“Who is to blame?” Introspections by a young movie-maker
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For the very first blog on PassionforCinema, this was a rather unlikely topic to write on. But, as one starts writing, one has to be true to his/her conscience. Two, also true to the ground realities. The reality is that Bollywood’s rough patch continues and it looks highly vulnerable at the moment. The purpose of this piece is as much an attempt at self-introspection before landing in Bollywood as a young producer; as much it is an effort to bring one of the core issues scaring Indian Cinema to its guts today.
Before proceeding on the exact theme, however, a bit of chit-chat…
Venturing in Bollywood as a young and suave Director is in. In vogue. In fashion. And, a sort of statement by a new brigade – “I’ve arrived.”.
On the other hand, taking a look at the producers, this brigade is conspicuously obscure there. Though we have a multitude of new kinds and species of producers venturing in, we are yet to see the arrival of young and professionally skilled producers. The older lot of producers with money amassed or mobilized continues to hold its ground. Good for Indian cinema. We’ll always be grateful to them for allowing the creative brigades over decades to bring to us all sorts of cinema. The recent fad is the corporatization of the production process and producers with the entry of big companies, with or without entertainment & media credentials.
We liked it when corporate houses backed the young and suave directors who were able to make cinema within small budgets and also earned critical acclaim, over and above profitability. One example was followed by many and soon became a trend. We, today have so many bright directors who we can count on as chic and talented guys with at least one hit in their kitty. Who would otherwise had to be content with serving as an Associate of veteran directors. At any moment, we can easily count fifty such names. And, this new wave has not only helped such young directors but, has also made second life possible for many veterans who were sort of written off. Surprisingly and suddenly, we saw many of the old directors with art or typically commercial cinema background hitting us with good films that made sense, amused us, entertained and, recovered revenues.
Back to the core theme of this piece of mine, I am worried about why is it that all of a sudden all the permutations and combinations have started to fail. That nothing really seems to be working for Bollywood!
That in spite of the sound of “all the best” and rituals of “rashee”, no film seems to be “wanted” by the viewers. Why is every film made to appear “blue” in the very first week?
We movie-buffs and movie-makers both had a bad time in the face of the multiplex-ceinemakers tiff that lasted 2 months. But, while the apparent impact was expected to be over within a month or two after the strike in the new circumstances, the lateral impact refuses to go. The entire fraternity will agree that they are yet to be able to figure out what exactly is the reason for continued despair at the Box Office. But, I strongly believe, one of the key reasons is hidden somewhere in what I have written till now.
I would like to deliberate upon some of the possible reasons with some amount of reasoning.
As said earlier, the industry is today full of young directors with at least one film that performed well at the box office as well with the critiques. The corporate production houses backed them and their second or subsequent offerings mostly failed to rekindle the magic. One reason may be that while we have so many bright kids on the block today each with credible debut record, we must not forget that their first flick was a result of their passion-filled persistence of few years, and a dream project. Quick recognition got them offers they couldn’t say “no” to. Maybe the subsequent films lacked the depth and amount of work they gave to their earlier venture.
Another reason, many of my friends in the Bollywood do not very much like the corporate production houses for reasons best known to them. Is there some mismatch which, while ensures the film completes with all its ingredients, works against the interests of the film? Does it shun the film of its spark and magic in its desperate bid to monetize? The next apprehension of mine is if the erstwhile legendary producers are yet to come to terms with the new realities and they also find a mismatch in working with the new directors. I strongly believe, there must be something in the director-producer relationship which is helping this mess.
Then, comes the question of not-so-young directors. The ones on whom Bollywood always counts on. Unfortunately, in spite of their efforts to keep to their reputation, some failed to hit the bull’s eye. Some, on the other hand, even lost sight of what they wanted to make. Vishal Bhardwaj claimed before the release of ‘Kaminey’ that the audiences will see a new Vishal in this film. He was right. The film failed to receive whole-hearted appreciation of audiences as well critics that Vishal Bhardwaj is now used to. However, he did not let down his producers and investors. It performed satisfactorily at the Box Office. Similarly, Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Love Aajkal’ was found to be nowhere close to ‘Jab We Met’. Yet, he recovered the investments well. Good for him. Good for Saif. Now, coming to Ajay Devgn-Rohit Shetty combo, it has worked again with ‘All The Best’. ‘Wanted’ performed too, to help Salman and the producers. But, these are just the films that we can count.
