Lights, camera, action, repeat

Repetitive collaborations are becoming the norm in the hindi film industry as films of specific genres prefer to dip into a select talent pool of actors.

Radhika Apte is trending on twitter for her Omnipresence on Netflix India. Having done multiple films and shows on Netflix, the actress is being talked about a lot — while some want to see more of her, others are demanding diversity. Netflix too has taken this sportingly with a new teaser that has cast her in every role of the new project Omnipresence.

However, Indian art films seem to have a set of actors they cast repeatedly, while mainstream films have their mega stars as their favourites, and those seeking critical as well as commercial acclaim too have a select talent pool of actors they tap repeatedly. We look into how different film genres and styles have become camps in themselves.

“The big web-series have been featuring a set of actors. However, for actors who have worked in films, the prospect of web-series becomes less attractive. In the Indian context, Radhika Apte seems to have understood the importance of web-series. The concept of Lust Stories, in which too she plays a part, was actually envisioned by her. So that was her initiative and I see nothing wrong in that,” says director Avinash Das.

Film critic Mihir Pandya thinks such change is happening because of a shift towards content. “I don’t think it is camps, more than that it is directors choosing to work with certain writers and choosing certain content that is leading to such repetitive collaborations. Content is the king now and certain actors and directors are attracted towards certain kind of content, leading to automatic collaborations.”

But ask him about Radhika Apte and he says, “That case doesn’t really fit into this category as I think it’s a mere coincidence that her films and series are releasing at the same time. It is focus on content that is bringing about many changes. Even the three Khans are starting to experiment. In the end it is not the actor who matters but the storyline. So all depends on whether that director is ready to experiment or not. We are in a time where new writers are getting a chance and that matters more.”

He is also of the opinion that people collaborating within their comfort zones, leads to good things as well. “But in an industry that is already dealing with issues related to nepotism, such collaborations can also be viewed from a different lens and Bollywood is anyway infamous for such discrimination,” he says.

Theatre artist Vidushi Mehra, who is very supportive of Radhika’s role on Netflix India says, “Everyone has noticed that Radhika Apte is in every Indian show on Netflix. However, I feel she is immensely talented and perhaps she does conform to a protagonist that is suited for Netflix. Most directors keep some people in mind while choosing a script. One should feel proud that someone like her is making waves and is increasingly helping Indian content go global. We would all love to be in Radhika Apte’s shoes,” says.

But Avinash agrees that directors choose to work with actors they get comfortable with over time. “After working on a few projects, there is a certain rapport and comfort zone that develops. Once in a while, of course, they like to experiment but mostly such working relationships pertain to films of a certain genre; take Anurag Kashyap for example. This is also a problem with Indian directors, they don’t experiment much with genres outside their comfort zone. This also brings us to the question that if one is willing to experiment, what are the options they have?” he adds.

He believes that the trend is now slowly changing. “For example, in Lust Stories, Karan Johar, who is mostly associated with commercial films, came to work along with Zoya Akhtar, who is somewhere between art and commercial cinema and Dibakar and Anurag have a category of their own. This collaboration is indicative of change. People are becoming flexible. Like Swara Bhaskar, who has worked in both art and commercial films,” he signs off.