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The best people to control cinema!
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Who
decides the direction in which a film industry
moves? Who decides the kind of films that come
out of an industry? Is it the script writer, the
director, the actors ….. perhaps not, it
is the producer! Why? Because it is the producer
who puts his money into everything and he is the
one who stands to gain or lose (more often when
it comes to cinema) according to the fate of a
film at the box office. We might like to believe that it is not the producer who decides what kind of movies happen; but the final decision always lies with the producer How much
ever writers come up with innovative scripts,
how much ever directors plot great visions, how
much ever actors are willing to put into a performance,
it is the producer who has the final say. A producer
has to be convinced of the financial viability
of a film if it has to happen. And, Tamil cinema
has been fortunate to have producers who have
shared visions with the artistes and craftsmen
of cinema. But, producers being producers, will
always have an eye on the pure commercial aspect
of cinema. And that is why world over we have
film industries where commercial content has always
been prevalent over the type of cinema where the artistic possibilities
of the medium have been explored to the fullest.
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Of
course, we cannot blame producers for having an eye
on the commerce. At most times, it is their calculations
of commerce that keep the industry afloat, their marketing
strategies that take out movies to the masses; in short,
they run the industry. Like managers in all our offices
who just cannot understand the problems of a technical
professional but still run the office, producers (mostly)
cannot see the art of cinema; well, they are not built
for that. That is why, year after year, decade after
decade, we groan about the seemingly unending drudgery
of brazen commercial masala.
So, who can change it? Well, for a movie to happen,
a producer has to be convinced. And for a producer to
be easily convinced a script has to be commercial (read
five songs, five fights and an optional item number,
love story etc….).. sight, there doesn’t
seem to be a way out. Yes, there is. What if people
who know the art and scope of cinema take up production?
Then we get the right kind of cinema, one that entertains
without numbing the senses, one that talks sense instead
of pure hero worship. We already have people who have
shown the way, quite a lot. And, if Tamil cinema can
boast of a number of films that can stand shoulder to
shoulder with many international products, it is because
of people in the art of cinema who have also taken up
its business.
Thinking of examples, here goes, Kamal Haasan (Rajkamal Productions), Prakash Raj (Duet Movies and Silent Pictures), Shankar (S Pictures), Mani Rathnam (Madras Talkies), Gautham Menon (Photon Kathas), Parthipan (Akira Films), Sasikumar
and quite a few others. Think of a list of movies that
have come from these banners. You will find that most
of them, if not all, are ones that have left a big impression.
Perhaps not all of them were great earners at the box
office (which is what a full time producer will look
at), like Hey Ram or Kannathil Muthamittal, but they
are films that we are proud of.
At many times, when watching moves, we get a feeling
that some of the most exceptionally talented artistes
are not doing the kind of cinema that they believe in.
If an artiste, especially a lead artiste, wants to do
cinema of a kind that he believes in, he has to finance
it himself and that’s what Kamal Haasan has been
doing for decades now. He has been financing dreams
that a full time producer would not have dreamt of even
going close to. Starting from Rajapaarvai to Unnaipol
Oruvan, interspersing all his commercial flicks, he
has shown us the kind of cinema that he believes in.
The same holds true for Mani Rathnam. Who would have
dared to make a film as expensive as Iruvar with an
actor from another state (Mohanlal) in the lead except
the man who conceived it himself. Shankar, for all the
commercial grandeur that he has handed us through his
directorial ventures has also shown us through his production
house that he too has an eye for the finer and subtle
side of cinema. And, Gautham Menon, Tamil cinema’s
new no compromise guy got into production very early
in his career and that has reflected in his cinema.
Yes, being a producer allows people to make the kind
of cinema that they believe in without having to bow
to anyone’s demands or opinions. The difference
between being a great artiste and also being a producer
is like being a great player and also being the team’s
captain.
But, just like some players are no cut out for captaincy
(like Sachin Tendulkar), some great artistes are just
not cut out for production (like Rajnikanth). Somehow,
it is a great disappointment that Rajnikanth kept away
from production of movies, barring the fleeting attempt.
It is surely not due to the lack of finances; he is
the second highest (or even the highest, according to
some people) paid star in Asia. Repeatedly over the
decades we have felt that he has had to do a type of
cinema that he does not wholly believe in. Commercial
compulsions have kept him away from a whole dimension
of his acting skills. Yet, he chose not to take up production
and make cinema that he believed in. Even after more
than 30 years we do not know what Rajnikanth believes
in, be it in cinema or politics! Perhaps he was waiting
for Soundarya to take up production to express his visions
through his daughter; we will know in Rana.
When an artiste takes over complete control of his medium
(production in the case of cinema) the results are definitely
better. Look at the kind of cinema Aami Khan has produced
in Bollywood, all of them trendsetters. It however does
not seem to hold true when an actor comes up from a
production house! It is heartening to see that many
young and upcoming actors are keen to take up production;
Arya has shown the way with ‘The Show People’
which co-produced Boss. Suriya and Karthi seem to be
regularly turning to the Studio Green banner, Vikram
almost became a producer along with Sasikumar, but for
a last minute difference of opinion and now even Ajith
has launched Goodwill Productions. Perhaps, even Vijay,
who seems to get the most commercially charged scripts
in the industry, might be thinking of production.
And, finally, this was not meant to belittle producers
or to undermine their contribution and importance in
Tamil cinema. All respect to haloed production houses
like AVM and Gemini that have carried Tamil cinema aloft
for decades. And, acknowledgements to stalwarts like
Aascar Ravichandran, Kalaipuli Thanu, AGS for what they
have done for Tamil cinema. Also, not forgetting the
new production houses like Red Giant, Cloud Nine for
occasionally supporting movies like Mynaa and Thamizh
Padam and corporate production houses like Moser Baer
for encouraging efforts like Poo.
But, with all due respect, only an artiste or technician
can view the medium purely for its scope and beauty
without having any eye on the commerce part of it. That’s
why unfailingly movies coming from such producers always
have something different to offer. Let’s hope
that more and more artistes from cinema start taking
complete control of the medium.
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