Small films are making big waves

MUMBAI: Before the year ends, big banner films like Laaga Chunari Mein Daag which releases this week, and Saawariya and Om Shanti Om, which are slated for a Diwali debut, will battle it out at the marquees. But for now, Bollywood is savouring success with its small-is-beautiful formula.

In the past few weeks, offbeat films like Loins of Punjab Presents, Manorama - Six Feet Under, Johnny Gaddar and Dil Dosti have being drawing the crowds in urban centres. “The industry now seems to be more open to movies that may be low on star quotient but high on content,” says filmmaker Anurag Kashyap.

Though the critical acclaim these films received failed to match their box-office collections, industry-watchers are heartened at the turning tide in Bollywood. 

“Small films are usually slow starters since they don’t have star power. However, word of mouth often swings a film’s fate,” says trade analyst Amod Mehra.

The new entrants on the scene believe in keeping the budget under tight control, the production costs at a minimum, a low-key publicity campaign, besides going in for fewer prints. While a film from one of the big stables would flood the market with over 300 prints, these films stick to between 50 to 100 prints.

Manish Acharya, who directed Loins of Punjab Presents, feels niche cinema is gaining ground. “It’s not huge profits, but the positive buzz about alternate cinema that’s important,” he says.

Trade pundits feel the multiplex culture and a thriving international circuit also keep these films in circulation. Besides, there are other alternate revenue streams like the sale of satellite and mobile rights.