Equal dose of different emotions essential for film’s success

Take for example the recent blockbuster Dangal. The film is not a typical commercial entertainer but an emotional roller-coaster that dwells on the relationship between a father and his two daughters. This emotion runs throughout the film. The audience were able to connect emotionally with the film and feel for the lead characters, and hence, there was all-round appreciation that eventually made it the country’s highest grossing film at the box office. 

There are nine emotions ( navarasa ) human beings experience in their lifetime — Love (romance), laughter (comedy), sorrow (sad), anger, valour (heroism), fear, disgust (hatred), wonder (awe) and peace (success or fulfilment). We all go through these navarasa in our everyday life and when any one of the nine emotions dominate the day, it becomes a boon or bane. When there is a combination of emotions, the day ends peacefully. In the same way, a film with only one or two emotions dominating the others does not connect well with the audience. Hence, a film that rides solely on a single theme does not work irrespective of the actors or the team involved. They need a package of emotions to make the film a fulfilling experience for the audience. 

Dangal had it all . There was the father-daughter track, a formula that hardly goes wrong. The film begins with the protagonist lamenting over not having a son. He then realises a potential in his daughters and trains them to realise his dream of winning a medal for the country. In the process, he faces several setbacks — from his daughters rebelling against him initially to his elder daughter going against his traditional training methods once she gets a trainer at a national academy. How the father and daughters face these situations, reconcile, and overcome times of grief forms an important part of the film. The film has several situations that show how anger can be channelised in the right direction to win battles. 

There is also a lot of emphasis on valour. Right from a middle-aged Aamir Khan taking on a younger colleague who challenges him for a fight to his daughters inheriting the same spirit in wrestling not hesitating to take on men twice their size, valour was much at the core of the film. Meanwhile, laughter was provided by a sidekick (the daughters’ cousin), who was the butt of all jokes. The audience also experience the emotion of fear when the girls are pitted against world-class athletes. 

The audience gets disgusted with the way the trainer at the national academy deliberately changes the wrestling style of the protagonist’s daughter, which results in her losing fights.  He also employs various other methods to discourage the girl from following in the footsteps of her father. Even the climax scene that involves the father being locked up before his elder daughter’s final fight of the tournament, had the audience expressing both anger and disgust. 

Despite these challenging situations, when the girls win their battles using methods taught by their father, we experience wonder (awe) and there is a sense of fulfilment at the end. 

Recent films like Nanban, PK, Thani Oruvan, Kathi, Thuppakki, Ramana, En thiran, Padayappa, Baasha, Sivaji, Dasavatharam and Vishwaroopam are all classic examples of integrating all nine emotions in the screenplay. Meanwhile, films, which did not package their emotions wisely, despite the backing of big productions houses and star power, couldn’t and perhaps will never quite strike a chord with the audience.