Successful films vs flops: it’s in the hands of the director!

 

A Kollywood actor commented to me, “It’s easy for a director to make a film that fails but tough to make a film that will succeed.” What he said may sound pedestrian but it actually is true.

The number of films being churned out in our film industry years after year is in hundreds. But how many of them see a release and how many of them are declared a hit? You can count the hits on your fingers.

Directors come up with ideas, a script and find a financier and start their project. But as an audience member looking at the number of flops, it makes you wonder whether the director actually gave any thought to that project. How long did he work on the project? Is the subject a novelty factor for the audience? Is the casting right? Is the screenplay tight? Are the songs noteworthy?

I saw a small-budget film and was shocked that the shoddy script actually managed to get a producer to put in money! It just seemed to have elements thrown in together – songs, comedy, fights – and there was no continuity or solid storyline. Nothing in the movie was memorable. I came out feeling bad for the cast and the producer.

Directors absolutely need to take into account that the producer is investing in him in good faith – and often several crores – and they need to do justice to them and their cast. They shouldn’t just feel happy that they managed to make a movie – they should feel that the money invested was worthwhile – and even if the producer incurs a loss, he should feel that the product was good.