Distributors used to come from Kolkata or Jaipur & stayed in plush 5 star hotels and threw parties in the evening with girls strewn around. Gone are the days when heroines packed lunches for their family members on the producers account. Gone are the days when actors used to carry their laundry to outdoor shooting to get them washed on producers account. Gone are the days when Producers didn’t pay Workers and Actors (not Heroes & Heroines) and still expected them to co-operate with them (the Producers) or else these people would be thrown out of their next ventures. Studios like Mehboob & Filmcentre were a hub of activity with at least one song recording per day. Gone are the days when a Superstar took guarantee of a 4 week House Full because of the price he demanded. Gone are the days when people planned their releases on a Diwali, or a Holi or Id, because festivals fetched rich dividends for the films. Gone are the days when you went to a theatre for advance booking on Monday morning and if you were late by half an hour you were told that Friday, Saturday & Sunday was all sold out. Gone are the days when you went to see the film on Friday, you bought the tickets in black but never came back without seeing the film. Gone are the days when a Director could say that “ Agar log continuity dekhenge to Hero ko kaun dekhega.” or for that matter “ Agar log set ko dekhenge to Heroine ko kaun dekhega.”.

Gone are the days. Gone are the days. “Gone are the days”. But the sad part is that still people of our industry are sleeping and they are not realizing that. Mediocrity would just not sell and shall not run. When we use new techniques and latest equipment to shoot the film we think at times that we have advanced and progressed and we have come at par with the World Cinema. Technique is fine but what about the Content! For the last 5 years or so what have we made? If we take an average of last 50 years we have just made three subjects- 1) Love Story, 2) Revenge & 3) Lost and Found.

If we are producing 800 odd films per year, then at least 75% films are based on these subjects, and especially 99% of the Hindi films are definitely made on these subjects. Naturally if so many films are made on such limited subjects, how are they supposed to run. This is one aspect. The other aspect is that the audience has become much more clever, smart, educated and informed. When they see a Hindi film the see it along with international exposure. Their T.V sets are showing them best of Films, best of Serials, best of Documentaries and Nature Programmes. Till around ten years back we could give our audience any kind of trash and get away with it. But that wont happen now. That will never happen now. Imagine the dearth of ideas that every second film of Sanjay Dutt released in the last five years has been based on the under world, and he has spoken the same lines in every film. Every film of Govinda has looked the same because of the same dances, Switzerland locations and off beat comedy lines, and of course the costumes.

How much, how far, how long will the audience tolerate. In the 70’s & 80’s we had people like Hrishida & Basu Chatterjee who could break the routine at times and take a tangent. Films like Anand, Chupke-Chupke, Chhotisi Baat were pleasant & welcome surprises. But alas- Gone are the days!

The writing is clear on the wall. We have to crush and crumple every norm of the past and throw it in the dustbin and start with a new film order.