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Mirroring The Industry: Here’s a look at the 10 on-going mistakes in the Hindi Film Fraternity
Actor Fees, Corporate Booking, Distracted Directors, Filmmaking on Excel Sheet, Too much of PR and a lot more: Here's everything that's wrong with Hindi Film Industry. Detailed Report
The Hindi Film Industry is presently in its worst state, as there is a slowdown in production, owing to a collapse in the eco-system of the satellite, and digital world. There’s a lot that’s going wrong in the film line, leading to a downfall and it’s more of a collective failure in the chain - ranging from the media, to creative people, directors, to producers, actors, and talent agencies. Here’s a look at 10 mistakes of the Hindi Film Industry:
1. Following the herd mentality in content creation
The industry is suffering from a vice called “Following the herd mentality”. What’s working is being created, and abused to the extent that it goes out of fashion. The Hindi film industry was known for versatile content, creating films across genres. But now, it’s all about overkilling of a genre, rather than a fresh outlook at things. While some might say that genres have become OTT, the counter to this is, how many good romantic comedies, family drama’s, and slice-of-life films have we made off late with sellable names? We are scared to experiment and we need to serve fresh content to the audience for consumption on the big screen. We haven’t made enough rom-coms and family drama’s to draw-a-conclusion of what’s working and what’s not working.
2. Low focus on music
The purity in music has disappeared. Ours was an industry, which often churned out 2 to 3 chartbusters in a single album, and today – the ratio of original songs hitting the bullseye has hit the rock bottom. Some might say the music consumption pattern has changed, but reality is – we are not creating good music anymore. The good old says saw filmmakers sitting to design music for months, and in today’s time, films go on floors without locking the score or at times, without having a composer on board. Let’s give enough time for creating and composing music, that’s apt for the world of the film. Let music not be an after-thought, but a part of screenplay.
3. Too much focus on perception building
In today’s world, crores are brunt by the producers and actors to create a perception for themselves. If 5 meetings take place to greenlight a script, 10 meetings take place to create a false sense of hype around the feature film using paid mediums. Yes, publicity is needed, but how much of it is too much? That’s a question every producer and every actor needs to answer. The perception gives a false sense of bravado to the stakeholders, as the real picture never really reaches them. How do you rectify your mistakes, if you are not aware about them? We are making bad films – let’s face it and work towards creating good, diverse and relatable content. Audience will always reward something that’s exciting.
4. Filmmaking on Excel Sheet
Films today are made on the Excel sheets, than on the scripting table. If there’s no risk involved, there won’t be enough accountability for the producers. Risk is what empowers the producer to ensure things are perfect – right from script, to music to production values. Excel sheet, and risk averse filmmaking tends to make everyone complacent as there’s nothing at stake. When stakes are low, the outcome won’t be optimum. Yes, it’s obnoxious to make mega-budget films, but calculated risks will be rewarded, in the world of risk-free business.
5. Actor Fees, Insecurities & Interference
Every actor today is a superstar (in their mind), and every actor consider themselves to be Salim-Javed of Hindi Cinema, pretending to understand scripts and other aspects of filmmaking. Half of the time, inputs from actors is what spoils the script. And in the remaining cases, the exorbitant actor fees take a toll on the production values. The day everyone does what they are supposed to, filmmaking would be a swifter process. Actor needs to act, producers need to produce and market, director needs to direct, and writers need to write. In today’s world, everyone is looking into everything – leading to a “Khichdi” in the name of filmmaking. Today actors are also insecure to do ensemble films due to the “Fear of Overshadow”. There are instances of top stars fearing the supporting heroes too, as they latter might end up “hogging limelight” of the lead. Come on, grow some confidence guys. And don’t forget, the exorbitant entourage costs that continue to exist even today.
6. Director distractions & aim to be producers
Most of the directors are distracted in the world of showbiz, thereby delivering a compromised product. As mentioned above, the element of accountability to deliver a good product has gone in the air. Some directors are busy organizing their sport leagues, some directors are taking up to reality shows, some directors are busy to pursue their dreams of becoming a producer (and mint money), some directors are just focusing projecting themselves as star-director and some are juggling multiple projects at the same time. If we look back at history, very few successful directors have transitioned to be successful producer. Focus on one film, and deliver it. Every director has to be accountable for his work, as sailing on multiple both could result in a quick sink.
7.Corporate & Self Booking
Another bug which has hit the industry badly is the advent of self-buying and corporate booking. As a mark of insecurity to avoid failures, the producers as also the actors are resorting to the technique of self-buying and corporate booking to ensure that their films hit a certain number. The strategies are just making things worse for the fraternity, as the makers are distributing free tickets and making the audiences addicted to the idea of free cinema consumption. Why would people pay for something that is available for free once? Consuming films on big screen is a habit that needs to be cultivated with consistent flow of releases. The corporate bookings and self buying are done to set a perception in the industry, but the industry always knows the truth, and the audience on the other hand don’t care about the number. It’s essentially, clear case of “Burning Money” to create a perception.
8. Media narratives & pressure tactics
This is again a vice created by the industry, as the focus is to create media narratives using paid mediums, and when that doesn’t happen, more monies are invested to have a narrative in place. A reason for corporate booking and self-buying is also probably the media pressure, as “Low Advance” narrative spreads in no time, killing the film perception prior to the release. It’s probably time for us as well to introspect, and keep advance data close to chest for most of the films, until and unless there is a note-worthy momentum. The early reporting of advances for films that are not meant to have any sort of advance can be avoided till the final numbers, as early reportage puts undue pressure on the film. The paid campaigns also need to be “hygienic” than a “tool to create false perception”, as today, anything and everything is being posted to get a false validation.
9. Stars becoming influencers
The actors today are easily accessible at the click of button. Too much of visibility – from pap pages, to their own social media handles – has killed the intrigue of experiencing their presence on the big screen. Some secrecy, and some intrigue is needed in the actors today to become a star. If every star is available at the click of a button, they should be termed social media stars and not film stars, as most won’t buy tickets to watch them on the screen.
10. Intent of honesty
Audience will always root for honesty. The intent of filmmakers today should be to make an honest film, rather than a hit film. The intent should be to bankroll a story they believe in and not a story that could work. The intent of actors should be to collaborate to create something special together, rather than it being an opportunity to show the power position. Apt castings need to happen for feature films, and good films all across the genres, with commercial sensibilities have to be made. The audience is here for entertainment, and it’s a must for filmmaker to make entertaining films rather than educate, and force-feeding opinions on the faces of cinema goers.
Let’s hope, we introspect and overcome all the flaws and emerge a winner again, shining bright to be at the top.
NOTE: While there is a crisis in the Southern Industry too, the author isn’t in a position to comment on the internal issues of the fraternity due to lack of knowledge.
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