The panel discussion on the topic ‘Genre busters: exploring new genres in film’ on the second day of the inaugural Pakistan International Film Festival (PIFF) at Ziauddin University could have been more fruitful had the moderator tried to talk less about the subject he had ‘researched’ on and more about the works that the likes of S.S. Rajamouli, Vinay Pathak and Nandita Das have done. Also, it would have helped a great deal if the programme started on time. But let’s give the organisers of the event the benefit of the doubt: it’s early days for them.
Speaking on the subject, the producer of Baahubali 2, one of the most commercially successful films of India, Shobu Yarlagadda said usually in India there were three kinds of genres [in film-making]: action, comedy and drama. Though it is difficult to define ‘genre’, there is a distinction in India between commercial and niche cinema. Baahubali 2 was a mass blockbuster enjoyed by people of all age groups. It’s a mainstream film.
The director of the same film S.S. Rajamouli said it all depends upon what kind of story you are telling and the story you want to come out at whatever cost. In the case of Baahubali they were looking at the story, not at the genre. The intensity with which you want to tell the story also matters.
Actress and film-maker Nandita Das, responding to moderator Hashim Raza’s assertion about certain Hollywood trends in the past, asked what if a story doesn’t need a happy ending, what if doesn’t need a song and dance sequence. She pointed out every kind of work should be done. Mainstream will always be there, but the space for independent cinema is shrinking.