The longer list has in the first row ‘What’s Your Rashee’ that kept everyone pondering about what exactly such a reputed director wanted to make. At least this was not expected of Ashutosh Gowarikar in these bad times. On the top of it, we have the much-awaited Diwali releases – Bollywood’s annual rituals. ‘Blue’ is doing miserably as per trade information at the moment. So is doing ‘Main Aur Mrs Khanna’. ‘Do Knot Disturb’ upset the likes of David Dhawan which is highly unusual. Follows them a long list of illustrious as well un-illustrious flicks like ‘Wake Up Sid’, ‘Kambakkht Ishq’, ‘Luck’ and so on. There is another category of movies which we suddenly start hearing about couple of weeks before their release. And nobody tends to remember them two weeks after their release. Surprisingly, these films also have some USP. But, what fails to amaze is that if producers are putting in big money on the first category of big films, directors are putting in their best of efforts, what is it that is to blame. Who is at fault? Everyone is doing the best to ensure it performs well.
Is it sudden outburst of these small-time films that seem to be releasing in bulk every week, meant to be forgotten by the week ends? Is there any formula behind such films, best known to the makers?
Is it a problem of too many? Is it that whole lot of cinemas that were blocked from getting released due to the multiplex-cinemakers tiff and are now releasing without a space for the moviegoers?
Is it that directors are trying to eat much more than they can chew and taking up too many films, too fast, only to disappoint the viewers?
Is it that producers are in too hurry to produce too many films, assuming that even if one out of five does well, they’ll be in profitability? But, if this is the case, isn’t it like putting the directors’ careers and viewers’ loyalty at stake?
Is it a problem of over-exposure with the TV intruding into films too much, eroding its charisma with too many previews, uncut versions, making, and promotional stints through reality shows? Are we guys now tired of the cinematic overdose on Idiot Box and developing a dislike for films that try to ‘penetrate’ too much and, beyond the forbidden limits? Is it something comparable to the ‘India Shining’ campaign that is held to have caused disaster for the advertisers in 2004 General Elections?
Is it that the Indian audience has come of age and started discarding ‘bad’ cinema? For that matter, if we try to slot together all the films that did well on one side and, the others on the other, we cannot name specific categories and genres with certainty that they’ll succeed or fail. We can’t still say that “all the hit
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
One of the most useless write-ups ever!! I am still unable to understand – WHAT WAS THIS ALL ABOUT??
I think I dozed off a couple of times while still at it.
Young movie maker – If your writing is anything to go by, please spare us your movies.
Yeah…the Indian audience has come of age and has started discarding ‘bad’ cinema….and predicting bad movie makers from their bad writing itself! :-) :-) :-)
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Deepak, this is a good post. Food for thought definitely. Output from the best of film-makers is always varied and somewhat erratic. Everybody falls prey to scale, to stars, to attention, to criticism (both positive and negative) and to desparation. The important thing is to make movies. To write. To create. Greatness or brilliance is never planned. It is transient, temporary and very often created. What finally remains is the legacy of your work – good, bad and indifferent. If you do not create, there is no legacy. If you are not condemned you are not challenged. Keep writing my friend.
@ Himanshu – Sad that you got bored. Maybe you should stick to the entertainment pages in the mirror or TOI. Better still read www.indiafm.com. If your comment is anything to go by please spare us your views!
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Shivaji Park me koi nahi aya kya?
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@Timbuctoo
Koi nahi aaya mere dost. Isliye ki maine sab ko roka tha aane se. Humein police ne sec 144 ka notice diya tha jiske tahed yeh procession gair kanooni hota. Gair kanooni logon ke khilaf gair kanooni rasta ikhtiyaar karna hum sabke siddhanton ke khilaf tha. Lekin hum jaayenge zaroor. Aur jab jaayenge aapko Timbuctoo telegram zaroor bhejenge!
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saab .. iss baar at least take the protest to the police stations and govt offices the concerned authorities who if do not do their jobs, we will end up like Pakistan (maoists or naxalite, sab mei koi toh concern hai that started off as waging wars against sections which is why they are illegal, lets not go that way)… not to bullies… and I will completely support you … cause thats what seems right to me… but otherwise if it is going to be against gairkanooni people, I will still be here in more of a psychological motivation than anything more or less…
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I am really bit clueless and curious to know how these bullies will shape up in the new realities post elections. Sad. Little discomforted. Worried, they can torment Mumbai’s fabric further more if the ruling elite ignores them for their political interest.
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Hello Mr. Mehta,
Seems like 5 movies and 5 flops have made you a very bitter man….more like RGV.
Why should I spare you or Deepak or anyone my views? This site, more like your movies are meant for public consumption and will evoke both public wrath and adulation. I guess, you need to learn to face criticism – Good, bad, Ugly. Ofcourse, you are entitled to strike back for anything below the belt.
But I don’t think my comments were so acidic to deserve such a scathing revert.
