A still from Noi
BENGALURU: If dance was a love language, then it is filmmaker Gomtesh Upadhye’s favourite one. The filmmaker’s latest music video Noi is a beautiful melody of love composed by Phany Kalyan. While there is always a buzz whenever Upadhye drops a project, this time it was quite low-key. “I was not sure how it would be since we had not done any promotions for it but surprisingly people are enjoying it,” says Upadhye.
The song is a romantic fast number and Upadhye has somehow managed to connect dance in it. “For me, dancing is being in love and being in love with your body. It feels like an appropriate expression for a romantic. I think the synergy between dance and love goes well, especially when it is new love and everything feels bright and nice,” says the filmmaker. To provide some perspective, he points out that as one’s mood changes, there is also a change in how their body moves.
Currently, in Hyderabad directing a web series starring Nithya Menen, Upadhye’s directed music videos are often known for depicting full-fledged stories within themselves. “It really is the song that drives me to visualise the story. At first, the song is given to me and then I kind of meditate on it. That’s where the stories come from. But my influences are from ‘90s indie pop.
If you watch the music videos of songs by Shaan or KK they were very independent and individualistic. You don’t have to sit through an entire film to know the story of the characters. I try to build a world around those characters; they don’t just exist for the song,” says Upadhye.
Having done many music videos earlier, he feels the music video market is mostly Bollywood-centric. “This gives me an opportunity to explore things left unexplored. My motivation comes mainly from doing something fun and creative but more than that, it is not collaborating with interesting talents. So, I like to work with choreographers, dancers, actors and musicians. For example, Phany is someone who doesn’t come from a commercial space. The music video market is practically dead until and unless you are churning out very mainstream music,” says Upadhye.
Unlike his popular music video from 2016, Neene, which was released in Kannada Tamil and Telugu, Noi has just had a Telugu release. “Again it all boils down to the funding we got. For example, Neene got its highest views in the Telugu version. So for Noi, we thought let’s just release it in Telugu first,” says Upadhye, who is currently looking forward to the release of his web series in April.
Filmmaker Gomtesh Upadhye, who directed the popular music video Neene, is out with his latest work. Upadhye, known for using dance as a medium to express love, explains why and talks of the music video market in film industries
