2008 - introspection

Here goes the mandatory annual round-up post. I'd been wracking my brain on how to make this one different from my usual laundry list of films. As a starting point I glanced at some numbers and I saw an interesting trend. Thought I'd share that with you instead -

I was shocked to see the number of movies I absolutely hated go down by a little more than half. I remember seeing a lot of bad ones this year. But a similar drop in the number of movies that I liked the best, put things back on track. The curve just squished up in the middle and got leaner at the two ends.

So, the number of mediocre movies has shot up. That could mean one of two things. Either movies made this year were indeed more mediocre or my taste has changed and this year everything seemed 'just about o-kay'. I guess a combination is at work here.

On digging deeper, there's one more trend I saw. The ones that I didn't like at all included Hari Puttar, Money Hai To Honey Hai, Mission Istanbul, Mehbooba, Love Story 2050, Golmaal Returns, Mr White Mr Black, Rama Rama Kya Hai Dramaaa, Bombay to Bangkok, and Tashan.

It's not really surprising to see any of these here. But note the presence of high-profile movies like Tashan, Love Story 2050, and Golmaal Returns. By high-profile I mean backed by richer banners, having lots of resources spare for marketing, the biggest 'stars' in the industry, etc. Add to this, others like - Jodhaa Akbar, Drona, Singh is Kinng, Dostana, Roadside Romeo - which I didn't particularly enjoy either.

Yes, yes, there's a point to this and I'm coming to it... humor me a little more.

Now let's take a look at the movies that I really, really liked - A Wednesday, Aamir, Summer 2007, Dasvidaniya, Tahaan - all low-profile.

In fact, the only high-profile movies I recommended for a theatrical viewing were - Welcome to Sajjanpur, Fashion, and Rock On.

Do you see the scary part? No?

I pride myself in entering a theater with as little baggage as possible. But does all of this mean sub-consciously I go in with what might be called bias against the rich? Yuck!! No-no-no-this can't be true. Or worse still - I'm turning into a snob! I see sleepless nights ahead...

Maybe it is just an 80-20-80 rule at work. 80% of money in the industry goes into 20% movies made but end up making 80% of the trash? Yeah, that sounds more like it! :D Because I'll remind myself of the Taare Zameen Pars, the Chak De! Indias, the Aaja Nachles, and the Lage Raho Munnabhais that I can watch for the umpteenth time even today. Yes, the plural makes me feel better.

Who'd have know a simple best and worst list could make me introspect and have the potential of revealing what could lie in the sub-conscious. Worry not, people, I'm still going to walk into that theater with a neutral frame of mind...at least consciously...