If you are a film-maker and you have reached this blog with the hope of getting the magic potion that will help you in delivering the next block buster, let me tell you that you will find nothing of that sort in this article.
Calm down. Now don’t curse me if my first paragraph has left you disappointed Mr. Film Maker. Because what I will offer in this blog is a view from a common man who loves his movies and the experience that they deliver. And who knows…maybe that is what you are seeking!
Over the last few years, there have been a number of films that have filled the coffers of the producers as they turned out to be super hits. Each one had its own story, script, acting, music and other reasons for success. I do not want to delve into that.
The thought for this blog struck me after I saw the movie Queen – the latest hit from Kangana Ranaut. Here was a movie that everyone was raving about, people were urging others to go and see it, and the movie was picking momentum week after week through word of mouth.
After watching this movie, while I was still trying to play in my mind the various scenes and the reason for its success, a pattern emerged in front of me. Two more movie names popped in my head – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Dil Chahta Hai. I could see a common thread between the three movies.
Think for a moment about these three movies. Does any common thread strike you as well?
Yes, the common theme for all three movies was ‘Escape’. Escape from the mundane life, escape from a crisis situation, escape from your own feelings.
Queen had Kangana travelling to Europe to escape and get her head out from the messy situation that she had gotten into because of her wedding being called off.
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara had the three actors escape from their regular life and jobs to an exotic holiday to experience something new.
Dil Chahta Hai had three escape situations. The first escape happens when the three friends decide to escape from boredom by going ahead for a holiday to Goa. The second escape happens when Aamir Khan leaves for Australia after a tiff with his friends. The third escape takes place when Aamir comes back to India to escape from the thoughts of Preity Zinta.
Of course, just taking ‘Escape’ as a theme is no sure shot way to make a film work and nor was that the case in these three movies either. A powerful script, screenplay, acting and flow were crucial to the success of all three of them.
But the key point that I want to make here is that the audiences lapped up these movies and came to see it again and again. This is where ‘Escape’ starts playing a key role. Human beings love to get out of the rut and experience something new, travel, see a new place, try a new activity - something which they always want to do or would love to do but circumstances, time or money does not allow them to do it as often as they would love to.
These three movies allowed them to experience that ‘Moment of Escape’ that they crave for. Those three hours in a movie hall made people travel along with the lead actors. And when a movie makes you travel and become a part of journey, it touches a chord deep inside, it moves people and what people experience at the end of a movie is pure enjoyment. They want their friends and families to experience this emotion as well and that is why they recommend others to go for such a movie.
I am not sure whether you agree or disagree, but to me this came out as a strong and common theme across these three movies.
I do agree with you here. It is all about breaking the walls around you, having what it takes to go against the flow, taking total control of your life, and shaping it the way you want it to be, because if something good has to happen in your life, it is only you who needs to do it.
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