jose k joseph
post news network
Bhubaneswar, July 14: Where there is controversy, there is money to be made. That should apply as a dictum to the literary and film world, considering the phenomenal success of some creations India has seen in the recent past.
But with movies and books frequently courting controversy — movies ‘Sultan’ and ‘Udta Panjab’ for instance — before their release, there is sneaking suspicion among people that these are but clever marketing ploys that exploit their curiosity.
Against this backdrop, Orissa POST tried to find out from residents of Bhubaneswar what they looked for while choosing to watch a movie or, other creative content.
Interestingly, many respondents said star value determined what movies they chose to watch. The view appeared consistent with the success of films such as ‘Sultan’.
“Salman, Shah Rukh, and Aamir have a huge fan base and I love their movies. More than content, star value helps a movie succeed,” Amiya Kumar Mahapatra, an executive with a private bank, said.
For Gayatri Devi Patra, a home-maker, content was important although she was okay with the present trend. “Some recent Hindi movies are nothing more than collections of jokes. But people do like it. So I believe stars and jokes are success mantras of movies,” she said.
Other respondents seem to believe that controversies were smokescreens created to cover outright marketing campaigns.
“Controversial comments and issues often pop up before the release of a movie and the media gives free publicity to these. The movies are made popular even before they are released. I believe controversies are helping movies succeed,” Rameez Shaikh, who works in a BPO firm, said.
Geologist BN Das could not agree more. “Controversies make people curious about movies and it makes the public want to watch movies if only to find out what the hype was all about. People handling publicity of movies use controversies to give them a boost. But I believe content should reign supreme over everything else in a movie,” he said.
There is also an opinion that actors were using controversies cleverly to keep their films in the limelight.
“An actor may make a comment at random but when they realise it can help keep the movie in limelight they indirectly refer to these on television. For instance, Salman Khan made some comments at a popular television show recently,” CR Mohanty, a businessman, said.
But, besides controversies, what draws viewers to movies? A set of respondents said they wanted their movies to have a social message as a take-home.
“Movies should convey a good message to the society. Watching movies that have no message to convey are a waste of time even if they are entertaining . I believe movies must contain messages and only such creations actually succeed,” Sital Kushan, a college student, said.
While moral policing is often condemned in many spheres, some respondents felt movies should be morals-oriented.
“A movie on drug addiction can convey the message about the evil effects of drugs. But, sometimes it can also inspire people to take to addiction. Such movies must be scripted carefully,” Sredha Suman, a degree student, said.
