Small budget films are denied the minimum opportunity to cater to an audience they already have

A quick Google search for shows of the highly applauded Swara Bhaskar-starrer Anaarkali of Aarah in Pune threw up only one multiplex that is screening the film. The timing of the show and location of the multiplex didn’t help either. Do you recall the last time you saw a character from Aarah on screen? I don’t. A lot has been written about Bhaskar’s preparation for the film. I am relieved by her selection; what a respite it is to not see a “star”, say, a Katrina Kaif or a Jacqueline Fernandez, essay the role while trying to “get into the skin of the character”! But I also wonder if Kaif, say, could have attracted more attention to the film, resulting in more screening slots. Which brings us to the question: is cinema all about stargazing? Perhaps yes, which is why I feel increasingly distraught when films like Anaarkali are systematically denied an audience. This seems like an organised cohort to muzzle independent, small films. We experienced this with Ship of Theseus and Masaan. At least they had the support of Kiran Rao and Anurag Kashyap, both power centres of alternative filmmaking. Even Gurvinder Singh’s Chauthi Koot had to struggle for decent slots.

Give them a chance

This bespeaks of a denial of opportunity to many of us who want to see these films in a movie hall. Before we even begin to discuss market figures and cite lack of an audience as a possible reason, I know many people who feel this is a denial of access; an undemocratic move. It is in the stillness of the movie hall where a silent dialogue between the image and the viewer transpires; DVD viewing is at most an intrepid exercise in comparison. Small budget films like Anaarkali pick up by word of mouth. They are also often dubbed as “sleeper hits”, a term I find difficult to comprehend. Needless to say they lack the advertising mettle of, say, a Karan Johar film, which, even if mediocre, will obtain the lion’s share of screening slots for its star power and clout in the film market. On the other hand, small budget films like Anaarkali are denied the minimum opportunity to cater to an audience they already have.

How do I watch the film then? Wait for a pirated download or a TV premiere? Or is this film denied to us because ‘women-centric’ films don’t set the cash registers ringing unless backed by a mega star like Amitabh Bachchan (Pink)? And what is a woman-centric film anyway? Did we call Sultan or Raees ‘men-centric’? Of course the market/business are important, but how do we arrive at these decisions without even giving the film a fair chance to engage with an audience? What if the audience likes the film and chooses to tell their friends, thus mentoring a new audience altogether for such experiments? Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie once said: “Stories matter, many stories matter.” Similarly, films matter, many films matter. Audiences should be granted an opportunity to watch a film before embracing or discarding it. Is that too much to ask for?

Kunal Ray teaches contemporary literature at FLAME University, Pune and occasionally writes on art and culture