All the world’s a stage but our cinema isn’t on it…?
Cinema from Iran, China, Mexico even Korea, Thailand are producing artistically integral and exciting, socially motivated cinema that have created sustainable creative industries within their countries. These films earn export dollars globally, defy cultural and language barriers at a time when the global appetite for all things South Asian is at an all time high, gross earnings of these so-called ‘art’ films are 20 times that of the most ‘commercial’ Bollywood product.
Further, we Indians excel internationally in literature, the Indian modern art movement is one of the most exciting in the world today, we export world-class software but in cinema, a historic industry (as old as Hollywood) which has genuine ability to pose a viable alternative to the hegemony of that most vociferous cultural / economic powerhouses, is not even 1% of the total revenue of the world film industry, our films are un-watchable by any audience outside India and its diaspora.
Why?
The simple answer is a lack of scripts, ‘realistic’ stories and exciting ways of telling them, plus lack of vision to bring those stories to the money that will make them into films (implied in that is the producer-distributor network that will take it to markets).
The complicated answer is a combination of the feudal, inward looking Bollywood industry and government apathy not inclined to tap into what is a cinematic revolution around the world. New talent is absorbed in the uninspiring mediocrity of Bollywood, develop a narrow frame of reference rendering them useless for anything but Bollywood. Worse, as was obvious by the unimaginative and somewhat crass presentation (ironically at a bill of Rs. 30 crores, a healthy budget of a motion picture, if you please) at the Commonwealth Games by New Delhi, Bollywood has come to represent not only Indian cinema but (god forbid) Indian culture, if not in the perception of the world, then certainly in our own imaginations.
Further, there are no spaces in which to expand people’s minds and give exposure, cinema theaters, libraries, film festivals, training, learning. The absence of role models for young film makers like myself who prefer to look to Abbas Kirostami or Zhang Ximou or Coen Brothers or Mike Leigh or Alexandro Innaritu for inspiration.
This has killed the striving for excellence, encouraged mediocrity and aided by our particularly inane media, we have convinced ourselves that the world is awed by our cinematic genius.
What that meant for me, is that for my feature film The Forest, an international film that could afford the best that Indian film industry had to offer, besides myself (writer / producer / director) all heads of departments were foreign and the Indian crew that we did take were second rung and most barely competant. How disappointing is that?
Frankly many film schools of international standards is what is really needed. That and a vibrant, irreverant short film making community pushing the envelope and gestating all that India has to offer in their own unique voices. These would automatically provide a base without cinematic heritage and a springboard for new talent… but those are out of my scope and practically speaking a huge undertaking.
However, the foundations for that can be laid quite simply and cost-effectively. Begin with the basics and play to our strengths: the screen-play or rather the Story – the fundamental reason why anyone anywhere would want to watch a film from India.
There is a HUGE backlog of untold stories, not only from our rich and bloody history but also from our myths and not the least, modern contemporary stories arising out of the conflicts of an India making its transition from a feudal / socialist society to a capitalistic meritocracy, where a gurgaon of the 21st century is separated by a few miles from a Haryana of the Eighteenth century. The contradictions and conflicts intensified by the confidence of an upwardly mobile critical mass. Expressed in shifting attitudes, a generation post-colonial and irreverent, creating and negotiating popular cultures like never before.
The way forward, it would appear then, is to incubate scripts / talent, leverage an awareness of what’s going on internationally with passion / love for the home country and blend the two in a manner that is palatable internationally. The problem with Indian screen writing at the moment is that even if we have a story that would travel, we don’t know how to tell it on screen and certainly not internationally.
Hence a movie development enterprise that will not only add value to the Indian screenwriters will act as agency, clearing house, incubation program and ultimately expand its activities to cinema appreciation, short film workshops and ultimately into a film school.
