Mumbai, November 20 (IANS). Successful director of the film industry R. Balki shared his views during a discussion on ‘What on Earth is Wrong with Advertising and Cinema’ held at MIT World Peace University, Pune. He said that some of the blockbuster films made in the last few years were actually bad films.
Balki, who has made films like ‘Paa’, ‘Padman’, ‘Cheeni Kum’, said, “Some of the blockbuster films made in the last few years have actually been very bad films not only from the intellectual point of view but also from the entertainment point of view. All I’m saying is that it has been very boring, not only from an intellectual or artistic point of view but also from the old entertainment, ‘masala, paisa wasool’ point of view.”
Comparing it with the films of the famous Manmohan Desai, he said, “If you watch Manmohan Desai’s films… Amit ji (Amitabh Bachchan) was a rehash and I was watching Manmohan Desai’s films like ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, ‘Naseeb’. Was watching. They used to be so much fun. Now the fun has completely gone away from blockbuster movies.”
He further said that “There is neither entertainment nor any theme in these films, yet these films have managed to earn big money at the box office. Now these films have become like projects. There’s an economics associated with it.”
He told that through marketing people are made to believe that it is good. By the time people think it is a bad film, the film has already made money.
He said that it is not only the makers’ fault but the psychology of the audience is also contributing to it.
He said, “Sometimes people are not willing to accept that it is bad. They don’t want to criticize a film after watching it. They want to find one or two good things to like about the film. “If they like one or two good things about a star, they tag it as ‘time pass’.”
He said that no one really wants to curse themselves after spending Rs 500 and watching a film.
Balki also talked about the reasons behind the audience’s lack of interest in cinema. He said, “The interest that was there in cinema is no longer there. Now when people are going to watch movies with family, they say that this movie is fine. In fact, we are making a lot of films now.”
He advised film making students, “You should make such films that it seems that such a story has not come on screen before. Keep working and surprising yourself. For this, keep writing and keep thinking about ideas that you feel have not been explored before. You write such stories which as soon as they come out in the form of a film, they will surprise you as well as the audience.
–IANS
MT/AKJ
