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Precedent - the curse of Indian Entertainment
India is set up to be the most creative place on earth. The diversity of its people is now being accentuated by the variety of mindsets jostling with each other for some kind of supremacy. One of the key ingredients of evolution and creativity is cross-pollination, and India is better endowed for that to happen more than any other country in the world.
Our entertainment industry is sitting on a wishing well, if only it could see things that way. But given the mindset that runs it, that also makes it also one of the most frustrating places on earth.
The level of insecurity in our entertainment industry is surprising, given that it is supposed to be a business at the end of the day. It is the money that determines what projects get made, and the thinking behind the money that forms a working culture.
But aren’t business people supposed to take risks – is it not the nature of the beast? Why then are new projects, or projects that do something differently, seen with suspicion and doubt to the extent where responses to it are laced with contempt in its presumption to bear fruit? Are these producers businessmen technically then, or just middlemen in the entertainment business, where the real work is done by the creative team and the real risk is borne by the distributor/ exhibitor? Worse, because of this middleman’s ability to put up the money, his expectation and mindset sets the pace in the industry.
Why do short-term profits dominate everybody’s consciousness? How can no one see the benefits of backing original material, especially when it is so obviously accessible? Are they really unable to see the new market they will so obviously open up, that they can then milk in so many ways?
These are questions I can’t help pondering over, as I try to raise my non-fiction feature film on the music band Indian Ocean for the big screen. The film is called Leaving Home but I can see it is going to be one hell of a job to find a worthy home for this film, which is the big screen. Never mind the fact that in a very obvious way the film has a huge potential amidst India’s biggest target market - the youth, or that the costs involved at this stage to take it to the big screen are miniscule in a relative way (given that the film is fully finished). Yet, eyes glaze or lips curl in amusement; there isn’t even an attempt to sample the film before forming judgments.
In December 2007, I did try to get a bunch of people together to see the film in its digital form, at Fun Republic. Many of the business related people didn’t even show up, despite reminders. There were about 50 people in the hall though, friends, friends’ friends, people we’d interviewed, etc – mostly people from the film/ media fraternity. Mistake no. 1: We had an interval – it is a 138 minute film after all; a pee or a smoke couldn’t be denied. But that interval became a twenty-minute one, with snacks and coffee. And sprouted opinions – “Great film so far, but too much music”, “Film would be even better if you had more music”, “Too much talk, edit interviews, put more music”, etc. Highly contradictory but well-meaning advice, even though rather premature. When the film got over (close to 1 a.m.), there was warm clapping and I went in front to get feedback. The only question in my mind was – “If you paid Rs 100/ 150 to see this film, would you be happy right now?” But after the barrage of “suggestions” during the interval, I also wanted to pre-empt more comments on how I should change my edit. So, what came out of me was something like – “See, the edit is not going to change, so instead of focusing on that, please tell me if you think this is a big screen film.” There were laughs, but as I realized later, mostly derisive. Some people apparently felt insulted – though I don’t know why – they did get to see a film, the result of 16-months labour, free-of-cost.
The few comments that came were mostly related to craft and detail, not to the overall sense of content. It was curious how the documentary filmmakers pondered structure and strangely - hygiene factors, like whether the fade-out was clean or not. An audiographer commented on the sound, a cinematographer commented about the photography, and so on. Somebody intellectualized intent, while some pondered on the length. I had explanations/ reasons for everything that was raised, and as I began to elaborate, I realized they saw me as unnecessarily defensive. Most of them weren’t interested at all in my reasons. Most notably for me, hardly anyone said anything specific about the overall residue feeling from the material (the few who did were not from the film fraternity). There was no “big picture” reaction.
This focus on detail, rather than what the details go on to form, seems to come from a place of deep suspicion about material not attempted before. It is the problem with anything you do in this business in our country – if there is no precedent, you will never get the benefit of any doubt (and when you see something new, there will always be doubt, initially at least). There must be something wrong with your project if it took you to think of it first. And this was amongst peers; it is much worse amongst potential producers/ funders.
The sense of commercial insecurity producers feel when they are invited to consider going on unchartered territory has become such a widespread phenomenon in India that it is now seen as the norm.
