Realistic cinema comes a long way...

By: Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM
Thursday, February 15, 2007

Almost three decades ago, art house cinema, or the 'parallel film movement' as was known in those days, never found a strong foothold in Bollywood. Realistic cinema worked in spurts, in select cities across the nation. Why, I distinctly remember, art house cinema never found an extensive theatrical release then, limiting the film to a handful of cinemas in metros and a few centres here and there.

A majority of financiers weren't interested in funding realistic films because the returns were bare minimum. Just not lucrative enough, they echoed. Distributors weren't interested in acquiring the films since the returns weren't guaranteed. A majority of theatres too weren't interested in exhibiting those films. The exhibitors were of the opinion that the aam junta tilted more towards escapist cinema and the returns, they added, were barely there for art movies.

Times have changed today!

We have four realistic/slice-of-life films running across various movieplexes across the nation: Parzania, Traffic Signal and the two new releases -- Black Friday and Undertrial. With the invasion of satellite television, the mindset of the viewer has undergone a change for the better. Having unlimited access to the best of entertainment shows/soaps/programs/films from across the world, the viewer has cultivated a taste beyond the usual masala.

The icing on the cake is the mushrooming of multiplexes in India. They provide an outlet to exhibit all kinds of cinema. Today, cinema is like a buffet -- it's for you to choose what you want on your plate.

Having grown up on a diet of all kinds of films, I was spellbound when I watched Black Friday more than a year ago. It was a powerful celluloid interpretation of a powerful book and I couldn't stop discussing it wherever I went. It left me stunned and speechless. The film provided answers to the questions that kept haunting me then.

The pirated VCDs/DVDs of Black Friday were in circulation several months ago, but that only worked to its advantage. No one expected the film to fetch a hurricane-like start like Dhoom 2 or Krrish, so its 20%-25% start didn't raise eyebrows either. The unanimous reaction after the conclusion of the first show was overwhelming. The film has worked with connoisseurs of cinema as well as those who wanted a taste of reality. Saturday was better than Friday and Sunday was better than Saturday. Monday was steady at several multiplexes. As things stand today, its business in Mumbai will be the best, partly because the identification with the premise is tremendous. Also, the glowing reviews in the media have only helped the film grow gradually!

The second realistic film, Undertrial, struck a chord at several screens. Released in limited shows in limited screens, the film has been sold for low prices since the cost has been minimal. While the producers should make a profit [a foreign company has acquired the international rights, hence it was not released Overseas], the collections showed a rise at several screens as days progressed.

This film too should have the best returns from Mumbai mainly!