I had a pretty hectic week this time as the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) began here. Honestly, I had a lot to write about butt being an essentialist/minimalist, I decided to write about only one panel discussion in the festival that I think is the most valuable.
Why are films important? What impact do they have on society? Moreover what is the power of storytelling? These were the questions the drove the discussion on the theme “The Power of Storytelling” that took place at the Maquinez Palace last Tuesday. The panel consisted of actor and writer Nishikant Kamat, art market editor Ms Anna Louie Sussman (
@annalouiesuss), filmmaker and director of “
Airlift” Raja Krishna Menon (
@RajaMenon), and CEO of Mythos Labs Priyank Mathur (
@PriyankSMathur). The discussion was moderated by Vice President of Observer Research Foundation Mr Samir Saran (
@samirsaran).
The panel deliberated on how storytelling can be used to combat terrorism, break gender stereotypes and bring about social change. Commenting on highlighting social issues, Samir Saran questioned as to why films glorify anti-heroes at certain junctures. In reply, RK Menon stated that commercial cinema tends to exaggerate certain things. “Cinema today has broadly split into two types” said Menon taking his point further “One where the hero is perfect and everything he does on screen can be forgiven, second where the hero is flawed and fights with situations and desires in real life.”
While addressing the issue of gender stereotyping in cinema, Anna Louie Sussman noted that around 86% of the roles of female characters in movies are confirming to the female gender stereotype. However, RK Menon countered the argument stating that the number of women working in film crews as cinematographers, editors, directors etc has increased by 40%and films are changing as women bring in their own perspective to storytelling.
Drawing upon his experience as former intelligence analyst for Department of Homeland Security, comedian, and CEO of Mythos Labs Priyank Mathur shared thoughts on how to use storytelling and humour as counterterrorism tools. “Storytelling is a part of both.” said Matur. “You have only one minute to brief the policy makers about that possible terrorist threat, and you have to make the story sound interesting.” He further stated that while recruitment videos of Al Quaida were preachy and boring, the new ISIS videos have cool animation and even steal and modify scenes from Hollywood films. Governments must now find ways to tell stories better, the former intelligence analyst said. While highlighting that his company works to counter terrorism through comedic skits, Mathur also noted that this is an area where Bollywood can play an important role. “Sitting in Washington, it is difficult for us to reach a remote village in Pakistan, but locals who know the language and the area well can have a greater impact” Mathur said.
Writer and actor Nishikant Kamat held the view that cinema tends to reflect the reality of the day. Indian movies that came in the initial years after independence such as “Do Bigha Jameen” talked about questions of land and livelihood. “However, as the country began settling down in late 60s and 70s, love stories began to appear.” said Mr Kamat “and today’s films such as my own film “Dombivali Fast” and “Madari” highlight the problems of common man.”
Towards the end, the panelists contemplated how storytelling can bring about social change, and RK Menon stated that small stories might have a limited impact, but consistency of such stories being told then brings about the bigger change in society.
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