Movie manic

Movie manic

The other day, we happened to be wondering what was the best bet to watch on the ‘idiot box’! The soaps have shifted from lady vamps, poising the minds of mothers-in law and all, to now, bizarre love stories. We have been keeping ourselves entertained with sensible gaming and pro-kabaddi for a change.

Today, we were in the mood for something different. So we chanced upon the much hyped and talked about show, ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’. And what did I realise…. There was the much matured wine of the town, Aishwarya Rai Bacchan and the rest of the caste of Johar’s new romance flick. Till last night when I had been looking at the picture promos on my phone and everywhere possible Karan could have found publicity, I wasn’t the least interested in watching the movie. But ‘phew’ and that was the only thing my husband and I could have sighed off, but the perception seem to be changing as the show seem to be moving on.

So, it does happen (and most of the times) that when the reel actors actually descend on the sets of these reality shows that make the viewer feel ‘so taken care of’ and ‘personalised’ that you as a viewer (or better so a participant) cannot help yourself but to go to the nearest multiplex and watch the movie, at the least once. This easy yet compelling marketing gimmick has taken various angles. I recall that one such appearance rustled up some feathers on a popular television serial. The team of Aamir and Kareena starrer Talaash made a dramatic entry in the popular serial CID. Many were in awe of the serial’s credibility, if not Aamir’s graciousness to pose as the inspector in question playing the protagonist in the movie. The movie was an effortless success and actually didn’t even need the television appearance. That’s beside the point.

However, the dramatic entry of many actors, on the TV time, has become an extremely easy and warm way of reaching out to the target audience. Now, that my hearts have made a change of seat, I will watch the new Johar flick and save my day against Shivaaya, that doesn’t seem to make any English or Hindi movie sense to me.

And now the new one doing rounds is ‘Rock-On-2’. Gosh! It seems the seriousness in acting has gone passé and actors are simply depending on what sells ‘at the moment’ and how much recall value remains with the audience. So a movie, by and large, survives literally ‘one reality show’ worth of brand building, which is what gets the box office returns- and mind you, the returns will not remain the same by the next week, because another one would have taken the ‘its’ place by then.