New Delhi: Actor Ranvir Shorey says small budget movies serve as the research and development (R&D) wing for the film industry, where following a success formula blindly has become a norm. Ranvir, 45, is also critical of the stereotyping of actors, especially the non-star kids and those from small films, have to go through and arduously prove themselves before they can be choosy about projects.   

"I have been saying this for the last 10 years that these small films -- or alternative or parallel films they serve as the R&D department of the film industry," he told PTI. The actor's latest release is Nila Madhab Panda's "Kadvi Hawa", a film which navigates the critical issue of climate change with Sanjay Mishra in the lead. Citing the example of "Khosla Ka Ghosla!", Ranvir said there was a time when no film had Delhi as its backdrop, until the National Award-winning film, featuring him, released in back in 2006.   

"So what happens is that, if you take 'Khosla Ka Ghosla!'... When that film came, there were no films which were being made about Delhi. Then you see, gradually, even mainstream films came to Delhi," he said. The actor said that though commerce remains an important aspect of filmmaking, the "artistic soul" of the movie is essential to strike a chord with people. "Since it is not a cheap medium, the number one priority for people becomes recovering the money. 

But the thing is, it's not business. It's not like you pump in money and add some parts (based on previous success to make a good film)...   "Then it becomes a Frankenstein monster's story, not a human story, which needs to have an artistic soul," he said. Ranvir said, with the arrival of streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, there has been a steady increase in the visibility of small-budget movies.   

He lamented big-ticket films tend to eat up all the prime time shows, regardless of the occupancy of theatres. "... Now the dependence is half on theatres and the rest on alternative platforms like Netflix to collect revenue, so it helps," he said. Also featuring Tillotama Shome, "Kadvi Hawa" released on Friday. PTI