Opinion: Opinion | Is Bollywood Solely About ‘Reels’ And ‘Memes’ Now?
Bollywood has lengthy misplaced the artwork of track picturisation. It appears like an eternity since any observe was filmed with aptitude, with creativeness. It appears like even longer since songs have been recognized for his or her shot-taking, for what they conveyed visually. Now, solely a handful of traditionalists (Karan Johar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali), nonetheless maintain on to its magic. Some have lengthy surrendered it to narrative efficiency. Others do not even pause to know the burden of what is been misplaced—the way in which track and dance as soon as breathed life into Bombay cinema, the way in which they turned emotion into one thing tangible, one thing immortal. No marvel they’re used, if in any respect, as afterthoughts: devoid of goal, robbed of poetry. Even fillers are uncommon now, as not less than a few of these as soon as had the grandeur of a music video. Now, songs are shot to not be seen, however to be scrolled previous. At this time, they’re shot solely as reels—designed to not dwell in reminiscence, however to chase algorithms, to not transfer hearts, however to rank greater on a feed.
All Bow To Algorithm
The algorithm dictates its grammar. The hook line is the heartbeat; the remainder dissolves into oblivion. Composers not create melodies that linger; they engineer earworms designed to fade as rapidly as they arrive. Verses give up to viral loops. The picturisation follows go well with. The hook step is in all places, the remainder a blur. Lengthy takes are sacrificed on the altar of consideration. Gradual dissolves give strategy to leap cuts. Actions are choreographed not for the display however for the scroll.
‘Tauba Tauba,’ ‘Lutt Putt Gaya,’ ‘Aayi Nayi’ are just a few songs recognized not for his or her feeling, their movement, however for a step. Does anybody keep in mind what comes earlier than or after? Equally, ‘Pehli Bhi Principal,’ ‘Aabaad Bardbaad,’ ‘Sajni,’ ‘Mera Dholna’ have their scratches fill the feed in fractured bursts. However does anybody keep in mind them past their mukhda? There was a time when a track, if not memorised by coronary heart, was not less than recognized by the soul. Hook steps have all the time discovered a spot within the thoughts, however as soon as, the house, the craft, the poetry of how a track was filmed mattered simply as a lot.
Viral Fever
Now, the one factor that issues is the right way to conquer reels, and in its wake, a brand new phenomenon has emerged: reelification. Every little thing is filtered by way of the lens of a social media reel, designed with its rhythm in thoughts, formed to suit its fading body, measured not by artistry however by virality. And the primary, biggest casualty? Track and dance. This is not to dismiss the craft of creating a reel; it has its personal language, its personal grammar. However there is a case to be made about the way it has redefined the way in which spectators devour cinema—nay, ‘content material’. Gone are the times when songs have been reborn by way of remakes. Now, they’re resurrected on feeds, eliminated of context, repurposed into traits. Gone are the times when a track belonged to a singular second. Now, they’re plastered over something and all the pieces, devoid of that means, indifferent from reminiscence.
This has additionally led to moments of ingenuity, flashes of artistic flourish. It has opened ears to forgotten melodies and launched contemporary sounds to unfamiliar audiences. In spite of everything, it speaks to the efficiency of reelification when an Iranian dirge of enslavement, ‘Jamal Kudu’, turns into the heartbeat of a thousand edits, or when the ghost of Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s ‘Ek Hasina Thi’ finds an afterlife within the digital cosmos. However the biggest casualty of all is the dwindling consideration span of the viewer. Every little thing should be fast: sharp, pressing, catchy. There isn’t a room for hesitation, no persistence for the sluggish bloom of that means. A track, a scene, a movie has just one likelihood to grip, to stun, to grab. It should be packaged in an aesthetic that conforms, as a result of the rest will not be arresting sufficient. Issues should be mentioned rapidly, or by no means. Gradual burn is a criminal offense, subtlety a sin.
Ditch The Gradual Burn
That is evident within the sort of tales that discover favour within the final half a decade. Whether or not in long-form storytelling or theatrical releases, patterns emerge in genres that get the inexperienced gentle whereas others fade into the background. There are, after all, many causes—star self-importance being one—however shrinking consideration spans stays essentially the most decisive one. Take, as an example, the OTT house. Since its inception, it’s replete with crime thrillers and police procedurals. It is not a mere coincidence. These genres thrive on urgency, on the phantasm of excessive stakes. They grip the viewers with turns, maintain their maintain with twists, and hit them again with a sudden loss of life or two. And if all else fails, there’s all the time the security web of a cliffhanger.
