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A film trying to find its place
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Bangalore has seen a fair number of Indian-English films over the last few months, a good enough reason to expect more ventures in the coming days. But a lot of work needs to be done to consolidate an audience, writes NADEDSHA ZAREEN.
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IS BANGALORE set to become an important place for the Indian-English film? Stumble, Mango Soufflé, and Freaky Chakra have hit the silver screen from Bangalore in the last few months. These films do not have skirt-chasing sequences nor do they have a star cast of Bollywood's wattage. There, however, seems to be some optimism among film-makers in Bangalore about going ahead with Indian-English ventures and in securing a consistent audience some time in the near future.
Jayanth Kodkani, film critic, believes that if the Indian novel in English could succeed, such movies surely could.
Prakash Belawadi, theatre artiste and film-maker, agrees. "Indians are ready for English newspapers, books, and the dialect itself. Why not the films?" asks the director of Stumble. The film addresses the problems of an Indian middle-class family in the new economy — the dotcom bust, stock market scam, mutual funds crisis, and VRS. "Cinema is a reflection of life, and when you find no trace of your life on the screen, then you have to try and change that," observes Belawadi.
Mahesh Dattani, playwright, and director, has in Mango Soufflé a film that may not seem comfortable to many in the first instance. "I am not kicked by the Bollywood paradigm," says Dattani, who adapted his play, A Muggy Night in Mumbai, to make Mango Soufflé.
Girish Kasarvalli, director of Dweepa, which won the National Award for best film of 2002, points out that such films keep in mind the pan-Indian, urban, middle-class audience, and that the relationship between an audience and a film is not straightforward. "Rarely does a film decide its audience. It has to do more with the mindset of the urban elite. Sometimes, mediocre Bollywood cinema gets the attention that a good regional cinema may not."
V.K. Prakash, director of Freaky Chakra, also believes that viewers are subjective in their appreciation of a film. Prakash made his directorial debut with the Malyalam film, Punaradivasam, which won the National Award for best film in 1999. Freaky Chakra explores a middle-aged woman's desire to find appreciation and love.
Such films address social issues and have a tendency to be educative.
"In one sense, films do educate, as they are a reflection of oneself. All arts are about human conditions. They can be called educational," Dattani observes.
Belawadi says mainstream cinema is far removed from life. "These films are about a fictional world. Their subject is false, something that does not exist. It is important to portray things that are essential to life."
Is it, therefore, easier to make such films that do not demand a very popular star cast and high budget? "If something is novel, and is attention-grabbing, then everyone would like to experiment with that," Jayanth contends, adding that these films are at the same time straightforward, a reason why they seem to be gaining in popularity.
The films, though nowhere close to mainstream commercial cinema, do not seem to have encountered serious problems in finding exhibitors or distributors. Belawadi found finances for his film without much hardship, and distributors themselves approached him. V.K. Prakash has had a similar experience.
But a lot more needs to be done to consolidate the Indian-English film even within its own audience, and the right infrastructure is an important aspect of this effort.
For instance, the concept of multiplex cinema houses could prove useful in promoting the Indian-English film as simultaneous screenings allow for choice without costing the exhibitors much.
Belawadi agrees that multiplexes will have to be set up in more cities. Currently, they are concentrated only in metros and tickets are too expensive for the average filmgoer.
Until then, conviction is largely what will drive the Indian-English film.
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