Ofcourse, an advice to both RGV and you….and other bitter folks like Khalid Mohammed – Please try to strike back with your work! Your movies!! and spare us your ideal, flashy knowledge of the medium.
Even Anuraag Kashyap went through hell before bouncing back with Black Friday and DevD. But I don’t think he ever let his composure and maturity get effected by the tough phase. He was always sporting enough to take everything in his stride….and move on….
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yaar himanshu … its high time that we also stop playing ‘public public public’ card yaar… its strange that we can slice razors up on people cuz they might be celebrities, but get flared up when something comes back on us… yaar.. this being a public platform, your comments (and mine) also become something on this platform, and while Hansal or anybody who responds is also a part of the public now looking at your/our views, so as much rights to them to talk in the same sense back … you dont think your comments were acidic.. re read them, as the first comment to someone’s first post and you can see how it is…
Anurag Kashyap did this that or not… this just gets to me…. AK not losing his composure is a myth, you should read his self written posts… and thats completely normal… lets stop using those guises as well boss..
why have 2 rules? your following comments highlight so much better of your views than the first one… so the knee jerk reaction …. lets keep it the swimming way, the deeper you jump .. celeb public whoever, the more you get pushed up …. bas apne reactions and comments bhi waise hi rakhte hai..
cheers!
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@Himanshu – Please read your comment again. You don’t think your comments were so acidic?
“One of the most useless write-ups ever!! I am still unable to understand – WHAT WAS THIS ALL ABOUT??
I think I dozed off a couple of times while still at it.
Young movie maker – If your writing is anything to go by, please spare us your movies.
Yeah…the Indian audience has come of age and has started discarding ‘bad’ cinema….and predicting bad movie makers from their bad writing itself!”
What did you find bitter in my comment, may I ask? Appreciating Deepak’s post is bitter? Talking about making movies is bitter? Talking about creating is bitter? Has RGV commented on this post? Why do you call him bitter? Khalid has written a wonderfully emotional post on PFC. In your exalted opinion is he bitter? I take great pride in my work and am not bitter in any way about it. I love movies and the process of making movies. I thank God for giving me this wonderful opportunity. Anurag is a dear friend and somebody who has begun his career with me. I love him. Yet we are different individuals with different reactions to different things.
I lose my composure only when I have to argue with somebody like you – illogical, out of context and truly bitter. You need help my friend. Go get yourself examined. Visit a shrink.
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Dear Hansal & Prasanna,
I did paid a hasty visit to the shrink this evening. And he downloaded some very interesting gems of wisdom upon me –
– Maintain a Calm Composure
– Avoid Knee-Jerk reactions
– Learn the art of Critical Appreciation
– Never shy away from voicing your honest and candid Opinion. However, Remember that it is someone’s labour of love before ripping it apart in 60 seconds in your cold-blooded response (Else, how different are you from Khalid Mohammed and other so-called pseudo movie critics that you so deeply abhor?)
– Genuinely put forth the merits and demerits, flaws and highlights of the reviewed object. But avoid getting personal and hitting below the belt.
– Allow your reviews to create constructive thoughts..rather than hurting anyone’s self-esteem. Do not crush anyone’s motivation to create anything ever again.
– Allow him to breathe, get up and try again. Give him the space to strike back.
– Finally – Forgive, Forget and Move on….without holding any grudes or the resolve to get back.
So Hansal, Prasanna, Deepak…and anyone else whom I might’ve hurt –
Please accept my deepest apologies. Allow me to raise a white flag and call it truce. I am ashamed of my actions on such a dignified forum. Hope I am forgiven.
Does all this sound too filmy and melodramatic? But let me assure that this doesn’t come attached with a filmy and nasty twist-in-the-end. The apology is genuine and right from the core of my heart.
Thanks for bearing with me so long.
Happy Ending. Peace? Can we live happily ever after?
BTW – you guessed it right. The concerned shrink was none other than my good ‘ol conscience.
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arre yaar himanshu … chal whatever it is, or was… warm hand shake(o)
.. (to be honest all for the rest of the posts that you posted up apart after the first one which were the geunine response ones )…
)
………
avent seen your posts here before waiting for more… welcome in!
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as sheikh s.p iyer said bygaane are bygaane, apne toh apne hote hai … (in a poor attempt to keep it light whatever that was
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Himanshu, let it go. What’s gone is gone. And, I tend to believe whatever you first wrote was with good intention, though sharp in taste. And, I also tend to take it this way that if you wrote sharply about RGV, Khalid Mohammad et al, their mention itself means that the audiences always had high expectations from them. So, even here, I tend to think that you had all the good purpose. The injury was unintentional, caused by abrasive comments.
