In a recent press conference held by PVR for the promotion of Makoto Shinkai’s latest film Suzume No Tojimari, he commended the Indian fans for not holding back when it came to expressing their excitement in the conference, as compared to the fans in the US or Japan.

Shinkai went on to reveal he’s been to US and Japan and all across Asia but nobody shows passion like that of Indian fans.

According to him, everyone is so well behaved in Japan that even their claps are very polite. On the other hand, in India he felt like a real rockstar as the fans didn’t shy away from clapping out loud and touching his feet, which is an age old Indian tradition that is considered to be a mark of respect.

“So I have to tell you what I love about the Indian audiences. I have been to the US, I have been to Japan, I’ve gone all across Asia, and nobody shows the passion that our Indian fans show. When I am in Japan, everyone is so well behaved. I get on stage, they clap politely and it ends with that. I come to India, I feel like a rockstar,” Shinkai said. “Thanks for clapping, and to people coming and touching my feet, to be made to feel like a guru is just next level.”

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When asked if he had watched films like RRR, Shinkai replied saying that he’s not just watched RRR but also watched Bahubali.

He also went on to praise RRR saying that it was a new flavour of entertainment which provided a “very unique experience”, something that Hollywood fails to create.

“It’s not just RRR, I watched Bahubali as well and I watched it on the big screen. And I enjoyed [RRR] throughly. Because its entertainment, but it’s a new flavor of entertainment. Hollywood doesn’t give what RRR can give. It’s a very unique experience. I loved it!“

He also expressed his immense respect to the Indian directors for making films that can be enjoyed with friends. He added that Japanese directors tend to make movies that can only be enjoyed alone.

Shinkai hopes to create a film like RRR in the future, where the Japanese audience can watch it together with their friends and can cheer aloud for the film at the theatre.

“And one another thing I realized is that I have to give a lot of respect to Indian directors. They’re taking the trouble to make films that can be enjoyed with friends. They want to make a movie where you can go with a bunch of friends, and you can shout at the movie and enjoy together. Japanese directors tend to make movies where you hide within yourself and enjoy it silently.
When I watched RRR, I was like some day I want to make a movie which will make Japanese viewers become Indian viewers. They will be able to come with a bunch of friends and cheer out loud at the movie.“

This is not the first time Shinkai is visiting India. He had come during the premiere of Weathering With You anime film in 2019.

Makoto Shinkai, is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, author, and manga artist.

Shinkai began his career as a video game animator with Nihon Falcom in 1996, and gained recognition as a filmmaker with the release of the original video animation (OVA) She and Her Cat (1999).

Beginning his longstanding association with CoMix Wave Films, Shinkai then released the science-fiction OVA Voices of a Distant Star in 2002, and followed this with his debut feature film The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004).

Shinkai’s second feature film, the romantic drama anthology 5 Centimeters per Second (2007), gained critical acclaim, as did his subsequent releases, the dramas Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011) and The Garden of Words (2013).

Shinkai’s 2016 fantasy romance Your Name was a critical and commercial success, becoming the third highest-grossing anime film of all time.

Suzume No Tojimari is his seventh feature film, and it released in Japan on Nov 11, 2022.

It released in India on April 21, 2023.

Source: Press Conference, Press Release