Saawaria & Om Shanti Om
Two celluloid operas – one works and the other fails
A film consists of all kinds of diverse elements that include quirky human beings and their unique artistic expressions, technical wizardry, narrative structures and styles, a lot of money, and the expectations and artistic sensibilities of a theatre audience. That is why filmmaking is the riskiest of all businesses. You need someone outside it all to bring these elements together holistically.
The
one who performs this magic is called the director of the film. He/she
is the person who works with a vision while taking into account the
peculiar characteristics of these elements. He/she employs all the
precious resources at his/her disposal judiciously to recreate that
vision. It is a tough job for those who are committed cohorts and
disciples of cinema art, craft, and business.
It is elementary knowledge that the primary task of a film director is to impart a sense of balance to a film by effective artistic supervision. He/she is paid to do this. Let us now examine how the directors of Saawaria and OSO have fared in this regard.
SLB admits that Saawaria is a celluloid opera. Great. He started experimenting with this cinematic form with Black. However, his experiment has failed in his new film and the blame lies squarely on his doorsteps.
He should have studied the most successful Broadway musicals and grand operas a little more carefully to design and direct his film. What is the most important element of an opera? Is it costumes and opulent sets? Is it complex musical scores and their arrangement and orchestration? Is it melodious songs? Is it well-choreographed grand ballroom dances? Is it heartrending dirges? Or is it an ensemble cast? What makes an opera work after all?
An
opera works when it sweeps the audiences off their feet and takes them
on a flight of fancy, with its ups and downs, sending them soaring
beyond the skies and the clouds, in a realm of magical fantasy, where
all beliefs, disbeliefs, and reason stay suspended, and the audience
turns into a mass of mesmerized slaves of the performance on stage. You
cannot afford to lose the audience even for a moment. And to achieve
this, everything must fall into place.
You
cannot be wasteful and repetitive. You have to juggle the
artistic elements of colour, contrast, conflict, and take your story to
a cathartic conclusion and deliver a well-integrated, enthralling, and
unforgettable theatrical experience.
When the audience is in a hurry to see the end of the opera, it is a sure sign of its artistic failure. That is what happens in Saawaria. People get so fed up of the repetitive chitter chatter and giggly wiggly acts of the lead pair, and a handful of dark monochromatic sets, that the appearance of Sallu Bhai in the end sequence comes as a big relief.
If SLB could not see the obvious problems of his film at the scripting, production design, and later at the editing stage, he is not a good director. If he could not see any problem with a weaver’s daughter living in a grand mansion, and wearing backless designer dresses, he is an idiot. If he could not discover a visual opportunity in creating a contrasting set of the poor quarters of his imaginary city, he is artistically challenged, and has a very limited understanding of production design. He has not even characterized Ranbir Raj and Sakina properly and has used their physicality as additional props to create goody-goody film frames. He claims that Raj Kapoor has inspired him. Hogwash. He is just using the big name to legitimize his bad and boring work.
Raj
Kapoor never mucked up his characterizations and production design.
That was his big strength and even if his films like Mera Naam Joker
flopped, none can dispute their artistic and archival value. He blended
neo-realistic trends of the world cinema with lively Indian elements
and created great romantic films like Shri 420. He used music and songs
as important tools to communicate and connect with his audience unlike
SLB’s celluloid extravaganzas.
The other celluloid opera, the rambunctious Om Shanti Om (OSO), works because it has a sense of balance and Faraha has done a great job of an artistic supervisor.
She has kept all the elements under tight control, and has told her stale story in a typical Bambaiya film style unabashedly without wasting any footage, scenes, dialogues, and time. She has also kept the audience’s perspective in mind and knowing well that it is an oft-repeated ‘reincarnation’ premise, she has brought in surprise elements like a dance sequence and an award presentation ceremony with big-time stars participating in it. So, she has packaged it well. It is a fast-paced caricature, and a spoof that gives no room to the audience to bring its analytical brain into play. Where SLB has failed, Faraha has succeeded.
Apart from blue-green-black colour palette of Saawaria, both the films will be better remembered for their Deevali clash and weekend box office collections. And that is what matters these days. None seem to be interested in leaving a lasting impact in any other way. So, what will happen to OSO and Saawaria after a year? They will be forgotten as inconsequential, worthless, and non-performing cinematic assets. There is nothing in them that would make you revisit them, neither a joke nor a superbly performed scene or speech, nor a haunting facial expression. Their DVDs will be sold for a pittance by Moser Baer on railway bridges and footpaths. Even the songs are of the fast forgettable variety, and will stay in your memory as long as the promos continue to be shown on various TV channels.
RKS
