Samar of Discontent: Dekh Tamasha Dekh

The perils of being a film critic in the midst of mediocrity and mayhem.

After having spent 25 years behind the camera as a filmmaker, I was pleasantly surprised when I was asked if I could co-present a film review show on television, where I would jointly analyse and evaluate the latest releases from Bollywood and Hollywood.

I was apprehensive of assuming the mantle of a movie critic as the job not only requires brutal honesty when it comes to assessing the work of one’s peers but also entails subjecting oneself to a slew of films that one would otherwise give a wide berth. Audiences often enjoy reading or watching a reviewer tearing a film apart and draw vicarious thrill at the catty comments made at an actor or director’s expense. Until a decade ago, there were only a handful of influential critics in Bollywood. They had assumed the role of demi-gods, whose written or spoken word could make or mar the box-office fate of a film. But, in the internet age, anyone can become a critic and voice an opinion across varied social media platforms.

A filmmaker toils for months, if not years, before his film is finally released. It is an exhilarating, terrifying moment when your movie is no longer yours but belongs in the public realm. It can be heartbreaking when a critic or viewer disses a film in a matter of minutes. Some industrywallahs are inured to such barbs and claim that critics are merely barking dogs whose only job is to criticise. Others question the qualification of a reviewer to pass judgement on someone else’s work.

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Most critics are failed, frustrated filmmakers, they sneer. On the flipside, if you praise a movie you are accused of playing favourites or worse, being on the payroll of some producer.

After deliberating the matter for several weeks, I decided to take the plunge, promising myself that I would be an unbiased and compassionate critic. The first film we watched was Sajid Khan’s Humshakals, a boisterous film starring Saif Ali Khan and Riteish Deshmukh in triple roles. It was, without doubt, the worst film I had ever had the misfortune of seeing. In ordinary circumstances, I would have fled the cinema hall within the first half hour, but now, as a reviewer, it was imperative that I endure this entire mess of a movie.

Over the past six months, I have braved terrible Hollywood franchises and excruciating Bollywood sequels. Originality seems to be missing from the lexicon of most big budget filmmakers and they are happy to regurgitate the same drivel and pass it off as cinema. If I were to compile a list of worst Bollywood films of 2014 then Action Jackson would top it, having successfully dethroned Humshakals as the most mindless movie of the year. Desi Kattey, Kaanchi, Heartless and Creature 3D also deserve a dishonourable mention.

But in the midst of such mediocrity and mayhem, there have come along such stellar films as Queen, Ankhon Dekhi, Miss Lovely, Haider, Dedh Ishqiya and my personal favourite Katiyabaaz.

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Mercifully, the year ends with the well-intentioned PK and Anurag Kashyap’s Ugly.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the new year heralds fresher, more original films. But with Tevar being the first major release of 2015, I wonder if I am expecting a Christmas miracle. Ho ho ho, dear reader. The joke is on us.

samarofdiscontent@gmail.com

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