|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
|
|
| 100-
the most common metaphor for success |
|
| December
01, 2007 |
|
100%,
now that's something special. It may be just one
more than 99 but the round figure does have a
magical appeal to it. That is why every time Sachin
got out between 95 and 100 in the recent past
we could hear a collective groan across the country,
that is why Don Bradman's last innings is part
of cricketing folklore, not only because the legend
was bowled for a duck but also because that left
his test batting average at a |
|
|
|
|
tantalizing
99.94. Yes, 100 is special, 100 is associated with perfection.
But as a saying goes, 'man cannot be perfect, he can only
be improved'. Coming to the point, who can boast of 100% success,
that too in the fickle world of films? No one, not even Charlie
Chaplin, Mani Ratnam or Kamal Haasan. Men do not achieve 100%
success, but that is considered a human trait. But there is
a… let's call it an entity that has had 100% success,
at least in the recallable future. Now, the history of cinema,
hits, flops and miscellaneous have not been referred to before
writing this. This is just a general feeling that occurred
within the film industry and between people who think about
movies all the time after seeing a movie that released last
Friday. |
|
|
Sports
themes and success, do they go hand in hand, one might
be tempted to think so, at least after Vivek Agnihothri,
John Abraham, Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani managed
to score a Goal at the box office. The second sports
movie of the year from Bollywood, well, fourth if
you would want to count Hat-Trick and Say Salaam India,
but the former was, in the words of its maker 'a film
that uses cricket as a metaphor' , while you might
not have even heard, let alone see the latter. So,
that narrows down the list of sports (complete) themes
in Bollywood for 2007 to two, add the Kollywood product
to Chennai 28 to the list and you have three. Chak
De India, Chennai 28 and Goal, there you have it,
the sporting flicks of 2007 and they have one thing
in common, success, huge, very good and 'good start
and still counting' in that order. To add to the interest
all three movies dealt with three different games,
India's national sport, India's favorite sport (common
religion) and a sport that India does not quite identify
with.
|
|
|
Put
the success of Chennai 28 down to the fact that it
was cricket, the heart and soul of the average Indian,
point out that Shah Rukh Khan's star presence drove
Chak De India and you still have Goal to contend with.
Football can hardly be called popular in India (few
people would recognize a national football player
on the road) and John Abraham is not yet a star who
can pull in the crowds just by his presence- No Smoking
is proof. So, that brings us to the point- 'Are sports
subjects really infallible' or are we living a dream
or riding a wave which is about to die down sooner
or later.
Taking an optimistic look at things, waves and dreams
don't last long. You can verify the former yourself
while for the latter you have to believe the scientists
who say that you can see long episodes in 3 seconds.
The fact is that the pattern has gone on for too long
for us to sit back and call it a passing trend. (Te
first three times Sachin got out in the nineties we
called it a passing trend, now we call it the 'ninetyninetitis')
So, we do what can do best, analyze and try to find
a common pattern, something that
|
|
|
|
will tell us whether we will be seeing more bats, balls, sticks,
rackets and boots on screen in the near future.
Chak De India has grossed more than 65 crores, Goal is near
20 after its first week and while we don't have the same kind
of statistic for Chennai 28 we do know enough to be able to
tell that whoever produced the film is now richer by many
crores. Which was the complete sports based film before these
three? Memory takes us back to Lagaan, sorry for anything
missed. But Lagaan got to the final round at the Oscars, ran
for a long time, catapulted Ashuthosh Gowariker into the big
league and launched Aamir Khan big time as a producer. So,
you see, even though it is just four films that we are counting,
the numbers show that sports themes have a 100% success rate
starting from 2001. We don't know the success rate that Hollywood
has to tell but going by common knowledge the rate is not
too bad, even though it might not be 100. But then, Hollywood
has had a far higher number of films of sport coming out.
Can we say that if you wanted to make a film now then you
would feel safe putting your money in a sports theme? Well,
it is looking good but we must also not forget that the general
rules of film making apply here too. It must be made with
conviction, honesty, good preparation (a flabby hero tying
pads around his legs and swinging the bat like a club doesn't
make a sports movie) and marketed well. Shah Rukh Khan was
a hockey player once and so didn't have to do a lot to look
the part, John, Arshad and Boman underwent months of training
to look and play like footballers and coming to Chennai 28:
it dealt with cricket and for a Chennai youngster, cricket
is life. The essence of the sport must be captured besides
the emotion and 'that winning feeling'.At the end of the day
it is cinema and all the rules that go into the making of
good cinema apply here as well. |
|
 |
Now,
to being pessimistic. Well, four movies in seven years
doesn't prove anything really. It is as likely that
the next four will fall flat on its face. Have you heard
of a movie called Say Salaam India. It was supposed
to be based on cricket (elixir of India) and still sank
without a trace, you know what happened to Hat-Trick
in spite of 'using cricket as a metaphor'. Out of all
the hits that we have had in the past seven years only
four are sports themes, that is an alarmingly low percentage,
love stories are safer bets. No, sports themes aren't
safe bets at least in the Indian scenario, love stories
and action genres are the ones our fuilmmakers are good
at. We can't blame them either, those are the experiences
most of them would have experienced sports doesn't form
a great part of our upbringing, do they? This makes
the sports genre a kinda unfamiliar territory for the
masses and filmmakers alike. |
|
|
Now,
you decide whether you wanna be cynical or hope as most Indians
do, for more. But you have to agree that 2007 has been an
exceptional year for sports based themes in India and for
real sports too (20-20 Cricket World Cup, Asia Cup Hockey).
Finally one more interesting point. Sports themes have always
dealt with the tale of the underdog rising from the ashes
against all odds to triumph in the end. Why hasn't there been
a film that tells the story of champions, players and teams
who have always been champions. Maybe that is question that
has far reaching implications beyond just sports movies, it
would lack mass appeal and heroism that is essential to attract
the masses. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| Everything about Tamil movies,
Tamil Actors, Tamil Actresses, Tamil Cinema & Kollywood |
|
|
|
|
|
