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Formula flicks
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The ‘mass and class’ segmentation of Telugu films by the industry mandarins doesn’t help
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Right formula Isn’t there scope for alternative narratives?
There is always a demand for bone-crunching action sequences, blood-curdling dialogues and roles etched with attitude. The audience rooted for a slim NTR in the recently released Kantri when he said, “Body weigh
t okkate taggindhi, head weight kaadhu”. The entire experience of picking up the buzz about the latest hit from friends and newspapers, joining the crowd, feeling the line surge forward as the velvet ropes are lifted, getting carried along on a tide of rolling laughter is something that cannot be described. But, it is difficult to produce films intended for only certain section of people. The theatres are both for the masses and for the cultivated or the class audiences. But of late, movies are being made and designed to please certain sections and the audience gets labelled as either ‘multiplex audience’ or the ‘B and C crowd’.
The directors too are branded according to the films they make. The recently released Gamyam has been a hit with the ‘class’ audience. This film is good enough for watching at least once, but if it was made with top actors instead of Naresh and Sharwanand, it would have been a sure dud. People do appreciate such intelligent films but that is not enough for a movie to make money. That is one reason why many young actors are hanging around in gyms, building their bodies and waiting for good roles.
Are commercial films only for the ten or twelve top heroes in the industry? Why aren’t we getting a regular dose of cinema from directors like Indraganti, Chandrasekhar Yeleti, Gunnam Gangaraju, Shekar Suri, Neelakanta or Kammula? The budget, the marketing strategy, the actors, their story and the release of the film are all interlinked. One cannot afford to compromise on any one aspect and jump into a project with a conclusion.
The reason why audience want to see more of mass movies is simple, says writer Gopimohan, “It’s like asking why you’d like to eat chaat or paani puri often when there is health food at home.” He adds that top heroes prefer to take happening directors because they plan their films well, the film footage they expose is reasonable and the set songs do not cross Rs. 40 lakhs budget. The character artistes or comedians are regulars and dialogues are carefully written for them. The movie is shot within 100 or 120 days. Above all they make a profit even before the film releases.”
True, for a film like A film by Aravind, Shekar Suri had spent Rs. 2 crores but he got a profit of only Rs. 50 lakhs. It got rave reviews but so far no hero has expressed willingness to work with him, because it’s a director’s film and one apprehends that such director’s approach to film making is not flexible. A good and a small budget film like Aa Naluguru’s commercial fate would have been different if it had been screened at a multiplex instead of at a theatre like Sapthagiri. Even now hundreds of films are lying in the cans and there are hardly any takers for small budget films.
With the growth of multiplexes, one hopes there is more audience for the niche variety, as the Hindi film industry has shown with success like Bheja Fry, Cheeni Kum and Mithya. People are willing to spend that extra buck to watch it for the feel good experience in a cinema hall but one should remember that the industry cannot flourish by writing off small budget films.
Y. SUNITA CHOWDHARY
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