Movies... Masti... Magic...

Its a habit among wannabe's to flaunt their list of movies, highlighting the intellectual ones at that, and make a statement. We all know many people who watch movie just because they feel left out if they don't watch it. Sometimes I am asked why I dont appreciate or enjoy watching intellectually stimulating angrezi phillums in the theatre. Ya, I dont enjoy watching Lord of the Rings too. Somehow, I do enjoy Harry Potter. (Emma Watson is just one reason, though! :P)

The point is simple. Indian psyche has put in me the school of thought that movies are something which you go to when you want to chill, enjoy, have some fun and come back home carrying nothing in your mind. Given the requirements of having fun and spending time away from the world, why would I want to analyse a scene going on in the movie? Why should I have to remember a scene half an hour ago, only to connect it to a scene to come half an hour later. Goddamnit, I am paying my hard earned money not to screw my brain, but to enjoy for a few hours. So fill it with vibrant colors, masti filled humor and magical sequences.

Of course, I dont say defy logic each time. Make something like Happy Feet. You feel fresh after the movie. Before you conclude I like romantic, musical, animated or comedy movies, let me add another movie I enjoy is Pulp Fiction. There are times when you feel like you should have a gun and thump bullets into any damn guy that comes in your way. Thats when Torentino seems like THE GOD to you! Violence is an art, and he masters it! The underlying point is that the motto of a movie is to make you feel that you have gained enough returns on your investment. It should not make you feel like you have bought some headache at the cost of a couple of hundreds.

If you say movies should come with a message and I should appreciate it, forget it! I am going to be a Post Graduate in an year, and you expect me to change my life and thoughts all watching a 3-hour movie. Then, we should actually close down all the schools, make message-oriented movies and teach our kids to watch a movie a day and capture the learnings and change themselves. Its foolishness to think movies will change people.

Thrill and Suspense might be an occasional choice, but entertainment is what we are looking for and ensemble is what we shall enjoy! I know not all of you will agree with me, but I sure know I am not alone, for wherever I went and whomever I met, I either found people who shared this thought with me or people who first showed off only to confess later that masti is what makes movies.

I find it irritating when people say Hollywood is oh!so good and Bollywood is so bereft of innovation and intellectual content. Movies, literature, dramatics, music are something that are mirrors of the society. In our society, there are very few legal and socially accepted ways of hanging out - I can recollect only family picnics and movies now. So, to us as a society, movies are breaks we take to indulge in ourselves. The situation is different when you look at the western societies. People there booze at home. Late night parties are rampant. Dating is common, prostitution is legal and Theatre, Music, Art, Literature and Sports are appreciated at all levels regularly. To us, a district level sports meet is something which only the national selectors should see, and we call ourselves sports lovers. Duh! To us, literature only means Five Point Someone and likes, but no book reading sessions, no kavi sammelans etc... We neither go out with families to art exhibitions. Of course, as I always say, exceptions do exist, and this exceptions are what we are trying to capitalise on.

In such a scenario where movies are our only respite from our daily taxing routine, we naturally want resplendent 3-hour narrations of larger than life sagas. If we ever wanted something that is common in life, why bother to spend money? Look out of the window, India has lots of diversity. So, the bottom line is that movies should be full of masti and magical which logically explains the success of something like Sivaji. I am amazed at people being shocked by how such films do well in India. The only reason is that we dont connect our lives to movies, nor do we want to! We want an out of the world experience and who ever gives it, wins the moolah!

If you want a start at what movies exactly should be like to reach out to the widest segment of the Indian audience, watch The God in Sivaji... Its coooooooooooooooool!

Ethical Encroachment...

When one encroaches into the other's property, it becomes a Civil Case. But going by the way the Advertising World today treads, this has either been negated or it has been agreed upon that our conscience is not to be considered a property. Advertising today has taken a turn where it is omnipresent, no where can you go where there is no advertising.

Indian masses today attach their screen demi-gods or their sporting superheroes to the advertisements they feature in. Advertising for certain brands is all about outshining the competitor in consumer's mindspace. When one postulated that having a kid in an ad shot up revenue, advertisers turned child-lovers (p-word seemed too abrasive here ;) ). From SIM cards to Chyawanprash, Detergents to cars.. Kids sold everything.

Then advertisers realised that they couldnt make their dough through those pre-destined slots for their jingles, so they created an entirely new gamut of ideas. This observation struck me when I was watching a movie the other day. Taking names, I would save the review of the movie Ta Ra Rum Pum for another boring day when I would decide to write reviews for all the crap I witness over the weekend. The movie has got something to it. Once again, let me make it clear that I by no means am a content critic here. The movie, or infact the banner of Yash Raj Films, has got some amazing Marketing talent in it...

When in 1999, Subhash Ghai insured his film Taal, it was considered a marvellous decision against heavy losses incurred when heavy budget movies went without a trace. Today, YRF shows the way by marketing movies brilliantly, ofcourse Mr. Ghai should be applauded here again for his Marketing acumen in Yaadein where he made moolah by propagating brands.

Here again, in Ta Ra Rum Pum, the hero could have driven anything, but the director gave him a car. He could have driven a cycle, but that would have made the movie a rehash of an Aamir Khan starrer. Being an 'inspired from Cinderella Man' family drama, the hero could have done boxing, but then he wouldn't wear anything. Dont get me wrong, here comes the twist... Right from the word go, I was amazed by the moolah YRF could have raked in seeing the sponsors names so clearly on every frame, which included big names like Chevrolet, Good Year, Castrol among others... This is a smart way of minting money. It is better than banking on heroes and directors. In those intermediate frames where there were no sponsor images, I was looking for them. The movie had such an impact that when the character repeatedly refers to iPod, and someone in the audience to a race wears an Apple Cap, I felt it was an endorsement for Apple which doesnt seem true on hindsight for Apple hasnt penetrated into India so much to drive itself through a YRF film.

Finally, drawing the bottom line, the stark reality that hit my face is that the world everywhere is inches of Advertising space. There is no law that states you cannot encroach someone's private vision through forceful advertisement. Probably, this is what propelled pasting stickers of a news channel in aircraft, putting up posters at head level in gents loos. Taking it further, when we look around there are so many such advertising opportunities. I really find the Valet Parking system near areas like Vasant Vihar in Delhi a wonderful opportunity. Those multi million marvels could do with a car cover that endorsed anything related to a car or anything catchy. This would provide free service to the car owner and increased revenues to the Parking manager. There are many rickshaw pullers and auto drivers who crave for new clothes. So probably t-shirts, caps that endorse products can be given to them. They get clothing, and companies get advertising.

These have been done in a small scale at select places, but execution is a key which has been lost. Once that can be found out, one can completely encroach all private and personal spaces without a hiccup. Wait for a day when the night goorkha shouts 'Use Durex only' instead of 'Jaagte Raho' ;) If the consumer can recieve it, admen are ready for it, ethics can take a backseat!