Does talent have a ‘best before date? Does creativity wear out? What happens to imagination over a time?
Do these things matter for the success and substance in filmmaking or is it just luck?
What really makes an actor, a music composer or a scriptwriter and their ilk tick? And, what makes them not just vanish from the scene suddenly but soon fade from public memory? What happens to the fan following they enjoyed till not very long ago? Most of all, why do the filmmakers who ran after one of these talents, just move away and on?
A lot of producers cultivated a clique of their own, sticking to the same music composer, cinematographer, art director and other unit members. The makers, sort of, worked on the lines of the old time studio system whereby they had their own talent pool on the lot.
While, the success of a film mattered, obsession and passion weighed heavier for a lot of these filmmakers. To cite just one example, Raj Kapoor who, after the disastrous home productions, “Mera Naam Joker” and “Kal Aaj Aur Kal”, which led to mortgaging of his estates and, despite his regular distributors deserting him, he went on to launch Rishi Kapoor with “Bobby”. If this film had failed, that would not only have ruined Raj Kapoor, there would be no Kapoor folklore to talk about and no RK clan to carry forward.
Passion, obsession, determination are a thing of the past. No maker has the conviction like Raj Kapoor had to make a film; only having a star gives them confidence. Now, the filmmaking is purely a business and, being an unpredictable one at that, with the probability of losses being very high, loyalty with one name is a trait few can afford. One changes tracks and his unit members without scruples.When a film actor, male or female, whose name in the billing drew film lovers to a cinema halls en masse, suddenly loses favour with the audience’ it defies logic in most cases. (IANS)
