CONTENT DRIVES COMMERCE
Of late, a number of Hindi films — high on newer ideas and rich on storytelling — have struck a chord with the audiences
What’s common to Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, Golmaal Again and Judwaa 2? Well, they are three of the biggest box-office grossers of 2017 in the Hindi film world. But what’s most interesting is that not just mega blockbusters, but even content-driven cinema has been lapped up by audiences .
PASSION PROJECTS
To start with, if Vidya Balanstarrer Tumhari Sulu continues to impress cinemagoers, the year has also seen films — that starred known names but were also high on content — such as Newton, Hindi Medium, Qarib Qarib Singlle, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (SMS) and Phillauri doing well. “A film, regardless of how small or big it is, excites me as much. For me, no film is small as it is made with same passion and hard work by the team. A film takes away almost one-and-a-half years of your life. When you invest that kind of time and love, it is like having a new baby,” says filmmaker Aanand L Rai.
CHANGING TIMES
Not just films featuring wellknown stars, the last few years have also seen other contentdriven movies such as Ankhon Dekhi (2013), Masaan (2015), Aligarh (2015) and Shahid (2012) that found favour with the audience. The coming days will also see content-driven films such as Anurag Kashyap’s Mukkabaaz, Ajji and Kadvi Hawa hitting the silver screen.
“It’s heartening. It’s a sign of evolving times. There are distributors and exhibitors, who encourage content-rich films and give them the right exposure,” says Vikram Mehra, managing director of a production house that is backing small-budget, content-rich films such as Brij Mohan Amar Rahe and Ajji.
For Irrfan, the intent of the film is important. “But what’s more important is how entertainingly it is played out to engage the audience. I want to do films that reach to a larger audience — the kind of films that you talk about even after months and years of watching them,” he says.