Bollywood Movies = Expensive Mistakes

Movies were, once upon a time a way through which people were entertained. They were a shift from the daily routine and a movie would take people's minds off things. Actors were people who were dedicated to their profession. They rarely ever cared about
what they were going to get paid.

Today, where every profession is in an 'industry' - we have the "Bollywood" film industry in India. This industry probably has the least critically acclaimed films anywhere in the world. The "stars" are mediocre actors at best with the exception of a few. The movies revolve around a soundtrack. The "box office" is the sole determinant of whether the movies do well or not. It is more of a business than an art and that is saddening.

Of course, when we come to the actual crux of what a movie is in India - we realize why Bollywood is not an acclaimed industry abroad. 50% of the movie's popularity is determined by the quality of the songs (There are 4-6 which are almost 5 minutes each). One of these songs is almost definitely an 'item number' for the pleasure of all the male viewers. These songs have very little connection to the actual theme of the movie and the item numbers are out of place. Very less emphasis is actually on the acting or the plot of the movie. In fact, there are more clichéd endings in Bollywood movies than most other film industries in the world. There is no appeal or intrigue which English movies depict with a certain amount of consistency. Also, there are movies like Salaam-e-Ishq which try to kill the audience with lengths of up to 4 hours. It's sheer madness!

Naseeruddin Shah, in an interview to the BBC after the Bafta awards said, "I really don't think we make films that can match those from other parts of the world. And I am not referring to Hollywood - we make copies of Hollywood. We can't match the types of films made in Iran for example, Poland, Japan, Mexico or Brazil, Vietnam or Korea. These countries are producing the most incredible movies and we are still plodding on with our boy-meets-girl safe, old formula. That is the reason I think our films aren't taken seriously".
This was after Rang de Basanti - one of the better made Indian films in recent times failed to win the best foreign film award.

Movies were made for entertainment and were never made solely for money. The passion and commitment to make a good film is lacking in India - a country where models end up becoming 'film stars' and film stars have more endorsements to make than movies! No wonder none of our movies even get nominated for the major international awards. We can keep on talking about the wonderful costumes worn by Hrithik in D2 or his dance moves in any of his movies. Very few people actually talk about his acting. People in India don't even know what a good movie is! I went to watch EkLavya, an art(ish) film - and the acting performances in the movie are sterling. Many people told me "that movie is no good, there's just one song!" That line sums up the public’s expectations of what a movie should be.

In a country with over a billion people, I'm convinced there's someone who wants to make a creative film. It is just that the public just want to watch a nice happy ending so there is very little chance of an Indian film making the grade abroad. Also, we don’t have people who are daring enough to take risks and make movies which tickle our grey matter. The Indian film industry's net worth is quite high, and it is growing an audience base to rival Hollywood. That said, the soaring budgets of Bollywood movies and the ever so boring/predictable endings are quickly making them expensive mistakes.