N : New Normal in Entertainment, Netflix and other Streaming Platforms #AtoZChallenge2020

I don't like the picture above! Empty cinema halls! Sad!

I am a traditional movie-goer in a way. I have seen several movies in cinema halls where only 5 people turned up to see them. Let me share a fact here : Most cinema halls don't play a movie if the audience is less than 4-5 people. There have been times, when I have convinced people in the ticket queue to watch a film, so that the quorum is complete. You might call me crazy, but my idea of watching films is utopian. Packed hall! A bucket of popcorn! And no one accompanying me! 

Sadly this lockdown is going to change the way we watch movies, forever. The new normal in entertainment is here and it is going to stay. Things were already changing, but this lockdown is going to hasten the process. In last one month, Netflix and other streaming platforms have seen a surge in their subscribers. A certain percentage of these new subscribers are going to get hooked forever and a really big star or a block-buster film will only pull them towards theaters. Also once lockdown is over, multiplexes and cinema halls will open last. Restrictions on large gatherings are expected to continue even longer and people will operate out of fear. This means thinner crowds in cinemas for many months. This period is long enough to change the habits of cinema-goers. Here are few ways in which I feel, the new normal in entertainment would look like:

1. Smaller movies in India will not get releases easily on big screens. With so many movies' release dates piling up, big movies will edge them out for next one year or so.  So the trend of direct releases on OTT platforms is going to be the obvious alternative for smaller films.

2. The new digital / OTT  subscribers will discover language content.  Good quality of regional films and non-Hollywood foreign cinema will create a resistance among movie-goers to splurge at local cinema halls.

3. The movie making itself is going to change. I recently saw this short film (Family - A Made at Home Short Film) which was made with none of the actors stepping out of their homes. If you watch it closely, you will know technicians like editors, story-boarders and VFX guys are going to play a huge role in future, in the way films would be made.  With smaller crews and less crowded film sets, are we finally going to get Indian cinema where technicians will rule the roost? Watch the short film below.

4. The community watching experience would get divided on the lines of class. The cinema halls with good hygiene and high standards of sanitization, would become costlier and would have more amenities to give comfort to their patrons. These will become new haunts of the upper classes. While masses will throng to regular multiplexes. So tent-pole films in regular multiplexes and curated niche films for upper classes can become a norm. There would always be exceptions for 8-10 top superstars though.

5. Is popcorn sales going to fall too? I can't have it with the mask on!
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I haven't watched much on streaming platforms since lockdown period started. My erratic work from home hours are keeping me away from any form of entertainment. But here are some recommendations for those readers who only came for these to my blog after reading my click-bait title.

1. Special Ops - Hotstar - (Hindi Series)  A good Indian spy thriller, lavishly mounted with excellent actors and a taut story-line

2. The Platform - Netflix - (Spanish Film with subtitles) A sci-fi horror thriller, that explores human greed. Most experimental film I watched lately.

3. Parasite - Amazon Prime - (South Korean Film with subtitles) I had already seen it in theaters before the lockdown. And I saw it again recently on Prime. If you haven't watched this amazing black comedy, which won the Oscar for the best picture this year, you should do it right away. This film looks at class divide and privilege in such a sharp way that you will feel uncomfortable about some of your actions in past.

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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is Lock-down Blues. I intend to write and talk about how I deal with it, what it inspires me to read or watch or any aspect of it which fascinates me. You can read the theme reveal post here. 

Previous Challenges : Letter N

2017: Nagpur

2018: Never Ever

2019: Nepotism in Hindi Films / Bollywood

N : Nepotism in Hindi Films / Bollywood #AtoZChallenge 2019

There are some issues that cut both ways. Nepotism is one of them. Here are few things I wanted to say on this subject. 

1. It exists in Bollywood. Period. And it exists in other industries too. How are Ambani kids any different from Yash Chopra's actor son?

Uday Chopra - He failed

Ambani Kids - will survive despite failures

2. In other industries, if a job is given to someone referred by higher ups, that person can survive and grow without talent to some level. But in Bollywood, if you don't have talent, you can't survive just because your father is a big superstar or have bags full of money. Sunny Deol was immensely successful as an actor while Bobby Deol has struggled throughout despite having good looks and better dancing skills. (as compared to his elder brother and father only) 

Deol Family

3. Nepotism provides access but doesn't guarantee success. Raj Kapoor had three sons. Randhir Kapoor did some good work. Rajiv Kapoor never tasted success of any kind. But Rishi Kapoor turned out to be a huge star and an actor par excellence. It would have been a great loss to viewers, if he wasn't given a chance because of some misplaced notion of righteousness. 

Raj Kapoor with his wife and sons

4. When a producer / star  makes a film for the sole purpose of launching his kid, it is a vanity project and not nepotism. Because that film wouldn't have been envisaged if the kid didn't exist. There is no opportunity lost for an outsider in this case. Alternatively, if a producer / star is casting for a script already in place and chooses an actor because of his / her lineage and not based on an audition, it is a clear case of bias. I don't think any outsider is envious of Fardeen Khan's debut film Prem Aggan. His career never took off. And no one in his right senses would have made a film like Prem Aggan for an outsider.  

Fardeen's debut film

5. Let us also understand that films are hard work. They might look glamorous from outside but it is not everyone's cup of tea. Even after all these years, there are only 5 - 7 sale-able stars in India. 

• Shahrukh Khan (an outsider)
• Salman Khan (a successful writer's son whose debut film was not bankrolled by his father; but it is important to note that both his brothers, Sohail and Arbaaz got rejected as actors)
• Aamir Khan (a successful producer's son; I would have never wanted him to do anything else)
• Ajay Devgn (a stuntman's son; Is it even nepotism? I think he is successful because of his grit)
• Akshay Kumar (an outsider)
• Ranveer Singh (an outsider)

It is clear, that your destination isn't really determined by who your parents are.

