THE new sunday express Voices Anand Neelakantan Ravi Shankar S Vaidhyasubramaniam Preeti Shenoy Dinesh Singh Swami Sukhabodhananda MAGAZINE Buffet People Wellness Books Food Art & Culture Entertainment July 7 2024 SUNDAY PAGES 12 Mirzapur Season 3 Set in a remote village in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, it has captured the fascination of Indian viewers Small is the New Big Small-town and rural settings are taking centrestage in Indian entertainment as the audience increasingly leans towards emotional connect and relatability T By Deepali Singh he Tripathis and Pandits are back. Guns loaded and fists clenched, last week the rival gangs of Mirzapur finally had a go at each other as the third season of the popular show dropped on Amazon Prime Video. The four-year-long wait was as excruciating for the arch rivals as it was for the audience. But why does a thriller set in a remote village in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh capture the fascination of Indian viewers so much? Perhaps because it is raw, rustic and real. Now think of Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies. Starkly different in tone from Mirzapur, it is a comedy of errors where two new brides get swapped. It is again set in a village, albeit fictitious, yet it managed to get 13.8 million views within a month of its release, surpassing Ranbir Kapoor’s blockbuster Animal. There are more. Vikrant Massey’s 12th Fail set in Chambal in Madhya Pradesh, and Kunal Kemmu’s directorial venture Madgaon Express have also grabbed eyeballs for their engaging storylines and performances. In Malayalam cinema, survival thriller Manjummel Boys, which was made on a budget of `20 crore raked in more than `200 core at the box office. From Angamaly Diaries to Sudani from Nigeria and Kumbalangi Nights, smaller films have had a Laapataa Ladies Managed to get 13.8 million views within a month of its release, surpassing Ranbir Kapoor’s blockbuster Animal significant impact on the way Malayalam cinema has captured the imagination of cinema buffs. Amid the glitzy and largerthan-life worlds of Made in Heaven and Four More Shots Please, who would have imagined that Panchayat, a simple tale of a city boy moving to a nondescript village in the middle of nowhere would garner such a loyal fan following. After two successful seasons, The Viral Fever (TVF) production released its third season on May 28. The middleclass Mishra parivaar with its everyday stories returned in the fourth season of Gullak on SonyLIV another TVF produc, tion. Patna Shukla, Kathal, Aranyak, Paatal Lok, Kohrra, Jamtara, Taj Mahal 1989 and Tabbar are just a few of the shows and films that have defied the formulaic assumption that only projects mounted on a large scale with popular names work with the audience. What is creating this fascination that the audience has for such content? For one, it is the relatability factor. According to a 2023 study by a health platform, over 70 per cent of India resides in rural and semi-rural regions—what is termed as Tier-II and -III cities. There is suddenly a rise in disposable incomes in these regions. From real estate to politics and health, it is this demography that is the driving force. Why should entertainment be any different? The populace from Tier-II and -III cities wants to see their stories on the big screen. They don’t identify with the glitzy Manjummel Boys Made at a budget of `20 crore, it raked in more than `200 core at the box office world of the Johars and the Chopras. The lens in all these movies and shows is trained on India’s small towns and villages, thanks to storytellers and even actors coming from these small towns. Away from the cacophony of cities and urban dwellings, the narratives are unhurried and give a peek into the lives, cultural nuances and traditions of this vast country and its people. For those who have moved from such back-of-beyond towns to the metros, it is recall value and nostalgia for a world that once was theirs. In a sense, they are revisiting their past. Says Mumbai-based sociologist Dr Omkar Bhatkar, “There is a market in the Tier-II and -III cities for these films. Secondly, a number of people, who have entered the industry in the last few years, come from these cities. This is the cultural milieu that they understand.” As Real as It Gets The OTT boom during and post Covid meant that there was a plethora of content from all corners of the world available on the click of a button in the comfort of our homes. That has changed something intrinsically for the average cinegoer. Actor Pratik Gandhi has noticed as well. “With the world’s content in front of us via digital platforms, the audience’s taste has undergone a change. Now, they want more believable and relatable stories,’’ says The Madgaon Express actor, citing the instance of Panchayat and Paatal Lok. “In the latter, Hathiram’s character is what a real-life hero is like,” he adds. As for Madgaon Express finding an audience for its quirky plot of three guys’ misadventures in Goa, Gandhi believes that the credit goes to the writing as “While we are citing Laapataa Ladies and 12th Fail as successes, there are enough and more small films that have been released in recent times that did nothing at all.” Akkshay Rathie, film exhibitor well as to the creative call they took of not playing to the gallery “The characters’ . reactions are what people are relating to,” he says. Writer and director Varun Grover made his directorial debut with the semi-autobiographical All India Rank, a story set in Kota about a young boy preparing for the highly-competitive IIT entrance exams, which received positive reviews for the familiar plot. Grover says that his simple assumption is that there are many in this country who have had a similar life, upbringing and nostalgia about the India of the ’90s in which he was growing up. “My takeaway is that the story and emotions will work with the people because they worked with me,” he says. The relatability factor is definitely one of the aspects driving the narrative. Manish Menghani, Director and Head Content Licensing, Amazon Prime Video, is of the opinion that Panchayat’s success isn’t limited by geography or demographics alone. “While it authentically portrays rural life, it also delves into universal themes such as friendship, relationships, loyalty , community-living and more,” he says. Neena Gupta, who plays Manju Devi, the Pradhan in the series, seconds his thoughts. “How many shows do you see where the story characters, , outfits and locations seem authentic? There is a simplicity and honesty here that comes through,” she says. The television world of the ’80s and early ’90s was dominated by serials such as Buniyaad, Hum Log, Malgudi Days and Mungerilaal Ke Haseen Sapne among others. These took us into lower- and middle-class homes with middle-class dreams and aspirations. It is perhaps Turn to page 2 “As the industry grows and diversifies, we will undoubtedly see new genres and styles emerge, but the core principle of authenticity in storytelling will remain vital.” Sneha Desai, screenplay writer