Theatrical cinema, too, has narrowed its focus, with solely a choose few genres gaining traction. One such breed is horror-comedy. It isn’t merely comedy that captivates. It is the flashes of horror that preserve the viewers hooked, leaning ahead, prepared for no matter’s subsequent. These movies thrive on contrasts, the place punchlines are sometimes accompanied by the suddenness of a shock. Equally, mass motion movies have advanced, distancing themselves from the intricacies of the ‘masala’ custom. Payoff after payoff, punchline after punchline—strung collectively like a spotlight reel. Filmmakers like Atlee (Jawan, Child John) and Shankar (Recreation Changer) now work in a world the place stress takes a backseat to the GIF-able second, the place the fun lies in prompt gratification, not within the artwork of build-up.
It may be argued that each these filmmakers hail from a South Indian custom, the place mass cinema has lengthy adopted its personal distinctive identification, far faraway from Bollywood’s traditional syntax. True as this can be, in recent times, Bollywood, too, has slipped into this very sample. Movies now usually resemble reels dressed as cinema: moments of enjoyment come solely when all the pieces rushes ahead, when chaos is the foreign money, and all the pieces is hurled on the display with a hope that one thing, something, will join.
Embrace The Absurd
Take, as an example, Badass Ravi Kumar, starring Himesh Reshammiya within the titular function. From the outset, it appears like a pastiche that is aware of precisely the right way to snigger at itself. But, it is not that self-aware, that meta sufficient to mock the traits. Fairly, it surrenders to them, carrying its absurdity proudly. The writing, the framing, the appearing—all drip with an nearly deliberate extra, as if each dialogue is a contest to out-cheese the final, each second a louder declaration of its personal implausibility. Stakes rise relentlessly, timelines blur in an countless loop, and the motion is served with the right spoonful of corn. It is not fairly cringe, however one thing else altogether: a efficiency for an viewers which are in on the joke, laughing each with and on the spectacle, an odd fusion of reel cinema and meme tradition.
The current surge in re-releases, significantly these in Hindi Cinema, owes a lot of its momentum to the algorithm. Look intently, and you will see a sample: the movies which have been re-released, those which have drawn huge crowds, are those who have lengthy been favoured by the reels. This is not to recommend they lack the burden of icon standing, or to dismiss the truth that most of the audiences flocking to those screenings have by no means skilled them in a packed theater. However it’s plain that these movies, usually propelled by viral scenes and songs, have been resurrected on feeds, feeding the collective nostalgia of the web. Say, Laila Majnu, or, extra lately, Sanam Teri Kasam, barely registered once they first launched. However at present, they command the eye of hundreds of audiences, filling theaters throughout the nation. Their reputation is not certain to their authentic launch however reborn by way of the countless loops of social media.
Who Will Be Remembered?
Even movie promotions, arguably the one area the place Hindi producers used to readily pour their creativity and cash, have now been surrendered to the scroll. No extra whirlwind metropolis excursions, no extra interviews the place actors may construct a long-lasting reference to their viewers. Now, virality is the one foreign money. A press convention is not a dialog; it is a breeding floor for memes. A track launch is not about melody or emotion; it is concerning the problem it sparks: who can grasp the hook step, who can twist it into one thing clickable.
The Loveyapa title observe is not being carried out by actors however perfected by influencers. Celebrities not search out journalists; they sit throughout viral podcasters who commerce depth for attain. And Veer Pahariya is not a reputation on individuals’s lips due to his craft—he’s a assemble formed by the web’s countless want to show something and all the pieces into dialog. As a result of, in spite of everything, reelification is not only a pattern—it’s an evolution, an omnipresent drive shaping cinema’s contours. It’s the new language, the brand new foreign money, the brand new actuality. And on this actuality, the algorithm reigns supreme, dictating what survives, what fades, and what, if something, will ever be remembered.
(Anas Arif is a movie author and a media graduate from AJKMCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia)
Disclaimer: These are the non-public opinions of the creator