Hansal ji is a respected figure in the industry. And, Hansal ji, you are alright in following your heart by deciding to start this new venture. But, certainly not at the expense of your films. Please keep giving us the films you wanted to make. What ceases to amaze me is how Shyam Benegal can give us a legendary film at this age and so dynamically changing his format, in the age of MTV. So, pl follow your heart’s desire. But, for God’s sake, keep making your films.
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u mean what doesn’t seem to amaze u?
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doesn’t cease*
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Shamoni, what doesn’t cease to amaze is the way some of the veterans who were earlier written off by the commercial showbiz have bounced back with such great stuff. The world considered they were only capable of making cinema that professed, was slow and fitted only a telecast on Doordarshan other than screening at award circles. But, you see how they have arrived and are earning appreciation and revenues both. What ceases to amaze is how Shyam Benegal can make a Welcome to Sajjanpur at this age; how Prakash Jha can overturn his art-film image with so many gripping tales; how a Sudhir Mishra who started his career with Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron is still making so many captivating films. These are, however, just few examples. A closer look will tell you how many of the veterans are transforming the current cinema. It is not only the younger lot that has changed the face of Bollywood. Veterans give it its character.
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Good post Deepak. I often think about this myself. I have learned that making a film is such a long and layered process. There are so many different kinds of skills required which all affect the final product on screen, and honestly one man (the director) could only have as much control on it. In the recent films which fail, you can atleast see the intent to achieve greatness, which was not the case 10 years back. I can watch say ‘rashee’ and imagine what Gowarikar must ve loved about the original idea. what happens from the original idea to the final film is all the reasons you listed here. I think the first 2 reasons you listed have to be valid to some extent. I will stop rambling now
Interesting topic tho
Keep writing!
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@ Himanshu: Many thanks for writing your views. Your opinions will hold equal value for me as an encouraging comment should. However, just wanted to say, this particular write-up tells the story from the perspectives of someone from behind the camera and in the driver’s seat. That might have been one reason why it failed to interest you. Shall try to keep up to your expectations. Regards
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@ Hansal Mehta: Many thanks for writing and commenting with an encouraging note. You are absolutely right. I just hope I could keep to my efforts while writing this piece, as I tried to not to get carried too much away while trying to un-layer the dilemmas of film-makers. There should be and, is no standards for good cinema and bad cinema. What is good for someone may be bad for others. A film is like a painter’s canvas, or a writer’s scribble-pad But, what these days concerns me is the scale at which films are performing on Box-Office in this age of multiple other mediums trying to eat into the pie of world cinema. Unfortunately, cinema is so much time and resource consuming process, this blooming industry may be subject to new threats in these dynamic times.But, children of crises are the strongest ones.
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@ Onkar: Yes, the Indian cinema is transforming is making serious attempts at rising to the global standards. As much in technology and scale, as in the overall spirit. The real challenge, therefore, lies in not a bit losing sight of the spirit while achieving the desired greatness of scale, innovation and monetization. As the standard formula remains, any film that passes on at least 5 out of 10 such parameters will be loved by the required number of audiences. Even in the recent past, we’ve examples of films without a script performing tremendously. The original idea behind making a ‘Rashee’ or a ‘Blue’ must be appreciated. The director’s challenges, therefore, with such plots actually increase instead of decreasing; i.e. the challenge of preventing dilution.
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Hey Deepak,
Thanks for your sporting revert.
Ok lemme elaborate on my POV once again – The essential thing being, please stop intellectualizing movie making too much just for the sake of sounding intelligent or a young movie maker or a man behind the scene. Arindham Chaudhary tried to do it with his Rok sako to Rok lo and Last Lear and failed big time!
Your penultimate para of ‘over-exposure of bollywood’ makes little sense and looks like you are in a hurry to herald the death of Bollywood. But unfortunately, in India, people will never get enough of Bollywood and Cricket.
Go to the interiors and check out the sheer craze about even trivial celebrities, their personal lives, their forthcoming flicks, etc.
The Hit:flop ration in Bollywood has always been 1:9…and this has continued in recent times as well. It’s not that suddenly more movies are failing like ever before.
There is no sure-shot formula for making hit movies. However, the 3 biggest factors are – the positioning or buzz, the right-sizing, and well…the right-timing or the mood of the audience.
Wanted was positioned as a pukka, unpretentious, over the top entertainer. And that’s what it exactly was and hence it worked.
CC2C got confused between being an out-an-out actioner and Akshay’s buffonery. It ended up being good at none and collapsed.
Something about right-sizing – Himesh worked well with a 5-6 crore Aap ka suroor….but then he over-estimated his reach with a 30 crore Karzzz and crumbled. He has learnt his economics and is back again with a 6 crore Radio. And mind it – this time he will strike gold yet again.
