A Stylist or a Story Teller?

I had been watching the interview of Alan Ball, the director of Towelhead and he made a point, which I think is very important. He said,”… a director has to make a decision early on in his life. Does he want to become a story teller or a stylist?”

This goes to the very heart of what is wrong in the Hindi film industry. On one side you have excellent story-tellers, who weave rich tapestries with vivid emotions, new ideas and fresh situations. On the other hand, you have some filmmakers, who repeat and rehash the same old tales, and try to present them in a stylish new way.

We Indians, have a glorious tradition of story telling, and at some level, we all love to spin yarns. Some of these talented men and women are present in the film Industry, and do try to bring their aesthetics to the films that they make. Let us take Amir Khan for example.

I always knew in my heart that he knows what he is talking about. When he made his first film, we were all eagerly waiting to see what he comes out with. We were not disappointed. He produced a convincing piece of art, with a wonderful storyline, that touched everyone who saw it. I am not saying that he didn’t do it stylishly. He did. But he got his own aesthetics to it. He didn’t let what was fashionable, dictate what he should do with his story. Other men would have balked at having a painting competition as a climax, but Amir Khan, managed to convincingly pull it off.

On the other hand, you have numerable other, far too many to mention, who are just stylists. They will shoot a song in Egypt, just because it provides a picturesque background, for their dancers, in a particular song. There are others, who will cram in an item song, for the pleasure of the first row audiences. Others, might base their films, in imaginary fantasy locations, where the characters have no sense of geography. They do not speak in any particular local accent, nor act in a way that would indicate their origins, nor wear clothes suited to a particular climate or local culture. Who can blame the actors? The director was far too busy styling, to pay attention to the story.

You can see this difference, everytime we discuss a film in company. Do we discuss the storyline, the emotions, and the characters? Or do we tend to focus on the costumes, the jewelry, the stunning locations, and the stars featured in them?

There is another simple test to find out, if a director is a stylist or a story-teller. It is called Chekov’s Gun. What it basically says, is that if there is a gun on the wall, in the first act, it has to be used in the second act.

You need to see if there is anything in the film, that seems out of placed. Is there anything that is present, just because it is pretty to look at? Or is it integral to the story? That should lead you to the answer.

One might say that why is this so important? It’s all right, as long as one enjoys the movie. The problem with this is that style is temporary, while great stories live on for ever.

I forget who had said this, but whoever it was, was a wise artist. A piece of art is not perfect, when there is nothing more left to add. It becomes perfect, only when there is nothing left to subtract.

This post is a part of the November madness programme that I am following, where I attempt to post one entry on this blog, everyday for the last 3 weeks of November.