Movies Are For Entertainment ?



One quote about movies I like most is said by Richard King. He said "Movies are an art form that is very available to the masses".
When we watch movies we fall in love with its story telling, cinematography, visual appeal, amazing sets, soulful music and dance, brilliant acting, craft of direction and so many things. Yes there is a lot of money involved in the production of a full length feature film. It is not only an art form but I rather say it is a commercial art where a lot of creative inputs are sourced from different departments. But does this commercial art only stand for commerce or for some sort of social responsibility? Do films talk on social issues or are they just for the entertainment sake? Because, every art form is related to social responsibility and above all movies are the mirror of the society. Films are publicly released and appreciated, enjoyed by masses. But how many carry the issues related to masses?


I was going through the releases of Bollywood (mainly Hindi language) films in year 2011 and discovered that till writing of this article more than100 films released from January 2011 to 2nd Week of November. Only films like Dhobi Ghat, Kaccha Limboo, Shor In The City, I Am, Stanley Ka Dabba, I Am Kalam, Chala Mussaddi Office Office carried social issues as their main themes. Rests of the films are purely commercial and their aim was mainly to make money. Does that mean our form of cinema is not interested in raising issues or commercial pressure is the only driving force in the production? Pure entertainment or formula entertainment or only social issues in the films are not going to work. Formula films flop and heavy dose of issues make a film dull and keep away masses. We have seen great mix of entertainment with social issues in many films like Shri 420, Awara, Naya Daur, Lagan, Mother India, Munnabhai MBBS, Wednesday, Chak De, Taare Zameen Par etc. Still some filmmakers are doing the great work and trying hard to bridge the gap. Only when the right balance is achieved message of the films will be accomplished.

Comments

  1. farheen21 November 2011 at 19:05

    u have made a valid point with this article rajnish... unfortunately, there are not many film makers who r able to get that right blend. keep posting :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. डॉ. मोनिका शर्मा 22 November 2011 at 09:40

    True....Point of the post is very well worded.....

    ReplyDelete
  3. महेन्द्र श्रीवास्तव22 November 2011 at 10:56

    nice post

    ReplyDelete
  4. Suman29 November 2011 at 06:48

    Interesting post, Rajnish. I couldn't agree more about the pointlessness and money-making agenda of most of our films. I wish there were more than one of the likes of Shyam Benegal/ Naseeruddin Shah/ Aamir Khan. :-)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

National Drink: Tea

Image
I don't remember clearly when I started morning tea and when   tea   became a habit in my life. Most of us do not remember this fact but one thing they are sure about is they can't live without their first cup of tea in the morning. My taste for good tea has grown gradually over the years. I started with   Masala (spice) chai (tea)    and enjoyed every bit of it. In fact, I am still enjoying it as my first cup of tea in the morning. In 1987 I first saw tea plantation and processing unit in   Darjeeling ,   West Bengal   with my parents. My father is very fond of leaf tea and since I was always keen to know how things happen, my father explained everything about it. I was excited to see the plantation and processing. It was a new type of cultivation for me. I don't remember the name of the tea estate but it was beautiful and filled with small green leafy plants, women laborers were plucking tea leaves and throwing them in the...
Read more

Facts About Indian Tea

Image
Few days ago I wrote about deputy chairman planning commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia declaring tea as a national drink of India . It is time to take a look at some interesting facts about Indian tea. Readers of this post can include some more facts in the comment box. 1. The most common word for tea in India is 'Chai' (चाय) or 'Cha' (चा). Like many words in Indian dictionary Chai has too come from Persian language which is derived from Chinese Mandarin Language. So Many people who think Chai is an India word or never had payed attention about this fact that it is actually a Persian word where tea is known as 'Chay'. 2. Most commonly used spices for masala tea are ginger, cardamom, cloves, fennel and basil leafs. 3. Except southern India where coffee is very popular rest of India enjoys variety of spice tea. 4. India used to be largest producer of tea few years ago. Now China has taken number one position. China and India produce more than half of t...
Read more

Gangs of Bollywood

Image
Indian Cinema is growing in almost every field. Be it subject, acting, characterisation, music, cinematorgraphy, art direction or overall treatment of the film, it seems movie makers are trying to experiment new genres. Recently I watched Anurag Kashyap's 'Gangs of Wasseypur' (GOW) based on coal mafia of Dhanbad. And I must say this film breaks a lot of barriers in filmmaking in India. It's a path breaking film in many ways and its commercial success denotes that those filmmakers who believes in good cinema must not give up and they must continue exploring in different subjects backed with equally good amount of research and yes they should also keep in mind the commercial aspect of it. After all movie making is a commercial form of art. Let's come back to .'Gangs of Wasseypur'. I feel this film caters a specific set of viewers and not meant for all. A strong depiction of mannerism of coal mafia in Bihar is the high point of the film. For the fir...
Read more