About the mood of the audience, How did Phoonk worked and Vaastu-shastra failed? How did Sajjanpur worked and Aagey se Right failed? Why a crap like Dhol worked and similar craps like Daddy Cool and Paying Guest failed? How did a well-made film like Luck by Chance failed and a similar-in-genre Wake Up Sid worked?
Why on earth did Shaan or Saagar fail….which are so good even in their satellite runs nowadays? Why even Andaaz Apna Apna – the cult classic – died a silent death in its BO run!!
So young movie maker – take a chill pill. Stop analyzing too much and keep working on your script. Keep the passion alive….and till the time you feel absolutely positive about you film, care a damn about the external factors and it’s fate at the BO. There is little you can do about it anyways.
Best Regards
Himanshu
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@ Himanshu: Yes, you are truer this time. This is close to what I’ve voiced in this write-up.
First thing first, the idea behind my writing is to voice my ideas, opinions and feelings, minus any intellectualizing. Certainly, what may be a murmur for one, may sound as intellectualizing to others. So, my friend, it is not. It is just a small corner where I am thinking aloud and will be grateful to you for the time you spend with my blog. That is what every blogger does. And, when doing so, I’m sure, I tried my best to not to hurt anyone’s sensibilities.
Like you have cited some ideas, you can find deliberations about what works and what may not work.
And, not surprisingly, what works at a given point of time may have fallen flat at other times. And, what didn’t work at a certain point, might have become a craze at another time. That’s what you call timing.
Then sizing, yes, Blue with its size was bound to crumble at this particular point of time. Maybe it could have worked at other point of time. Same for the brilliant examples you’ve cited quoting Welcome to Sajjanpur vs Aagey Se Right; Andaj Apna Apna, Sagar, Shaan, Karzz, Aap Ka Suroor, Radio, Wake Up Sid, Luck By Chance, Daddy Cool and Paying Guest and so on.
So, just like the 4P of marketing mix, film-making has its equations too.
In view of this, my entire write up is just a plain effort at thinking aloud on factors and ideas with my passion. I don’t think, I barged into your privacy or in any way hurt your sensibilities to make you react sharply. And, if you think Arindam Chaudhury did what this write-up is about, you’d be requested to think twice. If you do not like my writing, it’s perfectly fine. You have as much right to not to like it as I have to write, as long as it doesn’t infringe upon anybody in any way. Be a sport, chill and don’t get personal.
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Cool. Point well-taken. But please….give us more gripping, crisp and insightful write-ups next time around! :-)
Nothing personal….but maybe just an honest opinion from your blog reader and a potential audience to your movies someday.
Ultimately be it blogs or movies, everyone is aiming for reach. None of us can exist as islands and claim that we don’t care about public opinion. As evident, with just a couple of comments above, your debut blog has definitely opened to a poor response. Looking forward to a Dhamekedaar post next time around – that finds both the numbers and critical acclaim.
All the Best!
Himanshu
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Thanks Himanshu for your concern and time. Shall look forward to hear more from you and others. Every single opinion – positive or negative – holds much of importance. Let’s hope what you wished comes true. Cheers
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REMAINDER: THE WRITE-UP HAD FEW LINES MISSING AT THE END
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“all the hit films resemble each other” while it is true that “all the failed ones failed for reasons of their own”.
I have so many more questions while trying to introspect what is it that should work and what ensures the failure of a project in Bollywood today. There must some concrete reasons, beyond good cinema and bad cinema. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have so many of our best of Bollywood (directors, producers, actors all) engaged in bad cinema. Any help in breaking this code? Can anyone?
Or, simply, am I reacting too much?
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@ Deepak..this is a highly commendable effort from you..thnx for the ‘loud thinking’. But i would not completely agree with some points, including overexposure of cinema. I think its just a bad patch where not many good films are being made. if blue or raashi or DKnotD fail, they deserve it themselves. Analogously whenever we will have a good film, it will most possibly succeed. Just that LAK or Kaminey are weaker films and we can allow everyone a few mistakes, so y not these film-makers. But one thing is sure, a good flick will always succeed..word of mouth is a very crucial factor. Satya / Bheja Fry owe their success to WoM while JWM was a sleeper hit as well.
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My humble suggetion is that as a prospective producer dont try to find or decode a code, just make films after your heart, and the rest will follow. Films often flop when people try to follow codes or trends. Vishal has copied the style of snatch and somewhat tarantino also, and taken leave of his own style this time. In my book kaminey is a flop..it is simply not a good film (thats my personal opinion, u may differ of course). Am yet to see LAK and DKD and rashi, so no comments on these.
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i dont rate slumdog as a great film, but its one great achievement was that it was a very unconventional film that followed no trends whatsoever.
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Exactly Rolf!
