A rather interesting conversation at home recently set me thinking about Hindi cinema. Some young viewers were discussing an episode of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah and mentioned a track involving a bicycle made of gold. What struck me was not the plot itself but their reaction to it. They were genuinely intrigued that someone had thought of such an idea.
It made me wonder, with the kind of money Hindi films command today, why don’t we see more stories that make audiences say, “I haven’t seen this before”?
This isn’t about taking anything away from stars or VFX. A great actor can elevate a scene and spectacular VFX can create a world that would otherwise be impossible. But both are ultimately serving the story. If the story doesn’t hold the audience, how much can either really accomplish?
Look at films coming from Hollywood, Korea or Spain. They certainly make familiar films too, but they have also repeatedly demonstrated the commercial potential of an unusual premise. That is the kind of curiosity that makes a film urgent.
The same applies to the countless retellings of stories such as Ramayana. There is nothing inherently wrong with returning to a story audiences already know. Cinema everywhere does it. Dracula, The Odyssey, Hamlet and countless other stories have been retold repeatedly.
But every retelling has to answer one question- what is this version bringing that I haven’t experienced before?
If the answer is primarily bigger sets, bigger stars and better VFX, then the technology may be new while the experience remains familiar.
Perhaps this is where Hindi cinema needs to look at the economics of filmmaking differently.
We are comfortable talking about the price of a star, the scale of a set, the cost of VFX and the size of a marketing campaign. Perhaps we need to talk with equal seriousness about the investment made before any of that happens- the writers, the development of the idea and the screenplay.
Could the industry spend more time and money discovering whether the story itself creates urgency before committing hundreds of crores to producing it?
Because awareness and curiosity are not the same thing. Marketing can tell us that a film is coming. A star can make us notice it. VFX can make us look at it. But the story has to make us want to know what happens next.
That may be the lesson hidden in something as simple as a golden bicycle. Audiences, particularly younger audiences, don’t necessarily need a familiar star or an enormous spectacle to become interested. Sometimes they just need an idea that catches them completely off guard.
Hindi cinema doesn’t lack money, talent or technology. Perhaps it simply needs to place a little more faith, time and money behind the people whose job is to make us curious.
Because the biggest star can deliver a terrific performance and the most expensive VFX can look spectacular.
But if the story doesn’t hold, what exactly are they holding up?
