Four distinct trends in filmmaking outside the mainstream

Aamir Khan has brought 2016 to a great close for Bollywood, with his wrestling drama, 'Dangal', earning over Rs 170 crore at the box office in just six days. The success of the film, along with Salman Khan’s 'Sultan' and Rajinikanth’s 'Kabali', hardly took anyone by surprise. ET turns the spotlight on some other trends that kept filmmakers and film watchers busy.

Audience Warms to Films with Female Protagonists
While some might argue that you needed Amitabh Bachchan to get people interested in a film with three unfamiliar female leads, 'Pink' might have fared reasonably, if not as well, even without him, given the good word of mouth it garnered. Made on a budget of Rs 29 crore, it had a net collection (gross ticket sales minus entertainment tax) of Rs 65.5 crore. Another film headlined by a female actor, though by no means unfamiliar, which was a sleeper hit was Sonam Kapoor’s 'Neerja', whose net collection of Rs 72 crore was two and a half times its budget.

'Nationalism' and CBFC Give Filmmakers Sleepless Nights
CBFC chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani set the cat among the pigeons when he suggested extensive cuts in 'Udta Punjab', a drama on drug abuse in a state that goes to the polls in 2017.


'Udta Punjab' explores drug abuse in Punjab. (Image: www.imdb.com)

The judiciary finally let the film release with very few cuts. That was followed by protests, led by Raj Thackeray’s party, opposing the release of Karan Johar’s ' Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' as it featured Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. The film was finally allowed to release after Johar assured protestors he would not cast Pakistani actors in his future films and would donate Rs 5 crore to the Army welfare fund.

Non-Hindi Films Make Their Presence Felt


'Visaranai', inspired by a true story of police brutality, was India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. (Image: www.imdb)

Films like 'Visaranai' (Interrogation) in Tamil and 'Thithi' (Funeral) in Kannada piqued the curiosity of moviegoers in big cities. 'Visaranai', inspired by a true story of police brutality, was India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, and 'Thithi', which chronicles the story of a rural family preparing for its patriarch’s funeral, won an award at the Locarno International Film Festival. 'Sairat' did not just wow critics but also reportedly earned Rs 80 crore in the first five weeks of its release and will now be remade in five languages.

Netflix, Amazon Prime Plan Original Content for India
Original shows are crucial to the future of streaming services like Netflix ('House of Cards', 'Orange is the New Black', 'Narcos') and Amazon Prime Video ('Transparent', 'Mr Robot', 'Mozart in the Jungle'). With their launch in India, it was natural for both to produce original content here. Phantom Films, run by Anurag Kashyap, Vikramditya Motwane, Vikas Bahl and Madhu Mantena, will be making an adaptation of Vikram Chandra’s novel, Sacred Games, for Netflix.

Amazon has already announced nine series to be conceived by fi lmmakers like Motwane, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti and Ram Madhvani, the first of which will be out by April-June.