Back to the Roots

Dabangg’s director Abhinav Kashyap attributes the trend to the fact that scriptwriters no more come from the small town milieu. “Dabangg takes root in a small town because that’s the environment I grew up in,hence such stories come easily to me.”

Kashyap’s words find resonance among many in the film industry,including those who cater to the “multiplex” audience. Popular scriptwriter Jaideep Sahni says,“We are no more talking to 70 per cent of the country’s population,the one that doesn’t live in big cities. The profits come from cosmopolitan centres and hence attract capital from corporate houses.”

At the same time,it is important to note that the multiplex culture has encouraged filmmakers to experiment with films for a niche audience. “Variety is the key. If the industry today is generating content to suit various sensibilities,it’s a great sign of progress,” says Sahni,adding,“Until now we’ve been an admirable industry because we’re storytellers to a nation. Why then should we become storytellers to just five pin codes?”

Tigmanshu Dhulia,whose Paan Singh Tomar is a biopic based in the Chambal valley,says that there is a whole section of audience — the middle class — that is left with limited choices for entertainment. “The middle class in the small towns from the Jharkhand,Uttar Pradesh,Bihar,Madhya Pradesh belt may not relate to subjects and lifestyles dealt with in films like Dostana though the multiplexes have arrived. And Bhojpuri cinema is seldom to their taste. They respond to films like Ishqiya,Raajneeti and Omkara.” Dhulia’s next two films after Paan Singh Tomar — Sahib,Biwi aur Gangster and Milan Talkies — also explore the rural milieu.

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar who makes films that explore typically urban milieu like the corporate world in Corporate,and the media industry and society in Page 3,says that he has travelled to the smaller towns of India and found an awareness about terms like ‘Page 3 parties’. “Since villagers want to move to towns and town inhabitants aspire to move to cities,the awareness of such concepts has penetrated all levels,and urban stories sell across the board these days.”

Bhandarkar has a point. Films are known for their larger-than-life portrayals and it is the aspirational value that is said to work. “Who wants to watch sad stories and problem-ridden lives? Cinema is a form of escapism,” argues Sabir Khan,the director of Kambakkth Ishq. “If aspirations didn’t hold any value,the portrayal of foreign lands in films wouldn’t be popular.”

However,Dhulia counters this: “It is because of this gaping hole that regional cinema has witnessed a revival today. The regional content is intelligent and of good production quality,which is what the Indian middle class had been waiting for.”

Veteran Shyam Benegal,whose films explore the rural milieu,says,“My films are rooted in the villages because they shouldn’t fall off the map. Consciousness is based on experiences and if small towns and villages go missing from cinema,we city dwellers will forget that they exist and will eventually stop caring about life over there.”