Clichéd ‘song and dance sequences’ would soon die out -Nasseruddin Shah

Nasseruddin Shah ,the renowned actor said that contemporary Indian cinema was synonymous with Bollywood and this was not a positive trend. While the films from the other regions of India were isolated he predicted that the fascination with these clichéd ‘song and dance sequences’ would soon die out. He was talking at the second edition of the Open Forum of the 12th IFFK which debated ‘Contemporary Indian Cinema-Challenges and Prospects’. Jabbar Patel, P.T. Kunjumohammed and Sridhar Rangayan were participated. B.Unnikrishnan moderated the proceedings .On a lighter note Shah added that Indian cuisine had substance which was lacking in Indian cinema. He said unless filmmakers take steps to salvage Indian cinema, a revolution in Indian cinema could not be a reality. Noted filmmaker Jabbar Patel opined that it was the content of Indian cinema accessible to the world that should be focused on. He added it was the onus of the upcoming filmmakers to create meaningful cinema as against mainstream Bollywood cinema. He said that ‘Middle Cinema’ will continue the new wave generated by parallel cinema earlier on. Parallel cinema lacked genres while gaining expertise on specific themes. He stated that the Parallel cinema lacked in genres while gaining expertise on specific themes. Middle cinema will transcend these limitations. Sridhar Rangayan, gave an overview on the struggles of ‘underground’/‘queer’ film makers to deal with contemporary themes. Though the digital trends were a boon, he said production and distribution expenses and censorship have curtailed the wings of the new age Indian film makers. He described the stigma associated with making films on homosexual and transgender themes.P.T.Kunjumuhammed said how it is an inferior mindset that has caused many a regional film not reaching a global audience. He said this in the context of his film ‘Paradesi’ being rejected at a film festival as it dealt with an international rather than a regional theme. This resulted in some members of the audience saying that being a regional film was the film’s identity and strength and not a weakness.Jabber Patel said cinema was a visual medium and therefore language took a backseat. The need of the hour was to take Indian cinema to a universal level by depicting universal themes. Economic, political, and familial issues are global and presenting these with an Indian perspective is where the future of Indian Cinema lies.