Nowhere is this more pathetically showcased than our television channels – you can call a sparkling new entertainment channel Imagine but miss the irony of how all it is doing is rehashing tried-and-tested ideas. Why shouldn’t they – the people running it made their reputations with another channel riding on one imported franchisee idea after another, didn’t they? How can they possibly have faith in our own abilities to generate ideas and stories – perhaps even franchisee ideas that we, heaven forbid, export for a change? If this does not foster a sense of subconscious inferiority amongst the creative fraternity here, they would have to be superhuman. Maybe this focus on detail also comes from this space, of being resigned to servicing other people’s visions.
The best cinema in the West is largely driven by indigenous fiction, but what indigenous fiction do we have in India to speak of – all the “Indian” books that get talked about in the media are all published in the West (which has a clear slant for Western tastes). I’d written something about this over 2 years ago for TOI, and it holds totally true even today. I remember after Local was published how humiliated I felt trying to bring it to the notice of media channels or magazines, so that it could get national coverage. Friends put me onto journalists and media contacts, pretty much all of whom treated the book with unadorned contempt. How could an Indian fiction title be worth anything if it wasn’t published abroad? How could this coverage be worth our time if someone is soliciting it? Eventually, the book got some local coverage (mostly in Mumbai), but next to zero national coverage, resulting in a reluctance amongst bookstores to stock the book. Today, you’d be hard pressed to find Local anywhere. Chetan Bhagat, of course, remains the only exception to this phenomenon in recent times. But pulp always has its place, and should; what is galling is how the media flocks to cover only these kinds of indigenous books, merely because they have sold in (relatively) large numbers. Commercial acceptability is the only mantra these days.
In this climate, really, what chance does a fresh voice have to thrive? Indian Ocean has flourished in the music scene, for 17 years (and counting), without compromising their basic vision, but in their own vacuum - how many people really know them, or have heard their music? How much worthy media coverage have they got? How much do even their most loyal fans know about them? Indian Ocean bassist/ vocalist Rahul Ram talks about “high standards and low expectations” as a sort of unspoken credo they have adhered to all these years, but what has it really resulted in? Sure, they have made their own place, they make a decent living touring around the country and the world, but why haven’t they had an impact in the music scene, which is actually more dismal than ever?
One thing is quite clear - trickles of success will not change the scene. Unless more people are encouraged to do their thing their way, and not fit the precedent that was a commercial success, unless this attitude gathers momentum, nothing will change. And the people who can really make this difference in the Indian creative scene, be it cinema, music or fiction…are the people who fund it. Their attitudes will determine the tenor of that change, and most importantly, its scale.
And what does it take to reach out to people, make that mark with a project? Definitely not huge budgets or productions. A small Irish film called Once, about two songwriter/ musicians, made on 2 handycams for the equivalent figure of Rs 40 lakhs, is being seen in dozens of countries around the world – it even won an Oscar (Best Song). Take a song like “Rise” from the OST of Into the Wild – a two and a half minute track, just a ukulele and vocals (Eddie Vedder) – simplicity personified, but one of the most beautiful songs that at least I have heard in the last ten years. These are still somewhat mainstream examples, but all around the world DIY films and music are changing the cultural scene significantly more than ever before (especially with technology becoming financially accessible to anyone). The peddled soul always has takers.
Why cannot the powers-that-be in Indian Entertainment understand that giving artists the space to put down their original expressions is the most commercially viable option in the long run? That is how one product is different from another, that is how new markets will unexpectedly open up, that is how cultural exports will happen on fronts never before imagined and most importantly that is how good artists will become great (as they evolve with each new work), which in turn will open up many other fronts of commercial viability. And in richly contradictory diversity such as ours, there will be more options, more niches, more cross-pollination/ fertilization…far, far more commercial opportunity.
