Ever wondered why cuss words in foreign language movies are just a day in the office, yet when a regional film maker decides to keep it real with an excessive use of profanities, it comes out as uncool, obscene and pointless?
Most film makers feel it is purely a difference in attitude. However, there is a thin line between obscenity and reality and it requires care, and responsibility, given the swaying mindset of the junta. Excessive double entendre driven dialogues without any content can be a catastrophic experience, reports Bengaluru Chronicle.
After ‘ghostly’ affairs, the recent trend is the re-emergence of double entendres and profanities as the most preferred method to draw attention and pull audiences into theatres. Many recent films have been successful in such “sensationalistic” tactics, even as they have failed to justify or even retain them. The reason — a lack of content, and being solely dependant on innuendos to carry a film through.
One such trailer which has drawn a lot of attention prior to its release is Srinivasa Kalyana. Its director MG Srinivas says, “There has been a massive response to the trailer of our film. I certainly understand the concern but I have only tried to be straight. For instances, the ‘f’ and many others words in a Hollywood movie are treated as cool, and if I had literally translated it in a regional language, it would have had serious repercussions. Not only in English movies, it has become a common thing in Hindi films too, with so many words being constantly used without any dissent from the audience. There has to be a perfect balance, and the film has to have great content, and only then a couple of these ‘dialogues’ can be accepted. But if the whole film is only about it (profanities) then it is not in good taste.”
He further adds that there are ‘likes’ in thousands for his latest trailer and the dislikes are a few hundred. “I have been receiving calls from sections across society for showcasing a girl in a bold avatar. If a male lead uttering such words could have resulted in highlighting obscenity, here the case is different. The actual essence of my movie is that the male lead is in search of moksha (nirvana). The basic structure is philosophical, I cannot reach everyone being serious and it does require some element of fun and youth. It also solely rests on the director’s shoulder to prepare his audience,” he adds.
In the past, there have been several films which shocked the sensibilities of the audience like Upendra, but eventually the content of the film was so strong that it is now regarded as a classic.
The recently released En Nin Problem is the best example as to why excessive indirect dialogues fail to run the longer distance, and why
such films are dubbed as cheap ventures for commercial gain only.
Other films that tout such trends are Eradane Sala from the talented director Guru Prasad, Smile Please, etc. The trailers of all these have one thing in common ‘indirect double entendres’ that draw the attention of the audience.
Another director points out that only films with good content along with unique techniques can sustain, not just cheap dialogues that grab eyeballs.
