Renowned film critic Anupama Chopra confirmed the heartbreaking news that Film Companion is closing. The film journalist, who is also married to producer-director Vidhu Vinod Chopra, took to Instagram and shared a farewell note. Anupama looked back at the platform’s journey, revisited some of the best interview series they worked on and her favourite interview moments before she bid farewell to the team. While she confirmed Film Companion is shutting down, she revealed that the platform is branching out into FC Studios – a speciality division for long-form storytelling.
“10 years ago, this month, without thinking through about what the entrepreneurial life actually entails, we launched Film Companion. The name came from a line by the American philosopher and film critic Stanley Cavell. He said: ‘The writing about film that has meant most to me has the power of a missing companion. Our ambition was to be that missing companion, that friend you discuss movies, shows, trends and pet peeves with. You don’t have to agree but the conversation is robust and invigorating.'” Anupama Chopra wrote.
“It’s been a tumultuous ride. Creating credible, informative entertainment journalism, in video and text, that pays for itself is a formidable challenge in any landscape but more so in the current climate in which everything can be bought, including social media posts. But Film Companion was never a business – numbers are not my forte. It was a shared passion,” she said.
The film jounalist looked back on milestone moments — interviewing Shah Rukh Khan in Lisbon, the viral interview featuring Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif, the roundtables, the open-air conversations with celebrities such as Deepika Padukone, and more — that made her journey at Film Companion memorable.
“Film Companion has had a blazing 10-year-run. As we wind up the show, I want to express my deepest gratitude to the wonderful people who toiled in the trenches with me. Each one of you got behind all my nutty ideas and multi-tasked beyond the call of duty to make them come alive. The platform flourished only because of the stellar team. And thank you to the wonderful community we built,” she said, before adding, “Film Companion lives on in FC Studios– our speciality division for long-form storytelling. Our first documentary special will soon be on a streaming service – hopefully the start of many exciting projects to come. As one of my favourite actors once said, Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost. Onwards and Upwards.”
Check out her post below:
Several cinephiles took to the comments section and expressed their gratitude towards Anupama for creating such a platform. Karan Johar also shared a post expressing his love for the platform and wished the team the very best.
Although Anupama Chopra has not revealed the reason behind Film Companion closing down, she has confirmed that she will move on to head the team at The Hollywood Reporter India.
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