Getting it Right

But when I saw Guzaarish,I wondered if Sanjay gave a thought to how the audience would connect to his own interpretations and expressions of life,with visuals like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan dressed in Victorian costumes. I wanted to ask Mani Ratnam if the zig-zag way he told the story in Raavan would be lapped up by the janata? And after watching Kites I wanted to ask Rakesh Roshan how did he think that a not-so-young Spanish-spouting Barbara Mori could endear herself to the Hindi audience?

Of course,they could argue that they add new facets and layers to filmmaking,and tell a story in a manner they want. And bring about a radical change in cinema. A new vision and change is a good thing. But the point is that there are some things which can never change! And one of them is,whatever the subject and whosoever the actors,a story has to be told in an engaging way. Because whatever they may have achieved as filmmakers and however confident they may be about their creations,a film is not made for personal viewing. It is made for millions of viewers and they have to always see themselves as an audience.

So where lies the answer? I know that every director is very possessive about their creation and likes to keep his film close to his heart till he throws it open for the audience. Maybe he will show it to family and close friends. But that rarely helps as they are always going to say Well done!. How about showing the film to a random audience and getting their opinion by asking them to write their points and dropping it in a box with no names? Anonymously! I am sure the views will then be honest,forthright and constructive. An audience comprising students,housewives and school-children may not review the film in the technical sense,but they may be the right ones to judge. After all they will be stepping into the theatre to watch the film,right?

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