes the Malta India Film Festival will grow and support more and more film-makers. He would also like to see more Maltese releases.
“And I think it’s time for Malta to punch above its weight in the film industry. I hope there are more films from Malta in next year’s festival.”
For more information and details about the festival screenings, visit www.mifaa.com.