Four gems in one month! ‘Tis the season!
In the US it is a common trend that you see all these huge summer blockbusters like Spider-Mans, Pirates et al, and in the ‘dull’ fall season, all your ‘boring’ Oscar fare (read dramas, indies) are released. And needless to say, I look forward to fall every year.
I went through a similar experience in India this year, albeit it was probably unintentional. After wading through a slew of banal masala films the whole year like a zombie - all primarily produced to make a lot of money very fast - I all but gave up on Indian cinema. And then, incredibly, in our own dull season aka Ramzan season, I ended up watching four films in one month that give me hope.
Here are the four films behind the reaffirmation of my faith in the future of Indian cinema: Johnny Gaddar, Manorama Six Feet Under, Dil Dosti Etc, Loins Of Punjab.
These are all excellent films in my book purely for the fact that they were made with good sensibilities, by people who love cinema and who refuse to tread the formulaic Bollywood path. They all wanted to make films that are ‘different’. It’s their honest approach to filmmaking that I applaud.
None of these films are perfect - if I may be brutally critical. Loins suffers from an ultra low budget and a little bit of gimmickry but has its heart in the right place. And has some fresh comedy and a lot of lovable characters.
Dil Dosti Etc also suffers from low budget issues, has some under-par scenes, especially any scene where the characters speak in English. But the freshness of the setting, the honesty with which the characters are treated (very realistic, all with multiple shades of grey) and the bold plot elements are all a treat to watch.
Manorama suffers from an over-written plot. And a bigger budget could have helped here too. But the mood of the film is so well maintained, the setting so beautifully exploited, the plot is so engrossing, I’d recommend this film to anyone without a second thought.
Johnny Gaddar, on the other hand, is beautifully crafted; a pleasure to watch in every frame, well written, well acted… in fact, I really can’t find a flaw. But still, there is a reason why I walked out after the film knowing I’ve watched a good film, but not really thrilled or overly excited about the fact. Maybe that’s just the nature of pulp. How many Chase novels have we all read? And while we enjoy reading every page of the novel, the moment we close the book, it is out of our mind, failing to leave any sort of impact on us.
But that’s all pedantic criticism. Just a part of my own futile effort to figure out why they didn’t work at the box office. The easy answer is “no stars, no openings”.
Which I totally understand. Big star films get good openings and if they’re half-way decent, they succeed. Small films, however good they are, never get good openings, and – with some notable exceptions – never turn out to be huge hits.
But forget ‘hits.’ How about just commercial viability? The day that starts happening would be a good day for the industry. It’s simple: if a film is good (and is marketed right), it should be profitable. That’s all I ask.
I think we’re headed in the right direction though. I think the audiences are slowly maturing and soon there’ll be enough critical mass for good small films to be commercially profitable, if not huge hits. Once again, congratulations – and thanks – to all these filmmakers for just going ahead and making these films.
Keep at it, keep ‘em coming…
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Well said! As a viewer I appreciate such films, but always wonder whether the critical mass for such movies are yet in place.
If directors of these movies come out in the open and say if they made at least decent profit, that would go a long way in encouraging new people to attempt I think. (Assuming these movies are hopefully going to generate some profit)
Agree to everything you say. Johnny sure did it for me!
I am not sure if this is the right place to put up a question, but here is it anyway –
Was JG shot film or digital?
Hi. Glad you enjoyed the four films that you mentioned. I did as well.
Just one point … LOINS OF PUNJAB PRESENTS wasn’t shot on an ultra-low budget … I dont think it is possible to shoot a movie with 800 extras, 15 major characters, in the US, with average scene length under 30 seconds, on an “ultra-low budget.” There were certain decisions made in terms of camera movement and lighting and costume which were inspired by comic masters like Woody Allen and Christopher Guest, and (unfortunately) to many that reads like “low budget” or “accident.” But that wasnt the case. For example, all the costumes look like they come from the actors’ closets, but these costumes were designed (and purchased) to fit the character and cost just as much as a snazzy jazzy costume worn in the average Hindi film. Also try calculating the cost of simply feeding 800 extras and you will see what I mean.
However, all that isn’t important, what is important is the question that was asked … yes, LOINS is doing well. This last weekend we had above 85% occupancy, and it looks like we will continue into the 3rd weekend without losing too many shows. I do think it is profitable to make movie like these. I can’t speak for the others but the investors of LOINS OF PUNJAB PRESENTS are not complaining. Tahnkfully.
Hope that helps.
Best,
Manish
That’s great news Manish. Keep the beacon high. Its nice to hear atlast from the horse’s mouth that the movie made enough money for the producers to indulge in more such movies. what’s next?
I am yet to see Loins of Punjab Presents. Just waiting for the opportune moment.
