The not-so-detached observations on Bollywood of the past decade

The not-so-detached observations on Bollywood of the past decade 

As I give in to the trend and make my own list of “Favourite movies of the decade”, I am struck by how strikingly different, unusual and diverse this list is compared to previous years. And I remember how excited I have been this last few years with my own bar constantly getting redefined.

While “Bollywood” has kept evolving, or at least changing, every few years, the last decade truly disrupted the scene. And the key drivers of the disruption are the same as the rest of the world – One, Technology and the ease of making & distributing content; Two, changing generations, who are a lot more globally connected.

Clearly what comes out as the strongest trend is the supremacy of content. Never before in the history of Hindi films, have scripts and screenplays played such an important role and redefined the tastes of an entire generation. In fact, some of the results are movies similar in tone and themes to the “arty” European movies everyone loves to appreciate. Not so much with the Indian art movie wave of the 80s as that was driven more by social & political “causes” and didn’t have as much sophistication for lack of budgets.

This in turn has led to two more changes – an alternative breed of “star actors” have emerged, who are talented, take risks and have sufficient presence to anchor movies, but not necessarily of the big budget variety. They may not excite the devotion and hysteria of the “superstars” but demand a more loyal and committed fan following. This in turn has changed the economics of film making. It is no longer required to “spend money to make money”. Thanks to both loyal multiplex audiences and the OTT platforms, it is now acceptable to make medium budget films that make money. This reduced risk has in turn spurred more people to experiment, keeping this virtuous cycle going.

The second big change is the multiplicity of formats – from 3-hour movies with the conventional bells & whistles, to more intimate stories without songs to star-led web series to short films – an Indian viewer now watches and engages with all of them, being able to choose and switch at a whim. Which in turns means that marketing & advertising is more important than ever before, else you get a chance of being lost with the clutter. The wide range of formats has also generated a wide range of viewers, many mutually exclusive from each other. No longer can a Bollywood movie addict be slotted conveniently into someone who enjoys fantasy stuff with songs & dances. You could be a lover of dark content or frothy rom-coms, or family dramas and still find enough to feed on. Which of courses means the divide amongst viewers is now similar to the polarized political views – sometimes within the same families!

The diversity is not just in the formats but the stories themselves. Never before has the idea of India been so effectively conveyed – or rather, the ideas of India. Except for the outlandish escapist fare, most movies now are fairly steeped in authenticity, whether it be the ultra hip urban mileu or the small towns in transition; the poverty or the wealth. Research, which shows up particularly in dialogues and costumes, is now genuinely important.

But…like all change and disruption, not everything is hunky dory. For me personally, there are two things that bother me the most about the past decade.

I genuinely loved the large scale Bollywood blockbusters – the ones with larger than life characters, an engaging storyline, dollops of all emotions, and memorable songs and dances. Those are nearly extinct. The last ones I remember are Om Shanti Om and Lagaan, though I guess SLB is still trying to keep this genre alive. During the decade this space has been taken over by sheer crap which falls neatly in 2 categories – the “action” types (Dabangg & co.) or the “comedy” types (Housefull & co.). The reason for this is the sharp segmentation in viewership – no longer does a movie need to cater to both “classes and masses” (as Bollywood loved to say) and so a lot of the big budget movie producers & actors can heave a sigh of relief, keep scripts on one side, ignore political correctness and just make, as mentioned earlier, crap with a capital C.

This in turn has led to the second big change that I don’t like – as a result of the decimation of superstardom, the ones who have suffered the most are female actors. Because the traditional mantle of wholesome Bollywood entertainers has been replaced by machismo crap, the only “superstars” today are male – Salman & co. With the exception of Deepika, no other female actor comes close to being able to headline a movie that makes money, and so by implication getting paid anywhere close to her male co-stars. While the last decade saw some powerful performances and movies being helmed by female actors (including Sridevi who once again redefined the rules with EV), the star power of supremely talented actors like Vidya, Kangana & Alia is still fairly limited. And no one seems to have the courage or inclination to truly break out. This is the biggest contradiction - as the role of women continues to enlarge in the rest of the world, Bollywood has followed a reverse trend. All you need to do is compare the top actresses and their roles from the 50s/60s to the 80s/90s to now. Or for that matter, the content on OTT platforms vs the theatres.

It will be interesting to see the direction that Bollywood takes over the next few years. Some trends that I am keen on observing more carefully – what will Ranveer & Ranbir do with their stardom and how will Vicky Kausal & Ayushmann evolve their range? How many more will jump to the web series bandwagon and when will “made for Netflix” movies start becoming the norm? Will big budget producers like Dharma & YRF rediscover the magic of comprehensive blockbusters or are they now extinct? Will women continue to take more charge in behind-the-camera departments? And will that lead to some rebalancing in the gender equation?

No one can predict trends. But one can shape them. Look to the past and you will see actors, directors & producers who did that. Let’s learn from them.