My father, who is the chief reason behind my ardent love for films, has stopped going to the theatres. My problem doesn’t end there. Once a passionate collector of movie DVDs, it is clearly evident that he has lost the interest in spending an evening at home watching his favourite film.
It pains me when I realise he is the same man who earnestly spoke about Nayakan and made sure I watch it after I expressed my interest in the gangster genre. Needless to say, he was my knowledge centre during my early days of film-watching. In an emotional episode, he skipped work due to distress when popular Kannada actor Vishnuvardhan passed away. He watched the funeral and tributes paid by different television channels to one of his all-time favourite actors.
It took a while for me to get the answer for this drastic transformation. I eventually realised, it is the age that’s done him in. Now a retired individual, films aren’t there on his priority list nor were it alluring to him during his late 50s. The quintessential parental responsibilities like constructing an own house, worrying about his children’s future with respect to job and marriage coupled with personal health issues slowly sucked away his enormous love for films.
I strongly believe that ageing well with films, at least for the die-hard fans of the art, is important and something that’s also neglected. I take the blame for the situation. I spent my early childhood in Cochin and we had a great time watching popular Malayalam entertainers made by Siddique Lal and Fazil in single screen theatres. The shift to Bengaluru in 2000 didn’t kill our film-watching culture.
In fact, the new DVD player at home helped me be more serious about films as I watched a lot of Indian classics from the 80s. Moserbaer’s decision to launch DVDs for just 28 Rs in 2006 came like a dream offer. Watching a film with the family at home was special! Being thrilled together at the mass moments of Padayappa and feeling touched by an inspiring performance from Rajkumar in the Kannada classic Kasturi Nivasa are some of my dearest memories!
The downslide began when I entered college. My first film with a gang of boys was Rang De Basanti and the experience was liberating. There I was, planning movie dates with friends or girlfriend even as my family watched me grow passionate about the art. The arrival of a laptop made my film-watching culture completely personal. Discussions about the latest path-breaking films with my father became scant as I derived more pleasure in analysing them with friends or posting my observations on social media. Talk about age-related issues!
Like a late bloomer, I am trying to set things right now but films have entered a new age. After I booked tickets for O Kadhal Kanmani and Piku in a multiplex, my parents came out disturbed by the loud surround sound and the sky-high price! I have embraced the challenge and the journey appears interesting. With opinionated pieces on films being a norm today, I make sure I share their links with my father who is excited to have a new Android phone.
Still a supporter of old-school yet quality film-making, he is apprehensive about the new-generation films. But the results, despite taking its time, are encouraging. He had a smile on his face throughout while watching Soodhu Kavvum and appreciates some of the works of Fahad Faasil and Dulquer Salmaan. I haven’t ticked one box yet and that is dragging him back to the big screen. The name Mani Ratnam still creates a flutter in him and like many of the hard-core Rajinikanth fans, he is waiting for that one ‘satisfying’ film of the Superstar. So there is still hope! At work, my colleague told me about holding a binge-watching session of classic Kannada films of Anant Nag at home with family and friends. Now that’s an interesting idea to keep age as a number and watch films till we die.
Vivek MV
Baradwaj Rangan 
Madan
March 5, 2018
Nice! Can’t say I relate to it though because my late grandfather got the most of retirement…by watching films all the time. 🙂 I believe by the end he had even moved to foreign language films with subtitles, having got more than his lifetime’s fill of Hollywood. My father settles for a weekend binge, sometimes back to back films on the same day, which he wasn’t really doing say when he was in his thirties. This is also a Bolly v/s South thing. I don’t think I can watch the big name Tamil films anymore, at least not most of them (the good ones like Theeran Adhigaram Ondru don’t seem to do so well sadly). But I think everyone in our family appreciated the multiplex wave in Bollywood which meant good riddance to films like Ishq or Mela. Nostalgic moviegoers love to mention the ones like Dil Se or Yes Boss to paint the 90s in a favourable light but so many of the films were noisy, tacky and altogether crappy so the multiplex wave felt like a breath of fresh air. And if it’s not so fresh anymore, it’s more because it isn’t pushing the envelope as much or as often now, not because it’s too divergent from the audience’s worldview.
