Rima Das

"We cannot avoid or escape, but we can sing. (As to why the title of the film Bulbul Can Sing has the word sing, and why it matters to the story)"

"I was shooting Man with the Binoculars, which was my first feature film, and I discovered these children and villagers celebrating life [while] living in deprivation. It made me realize what I was missing in Mumbai even surrounded with all this technology. (about the inspiration for Village Rockstars, and life in rural Assam)"

"I chose this profession not for the money or the glamour. I want to push boundaries, enjoy the process of filmmaking."

"If people are criticising your work, take it in the right spirit and try to find out what is wrong. I made a lot of mistakes on my first film and told myself not to do it again. Remember that you’re not making a film to keep it in a box, it’s for the people."

"No one can teach you how to compose a shot. You are only guided by an instinct. It has to come from within. I learned cinema by working on my films. The best thing was that I bought my own camera, and since I was working on the digital medium, I had the freedom to experiment, shoot more."

"I didn’t want to infuse positivism forcefully, but I wanted it to spread naturally. Hope is the only weapon we have most of the time, isn’t it? If we don’t dream and be hopeful, how would we survive! (about the overall subtle positivity in Village Rockstars)"

"The characters are teenagers in high school, it is natural that they will want to explore their sexual desires, date people, and want to make out. That is what puberty does to you. It is very disturbing when something as natural as this is scrutinised, scandalised and made into gossip. (about moral policing of teenagers in Bulbul Can Sing)"

"When I started watching movies, I liked that realistic approach. The story in this movie is fictional but I didn't want to compromise in the way I presented the way they are living their lives. I didn't have any storyboards -- I mostly followed them for four years. I became one of them. I wanted the audience to feel the beauty and the freshness that I felt in that village."

"I draw inspiration from Wong Kar-wai, Majid Majidi and our very own Satyajit Ray. I learn by watching their films. Ingmar Bergman and Quentin Tarantino have also influenced me. I spend hours watching films. Even while working on my projects, I take time out to watch films. This relaxes me."

"Filmmaking is a journey. Some people are lucky, they get instant success but for others it’s a process, it’s not something that can be achieved in a day. You might even get success overnight but the effort, the dedication, the passion and the love for making films are a continuous process."