Movies today

I think, I should watch Happy New Year, just because it’s been thrashed so much by everyone (record 44 crores INR collection in some three days).  How bad can a movie be? It certainly can’t be as horrible as No Smoking – a John Abraham and Paresh Rawal movie which is the worst movie I’ve ever seen (for the record, I have seen and appreciate Jaani Dushman – ek anokhi kahani).

After numerous discussions/debates/arguments over the years and listening to different views, most of the times offering mine too, I have reached a position where I understand the logic behind movies made these days.  Actor/movie/director bashing is common in discussions these days.  I tried to understand why the “standard” of movies has “fallen” according to some.

In its long journey, Indian cinema has come a long way and it still has a long way to go.  It is the biggest entertainment industry in the world today! We churn out movies thrice as compared to Hollywood.  Indian cinema, as I call it, is not only about Hindi movies. Movies get made in atleast 15 different languages in India, Bollywood being the biggest (as they say, I don’t have the data).  Having said that, there ought to be masterpieces and movies that would keep us wondering as to why was this made at all!!!

So, why do we think that the standard of the movies has gone down? If you notice, every generation thinks the same way about movies of “recent” times. Not taking the philosophical route, let’s take a more practical view.  Why do we watch movies? Entertainment? To see someone else’s view-point/angle? Learn something new? I would say, most of us (as I’ve known) watch movies for sheer entertainment. Now, the entertainment can be classy (Hera Pheri) or crass (any flop movie), but we still watch it and later thrash it. Movies were made on freedom struggle, social issues etc. during the 40s and 50s as that was the need of the hour.  Directors were trying to make people aware of the conditions, atrocities etc. that others went through. Then came the 60s and 70s where audience got bored watching the same things over and over again. Thus rose a new genre of male actors romancing on-screen and cinema got bolder and gooey. 80s and 90s saw a different genre and issues like unemployment, poverty, violence, corruption etc. which were prevalent in the society were taken up by directors.  Creating awareness around these issues was necessary then and people did not mind spending their hard earned money on seeing something that increases their awareness.

And then internet seeped in. Everything changed! Where we thought, computers would make our lives easier, they just increased stress. More jobs, more opportunities, and more population meant more traffic, long office hours, and more pressure.  In these times, most people (whom I’ve spoken to) wish to go to a movie hall to watch something that does not stress them out further. They are well aware about the social issues and other heart wrenching happenings around the world – thanks to internet! Plus, the entry of multiplexes changed the whole movie watching experience.  A movie outing at a theatre for two, which used to cost no more than Rs 100 earlier, costs Rs 1,000 at a bare minimum.  Question – Is it worth to spend Rs 1,000 to watch something which will leave you depressed, angry, or upset? Or is it better to go watch a no-brainer? No immediate answers expected here!

According to me, movies are made for two types of audience “class” and “mass.” While “class” like to watch movies that are more real and thought provoking, masses are happy with total entertainers.  Masses, as I have noticed, haven’t changed much over the years. But preferences of classes keep changing, as mentioned above. How many of the “class” movie watchers can watch “Pyasa” (a Gurudutt film) more than 5 times today? Tough, right? A lot of Amol Palekar movies, mostly humor, were made very intelligently having a mix of both, class and mass.

Then the discussions trickle down to the actors – how could Shah Rukh Khan do such a movie?  I say, why not? He is an actor, acting being his profession, if he thinks the script appeals or there’s good money or the directors a very good friend and he can afford to do a favor he will.  What’s so wrong in doing a horrible job in a movie which is even more horrible? It’s his job, his lookout.  Another argument – look at Aamir, man!!! He does such nice movies. Dear Aamir fans, heard of a movie called “Tum mere ho” or “Baazi” or “Isi ka naam zindagi?” Watch them for some fun.  Most these actors get stuck in the brands they create for themselves. Salman has revived his career based on re-makes of southern films. A man punched on the face flies (literally) and falls 50 ft away. You think this happens in reality? Tried punching anyone before? But yeah, what the hell, it sells, right?? What was Rajanikanth doing all these years? I have actually seen movies where Rajani flies (literally again). It’s not only hard to believe but even ridiculous to look at. But…its sells, right? Can you imagine a Sanjay Suri (half of you might spend a couple of minutes thinking who this was) pulling off a Salman stunt? I can’t!  Sure, there are movies like “Lunchbox,” “Kahaani,” and “Paan Singh Tomar” being made today but sadly, most of them qualify for critics’ choice.  So, if the director wants an actor to act silly on-screen, they would, no? Let the actors take a call on speculating their image, publicity and stuff (they have more than enough people working around it for them!). There are a lot other aspects to a movie other than acting, story, and direction.  Think about the frames, the cinematography, the light, the locations, the dialogues, the songs etc.  Watch movies for all these – might help pulling down the angst after watching a pathetic “movie.”

Movie making has and will always be a business. They are not made for charity purposes – apart from the ones those are “Janhit mein jaari” by the government. People should know which movies to watch and spend money and which ones to be watched only when they are played on the TV for free. Then there are the third type as well – the ones that should never be watched (Gunday :P)