Breeding young and dynamic storytellers who will be the cultural messengers of decades to come, create engaging, fascinating, yet commercial cinematic works for an international audience, something that has been seen in individual filmmakers, the triumvirate – Nair, Kapur, Mehta and our (mis-appropriated) cousins – Shyamalan, Chadda – and arguably the most successful of them all, Amritraj, but not sustainable, not an industry and certainly not in India.
It is useful to note that the India of their time is very different to our India now. The time is ripe and four – five years of development along the lines proposed will yield rich dividends. Most importantly to create a sustainable enterprise that would not need to rely on anything but its own ingenuity and foresight.
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
Well said brother….so true…but i blame present mediocrity on viewer
hi,
welcome Ashvin… ab aayega mazaaa…
hey ashvin,
I read your interview and various other write ups after your film got selected for oscars..though i haven’t seen any drastic change during the period..I just hope your film stays true to whatever you say(but i am just scared about the language of the film).. instead of giving the same routine dose of cynicism which we love to flaunt …i would like you to educate us about your experience while writing some zillion drafts of the forest etcetera….and i will be surely keeping my fingers crossed..
ciao
@ashvin: good indian cinema the way you want or i want is still far fetched..i am being cynical..but thats the reality..we see a well scripted movie doing well but then a run of the mill flick does well again which recieves far more accolades. it has to do with people in general.
looky looky looky… who’s here… welcome aboard Ashvin… yeah, I love Nitin’s suggestion… we need peeks into the making of your movie…
I can’t agree with you more Ashvin. Welcome to PFC. We need more people like you who use the recources they grew up with to make good films & not exploit them to make blockbusters(read Karan Johar)
Loved your Road to Ladakh.
I think the answer is in European funding. Its not hard to sell your film in foreign markets if you plan well. So many TV stations around the world. If a lot of filmmakers start going towards that direction instead of looking for money from traditional Baniya/Punjabi producers, we might see the envelope being pushed. But instead of an exception like Murli nair or Mani Kaul, we need a movement. We need atleast 10 well known directors like Anurag & Navdeep to show to these guys that they don’t need Bombay money to make a film. And one or two of these films will recover money in India. Thats when the producers will wake up.
Otherwise there will always be song n dance when eyes meet.
***********
Last Film – Darjeeling Ltd (8/10)
Music – Gotan Project
welcome to pfc sir…would luv to mail u..kindly provide details
welcome to the club Ashvin!! hope u will enjoy it. n yes cud not agree more. may be one small step at a time, but hopefully….want to hear from u…lets start..here n now…
“Its kind of vicious circle..when i read that Johnny Gaddar has flopped, i see even less light at the end of tunnel.”
What is a flop in India? The only industry in the whole wide world that expects to make 100% of its entire project cost in 3 days to 1 week. The shelf life for a normal film is 3 years in any other industry. There are 45 countries that buy films, each of them have vertical exploitation available (theatrical, Home Video, Satellite etc).
A film is only a flop if expectations of the distributor / exhibitor are going to remain unrealistic (read – they need to shed the single screen house full mindset). Is it possible that Johnny Gaddar, Manorama and Lions will not make money after they’ve finished disposing off their TV / DVD and other rights. I have not seen either of these films but going by what people are saying they have a stab at doing well in these media, will they still be called flops? Its awfully demoralizing for film makers who are trying to make a difference. Why should a film be judged by what happens on the first three days of its exploitation?
hi ashvin, anoop here
Mallu’s most loved writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair told once that ‘to write a single book we need to read a 1000 books’. Reading promotes imagination, no imagination then there is no good writer, filmamaker, no artist nothing….
PFC is a good movement..not too idealistic..but simply connecting janta with passion for cinema.
PFC’s film competition is excellent idea..
I have a suggestion…why not a script writing contest….
let imagination flow.
anoop
yaar one more thing its the age of 20-20…pls dont write at such an exorbitant length
Hi Anoop. It takes less time to read than write, thanks for your patience. And btw, I am not sold on 20-20.
i think the length is perfctly fine. no issues at all.
