By Anant Mathur (May 11, 2007)
I Remember the good old days...When there used to be a mystery in film titles. Hollywood still has it, but the Indian film industry seems to be loosing it. Whatever happened to titles like Mughal-E-Azam, Sholay, Shaan, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. Titles that didn't give the story of the film away. Today we have titles like Neal n Nikki, Big Brother, Kabul Express, Traffic Signal, Salaam-E-Ishq, Jaan-E-Man, Corporate, Life In a...Metro, Good Boy Bad Boy, Honeymoon Travels, Shootout at Lokhandwala, Mr. Hot Mr. Cool, Just Married, Vivah, Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamaana, and Apna Sapna Money Money (I wonder what this one is about...duh!).
I don't know about you but I prefer not to know the story of a film before I see it...That way I have no expectations of how good or how bad it is. When I see it, I'll decide if I like it or not. What's the point of seeing the film if you can figure out the story from a trailer or from reading the synopsis or worst yet...from the title of the film. There should be a mystery to a film, I should be curious about what the story might be and that curiosity will make me buy the ticket come Friday night. If I know a film is about an underworld don, the mystery is gone, there have been hundreds of films made on underworld dons, why should I see this one? What makes this one better than the others?
I mean if a story is about cops does it really need to be called Police Force? Apna Sapna Money Money tells me right away what I can expect from the movie and I already start thinking about whether I want to watch a film like that, so come friday...I just say no, I don't think so. When you have a title like Sholay or Shaan, you don't know what to expect from the film. But the titles are so powerful and mysterious, it makes you curious.
These days filmmakers are under the assumption that if we tell the audience what the film is about via a synopsis they will come and watch the film. I personally think it has the opposite effect. If I read a synopsis, I will know what the story is about and have my own expectations from the film before entering the cinema hall. If the film doesn't live up to what I expected it to be I will not like it. Then I will tell all my friends and relatives that the film is horrible, don't see it. I don't think that's what the filmmakers want. There should be a mystery in the way films are advertised and marketed, whether it's the Title, the Trailer, The PR, The Ads, The Synopsis (which is really not required), filmmakers need to re-think their strategy. If they want the audience to come and see their films, give us a reason, and no...half naked girls in a song or love scenes are not a good enough reason, not for the real movie buffs at least - these are the people who see more than ten film a year in a cinema hall. So keep the mystery alive and the audience will keep coming back. In the film Field of Dreams it is said "If you build it, he will come". Same thing goes for filmmakers, if you build up a mystery about your film, the audience will be curious and the curiosity will fill the seats...
I Remember the good old days...When there used to be a mystery in film titles. Hollywood still has it, but the Indian film industry seems to be loosing it. Whatever happened to titles like Mughal-E-Azam, Sholay, Shaan, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. Titles that didn't give the story of the film away. Today we have titles like Neal n Nikki, Big Brother, Kabul Express, Traffic Signal, Salaam-E-Ishq, Jaan-E-Man, Corporate, Life In a...Metro, Good Boy Bad Boy, Honeymoon Travels, Shootout at Lokhandwala, Mr. Hot Mr. Cool, Just Married, Vivah, Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamaana, and Apna Sapna Money Money (I wonder what this one is about...duh!).
I don't know about you but I prefer not to know the story of a film before I see it...That way I have no expectations of how good or how bad it is. When I see it, I'll decide if I like it or not. What's the point of seeing the film if you can figure out the story from a trailer or from reading the synopsis or worst yet...from the title of the film. There should be a mystery to a film, I should be curious about what the story might be and that curiosity will make me buy the ticket come Friday night. If I know a film is about an underworld don, the mystery is gone, there have been hundreds of films made on underworld dons, why should I see this one? What makes this one better than the others?
I mean if a story is about cops does it really need to be called Police Force? Apna Sapna Money Money tells me right away what I can expect from the movie and I already start thinking about whether I want to watch a film like that, so come friday...I just say no, I don't think so. When you have a title like Sholay or Shaan, you don't know what to expect from the film. But the titles are so powerful and mysterious, it makes you curious.
These days filmmakers are under the assumption that if we tell the audience what the film is about via a synopsis they will come and watch the film. I personally think it has the opposite effect. If I read a synopsis, I will know what the story is about and have my own expectations from the film before entering the cinema hall. If the film doesn't live up to what I expected it to be I will not like it. Then I will tell all my friends and relatives that the film is horrible, don't see it. I don't think that's what the filmmakers want. There should be a mystery in the way films are advertised and marketed, whether it's the Title, the Trailer, The PR, The Ads, The Synopsis (which is really not required), filmmakers need to re-think their strategy. If they want the audience to come and see their films, give us a reason, and no...half naked girls in a song or love scenes are not a good enough reason, not for the real movie buffs at least - these are the people who see more than ten film a year in a cinema hall. So keep the mystery alive and the audience will keep coming back. In the film Field of Dreams it is said "If you build it, he will come". Same thing goes for filmmakers, if you build up a mystery about your film, the audience will be curious and the curiosity will fill the seats...
© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.
