The old star system doesn’t work now: Benegal
Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal doesn’t take any side when asked about the ongoing OTT vs theatre debate. Having witnessed several changes the film industry has gone through over the years, the 85-year-old says, “Everybody has got a point. It’s a lot to do with the fact that nobody is in control. Let’s see how things settle. I hope they get better; they’re already so bad that we can only hope they look up now.”
It all started after a host of direct-to-ott releases were announced recently, and theatre owners sought support from filmmakers, expecting them to wait for cinemas to reopen.
But since OTT releases offer a level playing field to all films, big or small, is it going to change the star system that has been prevalent? Benegal thinks so. He reasons, “Why should we only think of India when it has changed worldwide! The old star system doesn’t work anymore. You can’t say so and so is a star and drawing power is great. We don’t have a Dilip Kumar or Amitabh Bachchan in his heyday, nobody whose presence is enough to draw the audience like a magnet.”
The National Awardwinning
Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s sudden demise has not only left behind several unanswered questions but has also stirred many relevant debates around Bollywood’s functioning.
And while actor Sandhya Mridul is all for the ensuing discussions, she rues how they have taken an ugly turn.
“Sushant left behind a very important debate. And I believe that everything should be a discussion, and not mentally abusive to anybody. This whole insider vs outsider debate wasn’t supposed to be an ugly witch hunting battle. It was supposed to be a conversation,” she says.
Mridul, however, also doesn’t deny the problems and prejudices that exist in the film industry — something she has also faced. “I’m not saying that it didn’t happen to me or I didn’t have the guts to say it. I agree, in this industry, a whole narrative was created around a few actors because we pissed off somebody important; there’s no denying that. But
filmmaker adds that unlike the big screen, TV doesn’t create such stars. “It’s about a larger-than-life personality, no? Everything is evolving. You don’t have stars like before,” he says.
Asked how he views the Covid-19 phase where films aren’t releasing on the big screens for which they were originally made, Benegal says, “Today, when you make a film, you’re not thinking in terms of it getting revenues only from cinema halls. You’ve to think how it’ll maximise audiences and revenues. The methodologies have changed,” he concludes. to sit and continuously abuse is also not right,” she explains.
For things to change for the better, the actor feels everyone has to stop pulling down each other. “I know good work will come. If it doesn’t, then you speak about it. Yes, we all feel angry and we’ve all lost out on opportunities, so it’s about changing the system and not bringing down someone,” she shares.
And despite the negativity around, the 45-year-old refuses to give up, and says, “I’ve always said what I had to say but the point is we need to give the system a chance, as I think it’s changing. Yet, don’t take sh*t but try and do good work.”
The actor, who was last seen in web series Mentalhood, feels that things have, in fact, turned better for the new talent in the industry in the last two decades. “Today, actors are very fortunate. This is a battle that we’ve fought in the last decade; it was far more [worse] then than it is now. If one doesn’t promote you, you can promote yourself now. I’m not saying you should not be angry, but use it properly. Fight the fight fairly,” she concludes.