The signs of the times

If you go by what “venerable” star Santhosh Pandit says, chances are I would have made him richer by a few thousands, considering my number of YouTube clicks referencing him in some sort. And as much as I have had the tendency to pinch him to bring him back to the real world, I certainly have enjoyed seeing him live his imaginary life as an imaginary superstar in an imaginary film industry that according to him, has lost the ability to draw the crowds to theaters.

Since his meteoric rise thanks to Youtube, numerous debates on whether the movie industry is a business or an entertainment platform or an art platform have all been held across newspapers, magazines and chat shows. (The very word ‘industry’ should be a clue). Apart from providing the usual user entertainment (a big aspect of which is provoking Pandit with questions that would undoubtedly bring forth humorous responses), none of these have shows really had an answer to that... Come to think of it, even in the days before Pandit (can’t imagine that I just said that), there was never really an answer, but at that point in time, it was not an issue of bother. A bad film and an art film were bound to crash and no one was ever surprised. Until Krishnanum Radhayum.

The movie has reached astounding levels of publicity that unless you tape your mouth, you will end up contributing to the movie’s publicity in some form. Though I do disagree with all of the crude and abusive responses via comments and direct phone calls, I certainly have utter disdain for the movie and it’s creator.

If he ever reads this, he would inevitably pose that dreaded question – Have you watched the movie? I can imagine myself having a huge gulp and then replying with an even huger NO!!! (Though in the deep dark recesses of my heart, there is a desire to watch this, in the same manner that I secretly wish to know how drinking would help the creative soul...). If he considers responses from people who have not watched the movie as being uninformed criticism, then I would suggest that he create a fresh trailer that would bring in some of the finer aspects of the movie... Aspects that he expects will garner applause from the public, rather than promote a movie with a trailer that in his opinion does not do justice to the movie itself.

Given that he quotes psychology as a key factor in being able to draw crowds to the theaters, we should perhaps look at some of the psychological traits (not necessarily weaknesses) of ours that he has (at some level) managed to exploit:

•          The generation that grew up watching Tom and Jerry never asked questions on how Tom got crushed by a car and was in the next instant, able to lift himself up, reshape himself to his normal form and then continue chasing Jerry all over the screen. The point was in the laughs... You know what I am coming to…

• ·         The tabloids and the celeb stars are forever trying to outsmart each other around the globe, just for the sake of the celeb news hungry public. So you have sleazy tabloid guys who get a rush doing their job, tmz.com and celebs who post nude pics to their Twitter accounts. Now place a person into that format, one who managed to publicize a song for free and ensured that he was never forgotten. Interviews / new songs / presence on FB and Twitter / numerous blogs / you name it... Not to speak of the public interest around even the slightest murmur from the guy... You have a winning formula there all for the taking... And his atrocities attain new levels...

• ·         Like a real psychologist would say, the mind sometimes requires a medium of venting to liberate itself from a thumbs-down emotion / mental state. However, it is the expected response that triggers the feeling of liberation and subsequently lays to rest that troubled mental state and not just the venting. Ask the loved one and she will tell you that she absolutely hates it when I end up laughing while she is on a tirade. Try as you might to humiliate Pandit, there is no way the guy beats a hasty retreat. With his same set of statements (I did everything except the cameraman’s work / with just 5 lakhs, I have a blockbuster / the established stars are jealous and scared that this new guy is going to seal their future / and a couple more), he deprives you from that feeling of contentedness in seeing him verbally bashed...

• ·        And most important of all, the guy proves without a trace of shame that the real life you live is not in the least bit comparable with the movies you see and enjoy. Whatever one might say, at the end of the day, a movie is an escape into a different world... Where music replaces poignant moments, frames tune your senses and expressions replace words... Tearing up that beautiful world and replacing it with hurtful realistic impressions of woeful music, lifeless lyrics, fight sequences and unpolished dialogues from the Neolithic era hurt your conscience. Like how he says in one of his interviews, if a common guy is faced with the need to write a song or act or sing or fight with someone in real life, this is what it would look like.

Phew..... 

Having written all of the above, I am not sure whether a movie like this deserves to be looked at with such gravity. It could well have been a one off fluke effort that got the college kids rushing in for some cheap entertainment and a lifetime’s worth of so called “Chali” dialogues... Too early to say whether the success can be repeated or not. Perhaps an influx of lovely movies would stem his growth... You never know. He might even wake up one day from his fantasy world and then quit the industry... Worser still, he might realise that he created KR and might choose to quit living altogether.

Whatever it be, KR definitely is not a movie that you can dismiss and get on with life. It is everywhere (especially if you are in Kerala) and if the supposed Limca record holder decides to go ahead and launch it in Hindi and Tamil, I do not, for the love of God, know how the national media will catapult him into becoming talked about all over India.

One good thing to take comfort in – Except for the camera, Santhosh is in charge of everything in the movie. And not a team of dufuses...Peace for the troubled art souls...

Talk about psychology.......