Sometimes, 'mass entertainer' seems like a term which has been coined
to cover up the shortcomings of a hugely compromised script. Most of
the films that have become massively successful in last 3-4 years fall
into this category, and they are invariably devoid of good and
innovative plot points. Recently released 'Chennai Express' is already
on its path to become another so called 'mass entertainer', but are
these films really cutting across all age groups or they are just a
by-product of generously funded publicity drives?
Before we proceed, let's try to understand the reasons that turn a film
into a mass entertainer, in short, what
are the essential ingredients of a mass
entertainer?
1) Songs: It's more about being catchy than good. Had it been about
good songs then why do albums like 'Gangs of Wasseypur', 'Matru Ki
Bijlee Ka Mandola', 'Soundtrack' and many more films fail to lure the
herds of audience! You may point out the success of 'Aashiqui 2' and
'Barfi' in this regard but very few of musical hits also showcase good
content. A look at 'Rowdy Rathore', 'Ek Tha Tiger' and 'Dabangg 2'
will convince you that it's primarily about the star value than the
quality.
2) Identification: In 1970s, films that talked about the issues of the
common man went on to make money. Slowly and steadily, the central
theme started
endorsing escapism. The more fantasised
a film is, the more is its chance to hit the goldmine, for example,
'ETT', 'Dabangg'
and 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan'. The hero has
become a person of another world who
just doesn't possess any fallacy. Be it 'Yeh
Jawaani Hai Deewani' or 'Son of Sardaar',
he exactly knows his next step. Gone are the days when Ray, Sen, Ghatak,
Mukherjee and Anand used to mould
their characters as per normal human
traits. The question of identifying with
the hero is out of the frame, unless and
until you are heartbroken in love, so much so that you don't understand the
difference between stalking and striking
a conversation.
3) Cleanliness: Almost every director, who
intends to make a 100 crore film, is using
below the belt humour to evoke some
laughter. From 'The Dirty Picture' to 'Kya
Super Kool Hain Hum' to 'Bol Bachchan',
films are capitalising on the front bench potential. Sleazy jokes and
crass humour
have evolved as a bankable trick for
successful films. As per the current
market statistics a moderate budget
production can become profitable with a
bit of smart marketing, so a popular filmmaker doesn't think twice before
using the double meaning jokes.
4) Superstars and promotional drives: A
mass entertainer also means a film with
superstars. Further, it should be
promoted hysterically. This ensures a
good visibility in the first three days
which paves the film's way to become a hit. Surprisingly, films like 'Dabangg 2'
and 'Chennai Express' deliver what was
promised in the trailers. The critics
slammed the films univocally and they
went on to become superhits. Such a
situation raises two questions, are these films immune to criticism or
the critics
are expecting these films to be
something that was never promised in
the trailers? The answer lies somewhere
in the middle. The 'informed' audience
takes film criticism seriously but they are not many in number so it
doesn't stop the
film from becoming a monster hit.
Secondly, every film can't be another life
changing experience. A negative
criticism by popular reviewers can dent
the film's business by some crore, however it still remains a money spinner
because overall business crosses the Rs
100 crore mark. Word of mouth works
wonderfully for small budget films and
indie films. Here, the potential consumer
wants to be sure before shedding a few hundreds. Blame the star system which
has become stronger in recent times that
a 'Table No 21' or 'Akaash Vani' or 'Chor
Chor Super Chor' couldn't find the right
amount of buyers. 'Ship Of Theseus'
couldn't have become such a talked about film in absence of UTV and Kiran
Rao's backing.
5) Subject: The novelty of the theme is a big attention fetcher, ask
the makers of
'Vicky Donor' if you don't believe me.
Mass entertainers dodge us at this
juncture as uniqueness is probably the
toughest thing to search in these films. The same character and story graphs can
be found in almost all the blockbusters.
The formula is set, get a witty dialogue
writer who can pen scenes through
dialogues rather than writing dialogues
for a scene. The mass vs class debate is eternal and it used to happen even when
Shyam Benegal was making socially
oriented 'successful' films. This debate is
baseless because only those films hold
value after some years that have given
something to the society. The believers of the star system forcibly
try to connect the
propaganda of a hit film with social
objectives. This argument helps the stars
in coming up with a worse film.
Making a hit film at any cost is the
maker's choice. One can't be forced to
make a film that he or she is not
comfortable in doing but then they
should also not hide their flaws in the
name of popular choice. A common movie enthusiast shouldn't be fooled just
because he or she is not aware of the
types of films that are being made in
other parts of the world. The icing on the
cake is that they are further prompted to
believe mass entertainers as the real reflection of the contemporary society.
We desperately need depth in our films
otherwise that day is not far when we
would have to accept mediocre films as
the films of the century.
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