Buzz tells the story of India’s most celebrated tattoo artist, Eric D’Souza, The documentary backed by Bollywood star Anil Kapoor captures his extraordinary journey by filmmaker Maahir Khan. Filmed like an intimate documentary, Buzz traces Eric's inspiring journey from the lanes of Mumbai to national prominence. Buzz released on February 28 on JioHotstar. on 28th February on JioHotstar. 

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We got talking to filmmaker Maahir Khan to understand his inspiration behind this documentary which is more than a regular film and acts as a starting point for a cultural conversation. Maahir explains how he captures the intersection of art, identity and resilience via his documentary. 

Here are the edited excerpts of our chat:

Q: Buzz tells a deeply personal story of Eric D’Souza. What drew you to his journey, and why did you feel it needed to be told?

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A: Simply because I found him to be a great ambassador for the underground countercultural movement of Mumbai. I felt Eric was the right person, and tattoos were the correct medium to show the subculture that took me in at a young age and showed me great compassion, kindness, and patience as well as empowering me artistically.

Buzz

Q: Tattoos in India have traditionally carried a certain stigma. How do you think Buzz contributes to changing that perception?

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A: I think any bias is formed from a lack of being able to empathise, and I hope that by seeing Eric’s story working in a subversive industry, people would not only challenge their perceptions about people with tattoos or tattoo artists, but all people who do something they don’t understand.

A cultural conversation starter

Q: The documentary captures the intersection of art, identity, and resilience. How did you weave these themes into the narrative?

A: It definitely was all a product of Eric’s honesty. I don’t think those are things I could have planned — he was so authentic and truthful that all we did was highlight his powerful vulnerability.

Q: What was the biggest challenge in telling Eric’s story in a way that felt authentic and impactful?

A: When you’re dealing with a documentary and you have a lull in the edit, the temptation is to go sensationalist through misdirecting the audience with your cuts. Basically, what reality television does. But I saw truthfulness as an unshakeable tenet in this project, because it would be horribly wrong to deceive people even slightly as that would compromise Eric’s trust and vulnerability. So, I think to make the film move cleanly and having a clear narrative thread without using tricks was the main challenge here.

Buzz

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Tattoo culture in India

Q: Do you think India is now more accepting of tattoo culture, or is there still resistance?

A: I think it is far more accepting now than it was when I was first getting tattooed. Back then, you didn’t tell people you had tattoos, or show them — it is highly likely they would form a false perception of you. While resistance may still exist in some pockets, it has severely diminished over the past decade or so.

Q: Your father, Feroz Abbas Khan, is a celebrated filmmaker and theatre icon. Did his storytelling sensibilities influence your approach to Buzz?

A: Not really. My father and I have great respect for each other, but our specialties are very different. I cut my teeth in counterculture and existentialism as a writer, he in Indian culture and socio-political issues as a director. So, while we love each other’s work, we are rarely involved in influencing either of our processes.

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Collaborating with Anil Kapoor

Q: How involved was Anil Kapoor in shaping the final cut, and what was it like collaborating with him?

A: Anil Kapoor is an amazing person to work with because he truly understands the artist’s mind. And that was no different for me. His involvement was less with the cut — though he did have very valuable inputs there — and far more on mentoring my artistic ability so I could be empowered to make the correct decisions along the way. I am incredibly grateful for that. He showed immense faith in me and helped me hone my own voice significantly.

Q: Buzz is not just a documentary but a cultural conversation. What do you hope audiences take away from it?

A: I hope they take from it whatever it chooses to give them. The same reason a film is riveting for one person can be another person’s reason to hate it. Either is okay — art gives in complex ways because it is often dealing with a walled up subconscious psyche. However, if there is one thing I hope happens from people watching this film, it is that people feel less alone after hearing Eric’s trials and tribulations and how he overcame them. It’s never too late, you are never too broken and it will get better, so never give up.

Q: In a time where streaming platforms are bringing diverse content to viewers, how do you see Buzz contributing to this shift in Indian storytelling?

A: Honestly, I feel it is beyond my pay grade to claim Buzz does anything on a larger level in terms of a shift. What I can claim is that we made this film with the goal to be relentlessly truthful, wherever that may lead us. The novelty of the subject or the circumstances of the people were never the main point of the film, so it’s difficult for me to say that this fits under “diverse” though hopefully it does feel like a fresh take of a subculture for audiences. 

The shift I hope Buzz is part of is bringing back more character driven films and documentaries, and fewer high-concept macro ideas because I think fewer people loving a film versus a lot of people just liking it leads to more engagement and honestly, movies that have a longer life.