I don't speak Hindi and am and not a crazy movie buff. Luckily I have some friends who are knowledgeable about this stuff and point me towards the good ones. So I have rarely seen bad Bollywood movies, must have seen only around 20-30 Hindi movies in my entire life, all with subtitles
. So thankfully I am shielded from the likes of Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. I have seen some South Indian movies, again being a choosy watcher and obsessive researcher I have watched mostly the critically acclaimed (critics I respect, very few
) and well received ones.
We Brits don't like cheesy nonsense and gaudy colours.
Not sure about gaudy colours but there is plenty of nonsense that British and other Western people seem to like. In fact no country is exempt of such a viewer base that thrives on nonsense. Plenty of commercial successes coming from those industries seem nonsensical to me, be it movies, TV serials or reality shows. The proportion and numbers may be less but it's there alright.
is it we westerners simply don't understand it's nuances and in fact it it is only those who live on another spiritual and emotional level who can access the fruits on the higher branches?
No, it is a unanimous view that majority of what comes out of Bollywood is poor quality. But westerners do generalize stuff and hence miss out on the really good stuff. The stereotypes hold on and it seems westerners don't want to take risks with Indian products fearing the worst. And it isn't limited to movies, take cuisine, music, culture or even India as a tourist place. Westerners are risk averse when it comes to India, and maybe Pakistan/Sri Lanka/Bangladesh too. They accept East Europeans, East Asians, Africans, South Americans etc more easily than Indians. There have been some recent worldwide blockbusters like Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther with near complete representation of certain ethnic groups. But I doubt they are even mildly interested in us brown folk, we are stereotyped into small boxes and they don't like us spreading our wings. In short I will say that westerners need to be more open minded when it comes to South Asia.
Is Bollywood really a terrible film industry?
When you consider the resources available, long history, market, economy etc yes it is quite terrible. Ultimately most makers create movies that appeal to the masses. Spend 1 hour on twitter searching about India related trends and you will understand that most Indians no matter how educated, well traveled or well off have bad or no taste. Ultimately movie caters to them and no maker is willing to take the risk of loss, box office failure in this competitive industry means one strike and you are out. Our folk aren't daring enough to deal with sensitive and nuanced subjects or in the art of subtlety. Even in well made movies the message or idea has to be drummed out loudly else our dumb low IQ audience will start rioting in the theatres. Western audience has on an average much higher IQ, more class, maturity, patience, flexibility and a willingness to stretch their brain cells as opposed to desis who love to devour lazy entertainment. Of course bad apples are still there but in India a huge % of movie goers are bad apples. There are some adventurous, bold and high quality film makers in India and they have a dedicated following, but it is a matter of numbers. They are unable to compete with our dross as far as bottom-line and/or audience appreciation is concerned. For every good product there are 20 poor/defective products and at least in the eyes of the international audience, our image takes a dip harming the rare good gems.
Another thing harming our industry is lack of or under developed stage culture. The stage culture in USA, UK, France, Australia, Spain, NZ etc is top notch. In India however it is a loss making enterprise and hence the actors, directors, producers, screenwriters, editors, costume designers, artistic creators, sound designers etc enter the movie industry as unfinished tools. Look at the great actors of the world, almost all of them have a certain reputation on the stage. Can Salman Khan last for 5 minutes in a Broadway type show? Or for that matter 90% of our successful showbiz people? Just like first class cricket is the gateway to success in international cricket, stage productions are a pre-requisite to movies. But do we value the art in its truest form or just the fame and money associated with it? How many people enter this business for the love of it?
Again because of nepotism and corruption in the industry, the same dynasty related people get the big breaks. Can you imagine such an arrangement in Hollywood? 32 leading actresses performed screen tests for the part of Scarlett in "Gone With The Wind" before the part finally went to Vivien Leigh. In India the casting is farcical, star children or relatives of politicians just have to show up and get assigned meaty roles in various capacities.
Compare the Oscars, BAFTA, SAG, Golden Globes with our fixed awards shows. There is a due process to reward talent and excellence in the west, in India there is no integrity and accountability. And ultimately we deserve what we get. A low quality audience with low quality working environment will always breed low quality movies. Unless audience learns to appreciate good work and demands excellence we are stuck in a loop. British public will boycott BAFTA if it reduces to the level of circus awards shows in India, they have certain standards to keep up to.
The Scientific and Technical Awards given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences during the Academy Awards season recognize significant milestones in the development of technology for motion pictures. When was the last time we Indians even talked about technical people when it comes to movie making. What is our technical achievement or engineering innovation with regards to this industry? Does our audience demand technical excellence and the best cinematography, sound/visual effects etc? Do most of our makers and media know that there is a world beyond actors and directors?
And don't even get me started on the censoring and artistic liberty available in India. We are a few decades behind compared to the west. If a creative artist can't have license to do justice to his/her imagination and creativity, how can he/she ever sustain motivation in the business? If you impose restrictions on the thought process of people from where will innovation come? First we need to open our minds to all types/directions of winds, however unfortunately for us there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
