BEHINDWOODS COLUMN

Why do directors direct a movie? Either to tell us a story or to give us a message or take us to an unseen world or to share an experience through this medium. While there are many reasons one would want to make a film, today, I sit down to think if the actual purpose of making films is answered. When I leave the cinema hall, I am left thinking, was the purpose served?

 

A colleague of mine keeps telling me to watch all sorts of movies to understand the cinema world better. But what I still don't understand is there are a few films that seem to make the movie watching experience a nightmare. We still seem to cope up and go for another movie. For instance, take a recent small-time film (with a sweet title!), a boy and a girl fall in love, their parents are against the love and they fight to be with each other. First, this love story evolves when they are in college. Here, I want to know which boy in this universe wants to marry after graduation? Even if we were to give in to the exceptions, why does a smart girl always get attracted to a dumb boy? These are things that keep ringing in my head while I am watching.

 

If there is a dumb hero there has to be a dumber villain, if we have a good looking heroine her friends have to be mediocre, there has to be an opposition for love, something has to go wrong for something good to happen, fights are a must (forget when, where, who or what) and the boy’s parents either trust them too much or don't trust at all. Why force oneself into such heavy stereotypes?

 

On one side, our cinema has evolved with so many technological advancements, unique storytelling, delving into core belief systems and making the audience believe the existence of a fiction. When one side of this world is moving ahead, how does the other side move behind. While we have cinema that touches every inch of our emotions, on the other side, there are movies that make us feel our time is wasted. To a large set of people like me who expect a take away from a film than watch them because one likes films in general, who want to sit for 3 hours for an experience than mere players enacting the script, who want to watch the silver screen for its story than sitting because of a liking towards an actor, what is the current day cinema giving? 

 

With majority of the films just being written away within days of their release, why make them? While you see what you have already watched, the actors being weaker than puppets, there is absolutely no question of technical elements, screenplay is either copied or the director lacks research and songs are kept for the sake of inserts, is it too much to ask for a simple story with a decent perspective? 

 

These days, films travel far beyond the four corners and it hits our head so strong that few characters serve as an inspiration for us always. We still can't forget Nilambari from Padayappa. Though it was a Superstar film, that character stayed in us and gave the women folks a strength to talk for themselves. It is impossible not to remember Vidya Bagchi from Kahaani, where she took us far beyond the edges of the screen and showcased the sensibilities and sensitivities of a woman. And many more films that stand as the light at the end of our tunnel. It answers our queries, it shows us the harsh reality, it gives us courage to face the world and it makes our time worth. Amidst all this why make the so-called commercial mainstreams and spoil the broth completely?