1. The learning was about interpreting a written concept and transferring it with the right feel onto film media. Filmmaking can either embellish an idea, or make you lose the idea completely.
2. I also can’t forget what Piyush Pandey once told me: “You must disappear as a director from this project.” Every artiste has an urge to prove himself, an urge for showmanship. A great performance comes through not as an actor, but when he is the character. I learnt from him that it is vital to let your content do the talking.
3. That Nirma Underwater Ballet film project with TapRoot taught me to always try something you think you cannot do. The dancers had to dance and come into the right position under water. It was a virtual nightmare and almost didn’t work.
4. Satyajit Ray had this rule of sorts that everyone on the set should return with something that they learnt that day. He told all of us to write down what we learnt each day at the shoot and show it to him.
5. Ray always pre-visualised his films. He worked very hard on them and had great respect for the written script and storyboard. He would ‘shot divide’ everything. As a result of this methodical approach, he hardly re-shot sequences. It is rarely the equipment or the technology which makes a film; it is the mind that works behind it.

Shantanu Bagchi on his defining moments and why planning is important.