Hi Mainak. Delighted at the warm reception on PFC. You must be one of the few to have seen RTL, thanks!! Yes, the answer is European funding. For that we need to write the kind of scripts that will work out there. The Forest was made with 100% foreign funding. The foreign market is highly competitive, and its not easy cracking it at all. The movie needs to work on several levels for it to be convincing to an international sales agent or distributor, their audiences have much more exposure and opportunities than ourselves plus its is no less temperamental than us so. Having said that our industry itself is changing.
maaf karo yaar…its that i want to spend as much time at this site and with movies in general…as i used to during my college days…but to find time is getting difficult..biwi, bachi, family,….and office already closed…..
what abt scriptwring competition…? good idea or not?
spking abt time…..i got a laptop mainly for this…to watch movies whenever I can wherever I can…i am now trying to see the old classics of the 70s – 80s period (GOLDEN AGE of Malayalam Cinema)…
I am now watching ‘Adaaminte Vaariyellu’ (Adam’s Ribs) by K.G. George a prominent filmmaker of middlestream cinema during the 70s.
b4 i leave for the day…ashwin…to make our cinema more international..i believe we should make good comedies…with an international milieu..
comedy is one language the world understands…I can never forget Life is Beautiful…I laughed (an I cried at the end)..
Good idea Anoop, but needs to be a focused activity. The script is the blueprint of a film, its not an end in itself. It would follow that once a script is written it should be made into a film. Secondly, the writing process is (or should be) a collaboration between producer, writer and director (ideally) so that the process is an informed one.
If a writing competition can end up with the writer winning time with a producer or director during which they can explore a possible relationship; or a grant from a studio/production comapant that will pay the rent so he can write more or a gig with a producer who can bring money to the script and actually have it produced – then its an excellent idea. A scriptwriting competition may not be terribly useful without some kind of practical mentorship built into the reward.
I completely agree with Ashwin. There has to be more vocal expression from people who see movies as more than mindless kitch represented by bollywood.I cannot express my horror (except maybe in a movie :-?) in seeing how indians get excited and go gaga over such an incestuous shameless institution. There has never been any kind of concerted criticism or any kind of attempt to change the status quo. Those who start off going in that direction end up being ass kissers and ass kissed.
This is symptomatic in all institutions in India.A singular lack of balls, integrity, creativity or innovation. Immitation, plagiarism and cutting corners are the order of the day. The tragedy is there is no one to keep these mediocre shit kickers honest with an incompetent media and psuedo intellectuals.
COME ON LETS DESTROY THE BOLLYWOOD BRAND.
Ashvin- you are right about the lacunae of good scripts being the main reason for the dearth of quality in Bollywood. Just today on TV, I was watching a Hindi movie (don’t remember the name) starring Shahid, Akshay, Suneil Sheety, Paresh Rawal which was a straight lift of ‘There’s Something about Mary’. The dialogues were so lame and pathetic! It almost seemed they were written on the sets or something. I watched it for sometime since it reminded me of the original which I love but couldn’t stand it for long.
You are also write about he screenwriting competition bit. In the last couple of months I wrote my first full length screenplay in my spare time. It was a very satisfying experience personally and though new premises come into my mind, I can’t really bring myself to do the whole thing again as i know nothing would come out of it as I have neither the contacts nor the time and effort required to try and market it.
dazedandconfused
Never underestimate yourself in showbiz. Esp if you have a script in your hand. The question is do you think its will kick ass on screen. Would you spend 300Rs & 3 hrs in a dark theater to watch it? IF your answer is yes, then start showing your friends what you have written.
Ashvin Guess how i saw RTL? I downloaded the film illegaly from desitorrents a week after I landed in US. I tried to get a copy when I was working in Bombay but could never succeed. Its very ironic, that I watched most of the Satyajit Ray films like that after having come to US. Which is sad. Its hard to get those films in his own country.
