By: Pritom Jyoti Sarma
More than one year has passed since the sudden demise of the MS Dhoni biopic star Sushant Sushant Singh Rajput. The journey that had just tasted initial success couldn’t realize the ambitions that such hardworking talent aspires. The conundrum that followed thereafter like linking the case with the flourishing lobby industry in Bollywood which doesn’t allow outsiders to climb the ladder of success, drug cartels, and the questioning and arrest of various prominent personalities of the industry has many things for introspection. The entire case has become such a high-profile one that three premier institutions of the country, CBI, NCB, and NIA were in the fray to solve the larger issues prevailing in Maya Nagri Mumbai.
The latest addition to such an investigation was the arrest of superstar Shahrukh khan’s son Aryan Khan in a drug-related case. While the investigation is going and we have to wait till it concludes, it is high time that we the masses of the country should reflect on the broader issues plaguing the industry. Whenever such issues arise in the film city, we always notice the division of two sets of people as a pro and against. The same happened in the case of an ex-girlfriend of SSR, Rhea Chakraborty. The primary issue is that the film industry doesn’t belong to a handful of producers and directors. The industry has been successfully running because of the kind of support bestowed by the people of this country. We all know how versatile actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pankaj Tripathi, Rajkumar Rao, Manoj Vajpayee, etc have to struggle for years before getting a chance on the silver screen. The kind of struggle that an aspiring actor encounters in present-day Mumbai has a stark difference from the kind of struggle that actors like Amitabh Bacchan, Shahrukh khan endured in their heydays.
The emergence of the OTT platforms has given a good platform for various talents to fill such a gap in recent years. But the issues of preference of its viewers have also changed. Anything which arrives in the market comes only after the detailed analysis of the customer preferences and satisfaction levels. The present trend of such a market behavioural analytics signals that we are more interested in masala movies and series rather than theme-based and content-based shows. Of course, there are exceptions, but here we will talk about the majoritarian point of view. It has been noticed that people are more interested in viewing things that give them instant gratification rather than the content which creates a lasting impact on the individual and the society. Films like Gangajal, Taare Zameen Par, Swades, Bhaag Mikha Bhaag, etc were exceptions in this perspective. Issues like Dalit causes, India’s struggle for freedom, and the role of Maratha chief Chattrapati Shivaji, Mahabharat, and Ramayan are not on the list of the filmmakers.
It is where the south Indian film industries based on Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Trivandrum have been bridging the gap, that the national film industry of India failed to stress upon. For example, the films like S.S Rajamouli’s Magadheera, Bahubali, Shankar’s Robot 2.0, Vikram-Vedha, crowd-funded movie Lucia, Malayalam movie Drishyam, etc have shown diversity in making movies. In these movies, the viewer finds life lessons to be learned which is an exception if we relate the same with the majority of the mainstream movies. Apart from it, the discrimination that an outsider faces in Mumbai is comparatively less in the south cinema industry. It is also a reason to cherish as it showcases the willingness and support of its people for the regional film industries which is absent in the other parts of the country.
Now coming back to the SSR episode, in its aftermath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath opined on the idea of developing the alternative film industry in Noida. It was met with a lot of backlash and ire by the members of the Mahaaghadi government in Maharashtra. Time will only say about its prospects, but the idea behind such a move is not a bad one. As it can become a huge platform for aspiring actors from the National School of Drama (NSD), The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) who needs to struggle for years for getting their first breakthrough in the industry based in Mumbai. Delhi is the national capital of India and Noida being close to Delhi will go a long way in showcasing the missing areas and it will also bring the system free from the clutches of the much-perceived role of the underworld in Bollywood.
Well, these are all speculation and we have to wait for the right time for seeing viable results. Now, the onus is on with us for changing the present narrative of the film industry. As it has become a common saying that In India, people forget after a while. The basic change should come from altering such a phrase as content-based shows like Malgudi days which had heralded a new era in terms of – how one can make a successful series with limited resources is the need of the hour. The movement will only become successful if we will prefer more content-based shows in comparison to the face value and brand-led preferences prevailing in the industry. Views are personal. (The author is a student of MA in Political Science & can be reached at [email protected])
