Movies with a message

At a time when Bollywood is churning out blockbusters, some filmmakers would rather make low budget movies creating awareness about social evils. A case in point is Abhik Bhanu’s Astitva which seeks to change mindsets about female foeticide.

The 14-minute movie has been screened across several colleges in the city and Bhanu is now planning to turn it into a full-length feature film.

A far cry from government-type documentaries, the narrative has a fresh approach to story-telling for a cause. “If the film is able to convince even a few people to refrain from prenatal sex determination, I think my job is done,” said Bhanu. The filmmaker also has aspirations to make another full length feature film based on eye donation.

However, the question remains whether issue-based films have a market since most of these movies have failed to make an impact on the box-office. Bhanu feels that audience will watch films that have a good plot. “The idea is to blend the issue with a strong story.”

Trade pundits point out that socially relevant films hardly break even since audiences lean more towards mainstream escapist cinema. But cause-oriented films are being made in the hope that the message they convey will catch. Filmmakers are also optimistic about recovering production costs through the sale of satellite rights.  “Innovation is the key to attracting audiences,” says Santanu Mishra, executive trustee of Smile Foundation, an NGO that has recently produced the critically acclaimed I am Kalam based on child labour and the right to education.