Traves Bickel
Bollywood is the most Feudal place left on earth. The whole SirJi business is so pathetic.
Thanks Ashvin for the good write-up that and everyone for quite an insightful discussion. Although I grew up on cinema, I was never exposed to quality cinema till maybe the last 3-4 years. To think of it, I watched Dil to pagal hai thrice. ;-)
But the last 3-4 years as I said, have been eye-openers. I’ve started looking beyond pop and have dug into masters like Kurosawa, Goddard, Kieslowski, Kubrick, Polanski and the likes. And having seen the other end of the spectrum too, I feel very disappointed at the waste of resources that’s currently happening in Bollywood. With so much money and talent around, we have the potential to be a powerhouse in the world of cinema. But sadly, the twain (money and talent) hardly ever meet.
As someone pointed out above, this has a lot to do with viewer apathy. I would say its more of conditioning than apathy. The bollywood viewer has been subjected to a certain formula since decades, and its not really the viewer’s fault that the formula happens to belong to a strong fuedal system wrought with inertia.
This can change if the average viewer is educated more. I can speak for millions of others with confidence that the average indian fan is not averse to good cinema, but is simply uninformed. I put up in a PG dig here and I organise a movie session every week here from my collection. We rent out a DVD player and watch it on the TV here (a crowd of around 15 guys). They’re being fed a mix of some Stanley Kramer drama, John Woo action, Kurosawa’s Shakespeare adaptation, Guy Ritchie, Christopher Nolan etc. for the last 3 months. And they’ve loved every single movie played. You can make it out from the passion with which they talk about them. The sad part is…nobody had ever heard about these names except for maybe John Woo…neither had I till I chanced upon that shop in Bangalore. :-)
I feel that the industry or those who wish to improve things should make an effort to expose the average viewer to more of quality cinema so that they start appreciating the difference.
Thanks Mainak. Well I have shown it to a couple of friends and got mixed reactions so not sure that my script is a gold mine or anything like that. Don’t these bollywood studios have any script desks etc. where one can mail complete screenplays and get a response?
I searched on the net and found only one- iDream Productions. I sent them a 5 page synopsis and they were kind enough to reply and say that it didn’t work for them. I just want my screenplay to be read. Maybe it’s trash. But I would like to find out.
Mediocrity is replaced by even greater mediocrity……..
we seem to revel in the idea that our diaspora filmmakers are enjoying wide acclaim but we fail to ignore the fact that it is us who is doing the acclaiming……
we dont have a pedro almodovar, we dont have a stephen chow, but we have an anurag kashyap, we have a vishal bharadwaj, hell we even have a farah khan!!!!
I have no qualms against mainstream filmmakers calling their movies ‘entertaining and not art’. It is the other ones that i have a problem with…..those who claim they are great artistes but present a bastardized version of art which desecrates the very notion of art itself..
PS: THE AUTHOR OF THIS COMMENT WAS DRUNK WHEN HE POSTED THIS.APPARENTLY.
hi ashwin u r right…essentially that means we need to work towards developing an ecosystem…
writer-director-technicians-producer-exhibitor-viewer-reviewer(media hahaha…)
a writer needs to fuel imagination…he will need access to books, news, scripts, movies etc…[ we need to build a library, online atleast. PFC can work on this]
also a channel to copyright his work, and access to producers to submit his work. a community to share new ideas, new writing techniques and seek support[ PFC can work on this ].
Directors need to know about latest industry news, happening world over, new ideas, new techniques, new technical developments in digital film technology, cameras, broadcast technology etc..an online updated film new magazine [ PFC can work on this] from all around the world.
We need to bring in more members. PFC members who regularly frequent the filmfestivals can do a lot..why not ask Mr. Santosh Sivan for eg.
