Bollywood has competition from across the seas

Foreign language films are enticing metropolitan audiences leaving them craving for more

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Plenty of foreign language films have suddenly found an audience in India. Many embassies have been roping in their well known film makers to interact with the intellectually stimulated movie buff audience. The city has recently witnessed a surge in foreign film screenings and festivals. The most recent being a Russian Festival. Some film makers are of the likes of Goddard, Bergman, Makhmalbaf and Eisenstein; all of those who are considered to be extraordinary in their field. But what is it that charms the audience that they are ready for more variety and more content? What is making them move away, far away, from commercial Bollywood? Afternoon takes a peek into the minds of some of these movie buffs…
“I enjoy watching films that are not the typical masala flicks. There is so much debate that is created in the film. It is sad to see that only few enjoy such films because of the kind of issues they raise,” said Edna Sanghvi. The twenty year old said that she tries never to miss any of the fests that make their way into the city. “I rope in a couple of my friends who enjoy the films as much as I do. We try never to miss a single film. Sometimes, we aren’t able to make it, we make sure we rent a CD or DVD and watch the film in either one’s home.” Edna added that while she liked her share of Bollywood and Hollywood, Iranian films were what she enjoyed. “The Iranian films make use of a lot of music. They are slow moving but they deal with such complex issues in such delicate ways,” she said.
Binaya Jehangir, a foreign film buff, said, “I am glad to see the foreign film audience increasing so much. People are more open minded and are ready for new ideas. They are also ready to explore new patterns of film making. I was introduced to foreign films by my friend and the two of us rent CD’s almost every weekend. It is like a stress buster for us.” Binaya enjoys watching Eisenstein and other Russian films. “I loved Battleship Potempkin. It is so challenging. This film revolutionised film making!”
“I watch foreign films for the style of direction. I want to become a film maker sometime in the future and I hope to draw inspiration from either of the film makers who have already carved out a niche for themselves,” said Vinod Jain. The youngster loves his Bollywood films but feels that Satyajit Ray is brilliant. “I must have seen the Apu Trilogy many more times than I actually watched Sholay! I own all his films in the DVD format. Sometimes my father and I sit down to watch the films together. My sister is getting the feel of off-beat films too,” said Jain.
Nandini Basu feels the same about off-beat films and foreign language films. “They deal with issues that often go untouched by the mainstream films. Here is feminism, existentialism, Marxism; every topic stares at your face from the screen. It gives movie making and watching a whole new dimension. Anybody watching such films will be forced to read up about the issues and will thus stay abreast with these schools of thought. One must learn from anything they read or watch. It is such films that teach the audience something,” she said.
The film festivals sure have a huge audience in the metropolitan to cater to. The film enthusiasts keep growing every year and the quality of films coming in only gets better. Bollywood now, has much more competition than it had ever before!