Rewind & Ramble: Where are the cinegoers?

Each time an Indian does us proud on the global stage, we go gaga over it and rightly so. Recent case in point is Anuparna Roy’s historic win at the Venice Film Festival. But before we bask in the reflected glory, allow me to throw a spanner in the works. Before we sing Songs of Forgotten Trees, let me remind you of our collective cinematic amnesia.

Today, we are in of awe of the film that is being distributed by Celluloid Dreams, a French sales outfit. But tomorrow, when the film releases in Indian theatres, how many of us would care to watch it? Wish I could say your guess is as good as mine. But I have tangible figures on hand, which tell me that only a few will spare time and money for an acclaimed film like this one.

Right now… Jugnuma: The Fable, Best Film of the 38th Leeds International Film Festival in the United Kingdom, is struggling for viewers in theatres. In cities like Chandigarh, the film, which opened to glowing reviews, hardly got any shows, just two cinema halls, one show each. Pan-India figures are equally disheartening. The box office collection on day one was a meager Rs 0.05 crore.

Prior to the film’s India release, award-winning director Raam Reddy might have effusively remarked how ‘commercial vs independent cinema’ narrative is outdated. But numbers tell a different story. Alas, each time not much different when it comes to feted films.

Last year we were over the moon when Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light picked up the second highest honour at the Cannes International Film Festival, a festival so exalted in stature that even making it to the competition section is deemed a victory.

As a rule, there is a huge gap between festival buzz and release in Indian theatres. The time lag is often attributed to disconnect between viewers and the film…. for a year after there is hardly any recall value. But All We… came into theatres few months after the Grand Prix win. Yet with limited screenings, the film only earned Rs 80 lakh in India.

Ever since the OTT boom embraced Indian viewers in a bear hug, we have been proclaiming that the tastes of cinegoers have undergone a paradigm shift. Now, they only yearn for quality content. Yet, each time an Indian film, which has won laurels world over, releases, the Indian audiences do a missing act.

No wonder festival favourites like Stolen and Kennedy miss their date with cinema halls. What explains the viewers’ near tepid response to cinema which is clearly of world almost gold standard? Many would argue that viewers read festival tag as slow and boring. Often I am in disagreement with friends and family over the stars I give to such films. Now, I add a caveat — may be this is not your cup of tea and hate myself for saying so.

Critics and average cinegoers are rarely on the same page. Critical appreciation hardly ever translates into box office success. Indeed, when Manoj Bajpayee, who plays the lead in Jugnuma, professes that box office obsession is a monster and box office glory isn’t everything, you nod along with his sagacious contention. There is merit in his value of artistic merit thesis. But when a feted maker from Punjab shares where is the money to make his next film… you can again nod, only dismally this time. More than a decade after Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox made Rs 100 crore worldwide, struggle of indie makers has not whittled. Payal’s All We… might have been hailed as a game-changer and its producer Zico Maitra may have enthusiastically told us ‘future is female.’ But future of indie cinema remains a shifting goalpost…even as some determined makers hang on to their vision and autonomy of choice, unmindful of box-office pressure.