Best of Indian Crafts

Image
The ongoing 26 th Surajkund Crafts Fair is a place where you can find best of hand made crafts, handlooms and rich Indian cuisine. This year theme state is Assam and a complete pavilion is dedicated to craftsmen of this culture rich north east state of India. First time craftsmen from SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation- consist of Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) nations and other neighboring countries like Kyrgyzstan have participated in this beautiful fair with their unique art and craft. Have a look at these photographs and get an insight about this exclusive fair which held every year between 01 st February to 15 th February in Surajkund, Haryana (Delhi NCR).
Read more

Water Sports In Goa

Image
Goa is famous for water sports in India. A good number of water sports activities are available on most of the beautiful beaches from Jet Skiing, Para Sailing, Scuba Diving, Dinghy Sailing, Fishing, Water Skiing to Wind Surfing. Recently I went there and enjoyed Jet Skiing & Para Sailing very much on Baga beach. I have one advice for people going for water sports is they must go for it empty stomach as chances of puking increases after full meal.
Read more

King Is Crumbling: Will He Win His Last Battle?

Image
Once upon a time a king was ruling more than 10 countries. He fought fiercely, shattered every attack like a sand castle and emerged victorious. He considered greatest and his enemies shivered facing him. Greatest of greatest enemies showed respect of his master craftsmanship. Bards sang many songs in his praise and made him 'God of Cricket'.  He is a legend now… He is master blaster of Cricket. Sachin Tendulkar, scored many centuries and runs any cricketer ever scored. But he is aging now. His fierce battles injured and forced him to develop a new game strategy against enemies. But his new plans are failing; He is losing one game after another moreover, he is losing himself. Even his small enemies are confident fighting and defeating him as he has become vulnerable. He is no longer a backbone of his beloved army.  Is Tendulkar now fighting his last battle? He wants to score his 100th century since so many months but each time he crumbles. His bards are stil...
Read more

Olympic: Where Is The Gold ?

Image
It seems we Indians are very content people be it progress in life or advancement in sports. London Olympic is again a big disappointment and our sports person's repeated failures in big events simply denotes that how much we are lagging behind in every sports. It is the mindset and lack of passion which is responsible more than anything. It is also becoming a major hindrance in performance. I feel, we as a nation always feel that playing in the world's biggest sports event Olympic is itself a big achievement and our coaches, parents and even media say this over and over again to players. And when we say things like this, hunger for an Olympic medal also seems distant somewhere. Indian Hockey team's poor show in Olympic again raised a lot of concern. But when you compare state of Hockey from the past events it was bound to happen. We lost every match. More than players it was our national coach Michael Nobbs who shattered with their performance and apologized for the...
Read more

Mysterious Iron Pillar of Delhi

Image
Iron Pillar in Qutub Complex Iron pillar insie Qutub complex still generates a lot of curiocity It is a 7 meter high iron pillar and weighs more than 6 tonns The iron pillar has been standing without rusting for over 2000 years Some say if you encircle it with your hands while standing with your back to it, your wish will be fulfilled The pillar bears an inscription in sanskrit (Brahmi Script) dating 4th century AD Entire pillar weighs 6511 kg. It was originally erected by Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (375-414AD) at Udaigiri in fornt of a Vishnu Temple Complex. But later in 10th century CE it was shifted to present location by Anangpal from Udaigiri Iron Pillar in Qutub Complex Iron Pillar of Delhi No Sign of Rust in Iron Pillar Iron Pillar Of Delhi
Read more

Bollywood goes super hero way...

Image
Ra.One is not the first film on super hero in India and it won't be the last. Hollywood has seen so much commercial success in exploiting the charisma of these comic superheroes on the box office and this propelled filmmakers across the movie world to bring local super heroes on their silver screen. Earlier attempts on superhero films in India failed miserably. First major success was   Hritik Roshan's  ' Koi Mil Gaya ' and then ' Krrish '. Producer and director Rakesh Roshan in a true sense brought an Indian superhero 'Krrish' first time on Indian celluloid. Though Krrish's character was not from any comic book unlike Batman, Spiderman or Superman movies but he has the superpower to fight evil, fly in the sky and like any Indian hero he can dance with beautiful heroines. Ra.One   is also an attempt to take advantage of this superhero mega market by Bollywood superstar who has pumped all his money to produce this special effect superher...
Read more