A (not so) brief background to my cinematic aesthetics-2

 [In the first part of the series "A brief background to my cinematic aesthetics", I tried to put forth my opinion of the "cause" of the slow evolution of Indian cinema. In this, i.e. the second installment of the series , I would state what I believe are the "effects" of the cause.]



Carrying on from where I left, I would now like to point out a few natural outcomes of excessive commercialization of cinema.

In a scenario where box-office success is considered the be-all and end-all of  the art of movie making, it gives rise to some very unhealthy trends; trends which, in the long run, become the undoing of the art-form itself. To name a few such trends (which come in vogue as a result of attaching too much importance to the commercial success of a film) :-

1- Encouragement to formula:- As in, following the current trend. For instance, if a comedy strikes big at the box-office, every Tom, Dick or Harry starts churning out comedies, just for the heck of it; whether or not he possesses the required tools for a successful comedy (for eg., a sense of humour in case of a director and 'comic-timing' in case of an actor)

The result: This trend halts the growth and evolution of cinema in the long run.

2- Encouragement to 'Star system':- The most over-rated, and as a result the most pampered exponents of the entire movie making machine are the actors. It's the actors who tend to run away with all the applause when a certain film succeeds, as if it's all thanks to them alone and the crew (director+ the rest of technical staff) is just incidental.

And the more the emphasis on commercial success; the more pampering the stars demand and succeed in getting.


3- Less emphasis on the three most vital aspects of cinema:the 3 S namely the Story, the Script & the Screenplay:- Point 3 is a direct outcome of point 1 & 2 i.e. when a movie is to be made keeping in mind the current formula and the actors are to be the stars of the show, then the 3 S's are bound to be ignored.


 4- Encouragement to plagiarism:- When box-office success is THE parameter and it's all about delivering hits non-stop, who really gives a fuck about things like 'originality' and shit! Pritam Chakraborty is a living example. Pritam sells like no other does and the one who sells the most is, quite naturally, the most deserving to be honoured with awards. Isn't it? (If your answer is "It isn't", you can go and fly a kite, Thank you!)

5- Encouragement to nefarious activities like having the media on payroll, buying out critics and even, awards! :- Such a moolah driven state of affair is an open invitation to corruption and it is precisely what follows. You see, when the only thing that matters is hitting the bull's eye at the box-office, the smarter of the bollywood lot are bound to employ every possible trick at their disposal, be it "inventing" gossip regarding the lead pair (in most cases, with the consent of the said lead pair!); "creating" some kind of controversy deliberately, for controversy begets publicity; other publicity stunts (I remember Mahesh Bhatt  circulating news of Manisha Koirala's murder prior to the release of his movie Criminal during the 90s..can you believe it?!); hiring efficient PR team to ensure good relations with Media; Buying out certain media houses (It's obvious that most of the top selling stars have many prominent media houses on their payroll for ensuing continued lip-service to them); buying out the so called critics; And last, but by no means the least, buying  out  the honours (awards), as well. [sarcasm]After all, how can the top-selling star (or director/producer etc.) not be THE best, too? It's inconceivable. Is it not? [/sarcasm]

Hence, the sham that goes on in the name of award functions.

(Disclaimer- Any resemblance to the likes of SRK-YRF-Dharma-Taran-Filmfare-etc. is "purely" coincidental ;)   )

And lastly,

6- Discouragement to the real meritorious artist; be him a director, an actor, music director, art director, lyricist, cinematographer, choreographer or any other exponent of this huge movie making machine:- 

This point is, perhaps, THE gravest harm that too much emphasis on commercial success of a venture does to the art of cinema. The real meritorious and passionate artist is bound to be discouraged by this state of affairs where mediocrity is not only rewarded heftily but awarded as well and is dubbed as if it's a thing of supreme beauty! I mean why would a director want to make an Ardhsatya when it's a Kaho Na Pyaar Hai  which sets the cash registers ringing?( And even if he somehow does, what's the probability of him finding a willing producer to finance his dream.....Zilch. ZERO); why would an actor bother honing his acting skills at theatre circuits or institutes like the FTII etc. when things like having a toned physique and being a good dancer, horse-rider, black-belt etc. are given more weightage than the skill of expressing various emotions through facial expressions, tone of dialogue delivery and body language?; why would a music director bother banging his head, spending sleepless nights just to come up with a never heard before tune when he can easily lift some popular tune from some other land, rejig it and not only get away doing so but even win awards for the great Ctrl C Ctrl V job?!

Why? What would be their motivation? A true artist, by his very nature, is a sort of person who can live without big money but not without recognition, acknowledgment, and respect to his craft. And what goes on in the name of these various award functions is nothing but the gravest insult to any true artist. I mean..one can understand if a SRK or a Hrithik or a Akshay Kumar gets the "Best Star or Superstar of the year" award but "Best Actor"??? Come onnnn......that's height of corruption!

The end result of all this is: even the most passionate and the meritorious ones are forced to kneel down to this monster of commercialization at some point or the other, and join this mediocrity if they wish to survive in this "market". That is why you see a thespian of the caliber of Naseeruddin Shah making an ass outta himself in the unbelievably crap Asambhav; a maestro like Priyadarshan churning out one crappy so-called comedy (with almost the same set of actors as well as the same kinda 'climax', with all characters running after one another in utter chaos)  after another; a Paresh Rawal getting typecast as a funny man to the point of not looking funny at all; a Om Puri embarassing himself as a gay sadhu in Buddha Mar Gaya. And so on...



And the loser in all mucky business this is the very art of the cinema itself.

*Sigh*

[This concludes the 2nd part i.e "the effect". In the 3rd and the concluding part, I intend to dwell upon MY solution to correct the flaws in the system.]