Indie cinema’s coming of age

Art has the capacity to bring about a revolution in the minds of the people. Films are one such medium of creative art, and it has indeed brought a considerable amount of change in society.  However, down the line, Bollywood has lost its way in the ‘mirchi-masala’ genre. Cleavage shows, hip twitches and blatant vulgarism have taken over mainstream films and evidently people do like such kind of films. Even though Hindi cinema has completed 100 years, the quality of films still isn’t top notch. With crores of rupees being invested to produce a film, some films do not even earn higher than their budget itself. Bollywood is lacking creativity in both stories and execution.

But as always, there is a silver lining. With mainstream cinema ignoring such large areas of the country’s socio-political life, independent filmmakers have stepped in to fill the breach and are driving change.  

 Independent cinema often known as indie films started in 1908. Since then, independent filmmakers have strived to create films and get them into the limelight. Some of them climb their way up but most of them struggle to get past the early stages of production. There are writers and storytellers who write thought-provoking and intellectual stories but go unnoticed or simply do not have a right channel through which they can create quality films.

Why do indie filmmakers have to go through this battle? Simply because production houses, obsessed by profits, finance a story which is generically loved by the masses (though only if our brains are kept at home while watching the film) and also because mainstream actors have their own fan following.

Independent filmmakers don’t hanker for profits like mainstream producers; their aim is certainly beyond that. If production houses were to provide a platform for such filmmakers to showcase their skills, it is certain that an independent film production, with the necessary funding and distribution, can rival a mainstream production. Producers and investors must try to put their faith in the skills and creativity of an independent filmmaker. 

Indie films have an immense scope to garner public attention and become a boxoffice hit. Rewind to 1994, when Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction was released and went on to become one of the greatest films of all time. Cut to 2015, when the Marathi drama film Court  garnered several accolades internationally. Indie filmmakers have repeatedly proven their potential.

 There are many passionate filmmakers who want to make films which transcend ideologies and social morality. Art can change mass consciousness and indie films are particularly potent but censorship and lack of potential distributors for such films create hurdles in the way of an independent filmmaker. 

But the screening of such films at regional, local and national film festivals have provided these filmmakers with an alternate platform and serves as an encouragement to aspirant filmmakers. In this new age, in the West too, there is hope as aspiring filmmakers often work day-jobs while they pitch their scripts to independent film production companies, talent agents, and wealthy investors. 

Their dreams are much more attainable than they were before the independent film revolution because gaining the backing of a major studio is no longer needed in order for aspiring filmmakers to potentially access millions of dollars to make their film, but that’s not how Bollywood works here. 

An independent filmmaker is like a silent ninja warrior who gently protests against the injustice of the system and awakens the masses through his art. Is that the reason they don’t get the attention they deserve? 

Maybe. Such films do not conform and to be honest, no art form does. Bollywood really needs to rejuvenate itself and for this to be done, the scope for indie filmmakers must increase. The fire inside the heart of such filmmakers does not fade away easily, and in the coming times we hope independent films garner the attention they deserve thus taking Hindi cinema to create a new identity of its own.  

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