The bizarre thing is that there is sufficient evidence of this all around the world in different times of cultural history. Not considering the past (not paying attention to precedent when they should!) is preventing these people from fully understanding the potential of their future. Remakes and franchisees and corporatisation are just feeding the short-term view of commercial opportunity. There is a more enduring, far more meaningful model of producing creative products. That consciously eschews formulae (guns, stars and dance floors in Bollywood, just as an example), that empowers ideas and not people or “names” (which is the bane of corporatisation more than anything else – that it gives money to people who are already well-established, hardly ever to new people – a big mistake, because the most original work is always going to come from people with nothing to lose yet), that makes soulful expressions a priority over glitzy execution, and that gives a “no precedent” status a (green) tick rather than a cross. By any homegrown guesstimates, even with a commercial success strike rate of 15-20%, producers are likely to make far more money than they do now.
More importantly, we can get some pride back in our creative scene then. And actually have a present that can present the future with a worthy precedent.
27 Responses to “Precedent - the curse of Indian Entertainment”
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gud post…..but too many complaints…..
isnt it wrong 2 arrange ppl to c movie befor its proper release nd asking their opinion….
u asked it so specialist wd give it in their specialised fields nd not on overall movie….
this is right while indian industrial sector enjoying liberalization in all areas film industry is conservative where new ideas r concerned….
they r liberal in making actresses more nd more naked;):((:-j>:)=p~=)):d
…Indian Ocean …..- how many people really know them, or have heard their music?…..
can it b mistake of ppl????????
indian ocean is nt classical so that pl cant understand them….
there shd b sum lacking on their part also if they r not too popular in masses….
these fusions, indi pop etc depend on album 2 album
they cant b cult figure for all….
all indi pop singers r popular in their selective fans only….
b it remo or IOcean….
nd this is complain of majority of listeners IO’S music is repetitive…. same style…
it becomes boring after few songs….
its not jagjit singh song where listner can start njoy words after getting used 2 of tunes n singing….
:-?
Ah ! Good to be back on PFC again ! :)
Jaideep, though I find myself in agreement with your concerns, yet the nagging (forgive the term) wont create any breakthrough. Either we carry on with “high standards and low expectations” or innovate a way out. I find your current subject fascinating and hope you have treated it deservingly.
~X(
~X(
~X(
i request everybody give at least one hair
it will be a testimony that you care
~X(
i guess leaving home is a small budget movie which even if released in multiplexes in the metros will recover it’s costs. it’s just that creatively bankrupt idiots sitting at the helm of things in movies. what can i say, the fools are the rulers of bollywood today.
but i guess the biggest need is the creation of cinemas which specifically cater to independent movies, like in europe. the multiplexes are too expensive.
i guess the only way for leaving home is to make it through the festival circuit, or first it gets an international release. i know for a fact that indian ocean used to distribute their own bootlegs in their european gigs. maybe something like that needs to be done.
three votes
and 4.33 ratings
editors
retire
you nurture negativity
instead you should be nurturing positivity.
to write something positive
some intellect is a prerequisite
gariyane main dimag nahien lagata
gali to koi bhi de leta hai
:-l
[-x
Jaideep…I am looking forward to watching it…been hooked to IO’s music for a while now…I think Jaman could be an interesting possibility…at least people like me (i.e. residing outside India) will have legal access to it.
You have raised valid concerns. The full industry is getting screwed by most of the people who are engaged in “marketing”, “fast-money-making”, “chamchagiri”, etc - with no respect to the sentiments of the viewers, for whom the movies are made. Today movies are made for MONEY. Till this attitude is changed, till far-sighted, learned, and at the same time committed towards art-people enter the industry, this scenario is going to get worse and worse
:((
read your article about the publishing business.
u forgot one iconic exception to the rule, ruskin bond.
Jaideep while I thoroughly empathize with your situation the fact of the matter still remains that nothing is going to change in the short term in India.
For a specialized and unique film like yours you will have to employ out of the box thinking to reach your audience. It’s almost impossible to achieve the kind of success films like “Buena Vista Social Club” . In fact theatrical releases for such films are few and far between.
Even a film like “Heima” on the megastar band Sigur Ros recovered it’s money on home video / VOD with a very limited theatrical release. Maybe that’s the strategy you should employ ie release your film in a festivals to raise the film’s profile and then release a pristine DVD with special features.
