Lights! Camera! Action!!!

He dons larger-than-life roles, does gravity defying stunts, delivers sharp punch lines with inimitable style, carries an aura of charismatic look, he does not market himself or his movies, yet, he reaches millions of people added with all time high box office collections. That’s what brand Rajnikanth is all about. Don’t get too excited; this is not a solo ride with the Superstar. The Bachchans and Khans from the North, and a few others from the East and the South will complete the story of this generation’s Indian Cinema.

The Indian cinema will freely overcome the Hollywood, in numbers made, but, in terms of quality, one must accept that the latter is in a different grade altogether. Technology being one of the short comings, only tells half the story. In spite of the flicks from our top actors, our movies would be just laughable stock for the westerners. Being an Indian, I myself have been very critical and harsh whilst rating our movies.

In India, you can’t leave out one thing, from anything. If the word ‘politics’ crosses your mind, you are spot on. With many of our actors, later entering politics and a few taking the verso route, one has to wonder, if Indian Cinema is just a medium to attain fame. However, a direct comparison between the Indian Cinema and Hollywood may not be fitting.

Initially, movie making was in its right form of art in India. But later, it had to cater to the needs of a country driven by emotions and sentiments rather than reasons. A protagonist playing a common man, fighting for the people’s rights and well being, reached the people’s hearts as he served a saviour to them. He became equal to real life heroes to them. A perfect example is M. G. R and the people’s affection for him was only to be challenged by Rajnikanth later. It was in 1978 when M. G. R did his last film and incidentally that was the period, when the current Superstar entered the frame. Again the mantra was same; a common man. These two had reel lives in which they were fighting social evils, which the people wanted to live for real, but couldn’t, and had themselves satisfied by seeing their stars perform it for them. Rajnikanth, later went one step ahead, to portray larger-than-life roles which was also accepted by the masses. Much had to do with the conditions prevailing three decades ago, when, very few went beyond school.

Same can be said for the other language film industries, but, they only had a lesser effect on the people because politics and cinema were not intertwined in those regions then, as it were in Tamilnadu.

With the development of society and exposure to the outside world, the blind love of the people for their stars has reduced. One would expect the movies to change as well. But, today’s actors, who are likely to have grown seeing the exploits of Rajnikanth, still try to emulate him. That has led to a total mess and loss of quality; not to mention the presence of ego amongst actors, well evident from the lack of multi starrer projects. While this is the predominant case in South India, Bollywood functions right by the definition of word ‘Showbiz’. In creating a separate genre for themselves called ‘Masala Entertainment’, they daydream about leaving behind Hollywood.

Some good efforts sprout here and there, but are fizzled out by big productions houses. The time has come for Indian Cinema to step up to the next level. The trend of creating stories to an actor’s status should change. The hero is meant for the story and not vice versa. Inspirations should be drawn from the experiments carried out by the likes of Kamal Haasan, Aamir Khan and a few other directors. Remaking and adapting a story from other language isn’t a sin, but with many Indian movies being accused of blatant rip off from Hollywood movies, the producers should encourage more original stories.

I once started dreaming about becoming a script writer and director in the film industry, I still do, but that is only prioritised for the longer haul. I hope, when that dream is realised, Indian Cinema shall have changed. Or, let me be in Hollywood; am human after all.

Swasthika Sang