Social Conditions and Indian Commercial Cinema

The Indian film critic should keep in touch with social conditions and changes to comment intelligently on most of our commercial cinema.

Indian commercial cinema ranges from slice of life to complete no-brainers. While we have films like Peepli Live talking about serious issues we do have films like Joker which manage to keep the same issue in the lighter vein. Such films cannot be reviewed with precision if the critic is not aware of the social conditions. Unless you understand the pain of a farmer and the functioning of media, you will not be able to judge a Peepli Live.

Also, with changing times films are moving more towards getting the real setting right. Films such as Do Dooni Chaar or Vicky Donor are perfect examples of it. But, to understand such concepts, one again needs to understand the issues at hand. For instance, buying a car as depicted in Do Dooni Char may not be a big deal for an elite family but for a government schoolteacher it may mean a lot.

The above-mentioned statement can be studied with the help of three examples – Slumdog Millionaire, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam and Aarakshan.

Set in a slum in Mumbai, the first film was a story of a poor boy’s journey to becoming a millionaire. The film won several awards and accolades but not good reviews. While it appealed to some, for Indian audience the story wasn’t new. One has seen such depictions in several films in the past. While reviewing this film, the reviewer will have to possess some knowledge about those films and the setting. For a reviewer with zero understanding of life in a slum, understanding the basic concept of the film would be difficult.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam was a film, which reflected the other side of our society. It dealt with people from exceptionally rich families and their issues. This kind of film falls into the candyfloss category. So, they will have to be judged on those parameters. While poverty is a reality in India, so is prosperity. Again, a person who fails to understand that might find it difficult to relate to. So, the review will have to mention the kind of audience it would appeal to.

Aarakshan was a film that spoke about the complex issue of caste reservation in education. The film was panned by several critics. Reason: they claimed that it did not deal with the issue with maturity. The film, to them, seemed juvenile. To review such a film, one needs an understanding of the caste system structure in India. The reason behind the introduction of reservation, its advantages and disadvantages. If the reviewer does not understand this, he might never be able to judge the film. There are several issues that the film doesn’t talk about. But, to mention that in the review, one needs to understand that those issues exist. Also, the solution offered seems trivial. Again, this can only be understood by someone who understands how complicated the issue is.

So, just having knowledge about filmmaking may not always help. For, films do act as a mirror to society’s problems. They do deal with the real and more. They are more or less set in the society that is a complex maze. Trying to decode them by divorcing them from their reality would be an unfair practice.