“Indian cinema needs better, more nuanced writing and less formulaic content,” actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui pointed out during an interaction with the media immediately preceding a session at the CII Services Conclave 2014 where he spoke alongside actor Anupam Kher and CII export committee chairman Sanjay Budhia.
The panel discussion, primarily concerned with the global scope of Indian cinema, saw some varied points of view from the panellists that made for a widely inclusive dialogue around several aspects of the topic.
While Siddiqui and Kher were in perfect agreement on the matter of better writing being the need of the hour in Bollywood, their individual stands on Indian cinema vis-a-vis an international audience were notably distinct.
For Kher, entertainment created in India is primarily meant for an Indian audience. He argued, “If the content of a particular film holds wider, more universal relevance then it might do well internationally.
I don’t, however, feel that any of our films not doing too well internationally is too big a problem. That we have managed to take them to an international platform is in itself a big deal.”
He added that films in India are an emotional experience that cannot be lost to statistics of this kind and said, “I think that drawing comparisons isn’t fair and since I’m an eternal optimist, I do feel that we will do better with time and experience.”
Siddiqui, on the other hand, felt that there is a strong need for the world to know India and its cinema as more than the song and dance routines that continue to be its signifiers.
He explained, “I feel that it is important to give our cinema a global scope because the stories we have in our country shouldn’t remain untold. We have a tendency here to make projects instead of films sometimes and most of those projects don’t let the world really look into India and its issues.”
He also raised another potent issue during the media interaction before the session that connected with its latter part, wherein marketing and distribution were looked at.
Taking up instances from some of his own projects he pointed out that even within India, smaller films have an extremely difficult time even to procure a release here.
The actor, who will be seen next in Shahid Kapur-starrer Farzi, Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Badlapur and smaller projects such as Anwar Ka Ghazab Kissa and Great Indian Circus, shared, “Irrfan Khan-starrer Paan Singh Tomar took all of four years to release, and it was a brilliant film.
Supporting and promoting good cinema is something we really need to work on. Many of our smaller films that go to international festivals sometimes don’t have enough financial backing to organise screenings there.
One of the reasons why I have actually taken a conscious decision to do commercial films this year is that I want to be able to support my smaller films so that they can get an adequate release.”
Kher, on his part, went on to say that Bollywood is standing at the cusp of a bright future also because it is changing its method of working.
“I’ve done a lot of international cinema as well and while doing films like Bend It Like Beckham I used to feel that this is the working atmosphere I hanker after, as an actor. People were rehearsing lines, coming on time, focussing on work. I can see that happening here too, now.”
