Interview with Amitabha Singh, Author of Practical Filmmaking

Amitabha Singh discusses Practical Filmmaking, media literacy, experiential learning, storytelling, visual grammar and filmmaking as a way of learning.
on Oct 10, 2026

Frontlist: You've worked on such varied projects as Khosla Ka Ghosla, Chillar Party, The Good Road, and Panchayat. How did this range of experience across genres shape the way you structured Practical Filmmaking for students who may have no professional aspirations at all?Amitabha: Working across very different kinds of films taught me a few simple things: thoughts precede actions, start with a simple premise and then progress towards the complex, and a practical structure helps content become clearer to deliver.

These lessons shaped the way I structured the book. I wanted to begin with the fundamentals and gradually build towards the more complex aspects of filmmaking, rather than assuming that the reader already wants to become a filmmaker.

There is another reason. Media has become almost like oxygen around us. It comes from every direction and influences our lives in many ways, often invisibly. So even if a student has no intention of entering the media profession, I feel that understanding its basic language and presence is becoming increasingly important. That is really the larger purpose of the book.

Frontlist: The book is explicitly written in the spirit of NEP 2020's experiential and multidisciplinary learning. What gaps did you see in how filmmaking or media literacy was being taught (or not taught) in Indian classrooms that made you want to write this?
Amitabha: There are multiple reasons, beyond the scope of our discussions here, why structured media literacy has not been part of our school curriculum for a long time. That itself has been the gap.

I believe the first step in any learning is imitation. Children today grow up as consumers of media without necessarily understanding how it is made, how it communicates, or how it influences our behaviour and the way we see the world. That, to me, is alarming.

I wanted to address that gap through this book on filmmaking because it is a very practical way of learning. You learn by observing, thinking, making, discussing and correcting your own mistakes. This is also where I found a natural connection with the spirit of NEP 2020 and its emphasis on experiential and multidisciplinary learning.

Frontlist: You describe filmmaking as "both art and craft". In your own career, was there a moment when you realized technical craft alone, or imagination alone, wasn't enough, and the two had to work together?
Amitabha: No. It is difficult for me to identify one particular moment because, in my creative journey, content and form have always co-existed.

I have never really seen imagination and technical craft as two separate dimensions. An idea finds its expression through the craft, and the craft, in turn, shapes how that idea is expressed. For me, filmmaking has always been a harmonious process.

Frontlist: Cinevidya is built around media literacy through experiential learning. What does a typical hands-on lesson look like, and how did those classroom experiences directly inform the content of this book?
Amitabha: In a hands-on session, we first understand the core of the concept and what we want to achieve. We then develop it, make a plan, work out a practical workflow and set a few checkpoints along the way before we start making. Seventy to eighty percent of the work is preparation and preparation. I believe that in practical filmmaking, no amount of preparation is enough.

The better we are prepared before we start, the more confident we are about the whole process and the likely outcome.

The book has grown directly from this experience. Almost everything in it has emerged from hands-on sessions I have conducted since 2014, with students from different backgrounds and across different places. So the book is not only about what I think students should learn. It is also about what I have learnt from teaching them.

Frontlist: Panchayat has such a distinct visual language rooted in its rural setting. What cinematographic choices went into creating that authenticity, and is this the kind of case study students can expect to find in the book?
Amitabha: No.

Frontlist: You say the goal isn't just to create future filmmakers but "more thoughtful viewers, storytellers, communicators, and creative thinkers". How do you convince a student who has zero interest in filmmaking that this book still has value for them?
Amitabha: As I mentioned earlier, I don't think I so much wish to convince a student that they should become interested in filmmaking. The value of the book lies elsewhere.

When you learn filmmaking, you learn to observe, think, organise your thoughts, communicate an idea and understand how something you have experienced has been constructed. Above all, you learn that anything productive can happen only through collaboration. These are useful skills whether you eventually make films or not.

That is why I see filmmaking as a means of learning, rather than only as a profession.

Frontlist: As someone who has worked across feature films, television, OTT, and education, what do you see as the biggest misconception students have about what cinematographers or filmmakers actually do on a set?
Amitabha: I don't think anyone really knows what goes on, on a film set, in its entirety. It is such an enormous, dynamic and constantly evolving creative process that it is very challenging for any one person to comprehend the whole picture.

I wish students understood this complexity, because filmmaking is not simply a profession that you learn and practise. I often call it a ‘way of life’.

There are countless factors that constantly shape the reality we experience, and to claim that one can completely understand what is going on is perhaps an overstatement.

You become a filmmaker for life. You lead a life as a filmmaker and, like any other way of life, it will have its challenges, its ups and downs. And like any responsible individual, you rise to meet every such situation that comes your way.

Frontlist: The book covers everything from storytelling to visual grammar to production technology. How did you decide what to include versus leave out, given how vast the subject of filmmaking actually is?
Amitabha: To the best of my knowledge, experience, and understanding, I have included everything that I personally practise in my productions, right down to the last detail.

This includes not only storytelling, visual grammar and production technology, but also the practical things that are often overlooked, such as permission forms and release forms. I wanted the book to reflect the actual process of making a film, as I have experienced and practised it, rather than trying to cover filmmaking as a vast theoretical subject.

Frontlist: Filmmaking technology has changed dramatically, from film to digital to smartphones capable of shooting professional-grade footage. How do you address this shifting landscape in a book meant to stay relevant for students over the years?
Amitabha: Technology will continue to change the way we make films because films are born in the cradle of technology. But there are enormously many factors that are more enduring in their relevance and nature.

For example, sunlight is sunlight today and will remain so for the foreseeable future, irrespective of how technology changes. The book therefore balances such enduring fundamentals with the changing tools we use to make films.

Frontlist: What is one exercise or practical assignment from the book that you're most excited for students to try, and why do you think it captures the essence of "learning by doing" in filmmaking?
Amitabha: One exercise I would particularly like students to try is the “Change the Grammar, Change the Meaning” exercise from the Film Grammar chapter.

The exercise is very simple. Take the same small action, such as someone waiting for a message, and film it in three different ways using different shots, camera movements, sound and editing. When the three versions are compared, the student discovers that although the story has not changed, its meaning and emotional impact have changed considerably.

For me, this captures the essence of learning by doing. The student does not merely learn what a close-up, a wide shot, sound or editing can do. They experience it. And once a student becomes creatively engaged with film grammar in this way, the whole process of filmmaking can become much more engaging and enriching.