Sandalwood vs Bollywood
Posted by Anantha | Posted in Cinema , Music , Sandalwood vs Bollywood | Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008
My friend Suksy posted this article in his blog recently. After reading which I started composing a comment, but the comment evolved into a post, which I am posting it here.
Suksy discusses about Kannada cinema, its quality and does a fairly good comparison with Bollywood. Suksy takes on the period of Kannada cinema from ‘Om’ till date. I also would like to comment on the same period as I have grown watching these movies. Analyzing the quality of Kannada cinema and commenting on it from the time 'Om' was released is actually a Herculean task. No critic would do proper justice in this job, 4get about movie enthusiasts like me. But, still I am making an attempt at it.
Suksy makes some of the very valid and some arguably valid comments in his post. Let me pick few of them and discuss. I prefer you guys to read his post and then come back here.
Suksy says, "Is it because we do not have good story writers? or is it because we do not bother about the social message that the film should portray? I'd rather think it is more because of the latter."
Let me not boast we have the best of story writers who could compete in the arena of world cinema. But there is also a possibility that not all movie makers have an eye for good story. Most people think of making a movie that goes with the current trend. Whether its ‘machu’ or ‘maLe’. Hence a good story remains on paper for eternity.
Suksy: "Personally, I feel that Mungaaru Male did not have a good story, but it was okayish for time pass"
I object my Lord! :) No I am not going to defend saying that MM had an amazing story. My point here is quite different. I would like to say, movie is mostly about narration and not entirely about the story. Even if u have a simple story or a story that has been told zillion times before, don bother unless the director is touching the hearts of audience through his narration.
And on comparing Bollywood and Sandalwood, first of all we should admit that the sensibilities of the audiences are different. When I mean sensibilities, I dont mean I would like to judge who is more sensible, I just mean the sensibilities which are influenced by geographical locations, customs and other myriad of factors are different.
I agree with Suksy’s point that Hindi cinema has a wider 'reach' when compared to regional cinema. I partly believe that could be one of the factors for Hindi movies to incur less loss or make more profit. But I also believe in 'NOT ALL HIT CINEMA IS GOOD CINEMA'. Therefore its not right to call a film industry to be more successful just because it produces 100 hit movies every year. I would call Dhoom-2 a trash, no matter how much of profit it made.
Suksy: "(Bollywood) films are not so cheap imitations of any other regional language movie or from a Hollywood movie"
Bollywood is not a land of only original ideas, 'Bheja fry' is a rip off of a French movie called Dinner game. 'Hey Baby' is ripped off from 3 men and a baby, 'Shourya' is a desi version of A few good men, and recently 'Krazzy 4' from The Dream Team, where as 'u me aur hum' from The Notebook. These are just few examples of how 'original' Bollywood script writers have been in recent past.
Suksy: "(Bollywood) actors know to ACT!"
What about Arjun Rampal, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi..
Suksy: "The violence is not glorified and there are a lot of other emotions in the movie which get glorified putting the violence aside."
I quite agree, there is more bloodshed in regional cinema than in Hindi
Suksy: "There are many radical directors like Madhur Bhandarkar, Ram Gopal Verma etc who think out of the box."
Yes. I personally regret we people dont have an answer when it comes to MB and RGV.
Talking about comedy movies, if most of Kannada comedies are gross [i never like Sadhu kokila, doDDaNNa, tennis KrishNa comedies], Most of the recent Bollywood comedies are mindless. I just cant bear Priyadarshan kinda comedies. The new addition to the list being Anees Bazmee. 'Welcome' is such a mindless crap. If Hindi cinema has to get wiser in comedy movies, Kannada movies seriously lack sanity in comedy movies.
Lemme raise another point. One thing that Bollywood easily beats Sandalwood is in the case of 'style'. The style of the movies which is a direct reflection of the bucks spent on making the movie is a serious limitation for a regional film industry like Kannada, having a limited market. But Bollywood movie makers are following a dangerous trend of making stylish movies which seriously lack substance. The flashy trailers look good only for trailers, but when it comes to hold the movie goer for 3 hrs, style wont suffice, u need substance for it.
Another thing about Hindi cinema is about the good looking actors/actresses. They are much ahead in when it comes to host six pack abs or voluptuous figures, when compared to Sandalwood.
How is it possible not to mention about music.. Bollywood has a long list of talented music directors giving some amazing tracks for each of their movie. But Sandalwood is not far behind. There has been a great leap in the quality of music in Sandalwood in the recent past.
The debate might go endlessly, but keeping our pride for Sandalwood aside we must admit Bollywood scores better as a whole. Sandalwood needs to gear-up..
Suksy discusses about Kannada cinema, its quality and does a fairly good comparison with Bollywood. Suksy takes on the period of Kannada cinema from ‘Om’ till date. I also would like to comment on the same period as I have grown watching these movies. Analyzing the quality of Kannada cinema and commenting on it from the time 'Om' was released is actually a Herculean task. No critic would do proper justice in this job, 4get about movie enthusiasts like me. But, still I am making an attempt at it.
