Dev Benegal is a complete film fanatic and doesn?t own a TV. He has watched Stanley Kubrick?s Space Odyssey 93 times, and many other films from Citizen Kane to exciting Taiwanese and Korean cinema. To this day he carries a message Satyajit Ray handed out when Dev was assisting uncle Shyam Benegal with his two-and-a-half hour documentary of the master filmmaker in 1984. ?When you make a film it must ring true,? Ray told Dev Benegal. ?That?s my guiding principle,? he says, pointing out that he became ?very very close? to Ray during the shooting, as also to Ray?s favourite cinematographer Subrato Mitra, picking up skills for life. Back after a decade with Road, Movie, Benegal, remembered for his path-breaking debut film English, August, has got used to the buzz around only his third film since 1994. Last May it was picked up by Fortissimo Films, a leading international distribution company?its first foray into the Hindi film domain?which is distributing the film in overseas markets with Studio 18 with the domestic rights. The film, starring Abhay Deol, has been to many festivals and got a five-minute ovation at the just-concluded Berlin Festival, where the actors were mobbed after every screening. Produced by Ross Katz and Susan B Landau, Road, Movie is peaking nicely before its official India release on March 5. Benegal talks to Sudipta Datta on why India is the best place in the world to make movies, why he has said no to many Indian producers and how the Indian audience is changing dramatically. Excerpts:

You work with an international team. Do Indian stories have a resonance in the world? Is India inspiring you to make movies here?

The environment right now is incredible. It?s really the best place in the world to make movies right now. Making a film is really challenging, whether in India or anywhere else. But everything about India is inspiring; there are many stories to tell.

Are there funds for the stories you want to tell?

There is a lot of money around; the issue is what are the stories you want to tell. The issue is one of originality. The minute you commoditise a story, it won?t work. I want to tell stories about my generation, which is the prime motivator. I have been fortunate that my first film English, August was picked up by 20th Century Fox and Road, Movie by Fortissimo.

Why is it that you prefer to work with an international team?

I like to challenge the norm. I have never taken my films to Indian producers. I have said no to many by choice. I like to produce my own films or take it to an international team.

Road, Movie has been to many festivals. What has been the response?

Festivals are like a marketplace and always help to spread the word. We had our world premiere at Toronto. We have been to Tokyo, Doha and Berlin. At Berlin, a lot of young people were at the screenings.

There was this Hindi film playing to a young German audience.

But you did the film for a reason?

Yes, the Indian landscape, which has such a mythical quality, is disappearing; being converted into SEZs. Before it disappears completely, I wanted to record it. I also love travelling on the road and the sheer joy of looking at the vast unending Indian landscape. So I tell the story through Abhay, who plays Vishnu, who escapes his father?s business to drive a truck through the desert and how he discovers life, love and laughter.

You also have a very interesting version of the Pyaasa hit song Tel malish.

The song came to me as I was writing the script. I had to use it. The spirit of the song?that we must look at the brighter side of things?rings true for the characters in Road, Movie. In this troubled world, it?s important to send a message that we must be able to live with people whatever the background.

Is India ready for new, different content?

The Indian audience is changing dramatically. They are tired of the movies dished out. They are restless with endlessly long movies. The audience is very progressive and is yearning for good stories.