‘Mainstream films are time-pass, cinema is more poignant’
| Date :02-Jun-2023 |
By Sagar Mohod
Cinema, one of the most captivating art forms, is completely surreal yet commanding in influencing the viewers. A film-maker equipped with the art of story-telling can weave magic with the right mix of the genre. Unveiling the art of cinema during a chat with The Hitavada, well-known film-maker Adoor Gopalkrishnan was forthwith on his thoughts. “One should not fall prey to market while making a film. The story should connect with audience is all rights, yet a film-maker must leave it to the viewers to derive its meaning. A film must have to have an impact on the viewer, shake him to the core, making him think. Hence, the story that is put out has to be delivered in the right format,” said the master of film-making. Known for his minimalist style of cinema, the legendary film-maker was in the city for the 8th International Convention of SPIC Macay where his co-film maker Girish Kasaravalli’s film -- Images -- on Adoor Gopalkrishnan was featured on Thursday.
On the sidelines of screening of the film, Adoor Gopalkrishnan opened up on his passion, the films, its art, the change occurring in format, moreover, about the Direction. Disagreeing with the contention that a film is known by its Director, Adoor Gopalkrishnan said, “The format is okay with Theatre. Whereas, a film-maker’s identity suits my personality the best. Director is the one akin to the Captain of a ship. But a film-maker is a craftsman shaping the script, arranging the logistics, narrating the story and many more.”
Asked about infusion of technology in today’s film-making and its disturbing impact on the audience, Adoor Gopalkrishnan’s take was simple. “Master it if someone is keen on using it. Leveraging of technology provides multiple usage during shooting of the film. Take an example, if one wants to shoot with market background, today it is simple and easy. Even before anyone could understand, the film would have been shot. Or for that matter, one can recreate required scenes using the technology. Further, the improvement in sound recording has been amazing. Unlike in earlier days, where often background sound used to be mixed while shooting. Today, however, the domination of technology actually helps in unravelling various aspects of the film-making,” said the legend of cinema. “There is no fit formula for learning film-making. The courses in universities are run of the mill, barring a few like the one that I along with other legendary film-makers help design curriculum at Jadhavpur University in Kolkata. I recall a pep talk with Bimal Dada. The yesteryear stalwart of film industry was of the view that film-making was a passion. One has to eat it, drink it, sleep and dream it. It is everything around which a life revolves,” said Adoor Gopalkrishnan while revealing nuances of the art of story-telling on the celluloid.
Himself acclaimed at various international fora, Adoor Gopalkrishnan, however, was of the view that Indian film-markers should not fall for Oscars. In fact, there are more acclaimed awards, including Canes Film Festival which is much more prestigious. Also the films that are shorlisted from India for entry to Oscars, often fail to cross the preliminary stage as here film-makers do not know the norms that carry weight for selecting the films. Dismissing comparison between regional films and Hindi movies, Adoor Gopalkrishnan, said, “There is no art in mainstream medium and it is akin to time-pass for audience.”
Narrating an incident of a train journey from Sagar to another city in Madhya Pradesh, many years back, Adoor Gopalkrishnan, said, “A vendor in the train was continuously saying time-pass, time-pass. Later on, I realised that he meant ‘chana’ which was laced with fresh lime and salt. Hindi films are successful as viewers connect with the theme or rather they know what is going to happen next.” As to his own films, Adoor Gopalkrishnan said, they convey the meaning in a different form with emphasis on audience to connect with the story. As to Hindi mainstream cinema being influenced from regional cinema, he said, the phenomenon is nothing new. “Today’s generation might be awed by the success of either ‘Bahubali’ or ‘Pushpa’. But, such substance existed even before in our days. Whenever, a picture is a hit among regional audience, Hindi film producers know that the script was already accepted. So, it is easy to adapt for larger viewership,” concluded the ace story-teller.