Producers, slowly but surely we can develop a set of connoisseiurs to function as producers. The new economic boom climate will create many young successful entrepreneurs, we need to find those with a passion for cinema…and of course we need to convince that some shrewd investing and management will mean good profits. once the work gets noticed investors will come in from all quarters.
Exhibitors, this is something about which I have no clue how to develop, I feel smaller theaters catering to specialised audiences can be great, building a community of viewers and attracting them to theatres. revolving chairs, paper & pen for their opinion.
We can come up with a plan.
then ….we can have an online academy of sorts, where the theoretical aspects of filmamking can be covered..this could be useful for producers and directors/writers.
what say?
Anoop brother, after berating me for being verbose… you’ve hit us with quite a turn yourself!! (ha ha) – no worries I enjoyed reading your menu for a new eco-system.
Eco systems are evolved. I don’t think things that are to have a soul can be planned. Its like Ramaji Rao film city in Hydrabad. Lots of bricks and mortar no soul.
My solution is to do it through my company. I intend to invest a big part of the money I earn in developing writing talent and eventually producing the films of other talented directors. In addition, my next movie needs some serious VFX, modeling and prosthetics work. These are departments where we Indians suck. I want to set them up here in India and bring my good friends from France to populate and teach their skills to aspiring scenographers from out here. I intend to do the same with audio post production with my good friends from London and Abbey Road – because sound in our movies is poor. This is not far from what we used to do in theatre. I’ve done everything from building sets to writing scenes and appearing on stage.
So, slowly and steadily, film by film build up a talent base that is not reliant on bricks and mortar but is all soul. A world class craft shop of artists and technicians who know how to push the envelope way beyond what anyone imagined possible. Aye there lies the rub.
And as far as the audience is concerned. I understand that there are a couple of companies buying out India rights to the best of world cinema (Kurosawa, Kieslowski, Polanski – the usual suspects). They are setting up an art-house chain in India. The minute that happens both media and audiences will respond and not only will you see more film makers popping up but also the general level of awareness that there is something outside Bombay which is what’s sorely needed.
For me, we’re clear. India is our story, the world is our audience. That, in short. is how I feel it should all happen!
:”> i knew it..the moment i hit “submit” i knew that u were going to hit me with my own stick.
if u didnt i wouldve killed u….
i was waiting like misba-ul-haq who played the stupidest of shots and watched sreesanth hold the ball so perfectly.
hahaha..
ashwin i think we meet on the objectives, but just that individual approaches are different. of course i agree that ecosystems cannot be planned. but by many such endeavours, for eg: like PFC, like the company that u would be setting up, liek many such things we would be creating this ecosystem. Online libraries, and such stuff what i suggested are not expensive ideas but of course it needs involvement of many likeminded passionate people. thats where PFC can play the biggest role. (the one-minute-film competition is also one such excellent initiative).
much more to write but retiring for now (hurt like sreesanth who was hit by a direct shot from Dhoni. I think he did it on purpose to teach that mallu some sense)
ashwin …have u seen malayalam films…esp of the 70s-80s period…u should….
esp films of
Padmarajan, M.T.Vasudevan Nair, Bharathan, Sathyan Anthikkad, Sibi Malayil, K.G. George etc.
do u have any friends in the mallu film industry. they can suggest some excellent films which were appreciated both by viewers and reviewers (critics)
i consider the below among the best i have seen
sanmanasullavarku samaadhanam – sathyan anthikkad (Script : Sreenivasan)
vadakkunokki yanthram – Sreenivasan (script and direction)
sadayam – Sibi Malayil (script : M.T. Vasudevan Nair)
Kireedom – Sibi Malayil (Script : LohithaDas)
Yavanika – K.G.George
this is list is by no means complete. its randomly chosen from my personal favorites.
Countries like Iran don’t actually produce movies taht are “popular entertainment” – they’re exclusively meant for art-house audiences. No one in their own country watches them at all. India has withstood the Hollywood takeover of the world by sheer strength of its popular industry alone.
