The Changing Face of Indian Cinema

From the very beginning of Indian cinema to the early nineties, films made here were made keeping in mind the diverse demography of India.

The producers wanted people of all ages, income groups, religions, and education to derive entertainment from their films, as always the goal was to maximize their revenues. Hence, almost every film, irrespective of its genre, contained the usual elements of comedy, song, dance, family bonding, religious harmony, and a lot more. 

Amitabh Bachchan's films, particularly during the 70s, 80s, and 90s attracted all demographics. 

But by the mid-nineties, filmmakers realized that their products had a wide customer base in foreign markets of mostly non-resident Indians. It, therefore, made sense to focus on the urban audience both in India and abroad where the profits were higher. 

Also, a cinema hall in a small town in India often has a ticket priced at 30 rupees, while the ticket price in the US is around 9 dollars while the price can be up to even 1000 rupees in multiplexes in India. The small-town audiences were deemed expendable and the focus shifted to the urban audience because that is where the money is.

The screenwriters and filmmakers of today mostly belong to families related to the film industry, they are usually trained in film schools abroad. They're more influenced by American or European filmmakers than they are by the masters of Hindi commercial cinema. 

They probably relate to Scorsese and Woody Allen more than they do to Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra. They probably watch old Hindi movies for a good laugh at the ‘ridiculousness on display’. Most Indian screenwriters have probably never read much of Indian literature. An old filmmaker once remarked that during his time all conversations on films sets were in Hindi, but now it is almost exclusively English.

We thus have films that are influenced by the west and deal with urban issues. The characters are affluent and the problems depicted are usually about people with means. The dialogues are in English (including four-lettered words) with a smattering of Hindi to bridge the gaps. 

The plots are about sons of millionaire businessmen wanting to dabble in photojournalism and not follow their father’s footsteps or the complications arising from a couple living in or a millionaire wanting to arrange his son's marriage to facilitate a merger that will save his empire. 

It would be unreasonable to expect people living in rural India, who were once prime targets, to relate to these urban films. The filmmakers who have themselves lived a life of affluence will say they are being honest with their art by making films about issues they know about intimately. They probably pride themselves on moving to a more subtle and realistic presentation.

But in all this, we are missing what is quintessentially larger than life operatic, colorful, vibrant, and ‘in your face’ commercial cinema where the emotions were on the sleeves, where the villains were rotten to the core and the heroes were brimming with virtues and where the dialogue was over the top. When the audience cheered and kicked the seat before them as Amitabh Bachchan beat up the baddie to pulp during the film's climax.

It is said that cricket and cinema were the two occurrences that united our diverse country. I remember an interview with an industrialist in the 80s where he said that he booked tickets for himself and his entire staff whenever an Amitabh Bachchan film was released.

Contemporary Hindi cinema has chosen to ignore a certain section of its audience.

Several years ago, I remember a rickshaw driver telling me

“Although they are called Hindi films, I often feel I am watching a foreign film that happens to have Indian faces and a smattering of Hindi. They speak in English and deal with city problems that only the very affluent face. I just don’t relate to them. I’m not saying every movie should be based in a village. Trishul is my all-time favorite, it was, by all means, a city film about affluent people, but the emotions are deep, it makes me cry every time. But those days are over. Nobody cares what poor people want.”

The good news is that in recent times we have had myriad films such as Tanu Weds Manu to Bareli Ki Barfi, all based in a small town. These films have depicted small towns in a fresh light and have earned handsome plaudits from both audiences and critics.

But the days of the universal blockbusters where everything seems over. 

The emergence of online platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime has cemented that.

What we have now is a various films that appeal to various demographics, but no longer one film that appeals to various demographic.