I don’t know what to make of the latest innovation in movie-watching. First came the moving picture, then came sound, and now comes the trickiest of ‘em all, the smell. Passing lightly over the fact that smells are freely available in some of our movie theatres, let me tell you about the recent screening of The Extraordinary Journey at the Futuroscope theme park in France. Among the special effects (wind, mist) was odour.
Just how realistic do we want our movies to be? In Bengaluru, there are still theatres where, when the hero on the screen rides past areas that stink, you can actually smell the scene. But that is not technology, merely poor housekeeping.
Progress means we can now sit back in a clean, well-maintained movie theatre which emits the same smells and pretend it is a blessing.
Just like we pretend that 3D is a blessing, that somehow The Great Gatsby (to take a random example) in 3D is more profound, more accessible than it was in 2D. That somehow we are actually able to attend one of Gatsby’s parties as so many 3D flies on the wall, watching Leonardo di Caprio “old sport” his friends and business associates from one end of the screen to the other.
With the latest technology, the challenge for film-makers may not be incorporating smells, but ensuring that these are kept out. After all, when Brad Pitt bends over to kiss his leading lady, the last thing you want is to smell a random armpit, an unwashed pair of jeans, or worse.
But what about the other challenge that presents itself? The screenplay writer could push for a prestigious award with his description of a major love affair. Take two lovers, let’s call them Romeo and Juliet, and see what the following treatment might lead to:
“Juliet was just pulling herself out of the manhole she had accidentally fallen into when a truck carrying stale fish overturned nearby. Undaunted, the young lady decided to keep her date with Romeo who had had no time to wipe his shirt after a co-passenger of a bus emitting toxic fumes had vomited on it.
“Just as the couple prepared to get into a taxi (the rotten eggs at the back having meanwhile cracked open), they realised they were downwind from a glue factory, and the wind was strong. Refusing to give up despite the bombing of the fertiliser plant across the street, they turned to each other. His garlic breath was as fresh air…”
Now that would be multimedia at its multiest. A true olfactory treat. And when a critic writes of a movie that “it stinks”, he might actually be complimenting it.
When movie makers decide to get up our noses with such innovations, we must protest. Of course, you could argue that the focus might be on the perfume that Juliet wore or the flowers that Romeo carried. As every moviemaker knows, you look after the scents and the dollars look after themselves.
Suresh Menon is Contributing Editor, The Hindu