Though from a completely diff genre “The Man from Earth” hasn’t been able to manage a theatrical release despite being a superb film. It got shared online via Bit torrent and 80% of the people who saw the film liked it so much that they bought the dvd or rented it via Netflix/Blockbuster to support the film. Made on a minuscule budget and shot on crappy cameras, the film has recouped it’s investment 20 times over just via dvd sales and rentals. All this despite having no mainstream profile at all and just relying on a loyal fanboy base.
Indian Ocean commands a significant profile and loyal fanbase which is not limited to India. Maybe you should consider this option as it’s quite likely that you will lose your shirt if you decide to distribute the film yourselves.
Also consider that even if you get a release in major metros , what about the audience in smaller cities like Shimla, Manipal etc which have avid music lovers. And not to mention the north-east which is criminally untapped when it comes to releasing films.
I’ve seen so many documentaries related to music and bands. Take the excellent Metal: A Headbanger’s journey which was endorsed by people like Rob Zombie. It proves one thing though that audiences are interested in a varied range of subjects. Film festivals like South by southwest and others show so many queer ones and those are embraced by the public. So it’s no question of whether people know Indian Ocean. Such documentaries and movies are made on the whole fact that will make people aware establishing a larger fan base.
And as far as your idea goes Mithun, you’re right in some cases but look what happened to some limited theatrical films in India. They sank without a trace. The mentality of the Indian crowd is that everyone is attracted to ‘A NAME’. Noone really cares for arthouse flicks in this country. Truth be told, noone cares for many regional films. I got to watch some strange doc’s about things and events you wont read in the papers. Even dvd’s will be risky as these stupid stores put unknown ones in a little corner where noone passes by. My professor got those cd’s of those unknown docs for like 30 rupees or something. They are pretty informative.
This is the thing I don’t like about this country. They dont recognize any kind of talent when it is breathing down on them. Their mentality is who would waste time and money on such novices. I read a lovely bit of news about a guy not even remotely related to Hollywood who sold his script called ‘The Low Dweller’ for around $650K. The guy works as an insurance salesman. Ridley Scott and DiCaprio have picked up his script with an eye of directing and starring in the feature respectively. Whoa!
Jaideep I am way curious about looking at your doc. I hope it really gets a theatrical or some type of distribution. I would rather spend my time and money on this than wasting it on stupid masala flicks. All the best on that.
P.S. - The dudes in Manipal would love what you have made. It’s a crazy place that sucks the life out of you. But they know their music. Thats where I lost my musical virginity. Sumthing like that. :d
Mr. Jaideep Verma,
Excellent write up.
“The best cinema in the West is largely driven by indigenous fiction, but what indigenous fiction do we have in India to speak of
@Saad
I think you misunderstand. The point I was trying to make was that in India having theatrical releases of such films is a huge huge risk. Making a good film and selling a film are two completely different art forms and it’s a rare person who is proficient in both.
Consider the manufacturing and shipping cost of each print. Add to that the marketing costs involved to just let people know that a film is playing and you end up spending twice your production cost on just marketing the film.
In such a situation I think the best option would be to sell the broadcast rights to BBC or Canal. At the end of the day the idea is to be seen by as many people as possible.
A friend of mine got his low budget horror/thriller on Amazon and he has made more money in the 3 months it’s been available there than he has in the 2 years it’s been released.
This year’s Oscar winning documentary “Taxi to the Dark Side” was broadcast all over the world and just given a token theatrical release to make it eligible for the Oscars. It made no money on it’s theatrical run but cleaned up in broadcast fees and will make lots more with DVD sales.
Be Indian, Think Global.
@Mithun
Sorry for the misunderstanding. By the way, I watched The Man from Earth and it was a doozy. Hated some of the acting but overall a must watch for everyone. Reminded me vaguely of The Seventh Seal, but in postmodern terms. It just goes to prove that dialogue driven stories can be thoughtfully entertaining.
Hi Jaideep
Glad to see you back but a little disappointed with the low mood. Guess we can’t help the highs and lows. You made some valid points about our the state of reception of documentaries in our country. I guess and wish and hope this depression goes and your film is brought to its true home soon. Like I and many other supporters have said on your previous article, there is no need to feel the low. If the film is good(which I presume it is) it will see the light of the day. Commercial functions have always been a sore eye for the unsupported artist. Like few others have suggested here, I would suggest take some of those routes.
