Scripts are the foundation of a good movie. One can ruin a good script while transforming it into a film, but it is very hard to make a good film out of a bad script. But Priyadarshan, one of the top money-making directors in the Hindi film industry today, is not happy about the new generation of directors and their scripts.
"They need to read a lot. No one seems to be doing that, and this is resulting in poor cinema. We are technically well-equipped, but the new set of directors needs to work hard on their scripts," he says.
It is timely to quote India's most acclaimed contemporary filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan on this issue. "When I go to watch a movie, I am looking for the unusual, a new approach. There has to be something new that I can take back. But, unfortunately, in many movies I know what I will see. A good-looking boy and girl dancing around trees and pretending life is just about that. I’d rather not see it," he said during an interview.
It is true that people watch films, clap and feel happy with the 'mindless' action in front of them because that is what they have come to expect. Hence many directors like to rework on the decade-old themes which have pleased the masses since generations. They do not venture for something novel and forget that we also have cerebral audiences who come to the theatre to watch the unusual.
Priyadarshan is currently working with a bench of newcomers in his upcoming Tamil film Poi Solla Porom. He is all praise for his assistant Vijay, who is directing the film. And he has good reason (a whopping budget) to produce this film in Kollywood instead of Bollywood. "The Tamil film industry is always open to offbeat films. I did not think I would make it in Hindi when I heard the script. I thought it would be more apt for a Tamil audience."
This is the first time Priyadarshan is venturing as producer. Poi Solla Porom will be released soon. His next directorial venture is Biloo Barber in Hindi, after which he will be making Hera Pheri 3 with Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal.