I am a hard-core Market research professional and as much analytics, Standard Operating Procedure, Formula and Code driven as any quantitative researcher can be.
However, I would like to reiterate my points to Deepak – that please do not spend your energies in trying to break the code. As there is none!
The success/failure of a movie is a complex phenomenon that is driven by 150 factors and their subtle interplay with each other.
Positioning, Buzz, Size, Timing are some of them. Try watching a Hum Aapke Hain Kaun today….and it is so yawn inducing. Why did it went on to become such a blockbuster in 1994 continues to baffle me. Ditto Vivah.
Why did a well-crafted, soothing film like Jaan-e-man failed? It had such lovely songs as well.
The best formula or code in movies is the no-formula approach. Get a story, an original story….and follow it with all your heart. Think Lagaan.
Else try the formula approach of most of our current movie makers i.e. rope in the stars, and then go the backward integration route of trying the structure a movie around them.
The content – An international DVD suitably Indianized to our tastes OR a remake or sequel of an earlier success OR simply ape the current trends (e.g. the virtual deluge of multiple-hero, slapstick B-comedies woven around infidelity – Dhol, Dhamaka, Daddy Cool, Paying Guest, Golmaal, Golmaal Returns, All the Best, Krazy 4, Apna Sapna Money Money, Money hai to Honey hai, Life Partner, Do Knot Distrub, Welcome, No Entry, etc).
Make heartfelt movies. Invent your own codes. Let lesser storytellers maintain the checklists and codelists. Give us great cinema…give us exotic dishes and new cuisines. Assembly line Productions make sense for only burgers and cars. Movie making ‘FACTORIES’ (of the RGV kinds) have never been a good idea to begin with.
Best Regards
Himanshu
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@ Rolf & Himanshu: Thanks for your comments. These are few of the points what I’ve tried hinting and looking at. And, also wrote that in spite of the dry spell or bad weather, films with substance are able to sail through. That’s how some films performed in against the same odds. And, audiences often make an impression about a film-maker with credentials of great films. However, when they are taken by ride, it baffles them. Copying or formula never helped anyone for long. As it is said, you can fool someone once, or many people at different occasions; but certainly not everyone everytime. So, my quest for code means what you have already mentioned. I asked for codes that set films apart from the league of films that are bound not to work. That’s why I also said – all successful films resemble each other in the way that they were loved by the majority. The unsuccessful ones have hundreds of reasons why they failed. I am trying to just explore the reasons that are creating so many failures in a row. For my own understanding of what not to do. Maybe it helps others as well.
For an understanding of what to do, there is and should not be a code. That must always be governed by passion and pure passion, beside the basic ingredients of planning, positioning, and working the entire matrix.
At the same time, I am just trying to learn from others’ mistakes in my interest and for the larger community of friends. Thanks again for enlightening with each comment of yours.
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Well Dude,
Apart from the single biggest code of ‘Keeping your movies under 150 minutes’…..I don’t think there are any other sure-shot losers at the Box Office.
Also if your movie ain’t starring any of the top 6 star heroes i.e. the 4 khans, Akki and Hrithik….it would be a harakiri to let your budget bloat past 25-30 crore mark. And yes this budget control holds true for all Shahid, John, Abhishek, Ajay, Govinda, Emraan, and Sanjay starers as well. None of the above mentioned stars have enough steam to guarantee a recovery of anything more than 30 crores.
Except for these 2 most common-sense codes, I don’t think there can be any other ‘Strictly Avoid’ codes.
What say bloke?
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@ Himanshu: Yes, cannot agree any better. These 2 fundamentals are like the first law of film-making today and nobody can afford to overlook this.
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Hi Deepak,
I enjoyed reading your post and the comments were also very interesting.
There are no universal hits these days. Among all the hits in the last 5 years, only a few like TZP and JWM got universal acceptance. Rest all were liked and disliked in equal measure – from Ghajini to OSO to SIK to Kaminey.
I feel a good movie always works – and ‘good’ is different for different people. If a director knows his target audience and makes a ‘good’ movie with them in mind, it usually works.
I couldn’t watch ‘Wanted’ for more than half an hour but apparantly its the biggest hit of the year. Thats because it was ‘good’ for the audience it was meant for. Vivah is a similar case. Its target was the family audience (and to an extent young lovers) and thats where it worked big time.
Hum Aapke Hain Kaun came at a time when the middle class family could not go for a movie in the theatres, it was a time when vulgarity ruled. So HAHK came as a breath of fresh air and the middle class lapped it up.
And yes, timing makes a huge difference these days. Jab We Met had the potential to be a huge hit but ended up being a small hit as OSO and Saawariya came a week later and wiped it off the theatres. Luckily for JWM, Saawariya flopped and made way again for JWM but the damage was done.