As for me, I think the biggest USP would be Indian Ocean’s music. They are really huge, and I do not mean in terms of sales. Stream the music online and have it circulated/downloaded. You will see the buzz multiply.
In the meanwhile, watch VHS Kahloucha’s inspiring tale. It will bring a smile to your face.
Best
http://imdb.com/title/tt0925307/
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And what does it take to reach out to people, make that mark with a project? Definitely not huge budgets or productions..Take a song like
Alone, read his last post.
Jaideep,
What happened after you previewed your film was so so familiar.
I think the real reason is the lack of any creative education worth its name. Much of our creative understanding is vague and in thin air. That’s why you got all those useless and myopic comments after the preview of your film. In this scenario, intra-referencing is naturally the greatest refuge. What can be safer than having a point of view aligned to a done, famous piece of work? While one needs real creative ammunition to offer original critique; defending and continuously siding with a successful piece of work automatically makes you look like a knowledgable superstar.
And big picture? Surely, you must be joking.
It’s inordinately ironic, but not unpredicatable that your film has no takers. You are doomed if you attempt anything apart from the mainstream. Filmmaking and sundry is a ultimately a part of society and we as a people, are just not evolved enough to leap beyond level 1. Look around, how much intelligence do you see? Just because Gurgaon real estate has touched New Youk standards can not come to mean that 24-carat, first world sensibilities have suddenly started oozing out of our pores.
But then, we live in hope.
Looking for some unconventional way to market, distribute and exhibit your film could be the only way out.
@Inca
Kindly refrain from using first world / third world analogies when referring to India. It is highly derogatory and borderline racist. The terms are remnants of the Cold war and no longer applicable.
As much as I like Indian Ocean and other sundry art forms, the fact that the general public doesn’t share my views or opinions doesn’t make them stupid or me intelligent.
If one wishes to reach the audience holding them in contempt won’t make the process easy. Instead an effort to understand them would be more appropriate. Intellectual elitism will lead us nowhere.
PFC is a microcosm of the Indian film going public and not representative of the whole.
Jaideep
Firstly and most importantly, I would like to commend you on making a film on such a unique and inspiring band. Very few artists use their craft to try and effect social change - I know Indian Ocean to be one such unit. Kudos to you for telling their story.
Secondly, since I have spent most of my adult life in the US, I can tell you for that for the kind of risk taking that you mention to succeed needs 2 important ingredients. The intuitive (and more vital) one is the artist who creates original work & someone to produce it. But it also needs an audience that appreciates it. And until we have that in India - or some mechanism to deliver the right product to the relevant segment (assuming that it exists already), there are bound to be experiments that should have succeeded but fail. Which doesnt mean that the effort wasnt worth it - which, as a creative person I know you to be, I’m sure you are aware of already.
Thirdly, I know for a fact that Indian Ocean is immensely popular amongst IIM(A) grads (at least amongst a bunch of grads that I know). I’m reasonably certain that most of them dont worry about putting two square meals on the table and would probably have some disposable income that could be put to good use. I am in Mumbai for the next month and would be happy to discuss further. Email me and we can talk #s.
Thanks again for making the film.
Inca, what you are doing here is basing your judgement on one mere instance mentioned by Jaideep. While you opine on all of creative fraternity and rub
Jaideep.
great article. I’m dying watch your film. I had an idea of making a film about Indian Ocean 6 months back inspired by the Sigur Ros film HIEMA.
Is there any way you can show it to us?
one thing i’d like to mention is how well-written the post is. it takes a really good writer to write like this. i agree with most of your thoughts, but not that you’ve let the audience and the talent completely off the hook. where is the evidence that both the talent to produce original work and the audience to appreciate this exists in india?
Thanks to all of you for responding. Really appreciate the time and energy you took out and it
Cheers to that, Jaideep!
You have my 10 dollars the second it plays at a screen near me.
hi jaideep
congrats on making the movie.
most ppl just talk about all this. u have gone ahead and done it. so congrats. sure that with ur passion, success is not far away.
read ur artcle in cricinfo as well.
opinionated as always :)
do send a mail on my email id. just like that.