4 min readMumbaiAug 16, 2013 10:34 AM IST
Chennai Express releasing in countries like Peru and being dubbed in Hebrew,Turkish,English,French,German and Malay marks the fast expanding market boundaries as far as Indian cinema is concerned
On the occasion of India’s 66th year of independence,surely there are several developments that the entertainment industry can take heart from. For starters,the present decade is being hailed as yet another golden age as far as movies are concerned. And why not? A whole variety of films are thriving. The business,fuelled by the arrival of multiplexes and institutional funding has never looked better.
Why,just last week on Eid,there was Chennai Express merrily chugging along to grand numbers at plexes and single screens,but before its arrival a few films like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag had a great run the last few weeks,even smaller films like BA Pass were not doing too badly either,what with shows around running housefull!
That all three films are as different as chalk from cheese — the former two being big budget blockbuster offerings,while the latter a small city noir — the very fact that they all found enough takers and then some,is evidence of a mature market. An ideal scenario both creatively and commercially. In the last few years we have seen films as varied as one about a sperm donor (Vicky Donor),a progeria ridden child (Paa),a pregnant woman in search for her husband (Kahaani),Robinhood like cop saga (Dabangg and Singham),biopics on athletes (Paan Singh Tomar and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag),superhero flicks (Krrish,Ra.One),adaptations of Shakespeare’s works (Maqbool and Omkara) romcoms aplenty,short films (Bombay Talkies) and practically every kind of subject,find acceptance with the audience.
Then there is the whole crossing over and cross-pollination of ideas resulting in a cinematic smorgasbord — regional films are being remade in Hindi,Hindi films in regional languages and also in English for international markets (A Wednesday being an example) — with all of the above being dubbed or subtitled for foreign markets outside India. Chennai Express releasing in countries like Peru and being dubbed in Hebrew,Turkish,English,French,German and Malay marks the fast expanding market boundaries as far as Indian cinema is concerned.
The reverse is equally true — Hollywood in particular and world cinema at large is finding far more takers in India. Hollywood tent-pole projects like Spiderman,are being released in India in Telugu and Tamil besides English and Hindi (our Big Story this week analyses these exciting new movements)!
Besides,screens of various sizes and shapes have come up allowing different forms of entertainment. There is television and more recently,the Internet, with a wide variety of content and access points,extending the scope of entertainment,way beyond the conventional confines. Audiences can watch films,TV serials and more on their phones,television,computers or the cinema halls. Digital releases have enabled simultaneous release of prints around the world and so on.
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And though a few battles,especially those regarding censorship rules,intellectual property rights,logistical issues like shooting permission and arbitrary bans etc are still being fought,they are far fewer in number. Realistically speaking commerce,creativity and culture in six decades of the country’s independence,have come together in a fine balance,allowing for a creative freedom of sorts.
And yes,even though the mandatory national anthem in cinema halls is a bit of a bummer,its younger and funky versions more than sufficiently make up for the inconvenience.
Happy Independence then! May the free flow of creativity continue.
