06 October,2010 09:56 AM IST | | Qasim mehdi
Like any other teenager, I too was hooked to films while in college. I, along with my group of friends, would often bunk the first few lectures and head to a single screen cinema hall in Bandra for the morning show.
We preferred the early shows, as tickets were quite cheap and we could afford it with our paltry pocket money.u00a0
This was our norm for a good five years. Around this same time, I actually started understanding cinema. Today, with whatever knowledge I have of movies, I can say that most of our filmmakers lack the moral fiber to experiment.
It's an established fact that instead of trying anything fresh, filmwallas prefer getting 'influenced' with ideas that have already been a sensation. This trend not only exists in Bollywood but also in the regional film society. A movie that's declared a hit at the box office has filmmakers lined up to make adaptations and remakes.
Why not make movies that depict our rich cultural heritage and the fastest growing economy that India is ?
Similar is the case with movies that do well at film festivals; especially the Oscars. Most of the films that have been sent as the official entry from India have something or the other that's similar to the movie that was nominated the previous year.
It started with Mother India, which was the first Indian film to be nominated in the Best Film in Foreign Language category. The world enjoyed watching a pitiable India. Since then, most of the films that have been sent to Oscars portrayed the deprived, gloomy India and we took sheer pride in showing the west how miserable we are.
Last year, it was Slumdog Millionaire and now its Peepli Live that highlights the farmer suicide issue in the country and also pokes fun at the working of the electronic media in the country. The filmmakers seem to have understood the formula of making their presence felt in the international media and film fraternity. Make a film on India's misery, and go to Oscars.
As more and more such films make way for the awards, it is imperative to ask what India are we trying to show to the world? Dear filmwallas, India's poverty is already under the global spotlight as never before with the blockbuster Slumdog Millionaire. Also, the two documentaries, The Final Inch and Smile Pinki have showed enough.
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Why not make movies that depict our rich cultural heritage and the fastest growing economy that is India?
I know it is possible. Just one filmmaker needs to take the initiative. And as I have mentioned earlier, if it proves to be a hit, people will soon forget making films on poor India.
