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Falling In Love with Bollywood Again

During my time in lockdown, I have rediscovered my love of Bollywood films again compliments of my Netflix subscription, which has the bonus of subtitles and maybe it’s also because you need ample time to watch a Bollywood film, as they average three hours long!

There’s something for everyone, the cinematography, the dance, the music and storylines. The closest Hollywood film to Indian cinema, in my view is ‘La, La Land’, which has all the magic ingredients of a Bollywood blockbuster – fun, music, songs and dance. Bollywood has songs for nearly every situation and you can never see a Bollywood movie without experiencing a great soundtrack. Plus, Indian film offers storylines about ordinary people facing challenges that help them grow as individuals. Movies like these have become global hits because of their strong storylines.

I experienced my first ever Indian film with my dad when I was about six years old and we went to see Arandhana at the local cinema in Southall, London. I remember it was a Sunday evening and as we came out of the cinema hall, my dad bought the Arandhana LP, which we would go on to play regularly. This is a film that captured my heart and at only six, I fell in love with Indian romantic drama. I have memories of my dad singing me the tunes, and as I got older, he would insist that this music was better than anything was being featured on Top of the Pops at that time!

So, what have been I have been watching on Netflix?! Well, I have been making up for my years of Bollywood void and have enjoyed the classics such as Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sadness); Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (Never Say Goodbye); Heroine; and Hum Aapke Hain Koun (Who Am I to You?). I have wanted to go back into time and watch my favourites such as Silsila (this is an Arabic word that means chains) and Kabhi Kabhi (Sometimes), but sadly these are not on Netflix.

 

But I think my favourite film, which not quite a Bollywood production, as it’s only an hour and half long and there’s no dance or music, is Bulbul, a Netflix original. It is a period drama that looks at old beliefs and superstitions. Set in a village plagued by mysterious deaths and stories; the storyline is haunting, revolving around Satya and his brother’s child bride who are separated when Satya is sent to a foreign country. When he returns, he finds that his brother has abandoned his wife. Everything about this film is sumptuous – the acting, the costumes, the settings. It’s one of those films that stays with you, long after you have watched it.

So, if you fancy watching something different during lockdown and you have Netflix, press play for Bulbul. It might just whet your appetite for something more full on Bollywood… Mujhe Bollywood se pyaar hai (I love Bollywood).

 

 

What Will Mainstream Media Look Like Post The Pandemic

When we all emerge from this pandemic, it will be a very different media landscape. We have seen that movies and television shows have delayed productions around the world and many of our much loved media titles, might not exist, as they struggle for survival.

Though television can be consumed while we are in lockdown, the creation of it still involves bringing people together on set. Widespread efforts to curb COVID-19 has triggered unprecedented change in the TV business. Where productions have stalled, writers’ rooms have moved to teleconferencing and radio presenters have guests either zooming or phoning in.

Many alternative weeklies have stopped printing and laid off employees, because of sharp advertising declines, as many businesses have stopped operating or sadly gone bust.

Journalists, photographers and advertising staff at print titles have lost their jobs and fear they will fear that they will not be re-employed when the crisis is over as sales and advertising revenues are not expected to return to pre-virus levels. Long-term, this crisis could have a devastating effect to the news industry’s bottom line.

Though there have been faint glimmers of light, where I have read how online news platforms have seen a spike in web traffic and subscriptions, as the pandemic has attracted record-breaking audiences for online news sources. Traffic to The Guardian’s website has increased more than 50 percent exceeding all previous records, and there had been a substantial surge in the number of readers taking out digital subscriptions or signing up to make regular contributions to support its journalism.

However, it’s worth noting that media outlets like The Guardian have long struggled to earn substantial revenue from digital advertising.

Yet, while we are now all addicted to the news, wanting accurate information. UK national print newspaper sales have fallen by as much as 30 percent since the start of the government-ordered coronavirus lockdown, according to industry sources, with journalists at many local newspapers placed on leave and warnings that hundreds of reporters could be left without jobs as the advertising market collapses.

On top of this, so many independent newsagents have closed, and supermarkets are expected to cut the numbers of copies of media titles they take because of reduced footfall. Free newspapers have also been hit by the collapse in commuters and ad revenue, with London’s Evening Standard adopting an improvised door-to-door delivery model, with a reduced circulation of just over 400,000 copies being posted through letterboxes in the center of the capital.

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, director of the Reuters Institute at the University of Oxford told The Guardian that he predicts “huge declines in advertising revenues” owing to the looming recession that is likely to result in hundreds or even thousands of job losses in British journalism. He has predicted the economic effects of the pandemic could potentially remove 10 percent of all frontline journalistic jobs in the UK.

Nielsen voiced a concern of many in the industry, when he said a particular worry for British newspapers was that remaining print readers would lose the habit of reading a physical product during the lockdown.

No industry is being left untouched, many will have to innovate and change their business models to make a comeback and be part of the new world…a phoenix rising from the ashes.

 

Photo Credits: Sean McMenemy and Geralt