Note: The views expressed in this article do not reflect the views of BollySpice.com’s staff or owners. They are solely the views of the writer of this opinion piece.
Year after year, Indian cinema releases hundreds of films. However, only a group of about 10 to 15 appear in the nomination lists of award shows. Many of these don’t even deserve to be mentioned. But what about those brilliant pieces of art that had everything in them but still went unnoticed?
It is called the name game. The bigger the name, the more recognition. Occasionally Indian audiences listen to the critics’ praises and actually appreciate a piece of cinema that may not have the biggest names (e.g. Bheja Fry and Khosla Ka Ghosla). Still, these are only rare occurrences.
Already in 2007, countless movies have gone by which deserved ample recognition, yet didn’t even receive an ounce of what they deserved. Say Salaam India and Life Mein Kabhie Kabhie are two titles that definitely stand out and anyone who has seen either would agree. The question is, why aren’t they getting the recognition they deserve?
In a day an age when cinema is evolving, one would assume that audiences have become more intelligent and value talent over name. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Audiences still only rush to see a movie because they see names like “Khan, Chopra or Johar” plastered on the posters.
However, we cannot shove the blame on cine-goers entirely. Instead, it is the fault of the casting system adopted by Indian filmmakers. Even today, prominent filmmakers only sign actors who are most suited to get the audiences running to the cinemas rather than choosing actors that are best suited for the role.
It would be interesting to interview makers like Yash Chopra, Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar and ask them whether they ever thought if there is any other actor or actress out there who is more capable of doing roles originally done by clich