This doesn’t mean the stories you mention shouldn’t be told. But you are discounting the strength and validity of having a billion viewers. Why do you need validation from the rest of the world for what we find entertaining and enjoyable?
I agree with you that India has withstood the hegemonic and commercial onslaught of Hollywood through the strength of its popular industry alone. While I don’t know how any of what I’ve written can be construed as a case for popular entertainment, I’ll let that pass even though it does feel like you skip-read my article, because there are other points that I’d like to take up.
Firstly, simply having a billion viewers (not! India has one of the lowest cinema to population ratios in the world) does not translate into either artistic merit or commercial revenue. The commercial argument is quite easy to see, our total revenue as an industry is a tiny fraction of the world cinema gross (despite producing the highest number of films per year). Indeed, its less than 1%. Compare the average price of a ticket in India with the average price of a ticket anywhere else in the world for starters.
Artistically (the former), is apparent when you compare our cinema (take random parameters like innovation, experimentation, integrity) with the various 3rd world cinematic movements in process today, our films suffer in comparison. If you’d like a more emperical parameter then look to the number of Indian films that have made it into the top drawer festivals. We are woefully under-represented at these events (not that film festivals or award shows are an indication of artistic merit but they do indicate something). I have pleanty of other examples to give you such as my personal interactions with the film community in the world who are all asking the same question – when are we going to see great cinema coming out of India?
Your point about validation from the rest of the world, is a common case of misplaced jingoism. Cinema is THE most influential mass communication medium of our age. You yourself have spoken about the hegemony of Hollywood. How do you think it happened? If Hollywood had not struck out soon after WW2 into the markets outside the USA do you think they would have been half as powerful now both as a culturally as well as commercially? Just because we have a billion people who (god bless us all) have been cut off from world cinema due to the sad government policies pre liberalization does not mean we stick our heads into the ground and refuse to see what’s happening outside, today when we do have the chance to do something about it.
What’s the argument? We have a billion people who enjoy mediocre cinema so why should we even try to make better films or try to earn export dollars with our movies? And, by the way, if it was really the case (that these mythical billions were satisfied with the cinema of Bollywood) please explain the success of the recent low budget so called multiplex films. Is that a flash in the pan or an early indication of changing preferences and tastes? Doesn’t that tell you that if you serve up something new and different the audiences are not ready for it? Why should our audiences not expect top notch cinema that is available in the rest of the world? Is that seeking ‘validation’?
When you watch China cross-over with Hero and Crouching Tiger and earn major revenue in the rest of the world – what do you think? Why do their films work for international audiences and ours do not?
It is not a question of validation – it is a question of potential belied. The era of self-satisfied, inclusive monopoly that has driven us to the mediocrity that we see today in our cinema, is drawing to a close. I am optimistic that some great cinema shall finally emerge from India and high time.
We need to compare ourselves with the best in the world. Not with the best in Bombay. Cinema today is a universal, international mass communication medium. WIth the power of the internet, TV and digital distribution geographical boundaries will dissolve further till a time when they are truly redundant. We need to to up the quality of our cinema and up the commerce of how we sell our films internationally.
Its best to figure how to encash on that strength for the future, and not to remain complacent within it. Today, no industry can afford to be out of step with (for better or worse) globalization. As Hollywood has demonstrated, cinema is a powerful cultural and economic tool. Lets use it.
Ashvin you speak the truth buddy..!Let talent rule.
Hi Ashvin,
Excellent Post…My 10 years of Watching World Cinema and 2 years of working in Bollywood…has almost convinced me..that to shed its infancy and its love affair with trash…Bollywood will require at least 100 more years..:-?
Take Care Buddy…
The Free Spirit…
http://pritishsc.wordpress.com/
it is really confusing me.
why i watch international cinema?
for entertainment – no body beats govinda and david dhavan !
than ?
can any body answer me? why i watch international cinema ?
ps – i worship Kim ki-duk