The
Kerala
Story
is
clinching
some
of
the
best
box-office
numbers
this
year,
despite
being
subjected
to
rave
reviews
by
critics
and
well-established
YouTubers.
Political
parties
have
either
lauded
the
movie,
made
it
tax-free
in
some
cases,
or
have
outright
been
critical
of
it
and
banned
the
screening.
Amidst
these
escalating
conflicts
surrounding
this
movie;
one
critical
aspect
that
strikes
out
the
most
–
the
aspect
of
filmmaking.
Filmmakers,
especially
in
the
Hindi
belt,
are
so
eager
to
clock
in
numbers
because
the
truth
remains
that
a
film’s
success
is
benchmarked
upon
its
performance
at
the
box
office.
Nobody
in
this
case
is
interested
in
discussing
the
sheer
lack
of
the
main
character’s
ability
to
pick
the
diction,
the
sheer
conflict
of
data,
the
problematic
background
score,
and
amongst
other
things.
OTT
Success
Remains
a
Mystery
Since
the
pandemic,
every
Hindi
movie
that
releases
on
OTT
directly
or
even
a
movie
which
happens
to
get
dismissed
by
theatrical
audiences,
claims
to
be
the
‘most-watched’
movie
on
OTT
platforms.
For
example,
Laal
Singh
Chaddha,
Badhai
Do,
An
Action
Hero,
and
more,
didn’t
get
the
theatre
numbers
going
but
claimed
to
have
received
a
lot
of
love
on
digital
platforms.
However,
nothing
beats
the
gratification
of
a
good
theatrical
run
–
and
that
is
the
hard
business
truth.
Last
year,
RRR,
Kashmir
Files,
Gangubai
Kathiawadi,
and
Bhool
Bhulaiya
2
were
successful
in
pulling
audiences
to
the
theatres.
Tik
Tok-styled
comedy
and
Kartik
Aryan’s
massive
fanfare
are
credited
to
the
success
of
BB2,
however
when
something
similar
was
tried
this
year
with
Shehzada
–
the
later
failed
miserably.
Kashmir
Files
got
a
thumbs
up
from
political
wings,
which
went
on
to
become
a
massive
success
story
just
like
Uri
–
The
Surgical
Strike.
But
the
difference
here
remains,
that
both
these
films
had
good
performances,
aesthetics,
unlike
the
recent
string
of
films
that
are
solely
banking
on
the
political
green
light
rather
than
working
on
other
aspects
of
filmmaking.
The
Kerala
Story
has
created
more
noise
with
its
controversies
around
the
facts
surrounding
it
but
has
also
been
criticized
for
poor
acting
–
however,
its
success
will
only
push
people
to
ignore
these
factors
and
enforce
other
prerogatives
which
aren’t
related
to
filmmaking.
Copy
–
Paste
Model
doesn’t
Survive
Akshay
Kumar,
who
has
witnessed
a
string
of
flops
recently,
is
widely-known
for
making
movies
that
are
inclined
towards
a
certain
establishment.
His
films
recently,
have
clearly
failed
to
pass
the
filmmaking
tests
and
have
been
criticised
for
twisting
facts,
terrible
VFX
and
bad
performances
by
him
and
other
actors.
A
well-acted,
well-directed
film
like
Mission
Mangal
does
not
even
come
close
to
the
recent
set
of
films
like
Samrat
Prithviraj
and
Ram
Sethu.
Mission
Mangal,
Toilet
-Ek
Prem
Katha
boasted
of
having
a
better-supporting
cast,
real
locations
and
decent
cinematography
unlike
his
recent
bank
of
movies
wherein
the
supporting
casts
are
merely
placeholders.
Kumar
put
his
might
in
promoting
the
films
amidst
political
circuits
and
received
state-level
concessions
too.
Despite
all
this,
his
films
have
not
been
accepted
by
the
audiences
recently
and
have
gone
unnoticed.
It
clearly
goes
to
show
that
becoming
complacent,
relying
on
political
favours,
won’t
help
the
films
sail.
Gimmicky
dialogues,
Pathetic
VFX
Similarly
tried
and
tested
formulas,
that
once
worked
might
not
work
the
second
time.
SRK’s
Pathaan
brought
laurels
for
Bollywood
–
comes
across
as
a
masala
entertainer,
reversed
the
political
bad-mouthing
it
got
for
Deepika’s
orange
outfit
and
people
made
it
their
sole
mission
to
go
and
watch
the
movie.
The
film
is
no
master
piece
and
has
its
own
share
of
bad
VFX,
cringe
dialogues
–
but
still
worked.
In
the
coming
months,
one
can
expect
a
series
of
films
to
be
made
keeping
the
concept
of
Pathaan
in
mind
aimlessly
without
thinking
about
quality,
aesthetics
and
the
pulse
of
the
audience.
Indians
are
Moving
on
India’s
digital
audiences
from
across
the
country
are
consuming
global
content
–
breaking
barriers
of
language,
familiarity
and
demography.
Consumption
of
English
language
content
has
outpaced
other
languages,
indicative
of
the
fact
that
people
are
willing
to
let-go
of
language
inhibitions
and
experiment
with
content.
Jio
Cinema
strategic
tie-up
up
with
HBO
to
bring
global
content
to
Indian
audiences
where
there
is
an
already
growing
fanbase
for
shows
like
Succession.
Therefore,
Indian
filmmakers
need
to
come
up
with
‘creative
solutions’ to
convey
their
messaging,
explore
real
locations
and
opt
for
better
quality
VFX;
rather
than
only
depending
on
the
political
pulse
of
the
nation.
Ability
to
creatively
weave
commerce,
talent
and
content
comes
from
talent
and
experience
and
some
exemplary
examples
come
from
regional
cinema,
OTT
shows
like
Qala,
Bulbul,
Arya,
RRR,
Jubilee
and
more
recently
Dahaad.
These
are
beautifully
crafted
and
have
stayed
with
the
audience.
Content
today
is
dismissed
as
well
as
accepted
within
a
couple
of
swipes
due
to
staggering
attention
spans
and
a
growing
palette
of
choices.
Content
creators
big,
small
or
even
miniscule-budgeted
cannot
compromise
on
quality
over
any
phenomena
that
is
short-lived.
Understand
and
never-
underestimating
the
intelligence
of
the
audience
is
a
key.
Filmmakers
might
take
a
cue
from
the
recent
crowds
that
gathered
to
watch
old
movies
at
the
theatres
–
this
includes
Bachchan’s
classics,
Jab
We
Met
and
others.
These
were
movies
that
have
lived
and
continue
to
make
memories…