Suksy makes some of the very valid and some arguably valid comments in his post. Let me pick few of them and discuss. I prefer you guys to read his post and then come back here.
Suksy says, "Is it because we do not have good story writers? or is it because we do not bother about the social message that the film should portray? I'd rather think it is more because of the latter."
Let me not boast we have the best of story writers who could compete in the arena of world cinema. But there is also a possibility that not all movie makers have an eye for good story. Most people think of making a movie that goes with the current trend. Whether its ‘machu’ or ‘maLe’. Hence a good story remains on paper for eternity.
Suksy: "Personally, I feel that Mungaaru Male did not have a good story, but it was okayish for time pass"
I object my Lord! :) No I am not going to defend saying that MM had an amazing story. My point here is quite different. I would like to say, movie is mostly about narration and not entirely about the story. Even if u have a simple story or a story that has been told zillion times before, don bother unless the director is touching the hearts of audience through his narration.
And on comparing Bollywood and Sandalwood, first of all we should admit that the sensibilities of the audiences are different. When I mean sensibilities, I dont mean I would like to judge who is more sensible, I just mean the sensibilities which are influenced by geographical locations, customs and other myriad of factors are different.
I agree with Suksy’s point that Hindi cinema has a wider 'reach' when compared to regional cinema. I partly believe that could be one of the factors for Hindi movies to incur less loss or make more profit. But I also believe in 'NOT ALL HIT CINEMA IS GOOD CINEMA'. Therefore its not right to call a film industry to be more successful just because it produces 100 hit movies every year. I would call Dhoom-2 a trash, no matter how much of profit it made.
Suksy: "(Bollywood) films are not so cheap imitations of any other regional language movie or from a Hollywood movie"
Bollywood is not a land of only original ideas, 'Bheja fry' is a rip off of a French movie called Dinner game. 'Hey Baby' is ripped off from 3 men and a baby, 'Shourya' is a desi version of A few good men, and recently 'Krazzy 4' from The Dream Team, where as 'u me aur hum' from The Notebook. These are just few examples of how 'original' Bollywood script writers have been in recent past.
Suksy: "(Bollywood) actors know to ACT!"
What about Arjun Rampal, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi..
Suksy: "The violence is not glorified and there are a lot of other emotions in the movie which get glorified putting the violence aside."
I quite agree, there is more bloodshed in regional cinema than in Hindi
Suksy: "There are many radical directors like Madhur Bhandarkar, Ram Gopal Verma etc who think out of the box."
Yes. I personally regret we people dont have an answer when it comes to MB and RGV.
Talking about comedy movies, if most of Kannada comedies are gross [i never like Sadhu kokila, doDDaNNa, tennis KrishNa comedies], Most of the recent Bollywood comedies are mindless. I just cant bear Priyadarshan kinda comedies. The new addition to the list being Anees Bazmee. 'Welcome' is such a mindless crap. If Hindi cinema has to get wiser in comedy movies, Kannada movies seriously lack sanity in comedy movies.
Lemme raise another point. One thing that Bollywood easily beats Sandalwood is in the case of 'style'. The style of the movies which is a direct reflection of the bucks spent on making the movie is a serious limitation for a regional film industry like Kannada, having a limited market. But Bollywood movie makers are following a dangerous trend of making stylish movies which seriously lack substance. The flashy trailers look good only for trailers, but when it comes to hold the movie goer for 3 hrs, style wont suffice, u need substance for it.
Another thing about Hindi cinema is about the good looking actors/actresses. They are much ahead in when it comes to host six pack abs or voluptuous figures, when compared to Sandalwood.
How is it possible not to mention about music.. Bollywood has a long list of talented music directors giving some amazing tracks for each of their movie. But Sandalwood is not far behind. There has been a great leap in the quality of music in Sandalwood in the recent past.
The debate might go endlessly, but keeping our pride for Sandalwood aside we must admit Bollywood scores better as a whole. Sandalwood needs to gear-up..
Dude... I never mentioned that Kannada movies have bad story writers.. Just the same way as our Media, we tend to glorify bloodshed and skimpy sexual bitches, worth to be B Grade Heroines, which started from Tiger Prabhakar's time and go on in quite a few movies even today.
Sandalwood scores a point when it comes to the "kindness" or "people-friendliness" of actors. The latest being Ganesh and the mentally challenged girl. I don't think any actor of Bollywood would even think of such a noble gesture, except a few notable names.
Emraan Hashmi, Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal are NOT, in my opinion, Actors. They are pathetic obnoxious weeds. Actors are those like Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi, Rekha, Tabu, Anupam Kher etc etc.
