For movie-goers has the divide arrived? good content on OTT and masala in cinema halls!

First things first. What are content-driven films? To the common man, it suggests material that is not corny, frivolous, weird, vulgar, over-the-top aberrations, constantly striving for the front-benchers approval. Instead, narratives that are entertaining, yet enriching to the informed, educated and open mind.

What are Masala films? Exact opposite! Pull out the stops to entertain the masses, targeting the lowest common denominator. Titillate them with glam, gloss and glitz to paralyse their critical faculties.

Forget earlier times & debates whether Mother India, Madhumati, Pyasa, Awara, Naya Daur, Daag or Ganga Jamuna were content-driven or masala films and hit the ground running with the post-Shyam Benegal era, the early seventies. Imagine the guts of an Ad-film maker who never assisted any mainstream filmmaker, plunging into directing a movie about casteism in rural India with newcomers galore? At a time when the blockbuster Badshahs like Yash Chopra, Manmohan Desai, Subhash Ghai, Prakash Mehra, Ramesh Sippy, and gang ruled? Can it ever work? Well, fortune favours the brave and Ankur opened the floodgates for undiscovered talent to rush in & unspool films that large segments of the intelligentsia craved for. So along with Amar Akbar Anthony, Deewar & Sholay came Bhumika, Gharonda, Aakrosh and wonder of wonders, both David & Goliath rocked! For a variety of reasons, this movement faded out but not before proving to audiences that films made from the heart – with intelligence & professionalism – will find another heart, responding. Also, it’s not cash but creativity, not Big budgets but Big ideas that work ...

In 2020, is it déjà vu, conspired by providence in the shape of Lockdown that has quarantined Movie Halls for God knows how long and offered viewers OTT with mind-bending choices that can be comfortably enjoyed at home? Deja vu in terms of unlocking talents chained to oblivion like the seventies? Streaming platforms, admittedly have been around for a while for the evolved, informed and smart section of moviegoers, but for the aam junta conditioned to savour their masala in the movie halls, this was a no-no. Suddenly with theatres shut, where to go for their masala fix? Willy nilly, they have been forced to checkout this avenue and for many OMG, its Ali Baba’s caves, an embarrassment of riches? While the biggies in B-town are seriously considering releasing their new films on one of the OTT platforms, the films on these platforms are true discoveries! Local and global, they show audiences that language or region is no barrier to great cinema. Our material, inventive, ingenious and interesting – in tone & tenor, style & substance, storytelling techniques, celebrating startlingly gifted talents across the acting, writing & lensing areas – is truly a voyage of discovery. The galaxy of new/ignored talent like Randeep Hooda, Amit Sadh, Sayami Kher, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Jitendra Kumar, Tripti Dimri, Rasika Duggal, Tisca Chopra, Sushmita Sen, Jaideep Ahlawat in break-out roles across fabulous stories represent the changing landscape of entertainment. While it will be foolish to dismiss the big stars and their big movies, what is significant is that, for the first time ever, there is this plethora of engaging & absorbing entertainment bouquet, in terms of alternatives, to both educate & inform the audiences who earlier knew no better.

This OTT community is different too. They think of themselves as Film-makers, not Directors. We often see characters in their films, not in terms of good or bad, but as we see ourselves, in terms of frailties & foibles, a part of a human continuum – fulfilling, altering and finally accepting ourselves as a part of humanity. They are never coloured by commercial stratagems. There is no short cut to feeling and no nudge-wink passes made to Box Office. Sure, not all films are great, but these are early days and it will take the poor genie finally out of the bottle, some time to catch his/her breath...

However, to the sharp Bollywood-watcher, one ominous angle threatens to be a disturbing reality. Tons of big blockbusters are all waiting in line to blitz the big screen in theatres. Since that appears to be an extremely unlikely proposition in the very near future, the Red Chillies, Yash Raj, Dharma, Excel and big production houses & banners powering films with big stars are surely not going to play the waiting game forever. They will definitely hit the streaming platforms – Netflix, Amazon, etc – with all cylinders firing, charged with big budgets and ingenious marketing muscle to seduce viewers. Since there is absolutely no doubt that these extravaganzas headlining popular stars have massive agency, the exciting, adventurous & creative factor that defined this OTT space could be both diluted & contaminated.

However, one can only hope & pray that during this time, there has been a substantial conversion in terms of transiting from the synthetic to the real and that the mindless, glitz, gloss & glam-driven masala movie does not distract or overwhelm viewers from their Eureka moment!

Fingers crossed.