MUMBAI: Adding an important landmark to the ever-evolving crowdfunding potential in India towards supporting independent films, Cutthroat - a film to be based on real life in a Business School - announced that it has managed to raise Rs 5.94 lakh in a span of last eight weeks.

Directed by Sarthak Dasgupta of The Great Indian Butterfly fame, the film was seeking pre-production funds through Catapooolt, an industry-backed crowdfunding platform. The collection makes it the highest ever amount crowdfunded for a film project on any Indian crowdfunding platform.

The total budget the project is seeking is Rs10 lakh.

Commenting on this feat, Sarthak Dasgupta who recently received the Sundance Global Filmmaker Reward 2013, said, “I’m really humbled and honored with this extensive support and recognition that my proposed script Cutthroat has received so far. I always believed that this film should be made on basis of community support - and I’m glad that with Catapooolt - I’ve got the right team and platform to take this project to the desired communities. I’m sure that with this continuing momentum and interest in this film, we should be able to achieve the set crowndfunding target.”

Recognising this step as a key indicator of growing interest and trust in crowdfunding in India, Catapooolt MD Satish Kataria said, “Globally, crowdfunding has been accepted as the new future of funding creativity and independent projects - and through Catapooolt - we continuously endeavour to populate this empowered way to support upcoming talent in India. We are ensuring that we don’t only stop ourselves as a platform, but go beyond and completely work hand-in-hand with project managers to help them achieve their desired targets.”

So far, more than 50 contributors, from across the world, have come forward and lend their support for the film which is based on how things change during the placement season in a B School and how the peer pressures can play with dreams of the management students.

Furthermore, as a part of really innovative exercise, Catapooolt along with the Syndenham Institute of Management Studies - has brought together more than 163 teams from leading management institutions to compete and draft the best possible marketing and outreach strategy for this film.