A Conversation on Manipuri Cinema

Our dialogue delivery n screenplay in the movie is quite odd to watch. I dont think so our film artist has a better adaptation n adoption with their role in the movie as they took part n it fails to a psychic distance with the spectators spcly me. So my sugestn to the artists is feel free n learn to involve with the part as they took n dear directors plz be serious in making a movie atleast 4 the audiance like nandu sharma.

This is a serious thing, Nandu. Pointed out very well.

What you speak and how you speak it is determined by the stage of your development/maturity. How a particular society behaves (speech act is one behavior element) is determined by the stage of the society's maturity. How are the average Manipuris behaving? How is their behavior reflected in their arts--cinema and literature, etc.? Cinema and literature are refined and thus the better version of society, if they reflect social reality they are produced in. We in reality do and speak a lot of crude things, but in our films we do better and speak better. At least stylized!

Then where are we, if our cinemas are better versions of us?

Anyway, the question is our literature and cinema should not remain weltering in foolishness. OUR CINEMA HAS BEEN STUPID, AND IT STILL IS.

The wise speaks wise things wisely. The intelligent speaks intelligent things intelligently. The fools speak foolish things foolishly. The imbecile speak imbecility. When I watch Manipuri films, each and every film makes me shift in my seat--it feels embarrassing, what they say, and how they say, and what they do. I just snigger out of embarrassment. Why do they live at such a low level, why they speak so low things?

Each and every film. All of them (except one or two). All written and directed by young and old. Youths such as Yoimayai (director) and old such as Oken Amakcham (director). Young such as Gyanand and old such as Manaobi MM (story, script, dialogue). All of them.

Giving msg to society is jst for name sake all ever they do is jst 4 comercial n i they dont care whether d stupid audiance how they wl adapt or i what way. Anyway let it be bt my question is why the artist they are so irritating the camera?

I would rather they made films they want to make, unconcerned about us, society, but concerned about their own interest. I don't want to hear any filmmaker or actor/actress telling the cliched white lie that they are serving society, doing social service. Who does not do social service? Even a snake swallowing a frog does social service.

"Be honest, and say that you are interested in what you are doing, and what it may make of you!" That's what I want to tell them. "But, give us quality product. We are paying you with our money, and sparing a couple of ours of our life to watch that movie. And if that movie turns out really bad, I feel cheated, duped, as if I have been palmed off with some rotten egg.

I elsewhere say that our filmmakers make a scapegoat of the public for their inefficiencies, their incapability beyond that silly limit. They say our public is still immature and they cannot appreciate really good, high quality films. Escapist liars! Don't we watch high-quality films of foreign countries in foreign languages we never know, but we follow exactly what the films want to convey. Are we immature? My point is, film is a commodity, and we watch only what are available in the market, like we buying any other commodity available. The producers do their own research and study, and develop the products on their own, and then they sell the products in the market, and we just buy, and it's thus the market rather than we the public that decide the direction of our life in most cases. In the same way, a film is not made by public decision, it's a creative thing of some people. They may be bad or good. The producers should be responsible, they should not try in vain to hold the public responsible for the kind of film they produce.

"Just sell us, and we will buy that. We don't buy what you don't sell. Sell good films, we'll buy them. If you sell us bad films, we buy just bad films. but we know that you cannot make good films. And don't blame the public (stupid or otherwise) for what you are incapable of." I want to tell this to our film community.