The first weekend usually decides the fate of the movie. If All The Best had got a big opening, it would have been a superhit by now. But it got an average opening and then grew with positive word of mouth. So even though it is liked by the audience, it has lost a big chunk of profits and will end up being just a hit.
And finally budget is what decided whether a movie is a hit or flop. Himanshu made a really good point there. Kaminey made around 45 crores but since it was made at 40 crores it is just called above average. On the other hand a movie like Dil Bole Hadippa which hardly earned 25 crores is also called average because it was made at a budget of 15 crores.
All said and done, the ration of hit vs flop is still the same as it was a decade or two decades ago. Its just that bollywood is making more movies than ever.Some years are lucky to have more hits than other years and vice versa.
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Thanks Shalu. You are right. The comments have taken the debate to a new level. That’s exactly the purpose of any debate. The premise of my debate was “what strictly not to do” in these subdued times when recessionary clouds are just making way for the new light but, not before giving the final blow. The points coming are very valid that range from budget to duration and, timing, positioning etc. Yet, of course, good films work against the same odds. External factors may cause them to under-perform at times, as for example you’ve cited the case of Jab We Met. Similarly, I believe Rang De Basanti was an all-time innovation and great of Indian cinema. It had the potential to have done much better. Couldn’t unfortunately. Some external factors. Some in-built. Mangal Pandey crashed. Had it not been for some of the inherent weaknesses, I believe, it would have been a great film too. Yet, there are few films like Taare Zamin Par, Jab We Met and Chak De India that leave a universal impact. Yes, the ratio of hit:flop has always been very sharp (1:9) but at the moment it is giving heart-aches for many reasons.
My only concern was that you can do experimentation with your plot, creativity, storytelling to make your film stand apart. Unfortunately, what happens is people often leave them at the average and indulge in experimentation with the technical details like sizing and positioning a (creatively) average flick as the most expensive film of Indian cinema. A good film gets value-addition with budget but is not its (budget’s) slave.
Currently, in Hollywood, an amateur home-video kinda film made at mere USD 15,000 has grossed USD 60m and is a rage. While our legendary director Mira Nair with a USD 40m film could only recover USD 4m.
So, my concern was that if the legends do not get their act right soon, their are so many new innovations, technologies, media (even though often micro) happening to create new rules of the game. At least audio-visual technologies were never so dynamic (fast-changing) and cheap.
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You’re right Deepak. This discussion (that had a poor opening :-)) has actually blossomed into a very interesting and insightful forum.
I would suggest, in the current Indian marketing dynamics, there are some subjects which will always begin with a huge disadvantage –
– Mythology and heavy duty mumbo-jumbo (Drona, Jaani Dushman, Rudraksh, Aks, Shabd, Tasveer)
- Women-centric flicks (Dushman, Sangharsh, Samay, Lajja)
– Poverty and reality-driven (Summer of 2007, Stoneman Murders, Jaago, Parzania). Why, even Slumdog (despite all its international hype and Oscars and Jai ho) didn’t really worked in India.
- Tusshar Kapoor in anything non-Comic and Sunny Deol in anything Comic (Ok, pardon me…this was below the belt yet again)
Let me reiterate, these are huge disadvantages to begin with….but not sure-shot losing codes. A passionate film-maker can still make a hit out of such risky subjects. Period films-costume dramas are risky bets in today’s times, But Ashutosh made it work with Jodha Akbar.
Bottomline, please never con the audience and stick to your genre. Be it wholesome, slapstick, no-brainers or Seriously, Meaningful stuff – JUST STICK TO YOUR GENRE, AVOID THE MIDDLE-PATH and Go FULL-BLAST!!
If it is action, let it be Kick-ass as Wanted. If no-brainers – take the Rohit Shetty route. If you wanna spook them, spook them big time with Bhoot or Phoonk. Don’t leave it mid-way like Agyaat or Don’t make it comic like Vaastu-shastra.
Wanna keep it light and meaningful without resorting to social messaging or getting to preachy, take a leaf out of Munnabhai’s scripts.
Wanna go Abstract – AVOID!!!! :-) :-) :-). No Smoking could’ve never ever worked – in any era, whatever positioning.
Do with your movies, what Chetan Bhagat does with his books. Don’t CON, Simply CONNECT.
The 18 – 35 age group forms the single largest segment of movie-going public. Just connect with them. Take them back to their good ‘ol days (Dil Chahta Hai, Rock-On) OR allow them to forget the miseries of their current stressed lives.
