The masala film rejuvenation

Well for starters I know that some of you probably do not agree with the line that I have taken. Fair enough! I do not expect all of us to agree to what I write. After all we are discussing cinema, which is like food and not everyone prefers the same eatables.

Having said that I have always found the arrogance of the “classy” cinema makers, tad amusing. One it is based on the premise that hey we are good because the guys on the other side do not even qualify for the good tag – they are “masala cinema” or popcorn cinema makers.
That is why I feel that some of us should speak on how making good popcorn cinema is far more difficult.

The first pointer to this is realistic cinema. We need to understand that the classy cinema or the realistic cinema most of the times does not bring any challenge of creating a screenplay for example when you tend to make a ‘No one killed Jessica’ and ‘Talvar’. You need to understand that your screenplay and therefore all characters are already created. Add the multiplex distribution system and the ready to die for anything, which comes with the sticker “realistic” cinema written over movie critic’s support .The battle to get labelled as a superior cinema category is already won. And add the urge in all of us to look and come across as politically correct and most of us would never acknowledge if we find ‘Happy new year’ more entertaining and better product than a ‘Highway’. What is tougher to create, Kattappa or a Charles Shobhraj?

Like it or not, creating characters, which never existed and then make them tug at your heart or enter your psyche is stuff of legends. If you do not agree than have you heard of Lion? Fact is there is no such real life character.

But think hard now. What is tough? Creating a character like “Tammy” of ‘Happy New Year’ or that character of Rani Mukherjee in ‘No one killed Jessica’, which we all know is based on famous female journalist.

Trust me creating fictional characters is far tougher than re-creating a troubled father of Aarushi on screen. Let me add here that both ‘Talvar’ and ‘No one killed Jessica’ are fabulous movies. I enjoyed and relished both these movies as much as I relished a ‘Chennai Express’.

Sure a ‘Gandhi’ is a classic and a great cinematic effort but then it is retelling of what took place. However, creating a ‘Baahubali’ out of nowhere and making it so strong that everyone feels that Mahishmati probably existed is much difficult to deliver.

Sure one can argue that a popcorn cinema maker also takes his inspiration from real life incidents or books or maybe mythology but then does tend to give it own shape and spins , sometimes, a completely different tale.

In fact some of the most interesting cinema is the one which entertains us and fascinates us is the one which is fiction. Because it takes lot more effort to present something that audiences will understand, connect with and love.

And if you think everything that comes out of the “intellectual” stables is great and everything that comes out of the masala brigade is horrible. Then watch ‘Bombay Velvet’ and ‘Baahubaali’ back to back and you will get the point I am trying to make.

Everyone can create a character called Maanjhi and then put a Nawaazuddin there, but stuff of legend is looking at a Sathyaraj and then creating Kattappa or the vice versa, but today you do not really know Kattappa was made for Sathyaraj or Sathyaraja was made for Kattappa. Most importantly the character is probably as big as the movie now.

- Rahul Deo Bharadwaj http://thesocietyasiseeit.blogspot.in