s my response to the views expressed by Venkat. My response was in a forum and it is reproduced here.Kuchipudi Venkat's response..
Hi Sira Sri garu,
You seem to have gone on a full vengeance with Bujjigadu. I understand your frustration to watch a good movie. But it is point-less to expect a new and novel theme from these big commercial ventures. What ever these Directors do, they do it with their full knowledge and conscious. Not that they are ignorant about the fact that they are doing something that had been done over hundred times in the past. I meet some people who think that they are so smart that they were able to figure out, which movie that was copied from, but the fact is that they don't win any prizes for guessing it right nor realize that the whole thing has been done on purpose. The point to make is that "NO ONE IS A FOOL HERE". Everyone wants to do something new but they don't want to take that chance out of fear of acceptance and failure. So they end up doing time tested formulae again and again with the confidence that they are going to present it in a new and novel manner. If it works it works or else they feel that they will at least get their revenues back. One more thing is th
at, it is proved that failing with formulae is better than failing with an experiment. If you fail with an experiment you get raped and you are not of any interest to even the sundry of the industry. This is explained better why stars don't want to work with directors like Bapu, Vamsy and Neelakanta. My personal feeling is that instead of wasting the web space and straining our voices, increasing the cell traffic and most importantly wasting our time it's better to gauge the big commercial films with their collections rather than the content.Just have look at the past films like Desamuduru, Yamadonga, Chirutha, Thulasi, Don, Jalsa, Parugu, Kanthri - they had nothing to do with the reviews they got and the talk they carried, their revenues were outstanding, all these movies made it commercially very big. So weather we like them or not they served the purpose of them being made. They are meant to make money and they made it. It solves the business logic. Isn't it? More over more than 70% of our audiences are illiterate and it makes true business sense to make films that communicate with them.
One more observation I made is that why these intelligent audiences are watching
these so called beaten track themes again and again. I believe that they might have surely got used to it and they are not too demanding. I feel for the same reason they are being made again and again. I think our ever demanding critics should analyze and understand this point. Being an insider I feel my observations would help clear lot apprehensions about the thought process of our fraternity.Regards
Kuchipudi Venkat.
My Response:
Well, Kuchipudi Venkat's so-called 'Insider view' just seems to tell the critics to shut up and 'appreciate' movies like Desamuduru, Yamadonga, Chirutha, Thulasi, Don, Jalsa, Parugu, Kanthri. And for what? Just because they returned the investments! This is as good as saying indian cricket team can loose any number of matches and play lazy as long as BCCI keeps making money!
He goes ahead and declares 'One more observation I made is that why these intelligent audiences are watching these so called beaten track themes again and again. I believe that they might have surely got used to it and they are not too demanding. I feel for the same reason they are being made again and again.' I hear a prophet in all wisdom. Well, sir is right. No one is a fool here. We know that the directors deliberately rehash the formulas for fear of failure. That is no reason for him to philosophise that everyone accept that junk. If those intelligent audiences (god knows what he meant by 'intelligent') are bearing this torture, it is not because they GOT USED! It is just because they have no choice and because they love movies, story-telling, emoting, feeling, music, dance. It is just like with our cricket team, we dont abandon them even if they are on a loosing spree. because we love the game, our team. So, If TFI cant deliver, folks in
Chennai, Mumbai or Hollywood would anyway deliver. Appudu labodibo mani edustharu dabbud cinemalu meeda.Instead of suggesting the critics that they 'understand' and 'analyse' Sir should mind his business - making those formula movies. I wouldnt even try to highlight the stupendous successes of refreshing themes - yes, successful even with the "70% illiterate masses" sir refers to. It is a shame he did not mention anything abt Aithe, Happy Days, Gamyam and all those flicks, which by no strech of imagination were 'experiments'.
The bottomline is simple. Audiences will never fail to swarm the theatres. They see the best that is available. If its trash, they will pray that they will want to see the last of these filmmakers as soon as possible. If its good, its thumbs up, the way Shekhar Kammula and Krish got received. So, Kuchipudi Venkat should stop preaching and go make movies if he can. Else leave us alone with our movies. We are all fine with 'wasting the web space and straining our voices, increasing the cell traffic and most importantly wasting our time'.
And yes, my full symapathies with the frustrated guy who triggered this.
3 comments:
What you said is right but how many people do u think are as talented as kammula shekhar. The rest like rajamouli know they can make money
by repeated mass flicks with the same story , they will keep making such movies. I think it is probably got to do with the socio economic background of majority
of the people in a poor country like india. Many make less than $2 dollar a day and find such mass movies an escape from their real world of hardships.
So they patronize these movies. Unfortunately these very people end up making such crap movies hits.
I guess we cant do much to prevent these crap movies from being made as they make good money .
But anyways a good movie like godavari happydays are still appreciated, may be not much by the very people i mentioned above.
Both of them Sira Sri and Venkat are doing their jobs which they feel is right.
Venkat should have not come that way saying that we do only these kind of movies and watch the movies we come up with.
If he is right in doing so then every one should support, but that is not happening here right.
You know that you are coming up with crap movie and you want people not to say it as crap and that is meaning less.
That is precisely my point Naga. the filmmaker's reply reflects ineptitude that crept not just into movies, but into all media and arts.
Ravi, the arguments in favor of escapist fare like the $2 thing you came up with are deserves a separate post! so i will spare a lengthy reply here.
Post a Comment