There is an 'unnecessary' controversy that has been created over 'Indian' cinema and the 'National' language. Various actors and/or publicity-seekers are jumping into the dialogue. Some Hindi movie actors said that 'Hindi' is the national language and some South Indian actors said that Hindi movies are not the only ones that qualify as 'Pan-Indian' cinema as movies in South Indian languages are finding viewers across the globe now.
As I mentioned at the very beginning, it is an unnecessary controversy and both sides should have refrained from getting into a social-media war. Lets look at what has been discussed;
Hindi is the 'National' language
That is incorrect. I do not blame the people who believe that as we were either taught that or were made to believe that. Hindi is the official language (along with English). Though I do believe that all Indians should know (and should be 'encouraged' to know) Hindi as that would help in communication across India but then, no one should be compelled to learn the language. India being such a diverse country, it is difficult to make that change happen in near future. If at all this happens, it can happen only through people initiative. It has been working so far and there is no 'need' for any change.
Hindi Movies Get More Importance
Now, lets come to the other side of the debate, which drove me to write this blog. Its about the 'Indian' cinema. Some South-Indian actors indicated that whenever 'Indian' cinema is discussed, represented or recognized, it is the Hindi cinema or 'Bollywood', which is taken into consideration.
I am not sure if that is genuinely the case. While it may not be 'the' justification, lets look at the list of past winners of National Award for Best Feature Film.
Since 1953, only 12 'pure-play' Hindi movies have won the National award. It excludes 'Ship of Theseus' (Hindi and English) and 'Court' (Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and English). During the same period, 22 Bangla/Bengali, 12 Malayalam, 6 Kannada, 4 Marathi, 2 Tamil and 1 Telugu movies won awards. So, it may be unfair to say that only Hindi movies are being recognized. I agree that Hindi movies and movie stars get more media-attention and headlines. However, that is because Hindi movies are watched by a larger audience and includes some mega-stars. However, there is no biasedness or partiality as such.
South-Indian cinema also has several mega-stars including Rajnikanth, Chiranjeevi, Mammootty, Mohanlal but except Thalaiva, others have not managed to create a significant fan-base or gain popularity outside India or their region. Of course, this is a comparative statement. I am not at all suggesting that Chiranjeevi is not popular. However, he probably is known to fewer people compared to say...Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Rajanikanth. It is a fact. This does not make Chiranjeevi a lesser actor. In fact, personally, I do not like most of the names mentioned above. In my opinion, list of best actors and most popular actors [in Indian context] seldom have common names. Among the current leading actors, I personally enjoy the work of Dhanush and Fahadh Faasil the most and I am not only talking about South Indian cinema!!
Which Movie Industry is Better?
Though it is not being said or discussed in as many words but the debate, comments and the arguments put forward seem to suggest that the 'stakeholders' want to comment on which movie industry [in India] is better!! This debate is again....unnecessary.
If I talk about myself, I do not 'generally' enjoy Hindi movies but I end up watching a lot of them. Most of them are nonsensical formula-based movies. They do better (in terms of collections/returns/ROI) than the kind of movies I genuinely appreciate. Some of the popular South-Indian movies (RRR, KGF 1 & 2, Baahubali 1 & 2, Pushpa etc.) are also doing pretty well in terms of collections however it is important to understand that box-office collections do not necessarily mean cinematic brilliance [and vice versa].
If a movie is watched by more number of people, it does not necessarily become a great movie. Similarly, if a megastar is followed by a larger group of fans, it does not necessarily mean he/she is the best actor [or even a good actor]. McDonald's burger may be the most popular food item but is a McDonald's burger ever considered a great dish?? These days, almost every superhero movie sets the box office on fire but are they ever considered a genuine piece of art?
In the field of art, popularity and sales volumes do not always mean brilliance. People watch nonsensical, formula-based masala movies because movies are watched with family and/or friends and people typically opt for pure-play entertainment for such events. For example, when I am watching a movie alone, I would watch something like 'The Lunchbox' but when I go to watch a movie with my 10-year old, I would end up watching 'Simbba' or 'Suryavanshi'. I watch a lot of movies - different genres and different languages (English, world cinema, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil....]. I look for good stories and good performances and do not restrict myself to a certain genre or language. However, for most people [even I select movies based on the mood], movies are a getaway from their regular, mundane life that is often filled with stress, depression, issues, burdens, frustration, anger. They do not want to see the protagonist go through similar emotions on-screen and would rather watch a nonsensical comedy/action!! They like to watch a hero that is larger than life...who can stand against villains, beat 100 people, romance, dance, make us laugh....and what not!! Such movies help the viewers come out of the theatre relaxed [not always though!!]. So both kind of movies are required. We need movies with a message, with a great story, with brilliant performances. At the same time, we need the nonsensical formula-based masala movies.
We need the Michelin Star dishes but also the McDonald's burger!!!
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