Mumbai: Cinema has changed dramatically in the last five to six years. There has been a clear shift towards films driven by mass appeal and increased violence. The success of projects like ‘Animal’, ‘Marco’ and ‘Dhurandhar’ shows that today’s audiences have a high tolerance for violence, provided they remain engaged with the story. But the question is, how much violence is too much?
The same question was put to Vishal Bhardwaj during an interview with ANI. Bhardwaj is known for portraying violence and gore in an aesthetic manner. ‘Mar Dhaad’ had a part in films like ‘Maqbool’ and ‘Haider’, but due to the attractive story it never remained as a sore spot.
Bhardwaj, whose latest release O’Romeo also has several violent scenes, said that on a personal level he has no problem with violence. He also cited ‘Mahabharata’ to make his point.
Add Zee News as favorite source
“More than a generalisation, I feel that the violence has become very obvious which is fine for me personally. I often say that we are a caste which is born out of the Mahabharata. And the violence of the Mahabharata is unimaginable. And the violence of the Mahabharata is so graphic that it knows no bounds. There are murders and the juice and love with which it has been portrayed in the original Mahabharata. So we are born out of that…that element of violence is in our DNA.
He also drew parallels with internationally acclaimed filmmakers such as Wong Kar-wai and Quentin Tarantino, who are widely recognized for their distinctive and bold depictions of violence in cinema.
“And a poetic violence is one thing. Like there are a lot of references in my film…like blood flying under water…so those are a lot of references to that. One is Wong Kar-wai’s film…to date Wong Kar-wai has done it, to date Tarantino has done it. So that in itself, you know, is a poetic violence. And the only characters in my film (O’ Romeo) are gangsters. They are not poets and neither There are managers, so we have to show violence. And if you’re not talking about the contemporary language of contemporary filmmaking happening around you, you start feeling outdated.”
Bhardwaj also said that as long as cinema reflects the violence that already exists in society, its depiction on screen should not be considered problematic.
He said, “And one thing is, the kind and level of violence that exists and is going on in our society right now, there is nothing wrong if it is shown on screen. And it is an adult film (O’ Romeo) (Also, given the type and level of violence in our society, there is nothing wrong in it if it is shown on screen as well).
Bhardwaj’s ‘O’ Romeo’ stars Shahid Kapoor and Trupti Dimri in the lead roles. This film was released during Valentine’s Week.
Apart from the lead pair, the film also stars Disha Patani, Vikrant Massey, Tamannaah Bhatia, Farida Jalal, Nana Patekar, Avinash Tiwari, Aruna Irani, Hussain Dalal, Resh Lamba and Rahul Deshpande in lead roles. It is produced under the banner of Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment.