Our Film Makers!!!. Review on Changing Face of Cinegoer

Films have been flopping left, right and centre in the last couple of years. Producers are crying wolf at the piracy/illegal cable screening, higher costs etc.for their plight What is the real reason , I doubt the Film makers have done any introspection in this regard, and have always found them cribbing about every other externalities that they could lay hands on.

If you look at the current crop of film makers, how many of them do you think have even 1% of commitment to make quality films. Almost all of them, are just there to make money or in the  money laundering service. There is nothing wrong in making money, but the way they go about doing it, has changed the Art of Film making as Science Of Film Making. Even before the film hits the floor, they sell the music rights for 5-6 Crores(Devdas I believe has been sold for whopping Rs.12 crores), then they sell the VCD rights, Overseas rights, cable rights, television rights, sometimes even merchandising rights, and each of these rights going for 3-4 crores kind of. Its simple arithmetic that they recover substantial cost even before the film is complete.Now why do you need to make a movie with the same passion and heart, as was seen in the 50s-70s . If the movie flops, the only people who go bankrupt are those who have bought these rights. I don’t think Subhash ghai’s of the world have incurred any loss due to the poor box office collections of their movies.

One more thing that has been seen in the recent days, is their dependence on the initial box office sales. It is a fact that if your movie gets a decent box office response in the first 1-2 weeks, you get your money back(with 400-600 prints in circulation, this again is not very difficult). To get this initial, they sign big stars at bigger price tags, overseas shooting is a must(I was surprised to find even Govinda’s movie are now getting shot overseas. I definitely feel his spontaneity and charm is good enough to pull the crowds.). All the big banners have started assembly line of productions using outside directors. This again, is to earn quick money capitalizing on their Banner’s brand and getting initials at the BO.

Now, why it has become difficult to get initials on the BO. Earlier also films were released in dozens, but things were not so bad. I strongly feel this is due to the over exposure of our stars. Any given day, I bet, you will get an amitabh movie on the small screen at any of those umpteen channels or you will find the telecast of star performing at stage or drinking lemon water after each over in a cricket match.. It’s just a simple funda of supply and demand. There are too many stars now with too much of exposure to media. The whole charm of exclusivity has gone, I remember, the days, when we use to wait for months just to have a glimpse of Amitabh movie on our good old doordarshan.

Now, the difficult part , is there any solution in near sight. I think Malyalam producer association has taken a path breaking decision of banning all TV appearance of the film artistes. This can be a good short-term measure, but there can be lots of issues like depriving actors to earn (more) money.Karnataka govt to help the local film industry has levied different tax structure for original kannada cinema and remakes. This will definitely help those who believe in originals and exploring newer horizons. Then again, how to differentiate between originals and loosely inspired (sic.) scripts. But one thing is clear, It’s not the cine goer who has changed, it’s the cine-makers who are completely responsible for this mess.