Bhawana Somaaya

There are three kinds of movie goers.

The first who book their ticket well in advance irrespective of the star-cast or the banner of the film. They are what the trade describes as the first day first show audience.

The second, the instinctive audience who visit cinema hall on an impulse, these are viewers who decide to watch a film because they are either drawn to the poster of the film/ the star cast/ the banner. These are what the trade describes as the first week audience.

The third is the educated audience who will only visit a cinema hall after reading the review of the film and is what the trade describes as the second week audience.

For a film to become a super hit the filmmaker needs all the three audiences.

Friday is an important day for the film fraternity because the box-office collection determines whether the new release is a hit or a flop.

Saturday is an important day for the audience because the film reviews determine whether it is worthwhile visiting the cinema halls.

Last week all the newspapers unanimously declared that Kamal Haasan’s new film Dashaavtaar is not worth visiting cinema hall. Considering it is the only Hindi release during the present exhibitor-producer strike all over India it was a golden opportunity for the filmmaker to monopolize the entertainment deprived audience but that did not happen.

Dashaavtaar says to hell with the content and technique is the king. The hero Kamal Haasan is not only the producer, writer,singer, narrator of the film but also portrays 10 characters that are far from entertaining. Many summers ago Sanjeev Kumar played nine roles in Naya Din Nayi Raat (remake of Tamil film Navratri with Shivaji Ganeshan when make-up was not as advanced as it is today) but the characters were engaging and the film had a strong story line.

My mind wanders to two more films: Dilip Kumar’s Bairaag and Amitabh Bachchan’s Mahaan. In both these films the actors play triple roles (father and twins). In the former the blind father abandons his blind child and lives in remorse. In the latter the father is separated from the family and lives in anguish. Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan managed to create three distinctive characters in body language and emotion quotient without resorting to gimmicks. Through their scintillating performances they made a place in your heart that makes you remember them after all these years.

Can we say the same of any of your ten roles Kamal Haasan?

Bhawana Somaaya