6. Vicky Kaushal has become darling of current generation of viewers. The reasons are very clear. He is hard working. He is talented. He has made right choices of roles and films. He has built his career on his own. By the way he is son of action director Sham Kaushal. Does it change your views about him?

Vicky Kaushal in Uri

7. If nepotism gives us actors like Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt (both of them seem like winners of a genetic lottery) and if we get actors like Irrfan Khan and Kangna Ranaut because of their struggles; I don't mind if this debate never settles. 

Merit always wins!

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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is Hindi Film Industry / Bollywood cliches. You can read the theme reveal post here.

2017 Challenge Post from Letter N: Nagpur - A post about many firsts of my life in the city of Nagpur. Click here to read. 

2018 Challenge Post from Letter N: Never Ever - A listicle about the things you will never ever do. Click here to read.

N : Never Ever #AtoZchallenge

This is not a motivational post which spouts inanities like "Never Ever Give Up." 

Have you never ever tried something (again), after you tried it once? Like calling your wife fat. 

Good. When you know the repercussions of an action because of your experience, you make informed calls. Well, this post is not about such 'Never-Evers'. 

What are the things you will never ever do, despite not knowing how it feels like doing them? Like calling your wife fat. Good. When you know the repercussions of an action because of someone else's experience, you are relying on age-old wisdom. Well, this post is not about such 'Never-Evers' too.

But then there is a specific category of  'Never-Evers' which interests me. These are not simple ones. You never ever do these things, not because you have had a bad experience in the past or because you learned from others. These are the things, you will never ever do, because you don't have in it you to do them. You are a milksop. I am sure you will never ever use this word, milksop, to describe yourself. 

Here are the 10 things, I dare you to do. I am sure you have never ever done them. Neither you have seen anyone else doing them. You don't have experience of your own or wisdom of others to rely on. Then what's stopping you from doing them!

1. You will never ever turn up for work in only your undies, until and unless it is a costume party or you are into water sports or something like that ;-)

2. You will never ever slap spit on your boss' face. Well a slap seemed realistic to me.

3. You will never ever fart urinate in your office cabin. I just remembered, I saw one guy farting in his cabin, few moons ago. And if you are the one who can urinate in his / her office cabin, you are a legend! I would never ever like to meet you. 

Okay! You think I am just listing the weird ones. Try the next few ones then.

4. You will never ever stop after you take out the first chip from the Lays packet. Even the commercial goes, "No one can eat just one". 

5. You will never ever be able to stop yourself from stealing a glance at that hot chick who just passed by you. Don't lie. I know you. This is easy. But then you have conditioned reflexes. 

6. You will never ever see a good Salman Khan film. Oh! Don't sulk! Don't tell me that he has never ever done a good film. You will never ever say that in front of him. 

Okay! Here are few straight ones. Will you try at least?

7. You will never ever lie. Really? There, you just told a lie.

8. You will never ever believe in news. But you always do. You know they are lying. But you are a sucker for gossip and even worse stuff that media peddles. 

9. You will never ever forward a stupid video on WhatsApp. What? Am I being unreasonable now?

Last one! For me.

10. I will never ever write a post on a topic which doesn't make sense. Oh! Come on! You think this post is nonsense. You will never ever have a good sense of humor. 

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My last year's challenge post from letter N was about many firsts in the city of Nagpur. Read it here.

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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is all about writing stories, anecdotes and observations from my life in form of easy to read listicles. You can read the theme reveal post here.

N : Nagpur

If Ludhiana taught me the value of home, and if Lucknow gave me survival instinct, and Mumbai gave me wings to fly, then I often wonder about role of Nagpur in my life.

Why Nagpur? 

I have been to several cities of India, but there are only five cities where I have stayed and lived like a local. I have already written stories about Ludhiana in this challenge, and posts specifically on Lucknow and Mumbai. I have not seen or lived in Chennai enough to write about it yet. But, Nagpur is one of the cities I never mentioned. It was the place where I did my first job ever. Before getting transferred to Lucknow, I was there for 6 months. So it is kind of a milestone city for me. 

Let me recall the things I tried there for the first time:

1. I worked on a shop floor of a tractor assembly line. I was a blue collared worker for the first time, with a dungaree on me and greased hands. It was a tough manual job, but we slept well.

2. It was the first time in my life, I shared a rundown apartment with six other boys, who didn't know each other. Packed like sardines, learning to manage with limited resources. As there was a Tamilian, I also learnt few words in Tamil. 

In the middle of one night, I woke up to answer nature's call. I realised someone was in the toilet. But then to my shock, MV (the Tamilian) was in the bathroom, taking a leak. I got so pissed off (pun not intended), but he said he was under pressure and toilet was not vacant. For next few days I only know, how I took a shower in that bathroom.

3. I received my first salary in Nagpur. It was a meagre amount, but no salary after that has made me that happy. We all went to the ICICI ATM nearby. That was the first time we used ATM (year 2002). We spent that money eating out in a good restaurant and buying stuff for family members. 

4. There was this bet gone wrong, where I ended up kissing a guy for the first and the last time. SC will remember that. Well technically it wasn't a kiss, just a brush of lips. But we both being straight, it was kind of embarrassing. The bet was to take Parle G biscuits from his mouth without using hands. SC and I are best of friends today. But we never kissed again. Thankfully. 

5. But above all, I made non Punjabi friends in my life for the first time. Rajasthani, Tamilian, Maharashtrians. I got introduced to foods and cultures of India, unknown to me before that. And I relished that experience.

There is lot of other stuff that happened in Nagpur, not necessarily the firsts. But I would like to remember Nagpur as the city of firsts.