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phaneendra201
March 5, 2018
Nice write up Vivek. Enjoyed reading it.
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phaneendra201
March 5, 2018
This piece came at right time, at least to me, when I started losing interest reading comments of this blog, as our commentators are more interested in conversing about the looks of celebrities.
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sanjana
March 5, 2018
Somehow I associate multiplex with popcorn.
Vivek, are you Vivek Narayan? If so, this writeup is comprehensible and delightful to read.
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Anu Warrier
March 5, 2018
Nice write up, Vivek, and I can empathise – my father was my guide to films as well, and it hurts to see him not interested in watching nowadays. He’ll make an exception for a rare film, but he cannot sit through 3 whole hours any more. And watching it on TV is worse – unlike the old days of Doordarshan when you had ads at the beginning, the middle and the end, nowadays, ten minutes of film is interspersed with 15 minutes of ads – and the film is cut quite indiscriminately to fit into the time slot.
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praneshp
March 5, 2018
@phaneendra: Sorry for doing this, but I lost interest in the blog because of commenters that showed up here sucking up to rangan (vs talking about movies). The standout among those, for me, was you. I remember making a comment about it when I noticed as well.
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Sudhi S
March 6, 2018
Nice writeup Vivek, triggered a flood of memories. I’m a malayalee born in Thrissur but brought up in Bengaluru though we briefly relocated to Thrissur when I was three. My father is a total film buff and he was a fan of Amitabh Bachchan to the core. He had watched Sholay and Deewar 20 times at least and he used to collect the ticket stubs, on his weekly off, he used to watch three or four shows back to back. He also bought the audio tapes of these and used to play it almost every night. He was that obsessed with the movies. My first movie outing with my family was Manjil Virinja Pookal at a nondescript tent named Jaya at Mannuthi in Thrissur. We moved back to Bengaluru two years later. Once there I remember watching Tamil films like Vasantha Maligai, Mayabazar, Padikathavan, Kaakisattai, Aboorva Sagordharargal, Agninakshatram, Naayagan, Anjali, Dalapathi etc., and Kannada films like Jai Karnataka, Bhandhana, Jeevana Chakra, Mutthina haara, Nishkarsha, Devatha Manushya etc. My father was a fan of Vishnuvardhan too. When Sholay had a rerun at Anand theatre he took me along and I loved it so much that we ended up watching it two more times. We used to go to a lot of Malayalam and English movies too. But off late he doesn’t visit cinemas, he’s just happy to catch it on the TV and absolutely abhors the new generation shit as he terms them and this is where I’m at odds with him though it is he who lit the torch I carry now.
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Sudhi S
March 6, 2018
On another note Vivek, have you watched Tagaru? It’s amazing! Please don’t take my word for it though☺️
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phaneendra201
March 6, 2018
@pranesh – I do remember that. It’s my bad. I should not have reacted like that (Arjun reddy thread). I am sorry bharadwaj for the way I reacted in that thread.
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Vivek narain
March 6, 2018
No Sanjana this ain’t me,life is kinda a complex game in these parts of north and i lost my innocence way back. This kind of writeup is the old currency that’s not valid hereabouts. It’s not hypocrisy but rather duplicity that rules, cowardice is in the air and people are afraid of each other. The mushy reminiscence of yore is losing its hold and appears as fake as Amitabh’s hair. A Jason Statham will provide good entertainment for the folks here, it’s that rotten situation. Personally i liked Adjustment bureau, just for a change from the Palermo-esque atmosphere of Lucknow.
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Vikram S
March 6, 2018
Very well written
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mysorevivekmv
March 6, 2018
@Sudhi, I got a couple of more responses similar to yours. The idea is to strike a balance and keep our parents closer to cinema as much as possible using different types of medium out there. My write-up was one such attempt. And yes I did watch Tagaru and loved it. Loved the way Suri has worked on the screenplay. It was entertaining as well!
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JD
March 6, 2018
Mr Mysuru, taking the blog by storm.
