Bollywood is in a crisis — it either changes, or dies

The Hindi movie trade must study from its South Indian counterparts and reinvent its storytelling.

Folks get their tickets checked earlier than getting into the Maratha Mandir Cinema Theatre in Mumbai. India's Bollywood movie trade is going through certainly one of its biggest-ever crises with successive flops on the field workplace [File: Photo by Punit PARANJPE/AFP]

This yr has been one of many hardest that Bollywood has confronted in many years. Its age-old components of male-led dramas with weak or non-existent storylines, coupled with the idea that stars can do no unsuitable, have introduced the Hindi movie trade to a vital crossroads – one the place its identification is in disaster.

Massive funds films with a lot of India’s most bankable megastars equivalent to Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan and Ranbir Kapoor have sunk and not using a hint. These closely marketed flops embrace Kumar’s Bachchan Pandey, Kapoor’s Shamshera and Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha – a Hindi remake of Forrest Gump.

One other of Kapoor’s movies, Brahmastra — which is The Da Vinci Code and the Marvel universe rolled into one — debuted so badly that the shares of India’s main theatre corporations, Inox and PVR, tanked. Producers and theatre homeowners needed to slash ticket costs to get the viewers into halls, finally recouping its funds.

So what's going on with the Hindi movie trade?

It's not as if individuals are not coming to the flicks after the pandemic. Simply have a look at the beautiful success of South Indian movie industries this yr. The epic RRR and motion drama Pushpa: The Rise – in Telugu – are amongst India’s top-performing films of 2022. RRR has smashed information to change into the third-highest grossing Indian movie of all time, garnering about $160m worldwide. The Kannada movie KGF:2 can be among the many nation’s largest earners this yr.

Most not too long ago, ace director Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyan Selvan: I, primarily based on a traditional Tamil story, has change into the fourth-highest-grossing movie of all time in that language, and the sixteenth highest-grossing Indian movie of all time. And Kannada motion thriller Kantara has change into the third-highest grossing Kannada movie of all time.

May it's that the periodic requires boycotts that Indian movies face –  particularly from supporters of the present right-wing authorities of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, or if the film includes a critic of the federal government – are retaining viewers away? Effectively, no, as a result of movies with Akshay Kumar, who has been a vocal proponent of this administration and has confronted no boycott calls, have additionally flopped.

The reply to what ails Bollywood is definitely easy. Tales – or the shortage thereof.

India is a movie-hungry nation, and its fashionable tradition is closely dominated by its movie industries, significantly Bollywood. Nothing – not requires bans, not even public well being worries – can cease the common Indian fan from watching a film that ticks all the suitable bins.

Earlier than over-the-top (OTT) companies, the majority of Bollywood’s financing went into producing films that have been clichéd and depending on huge and supposedly dependable stars. Going to theatres to observe a movie – any movie – was the norm. Indian tv serials by no means had the form of viewership that Western networks get pleasure from.

Now, although, the number of content material on OTT platforms is virtually endless, and the Indian viewer can binge on worldwide productions like Home of the Dragon, the not too long ago launched Recreation of Thrones prequel that has shattered information for HBO. With that publicity, why ought to the viewer go to theatres to observe unimaginative films with zero worth?

That's the place OTT platforms maintain useful classes for mainstream Bollywood. The wealthy bouquet of content material out there on streaming platforms has not come out of skinny air.

OTT companies have made it simpler for filmmakers to work with lesser-known however gifted actors on a wider vary of narratives than conventional Bollywood permits. This democratisation of the trade has dealt a blow to poor storytelling. The competitors is excessive too because the viewers is international and never simply Indian: This helps with high quality management and pushing boundaries with the form of tales popping out of the trade.

The pay is fairer and moderated, so fledgling writers, administrators, cinematographers, producers and actors – together with ladies and folks from less-represented communities don't wrestle as artistic expertise as a lot as they did in a beforehand unregulated trade. For instance, as an trade outsider with no connections, I've had alternatives to satisfy, focus on and work with Bollywood veterans, which might have been unimaginable even 5 years in the past. It has been the identical for numerous writers, cinematographers, administrators and producers who would have struggled for regular work if not for OTT platforms.

This isn't to say that mainstream Bollywood theatrical releases can not intention for the success of their South Indian counterparts within the months and years forward. What it means is that Bollywood’s previous components is just not working any extra.

A well-told relatable story is essential. Actually, writers and administrators from South India level out that that is the place their industries shine – the power to remain rooted to the lots by constantly addressing the frequent man’s dilemma. RRR and Ponniyan Selvan are larger-than-life narratives constructed round actual historic occasions that Indian cinema has historically ignored. Kantara, likewise, highlights the animist beliefs of elements of the coastal state of Karnataka that a lot of India by no means knew about.

Hindi cinema may additionally look inside for solutions from the sorts of tales which have resonated with audiences this yr. These embrace films equivalent to Jugjugg Jeeyo, which offers with marital battle born out of girls being extra profitable than their husbands; Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, an entertaining comedy horror movie; and Gangubai Kathiawadi, a criminal offense drama primarily based on the lifetime of a mafia queen. Gangubai even grew to become a shock hit in Thailand.

Bollywood should observe the trail of change to outlive. It should take heed to what audiences should say. The purpose is to supply selection – the sort that covers each facet of the storytelling spectrum.

India is a various nation with hundreds of years of tales to inform. We have to respect the common Indian’s need for a great story – one that's attention-grabbing, relatable and thrilling. It's the solely approach to keep related. And to outlive.