BOLLYWOOD BLUES

The Hindi film industry needs an urgent revamp. Here's what needs to be done

- BY FAIZ ULLAH AND PAROMITA GHOSH

A while ago, actor Deepika Padukone spoke about the need for eight-hour workdays in Bollywood, sparking conversations about the unregulated state of affairs behind the screen. Her comments are symptomatic of a chronic issue that plagues any sector struggling to get organised. Except that Hindi cinema was granted industry status in 2001—almost a quarter of a century ago. The film industry's reluctance to fully embrace its organised industry status reflects in the less-than-satisfactory working conditions and remuneration for lakhs of artists. Padukone's call for eight-hour workdays is the norm in most professional industries. The “creativity cannot follow a clock” reasoning does not quite hold up. Hollywood's regulated hours produce creative work, too. Rules and regulations that are conducive to the industry's functioning can definitely be framed. Things do need to change.

If there is one framework that can guide this change, it is diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Yes, DEI is under unfortunate attack in several parts of the world, but that is all the more reason to earnestly engage with this progressive framework. The Hindi film industry needs to change, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because its future may well depend on it. An unrepresentative and exclusivist creative industry will struggle to sustain itself in the long run.

What used to be a fairly diverse industry, producing films across different budgets and sensibilities, has increasingly become dominated by a handful of massive tent-pole productions. These tent-pole films, mounted at enormous costs, need extensive release windows and maximum number of screens to make a profit. The most obvious problem is the shrinking space for medium and small films. A debut director's thoughtful drama or an experimental genre production struggles to get even limited theatrical release, let alone the time to find an audience.