Cinema changes every decade, so does technology and when we move from one to the other, suddenly, the old appears outdated. When colour came into movies, there were no takers for Black and White films and when the trend of big budget, multi-star films began in the 70s there were suddenly no takers for single star projects. This happened with the single screens as well when the multi cinemas mushroomed in the city. Hyderabad Blues would not have been a hit had it not been for the multi-screen concept and Vinay Shuklas’s Godmother would have received rave reviews had the film released after the multi screens came about.
Today, all kinds of subjects are released on the OTT platforms. We are living in adventurous times when every aspect of entertainment is being explored and indulged. Often, I watch old films on television and feel that they should be re-released on the OTT platform only to get a refreshing perspective One such niche film that comes to my mind was released around this time in the year 2004. Written and directed by Sahtya Akademi awardee playwright Mahesh Dattani, revered for his powerful plays Mango Souffle and Dance Like a Man. Morning Raga featuring Shabana Azmi and Perizad Zorabian was a story about music, traditional and modern and also about friends and trauma. I had interviewed Dattani and asked him if the story was based on a true incident and he shared that the idea came to him when he was composing the music of Mango Souffle.
To be continued