I saw Johnny Gaddar over the weekend with 100% occupancy. What is sad is that I was watching a trade analyst cum reviewer dissecting the film on a news channel. He said that the film was not running well because of problems in the screenplay. It is because of these idiots that really good movies (JG was one of the best efforts in the year according to me) dont get a good run. In this context I would like to agree with Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s comment that large sections of the film fraternity suffer from crab mentality.
I wonder what that same trade analyst would say for a SRK movie. I guess he would laud the award winning screenplay that was written….;)
yes, the cliche of “jara hatke” movies was very much visible and enjoyable in bollywood during last 1 month… i liked the blue umbrella also which came out not so long ago…
loins of punjab, i loved the end, movie has its cliches but overall very much enjoyable… i think the critical mass for these kinda movies is coming from metros/ sub-urbs (the so called multiplex crowd)… ppl do want to see movies beyond regular comedy/ emotional melodrama stuff… keep them coming!
Trade analyst should be @$#$ in broad daylight.
Arijit, which trade analyst was this. dont tell me Taran Adarsh.
Some guy on Zoom — I don’t recall his name….
I think Johnny Gaddar is the best thing to have happened to the thriller genre in the recent times. Sriram Raghvan brings out the best in himself while adding loads of references to past movies and novels.
Clever work on the soundtrack, apart from a couple of jarring notes, and the camera work is stylish, seventies.
Hoping to see more of Mr Raghvan;s works…but also hoping that films dont fall in the ‘rut’
Perhaps Shringaram: Dance of Love will be added to this list of excellent movies of this summer, if you watch Tamil movies (with sub-titles).
guys watch this its hilarious…
http://www.thebig.tv/game_detail.php?surl=3
Krishna
I saw Manorama & Johnny Gaddar yesterday back to back at Naz 8 in Artesia, OC. For Manorama there was no one else. I saw it in a empty theater. Then I watched Johnny Gaddar. Maybe 20-30 people. I’m waiting for LOINs to release here. I missed a preview screening when Manish was here in LA. I hope Johnny Gaddar will pick up slowly. It has a chance because of its ultra fast pace. Manorama, I really doubt. Sadly. It will be the best miracle if that happens though.
Will you write about your experience of making Flavors? It was a cool film. A stand out among the avalanche of shitty Desi films that flooded the market few years back after the success of American Desi.
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Hi Mainak - Glad you liked FLAVORS. We had fun making it, will write about it at an opportune moment. I’m sure it will help - making a film in India is a lot different from making it in the US.
Sahana - I’ll try and catch Shringaram (on DVD?). I speak Tamil, so I won’t even need subtitles.
Manish - Glad to hear that Loins is doing well. I, for my part, have been sending everyone I can to watch it.
flavors was just too much of godgiri! :), simply superb characters.
Thanks Krishna.:)
By the way, I do think we are seeing a bunch of better films in the plexes. About empty houses … that sucks.
A superb movie like Manorama would fill up the arclight, or the laemmle, or the angelika .. but Naz 8, or Bergen 13. No! It is not the fault of the film or the filmmaker but of the distributor who has pushes all his movies in the same places without thinking about it. As they say, when the only tool you have is hammer, all the problems look like nails.
Th next thing we need are independent Indian distributors who mirror the sensibilities of independent Indian filmmakers.
Now that’ll be a movement to celebrate …
Hello Manish,
I saw Lions.. on the screening night of South Asian International Film fest in NYC.
I loved it. I think screenplay was awesome and you did a terrific job in extracting brilliant performances. My heartiest congratulations for making such a remarkable piece.
Have couple of questions, if you may answer. Will appreciate it.
1) There were no dolly / crane shots in the films. They were either handheld, tripod etc. Please confirm. And also, did you use steadicam?
2) My understanding is the budget of the film would not be more than 1 crore(10 million INR). Is my understanding correct?
Thanks.
Best Wishes,
Hemant Kumar.
Manish - really liked LOPP. And loved your turn as well
Hello Hemant & Subrat!
Glad you liked the film. Thanks.
Hemant — there were crane shots in the hotel lobby. There were dolly shots all through hotel sequence and auditorium. The jib was used in the auditorium. No steadicam was used.
About the budget of the film, if anyone says that they can pull of a film with a DI, with over 1000 extras, and 35+ speaking roles, shooting in the US and India, paying union rates, in less than 1 crore, I will know that s/he is lying.
Also … this is my last comment on the budget of the film on PFC. Budget questions are the most unimaginative questions to answer. And there isn’t much to learn for aspiring filmmakers, as the only way to learn budgeting is to cosntruct a budget for a film. And there are tons of books and software packages to help one with that.
Thanks for the response, Manish.
Appreciate it.