Take a careful look at all of Chetan’s subjects in his 4 books so far –
– Pressures of always being above average in College
- The highly entangled lives of today’s BPO youth
– Growing up and making a career amidst today’s chaotic times (Friendship, Love, Cricket and Religion)
– And finally, the perennial differences in inter-caste marriages
Note –
– All these books have been rightly budgeted (Rs. 95)
– Kept Tight and Crisp (Under 300 pages)
– Have been light on messaging, non-preachy, never too intellectual, and always light and frothy.
– Have a touch of Bollywood-ish, unrealistic fun in their climax
– Finally – all of them have connected big-time! (So much that most of them have been lapped up as movie scripts)
Now that’s what I call an unbeatable code. Check it out dear Young Movie Maker.
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These all “-”s in your comment are your opinions blanketed as passing diktat on what things should be like.
Things should be like… in your world. Your world. Had you mentioned “in my opinion”, or “in my view” or “in my world”, there would be a clear separation of what “you want” and “what should be”.
“What should be” can never be governed in a democratic society by one individual, yet the internet is used as a tool, provided in a democratic society to one and all, to be misused, by one like your comment, to be passed as a judgement, a ruling, a dicator diktat.
How serious would one get about the Bible if the tormentors had asked Jesus while lashing him “Does it hurt?”
Commenting is a privilege that is misused above and beyond under the pretext of a democratic right only to trample the person it is targeted on.
Your comment shows you have ideas. Produce them as yours. Not as a ruling. And that’s my little world.
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Hi Oz. Thanks for a serious thinking on this. Buddy, when we write something like “in my opinion” or “in my view”, that is actually destined to create more space for democratic thought process. One can always do away with inserting these small but meaningful “tools”.
But, these terms have great connotations, implications and gestures. Maybe you took it exactly the other way round.
By saying “in my opinion”, “in my view” or something like that, a writer actually confesses about the said statement to be his or her viewpoint, idea, understanding or belief about something. He/she actually means that the view is limited to him/her and other may be free/alright to think the other way.
And, yes, “I think”, everybody has got some idea about the world around him/her. So do I and, every other individual. That is what creates spaces for individuals. So, of course, when a writer writes something; a painter paints the canvas; or a film-maker makes a film, it is based on the individual or the collective idea(s). These ideas are not diktats. And, that is how different film-makers make different films on their ideas of the world, the society, government, human aspirations & emotions, developments and so many other subjects. They try to introduce or re-introduce some idea – good or bad.
While good ideas attract appreciation, bad ones are subjected to condemnation. Still, “I would like to believe that”, not all successful films are good. Nor are all unsuccessful films are bad. It is about how the audiences take an idea. There are films with everlasting impact on the audiences like ‘Sholay’ for example which may not have too much of relevance in today’s times. It still remains an all-time favourite of even today’s generations. However, there must have been something charismatic about this idea at that point of time. The critics may, however, be alright in declaring about Sholay that the film-maker wanted to project his ideas in a certain way and therefore a dictat. Again, “I believe”, there could have been hundred other ways of telling the same story with hundred other climax. But, what has been lapped up by generations in a row, must have the power to transform lives.
Buddy, a writer only voices on the basis of his opinions, understanding and ideas of things around. I am no perfect writer or a story-teller. The purpose of a forum like this is to gain from each other’s inputs. Thank you for your help
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not sure why you are addressing this to me, as my comment is meant for the person above me. In my view your browser may need some serious upgrade.
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K. Sorry. I actually wrote this to you as a reply to your comments that I received in my mail. So the mistake.
At the same time, however, to some extent maybe it should even relate to your reference to Himanshu. Maybe by adding these terms, he’s creating this space of owning up those opinions and also indicating that others may think otherwise
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I agree with most of the points above, minus the “below-the-belt nasty one”
Most of your points go on to show how keenly you make your observations and are well-appreciated. Would like to keep hearing from you.
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@Shalu that was wonderful analysis: terse, telling and to the point..highly appreciated.
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@ Deepak are u talking of Paranormal activity (made in $15000) or some other film?
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Yes, I referred to the same film with great appreciation. In this age of YouTube and 3G/4G broadcasting, you never know when someone just creates something unprecedented with unthinkably meager resources. Paranormal Activity is giving the big guys a run for their money.
Shalu made a wonderful analysis esp. with regards to timing.
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Thanks for your encouragement Rolf and Deepak
This is the first time I have written on PFC.
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You welcome. Good. Your comments are well-thought and written. Don’t appear a first-timer.
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I watched the youtube video for Well Done Abba, I really want to watch the movie when it comes out. It has Boman Irani and made by Shyam Benegal
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You bet Jayesh, Shyam Benegal is an altogether new man. Like a new kid on the block. Sajjanpur was one damn good flick from the veteran in new avatar. Well Done Abba must be another milestone
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