I’m not a cinephile. I barely watch movies, and I prefer books instead, or the forever faithful YouTube. I am easy to please when it comes to films, as my friends and family have realised after most movie nights, and damningly, I am also a yapper. So it would make sense that I would look for a film that would make me happy – or sad, depending on my mood, right?
In the current space, films seem to be released and engineered to capture a dwindling attention span. In India, Bollywood seems to churn out the same few formulaic films every two months or so. With such conditions plaguing the cinematic environment, what weight does a casual cine-goer’s opinion have? I’d like to think it has a lot, and it begins with the question – what draws the viewer in, what does the casual cine-goer look for in a movie?
My taste has accommodated everything from the Mexican art film Gueros (2014) to Rishab Shetty’s Kantara Chapter 1 (2025), to the recent Netflix movie Baramulla (2025). All of these films made me feel things, something that I think must be at the crux of any movie. Do I have splendid reviews about all these movies? No, of course not. But that is a discussion for later. The question is, why these movies?
I watched Gueros because of the actor, Tenoch Huerta, whose other notable role was in Wakanda Forever (2022). His filmography is what intrigued me, and Gueros captivated me in the first scene itself, despite my apprehensions. It seemed like a movie for those intellectual film kids who have favourite cinematic shots and study old French films. It was in black and white, for gods’ sake! But I was proven wrong. Gueros, from the very first scene, drew me in and taught me that art was for everyone, never mind the seemingly intimidating task of interpreting it.
Kantara Chapter 1 is a complete 180 from Gueros. Home grown and deeply rooted in folk legends (and full of colour), it drew me in for a different reason. Actually, for a couple of different reasons. One, I come from similar folk traditions and was intrigued at how the stories would be told and two, an actor from my community was playing an important role. In a way, it was a sort of representation, and the emotion I associated with the legends and world it was built on – that was the cause of my eagerness.
Baramulla, contrary to both of the films mentioned, I learnt of from social media. I do not like horror, but I was lured in with the promise of no cheap jumpscares but actual horror and cinema. And what a ride it was, in the haunted valleys of Kashmir.
Point is, each of these films were wildly different. The way I found out about them was different too, and as the cherry on top, I am not a passionate movie watcher. So why and how does one like me feel compelled to watch a movie, what do we look for as we do?
And before you come at me with your sticks and stones, I do not know either.
The answer must be deceptively simple then, something as old as time itself – emotion. Feeling. The promise of adventure, of knowledge, or at least the learning of something new. An interesting film takes you on this journey, makes you feel – positive or negative, that is wholly subjective. It does not direct how you must feel, simply makes you feel. It makes you wonder, participate in discussion. And in an age where we are continuously and constantly desensitized and overstimulated, movies can lure you back to that primal urge to watch, listen and learn and then deal with the after effects.
It takes you back to the time of spears, meat and fire, of sitting around a circle and communicating through stories and stories alone.
Only difference is, will we tune in this time?