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Naveen
March 6, 2018
Vivek, Sandal woood had some really good movies with a pan-India potential but never sold that way
Pallavi Anu Pallavi ( best in all departments – MR, IR, BM, lead actors Lakshmi, Anilkapoor et al ) , Bandhana ( only movie of Suhasini that I could like ), Gowri Ganesha ( simple and terrific comedy ), Namoora Mandhaara Hoove ( IR in great form, somewhat like Alaigal Oyvadhillai), Nagamandala ( one or Prakashraj’s best ), Mungarina Minisu,Amruta varshini ( best of Deva till now ) etc these are the exceptional ones as Sandalwood had lots and lots of intolerable stuff coming out as well.
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Sudhi S
March 6, 2018
Hi Vivek, you are right about the screenplay. The editing was experimental but I think they pulled it off. I felt the characters, screenplay, editing, cinematography and music everything came together as a whole beautifully in this film. Shivanna was a perfect fit for the role. Oh! and that swag! Just killed it.
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Madan
March 7, 2018
Apart from losing out on older generation people, it appears that multiplex movies don’t necessarily please the exhibitors and have led to reduced footfalls. I read this in an interesting Business Standard article (unfortunately behind a paywall online, I had read it in print). Single screen theaters would die without tentpole films (read Salman/Aamir starrers). I had mentioned in the Padmavat thread that the film was probably a response to Bahubali, fearing that Bollywood would get wiped out. As films based on historical events/legends get into a lot of controversy, expect more Bahubali-like fantasies. Just as Hollywood banks on endless permutations of Marvel/DC, here too some sorta medieval adventure fantasy franchises may be developed to hook pan India audience.
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MANK
March 7, 2018
Moserbaer’s decision to launch DVDs for just 28 Rs in 2006 came like a dream offer.
Oh was that in 2006? remember freaking out over it. it made a lot of movies accessible for affordable prices
And same goes for my father too. its impossible to get him to watch films of new gen actors. its still mohanlal films for him. he wont sit through even for something like Bangalore days or premam. he prefer to watch the old movies that came in 80’s and 90’s
Anyway a great write up, brought back a lot of fond memories.
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sanjana
March 7, 2018
‘And same goes for my father too. its impossible to get him to watch films of new gen actors. its still mohanlal films for him. he wont sit through even for something like Bangalore days or premam. he prefer to watch the old movies that came in 80’s and 90’s.’
The old stories were stories without tricks. Simple and straightforward. Now we need tricky films which make us think and savour about director’s moods and thoughts. A simple story will not do and a simple song picturisation like in olden days will not do. We tend to brand them as bland.
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sanjana
March 7, 2018
There can be only 3 or 4 big films in a year. And there will be small films which can become good hits in between. It seems no film is losing money as the producers are bouncing back from flops to make more films. I think only the film industry has survived economic shocks. They have so many avenues to make profit like music, satellite rights, television and now web series. Talents are finding ways to survive.
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MANK
March 7, 2018
Madan, I think thats what Aamir is trying to do with his planned Mahabharatha franchise. i dont know how successful or safe the whole enterprise is going to be, looking at all the controversies on padmaavat. But it would be great if he pulls it off. Apart from Aamir , nobody is seriously thinking about pan indian films, films that appeal to the heartland rather than the multiplex audience. May be a lot of these SoBo filmmakers are incapable of doing anything pan indian
There is also a 3 part Ramayana in the works from Telugu from Chiranjeevi’s family. there is that 2 part Randamoozham adaptation with mohanlal. A lot of the projects would have gone full steam if it wasn’t for the controversies on padmaavat, i dont think anybody wants to spend 300 crores and worry about whether they can even release their film. But the silver lining is that Padmaavat is close to 300 crs now at Indian BO, the only non salman -aamir film to achieve this , so may be the makers would consider the risks worthwhile
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Madan
March 7, 2018
“Maybe a lot of these SoBo filmmakers are incapable of doing anything pan Indian” – lol. Or maybe some of them, like KJ, have lost interest. KJ did start out with pan India blockbusters after all. And Kaabil did good business so the Roshans have decided that traditional action masala is their shtick.
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Jay
March 7, 2018
one ‘satisfying’ film of the Superstar …. I will hold on to that too ….
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Deepa
March 8, 2018
Well written piece Vivek. it just filled my heart . with a commotion of emotions for thats what is now happening at home. Time to reconsider options.
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