Local Cinema: the blame game

 (Part I)

It is a well-known fact that the Nepali film industry is not great, but what we tend to forget is that it’s still going on, despite the fact that times are tougher. When survival was the call of the day, the film industry survived and that fact is very important to note. In crunch time, we have seen the collapse of more established film industries all over the globe.

I have been reading and hearing a lot of comments made Nepali cinema from both insiders and outsiders; insiders being those in the industry itself and outsiders being those who are consumers. But we tend to forget to applaud the aplomb of the filmmakers and technicians who have kept the industry functional for so long. I want insiders and outsiders both to have some insight before they criticize.

INSIDERS:

Those in the film industry complain that the lack of a proper budget, technical support and able manpower are the core reasons behind the slow demise of the industry. But the question is: it really true? Are those the reasons restraining filmmakers from making even one good film?

We know that we don’t have big budgets to go on spending sprees for lavish sets and costumes, like those in more established industries have. Our equipment is not up to the standards of modern cinema, proper homegrown technicians are hard to find and compromise is the only word in movie making, from pre to post production. But is this the real cause for the fall of Nepali cinema or just an excuse? It doesn’t matter that we don’t have the budget or the latest state of the art technology or even able technicians, we need to be making optimal use of whatever resources we do have. Sad but true is the fact that our cinema is not even able to use what we already have in abundance. It’s a shame that we had to wait for Eric Valli to discover the story of Mani Lal and Thinle. Aren’t we waiting with bated breath for a Nepali director to capture the breathtaking landscape and socio-cultural diversity in film? We have to learn to make use of what we have in the first place.

Cinema is the art of storytelling and when you are narrating with the help of sight and sound, you have to make sure you’re basics are right. This starts with the first phase of cinema: the pre-production phase, which is the Idea. Nepali filmmakers need to come up with fresh new ideas. Right now, either we are stuck in the past or we believe in borrowing. After watching a couple of foreign commercial films, an idea strikes the mind of a filmmaker, and that idea is passed to the screenwriter with the DVDs of those films, and the obvious result is as expected- a scene by scene, line by line ‘inspiration’.

The second phase of cinema pre-production is the story and scriptwriting and this is directly related to the idea conceived. With a stale idea, one can’t except much from the story or the script. Nepali filmmakers have to be original with their ideas. It is the only solution. Borrowed ideas and stories may click but they are not a permanent solution.

There are other different phases of production, but I want to focus on the most important part of filmmaking, which is the selection of the cast and crew. In the current Nepali context, the investor (falsely called the producer) chooses a story and a director and also its cast and crew; the director doesn’t have much say in the matter. Even if the director gets to choose the cast and crew, they are not given much choice because the so-called producer wants a star as their money back guarantee. Usually, the investors are heavily influential on cast and crew selection. This is wrong, if the director doesn’t get the freedom to work the way he wants, he cannot work well. For the betterment of cinema, this needs to change.

Selection of the proper format for filming is also vital concerning quality. How long can we go on using 16mm Arriflex cameras from the 1950’s with a foggy lens, and then blow up the image while screening? There are other alternative formats also available in the market, and filmmakers should seriously consider such alternatives. Film insiders always complain that Nepali film industry don’t have what it takes to rival international levels technically. It is true to some extent but I think technology is never a problem or ever will be. Think about those early masterpieces from D.W Griffith, Sergei Eisenstein, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin. These men used whatever they have had to the fullest and came up with one masterpiece after another. I don’t understand why we complain. We have technology that is miles ahead of what those luminary directors used in their prime. The reason we can’t be better than them is because those masters had originality and were innovative.

Insiders even blame the limited market for Nepali films for the stagnation of the industry. In this era of globalization, there is no such thing as a confined market. But filmmakers need to act locally first. If your product is not worthy, of course it won’t sell. The Nepali film market is so confined because its products are simply not up to the standards. Korean, Taiwanese and Japanese films have an international market because they meet the high standards of international cinema. With the current trend of filmmaking, Nepali film is being displaced even in its own ground by Bollywood and increasingly, Korean cinema.

People working in the film industry also need to be professional and treat each other with respect. Respect is a two-way street. People in the industry tend to forget that. Pride and dignity has to be restored to the industry. It’s time to introduce professional managers and smarter administrative and marketing people. There is a film development board but with the rise and fall in governments, its priorities often change. The film development board has always served its government masters, never cinema. The system of a political appointee being the head of the film board has never helped the industry. Not much can be expected from a board that serves the policies of its parent political party. And yet, the very survival of the industry is dependent on the policies and vision of the film development board.

Our industry is more than half a century old but it needs a fresh overhaul. We need to pump new blood into this aging industry of ours. This is only possible if we nurture and create a conducive environment for independent filmmaking. The government and the film board needs to finance, subsidize, promote and create a better environment for filmmakers. These are the only solutions to the betterment of cinema in Nepal.

 Contd.