Do movies come with a story matter anymore?

One of the things that movies have originated from is - story telling. Movies are by nature supposed to be a better form of storytelling, in comparison to a simple narration or a story read off a book. Thus it can be said - movies started off being all about telling stories, though is it the same even today?

Do stories really matter in movies anymore? The fact that fans flock to theatres to watch movies on the basis of the star-cast and not its synopsis makes the answer very clear, doesn't it? Especially in Bollywood, if most movie plots are not lift-offs from a Hollywood movie, then even if the story is good - the plot will be riddled with pointless scenes merely to increase commercial value. In fact sometimes it’s surprising to see the animated movies coming up mentally stimulating plots for their movies.

The general argument however is that movies are for entertainment, so if the audience is entertained, nothing else matters. The biggest problem with this argument is that most successful genres have been created only when people have dared to take a risk and tried to offer a new experience to the audience. I mean imagine, what would have happened if George Lucas said - "I don't think I should do Star Wars, its risky and the losses will be great if it flops."

Due to the fact that decades upon decades upon decades of movies have been made and watched, most stories of movies being released are so predictable it’s as-though movie-makers are taking movie watchers for granted in their relationship, conveniently falling into routine and similar plot patterns. It’s become rare for a movie that really gets the audience thinking or leaves them stunned completely caught off guard with plot-twisters.

A revolution is required in movie-industries to refresh the mind-states of film-makers, and awaken them from thinking that successful movies are all about big-budgets, amazing visual effects, famous actors and creative camera angles. Whilst all those are required, without a good story to back it up, all those aspects just seem like really shiny car parts not assembled.

Movie-making is after-all a form of expression first, while - success, stardom, public demand/approval etc. are another story altogether, not the same.

Whistling Woods International promotes the oft underrated art of documentary film-making

~Unveiling of two documentary styled videos for the ‘Songs of Protest’ album by Susmit Sen, Sumangala Damodaran and WWI students~

Whistling Woods International, the film and media institute held a thematic session titled ‘I & Eye’ as a prelude to its new documentary course. The programme was a culmination of roadshows that commenced on August 5^th in Chennai, followed by informative sessions on documentaries at Delhi and Kolkata. Held on the campus of Whistling Woods International, some of the most prominent names in documentary filmmaking like Bishakha Dutta, Paromita Vora, Anil Zankar and Samar Khan were present. The session was moderated by Ravi Gupta – the Dean of WWI and CEO of Mukta Arts.

This grand session began with the unveiling of the two documentary style videos that will act as an addendum to the ‘Songs of Protest’ album – the work of Susmit Sen (Founder & Lead Guitarist, Indian Ocean) and Sumangala Damodaran (granddaughter of former communist leader and Kerala chief minister EMS Namboodiripad). The Songs of Protest album consists of 9 songs sung in various Indian languages and has been collated from the pre independence era. Created by the students of Whistling Woods (Rahul Badwelkar, Raghu Naik, Kavya Sharma, Abhiraj Rawale and Shara Sethna), the documentary style videos will lend to an online viral campaign that hopes to inspire people to get up and ‘act’. One of the 2 videos created, has been inspired by Anna Hazare and is based on corruption and the collective conscience of a society. The other video focuses on the lack of drinking water in the country. Keeping in sync with the current issues, these songs and supporting videos invoke the spirit of patriotism and hark back to the pre-independence days.

As the unveiling was underway, Susmit Sen said, “The glow of our independence, 64 years back has been gradually relegated to the back of our memories. Beneath the layers of amnesia, can be found a legacy from the years when people were alive enough to want to live and breathe free. We wanted people to re- live those days, re- breathe them. And the students have interpreted it in a unique way.” Kavya Sharma, a Cinematography students at Whistling Wood Student and an enthusiastic Rock-climber when off campus feels”Through the songs of protest not only did we become aware, we were enlightened; it gave us something definite to work on, something solid.”

The unveiling was followed by the Big Debate underlining the dilemna that beguiles many a behind Documentary filmmaker: How Real is Real? The panelists for this debate were Paromita Vora, filmmaker, writer, teacher and curator, working with fiction & non-fiction, Bishakha Dutta, Indian journalist and film-maker, best known for her work documenting the role of women in different aspects of Indian society and Samar Khan, filmmaker, head-TV division-Red Chillies. The debate began with a loaded discussion on the art of documentary film making, and how it mirrors life. Bishakha Dutta quoted, “Documentary films are life as it is, that is, life filmed surreptitiously. They present montages of current and archival times, explore and are composed on various event and subjects.” Adding to it, Paromita said, “This is an art of exploration. You state stories buried deep down in memories and vocalizes the voiceless. An audience therefore finds it to be a more credible source of information.” The debate unearthed the various layers of a documentary film. The session gave the students a chance to understand what holds true and how to create the truth.

Subhash Ghai – Chairman, Whistling Woods International, Mumbai speaking on the grand finale said, “We at Whistling woods International through ‘I&EYE’ are widening the scope of documentary film-making in India and creating more awareness amongst the masses. These seminars across the city were with a purpose; to give students an overview on the industry prospect. I feel proud to know that the videos shot by WWI students for two songs from the ‘Songs of Protest’ album, have been unveiled today. It will hopefully inspire other students who want to specialize in the art form to draw inspiration from reality whilst adopting the visual elements and poetic aesthetics of cinematic storytelling without loosing out on their unique point of view.”

The event began in high spirits and ended on an even higher note. The energy was contagious and electrifying as this rich and rare art was acknowledged and applauded.