Rising Trend Of Anthology In Bollywood: A Sign Of Fatigue In Creativity?

In recent times, the Indian audience has witnessed various OTT platforms releasing anthology films where renowned directors are joining hands and releasing amazing Hindi anthology films and shows.

Over the years, the format of anthology films has gained massive popularity amongst the audience and some of the best sellers from the past have taken the shape of films including 'Stories By Rabindranath Tagore', 'Rishte', and others. Whereas, many new scripts have also been in the line and have gained the massive attention of the audience including 'Lust Stories', 'Ajeeb Dastans', 'Ghost Stories', and more.

Anthology films started to be the talk of the town with Satyajit Ray's anthology series 'Ray' released on Netflix which keenly started the trend of anthology films. Earlier we saw 'Bombay Talkies' also making the pace, but the epicenter of this culture started with the four-part anthology series inspired by one of the greatest literary fiction writer Satyajit Ray's stories.

An anthology film series can have a diverse storytelling line against another which is designed in a manner to provide binary thrills to the audience summed up in small parts. However, the small segments need to have a standout which at times can also make the audience disconnect but will allow you to compare and pick out one's favorite.

However, in Bollywood, this genre of storytelling is now becoming a trend where big directors such as Zoya Akhtar, Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Srijit Mukherjee, Vasan Bala, and several others can be seen creating such stories which take up lesser time to form with easy scripts which also gives a sense of comfort to the production and positive results to the audience.

We witness more and more A-list actors also joining the cast of such films with Kiara Advani, Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar, Janhvi Kapoor, and others to be in the ensemble leading cast of such stories, where one can say that this genre of Bollywood experimentation has become a hit.

The stories in these types of films are given a very minimalist touch where one can go ahead and relate to their daily life struggles. Be it Zoya Akhtar's minimalistic love story between a maid and an owner, or Karan Johar showcasing the sensual needs of a modern-age woman amidst a traditional household.

However, many have raised the question, of why Bollywood is intending to make so many and why is it so difficult to get it right? The financial ramifications set after the pandemic have made these ideas a fair deal.

Also, from the perspective of the viewer, the stories in such films are short and crisp with a hint of versatility which is more relatable to the common man, and it is also logistically durable with having 4-5 stories under one roof with the same amount of price.

Also having flexibility in shooting each segment with having your separate crews, the formation and production process fastens up in comparison to a web series or film shoot which takes up an entire year.

Thus, one can say that Bollywood is playing safe with anthology films on the rise as it is standing to be an easy filler, whereas it is also commercially safe and brings out the artistic sharpness in many.

The segments of anthologies do not make you feel like you are watching a movie, but it is simply presented under famous names with famous cast offering their versions of voice in the form of small grandmother stories, but with the touch of modern-day issues.