Of Padmaavat and history

It’s about time there was professionalism in the critique of an effort. There’s a need to do some soul searching to find out how we have become so gross

History is much talked of discipline. It is needed when one wants to give to the next generation in a family, a sense of identity. It is needed when any issue is to be resolved (seldom if ever there is an issue that comes up for resolution which has never been handled in some manifestation, earlier on). It is needed when growth of a process has to be documented. It is needed whenever there is an attempt to understand the whys and the where-ofs of something. It is needed for reinforcing and clarifying national identity. It is needed for many situations, including the positioning of any product, activity or a sector. Yes, it is needed also for making films on people and processes, which have a historical echo. The list is endless.

One can begin from the bottom of the list. The recent happenings around Padmaavati or Padmaavat (I am not quite sure which is a more authentic name for the more than two hours long of a rehash of a template which one has seen earlier on in Jodha Akbar/Bajirao Mastani and elsewhere). Whether all history has been knocked out of this film or not is now a moot point. The people, who promoted this film, have put in a pretty penny and want their money's worth. That is the bottom line. If it sells in the name of history, that's good. If it doesn't, that's also fine, so long as returns are not affected. The key concern is the return on investment.

Simultaneously, with the release of this film, there were two other films showing in Delhi, at times in adjacent halls to the one in which Padmaavat was showing. One was a film called The Post, the second one was a film called The Darkest Hour. The Post dealt with a slice of history, dealing with four American Presidents — Dwight D Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, John F  Kennedy, and Lyndon B Johnson. Those interested can do an Internet search for the story. The movie, The Darkest Hour dealt with the early months of the prime ministership of Winston Churchill. The story is again available on the Internet.

The craft of cinematography across the three films, Padmavat, The Post and The Darkest Hour is so critical that for those, who boast of the evolved nature of Bollywood, time has come, if ever, for a serious rethink.

Irrespective of the political meanings read into Padmaavat and not so subtle attempts of the Director at a rather avoidable play with emotions, clearly, it is an extravaganza. If the dances of the lead character in Padmaavat and Bajirao Mastani were put on video clips, they would sell just as much without anyone making out centuries of difference and the many hundred kilometres of distance between the happenings and location of the two episodes of the dances.

In the film, The Darkest Hour, there is one episode of a few minutes where Churchill reportedly visited an underground station and even that is flagged as ‘unhistorical' in the Internet version of the movie's story. The name of the game is credibility.

It is about time there was professionalism in the critique of an effort, just as there is a need for higher professionalism in the inputs to the effort.

If this is the state of the craft of cinematography, the media is not far behind. As the protagonist of the movement against Padmaavat began to lose ground, allegedly, funded campaigns in media picked ground. One particular channel, a day before the release of the movie, spent half an hour of prime news time, pleading that there was nothing ‘objectionable' in the movie. The question is about the status of the professional character of our narratives, our commentaries and indeed our agitations.

Ushering in professionalism is not an act of governance, it is a frame of mind of the populace. We as a people, have to do some soul searching to find out how come, in spite of so many boasts of the left, right and centre-oriented ideologies and rhetoric about our intellectual orientation, we are so gross in management: In this case of our entertainment business.

(The writer is a well-known management consultant)