Not all HIT movies are good movies, but they are HITS, which just mean that the distributor does not undergo loss. The reach, as clarified in my post, is definitely higher coz of the population which follows Bollywood.
In Sandalwood, very seldom do GOOD movies become HITS, but in Bollywood, almost all GOOD movies are HITS and there are these NOT-SO-GOOD / BAD movies which are also HITS. The producers will usually get their dues as soon as the distributors collect the prints, but it is the distributor who should be cared for.
Pls correct me if I am wrong!
ur absolutely right man..
I posted on the generalizations u made in ur post and u commented on the generalizations I made in my post :)
Abt KannaDa film industry lacking good story:
yes, its exactly like how mass media behaves. They exaggerate the crap and overlook the genuine talents.
On Sandalwood stars being more people-friendly:
Its always appreciable if stars do not do such things to grab media attention
Abt talented actors:
Hmm.. we have Ananth Nag, Dattatreya.. and my list stops there :(
Abt Bollywood having greater reach:
we all agree they have an edge there.. Kannada film distributors are under major risk every time they hold a 'new creative attempt' in their hands..
Most people think of making a movie that goes with the current trend. Whether its ‘machu’ or ‘maLe’.
Rightly said sir- I personally feel many filmmakers are out there just to make money by imitating the big ones. OM triggered rowdism movies like 'Jogi','Kariya',etc. "A" was followed by 'Z','A2Z','maari kannu hori myaage', etc. Upendra had 'Jitendra',etc after it. Duniya is having 'Zindagi' itseems
Even if u have a simple story or a story that has been told zillion times before, don bother unless the director is touching the hearts of audience through his narration.
Absolutely correct my lord! :) Cinema is all about connecting to the people and conveying the message that they are going to remember. That way, whatever Susky said about Dr. Rajkumar acting so well makes perfect sense.
I don't agree with you guys. Tell me which good hindi movie you saw in recent past except Taare Zameen par.. Hindi movies is just like another movie. Movies are made generally for mass and not for class audience.
I don't understand why you guys think that Movies should send out messages?? Is it a necessary one??
Tell me honestly, do you really like to watch someone preaching you how to live in a movie??
Moreover movies according to me are present for entertainment and let it be that way only.
These days movies are made just for financial gains.. You agree or not, this is the truth. The producers produce movies to sell.. It is only us (mass audience) who have to change, If we want only good movies to watch we will get good movies.
Honest opinion : We prefer watching sleaze and blood shed than some one preaching. Accept the truth :-)
Susky : I wanted to reply in your blog itself, I dont know you hence I did not.. I seriously want you to tell me what is a good movie according to you and which all good movies in bollywood is a hit???
Anantha : I dont agree that Bollywood is good.. It is just another film making studio.. :-)
[to Saravanan]:
I too believe most of the movies are made for mass, not for class. I even agree with you that its after all a business for producers.
I never said movies should necessarily contain a message.
None of us like watching preachy movies... But but but, We prefer watching sleaze and blood shed than some one preaching. Accept the truth :-) is a very dangerous statement to make, needs some refining. You could be honest but you cant generalize by saying 'We prefer..' :-)
A comment for a comment on Suksy's post:
As said before a good movie is a very subjective thing. Whats good for u may not be for me. So debating on what is a good movie for whom will be a never ending argument.
"I dont agree that Bollywood is good.. It is just another film making studio"
Before concluding Bollywood is ahead of us in the overall score, I also pointed out @ the debris [like brain-dead comedies and all-style-but-no-substance movies]in Bollywood. Im not saying it is the best, im saying they are ahead of Sandalwood.
Keeping apart the already mentioned actors [not 'STARS'], I would like to mention few contemporary directors' names for which I feel Sandalwood doesnt have an answer yet. Nagesh Kuknoor, Sudhir Mishra, Rajath Kapoor, Imtiaz Ali, RGV, Madhur Bhandarkar, Homi Adajania and Aamir Khan [the director] off late [if you are expecting names of K-letter-addicted-directors or Y banner, sorry they don't impress me any more].
Does Sandalwood have an answer for the above names.. These are just directors, there are many other fields in film making [music, lyrics, choreography, costume, art direction et al.] where they have better technicians and also Bollywood is way ahead when it comes to good looking actors/actresses..
This is more like some more points to ur posts than a reply
magas........i would like to add to the point that kannada film industry has produced master pieces like that film where ananth plays chess and is in search of some unkown figar. there are more like this
can u give a bollywood reply to this.....
and about market...gults and kongas are able to match bollywood? but we billingual(hindhi + kannada)while they aren't. and there is no way we can be like gults..in the sense of being movie fanactics and watching some crap 10 times 20 times....i heard there r villages in AP where ppl watch movies every day......WTF our culture is different.....we should be proud of producing the stuff we have with our kinda limited audience...
Kannada needs a big new generation star like Rajkumar... and it needs star director..
When I mean star, they need to have a success rate of beyond 80%