Tuesday, October 25, 2005

MOVIE PIRACY IN INDIA

A few days ago, I was at Planet M near VT in Bombay. I was particularly interested in new DVDs. There were quite a few that I liked, but I didn't buy any. Each DVD was for 800 bucks or more. Too much.

An hour later, I was exploring the bylanes surrounding VT and I found street vendors selling the latest DVDs for 80 bucks. Of course they were all pirated versions. Also, most of the discs were compilation of 4-5 movies on each DVD. What would you do? Would you buy the original DVD for 800 rupees or would you buy the pirated DVDs for 80 rupees?

It is a crime to buy or sell stolen goods (yes, that's what piracy is), but we've all done it sometime in our lives. My question is - can it be stopped or brought under control? I know piracy can NEVER be stopped completely. Just like stealing, murder, war etc will always be there, so will piracy. But it is possible to control it. This can be done by implementing the following steps -

Firstly, make the laws clear and correct to the T. There should be no ambiguities or loopholes.

Secondly, implement the laws harshly with strong punitive actions.

Thirdly, run a highly visible campaign for making people aware of the pitfalls and negatives of supporting piracy.

And fourthly, the manufacturers of original products must bring down the prices to a reasonable level.

So, did I buy the DVDs from the street vendor? No, I didn't. I had the money and the inclination too, but I just wasn't sure about the quality. Piracy comes at a price too, you know.

BOLLYWOOD REMAKES

Has anyone noticed the sudden trend of filmmakers announcing their intention of remaking old classics? Why this unusual interest in old movies? What possible reason could there be for anyone to make a new version of a old classic?

All the directors who are doing the remakes say, without exception, that they want to pay tribute to classic cinema. Another reason they give is they want to introduce classic films to the new generation.

I get a strong feeling that this is all crap. Think about it. Remaking an old movie is almost a marketing slamdunk. There is already a strong recognition of the product even before you create the product! Secondly, you have a readymade story. And a good story at that. Have you noticed that none of the filmmakers want to remake classics that failed at the box office?

I feel there is and should be only one reason for doing a remake. Only if you can find some way of improving on the original. Otherwise, a remake is tantamount to abusing the makers of the originals.

My suggestion is to stop this stupid remake fever. Instead, we have a huge storehouse of literature in different languages from all corners of the country. Tap into that. They are good stories. They are us.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

What is Reality TV?

What is reality TV? Simply put, it is a television programme that is supposedly real, where the viewer is like an observer, an eavesdropper, a voyeur.

The reality TV show follows a set pattern. Take a bunch of attractive, but different set of people and put them inside a confined space. Then create various situations that precipitate conflict between them. The participants fight, love, cry, hate, laugh. And the cameras capture everything faithfully for our viewing pleasure.

What's wrong with the above picture? Did you feel a slight prickle of unease when you realise that all reality tv is actually the same? No exceptions.

Reality TV is NOT real. It is manufactured in much the same manner as a daily soap. The moment you bring a group of people and put them in a closed environment, an artificial world is created. If the show were only about this, I would not have problem with it.

But the real problem for me is the exploitation of the participants. A TV channel is only interested in one thing - profit. It would like nothing better than to have the most popular TV show. Not because of TRPs or even prestige, but because they will earn mega ad bucks. Obviously, the audience as well as the participants fail to realise that the show is only about money. It is NOT about fame, NOT about success, NOT about the participant, NOT about the winner or loser, and NOT about the viewer. It is ONLY about the channel. It is ALWAYS about the channel.

I'm very sure that sooner rather than later, the content of these reality TV shows will become more sensational than the ones preceding them. And before we realise it, we will be watcing people torturing and killing each other for TRP ratings. Did I hear someone whisper "Truman"?

Saturday, October 22, 2005

BHAGMATI - Queen of Fortunes

My first proper blog is about something that has not only been a part of my life but has also been a part of the lives of my friends in greater or lesser degree over the past few years. These words that follow is about "Bhagmati", the live action/animation movie that was released last Friday all over India. Projected as a unique phenomenon in the Indian Film Industry, Bhagmati has turned out to be an apt example of a great idea being ruthlessly slaughtered by a mediocre thinker.

The ideal elements to start of making any movie are three - a good idea, a good budget and a good crew. In the case of Bhagmati all three elements were present. So what went wrong? In spite of everything going right for it, how could it have possibly become such a disaster.

Let me talk about why the film was a failure, even before it was released. The greatest strength of any film is always its story/script. In Bhagmati the story was it greatest weakness. Almost every cliche of historical movies was present. The dialogue was stilted and old fashioned. Today's audiences are not only smart, they are also spoilt for choice. There are so many things competing for their attention that any bad product is immediately doomed.

A romantic film must have compelling characters as protagonists. Dialogues can and sometimers do help, but flesh and blood characters are always needed. 2D animation is good, but to have your live action characters also seem two dimensional is a crime. You may have the best animators, best actors, best music directors, but a bad script IS a bad script. The fundamental rule of film making is - Bad script = Bad movie

Even though I haven't seen the movie yet - I will. For the simple reason that many of my friends were involved in the making of Bhagmati. I respect their talent and hard work. But I'm also very curious to see how an inflated ego can destroy a beautiful idea.