JAY JOSHI
Take a look at some of the hit films over the past few years: Sui Dhaga, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Gangs of Wasseypur (which gained a cult following). These films are the barometers illustrating the Bollywood is changing. In the 1990s and early 2000s, exotic foreign locations, charming stars and fabulous wealth was popular (K3G, DDLJ, Dil Chahta Hai). These films told stories of cute couples falling in love or wealthy families and friends. Over the years however, the narrative of Indian films has shifted to small towns, telling colourful stories of ordinary people.
The flavour, narratives and language of Bollywood movies too is changing. From 1940s to about 1980s Urdu wielded a profound influence on Bollywood films but from 1990s to about late 2000s, English began to occupy more and more space. In recent years however, a number of regional accents are asserting their presence as more and more films continue to be set in small towns and thus, reflect the culture of the regions they are based in.
Now, it has always been said that Indian audience loves escapist cinema and posh films about rich people that showcase the aspirations of an ordinary Indian. And such movies did make brisk business until recently, but the winds are blowing in a different direction now. A number of different factors have come together to completely changed Bollywood’s subject matter for stories, and it is a welcome development, say filmmakers.
Speaking on the matter, Amogh Barve, a young film-editor from Ponda elaborates how trends might be rising and falling in Bollywood. What generally happens is that after one particular film is successful by using one particular formula, many other films will come along trying to utilise the same formula. Earlier, films of directors such as Yash Chopra included beautiful locations from India and abroad, and other films obviously tried to copy that. Later, directors such as Anurag Kashyap deliberately set out to break that trend and delivered raw films that gave equal importance to content as well as production quality. After some of such films became successful, we are witnessing a number of stories from rural and semi-urban India,” he says. Further on, Marathi film industry too is witnessing increasing use of rural language and rural stories following the success of films such as Sairat, Fendry etc, adds Amogh.
Calangute-based film director Sonia Filinto agrees, citing another factor that has brought unconventional small-town stories to the fore. “Earlier, films used to do business on their starcast, but now stories are gaining more importance. On that front, there are a number of writers and directors who are writing new stories set in small-town and rural India. Along with writers, and directors, actors and actresses too are open to experimenting with new things. Earlier, certain stars would not undertake certain kind of roles, but now that is not the case. Everyone in the film industry wants to take up something challenging, and so we have films that raw, simple, and beautiful,” says Filinto
Miransha Naik, a filmmaker from Benaulim suggests that authenticity and relatability is what makes such films popular. “Narratives set in small towns have a certain kind of authenticity and relatability. Now matter in which part of the country the film is set in, audience from any town around India can relate to it. Townspeople will love their story told in their language and closely related to their own life,” says Naik.
Panaji-based filmmaker Sainath Parab on the other hand, states that movement of market forces and technology has also played a role in changing the narratives of Bollywood today.
“Recent times have seen a kind of split in the market for films,” says Parab. “Earlier, theatre was the only way to access films, and there was limited choice. Now with the emergence of online streaming platforms, filmmakers are competing with global content of different genres. With more and more people preferring home theatre and streaming platforms, there is no guarantee that a big-budget film releasing in theatres will do good business. So, producers might be unwilling to take big risks.”
With low mobile data prices and increasing penetration of smartphones in small towns, there is a market of small-town audience who would love to see films they can relate to, and the filmmakers are now making attempts to tap that”, he suggests .
Trend analyzers also point to changing taste of Indian audience. In the earlier days, there was a certain ‘wannabe’ aspirational feeling that drove Indians to watch films portraying rich life they wished to live. Now, they would rather watch their own stories and their own language. This is not to say that posh films do not make good business, but that movies that would have been sidelined as art films a few years back are now making their way into mainstream cinema (if there is such a thing) and are being well-received.
