Indian Cinema's Unrealistic Dialogue Problem
Indian films almost never sound like real life. This observation comes from journalist Manu Joseph, who points out a persistent flaw in our cinema. Most movies transform ordinary conversations into exaggerated farce or artificial poetry. They completely miss how young Indians actually speak, argue, and express love in their daily lives.
A Film That Breaks the Pattern
A small but courageous film released on YouTube is challenging this established norm. Scenes from a Situationship offers a glimpse of a more honest future for Indian storytelling. This urban Indian film follows a young couple navigating modern companionship.
They lose their anonymities through talking, bickering, making plans, and making love. They abuse each other, make up, take adoration for granted, and remain dissatisfied. While they might believe their experiences are unique, whole generations have lived similar lives. Indian cinema simply never showed it.
Capturing Authentic Modern Relationships
The characters love sex, though perhaps not equally. She can make him bathe by promising intimacy, but he lacks that same power. She criticizes his mediocre technique; he blames the mysteries of girls. Like many young urban Indians, they are billionaires of time. They don't send money to parents or worry about them. Their primary problems are themselves.
Their friends include similar couples who believe being in love means being bored with each other. They feel proud of this observation, considering it deeply philosophical. This rare, real, and delightful film stands as one of the best-written Indian works in recent memory.
Beyond Art Cinema Labels
Writer Manu Joseph hesitates to call it independent or 'art cinema,' despite it fitting those categories. Indian fringe cinema often feels dreary, dour, and fake. It typically targets foreign acclaim on the festival circuit, made by urban creators disconnected from the worlds they portray.
Scenes from a Situationship differs fundamentally. Directed by Vaibhav Munjal, who co-wrote it with Vaishnav Vyas, the film features remarkable lead actors Shreya Sandilya and Vyas. This is work by people who genuinely belong to the world they depict.
The Achievement of Authentic Conversation
The film's primary achievement is creating art that entertains. This requires more talent than narcissism. Its secondary achievement is feeling real. Cinematic realism isn't reality itself but a fantasy of reality. This film's realism springs from life's most difficult aspect to capture: authentic conversation.
How modern Indians speak remains invisible in Indian cinema. 'Good' movies often feel charlatan, while mainstream films become farces. Scenes... succeeds because it's independent in ways most independent films are not.
Rejecting International Festival Expectations
Typically, shoestring-budget films target only one market: international acclaim. This market carries unspoken requirements. Indian films must show exotic forms of misery. Scenes... is doomed in that arena. It's entertaining, and art's high priests often dislike entertainment. It features conversations any young couple might have in a Western city. Yet, remarkably, it was made.
Embracing Financial Limitations
The film doesn't hide its minimal budget. This austerity actually enhances its grimy realism. Creator Vaibhav Munjal funded it himself with friends, offering equity to key people who worked for free or nearly nothing. He refuses to disclose the exact cost, fearing it would diminish the film's ambition.
Standard filmmaking involves writers, studio suggestions, actor notes, and compromises for funding. By avoiding studio or platform money, Munjal made exactly the film he wanted.
Avoiding the Validation Trap
The usual next step involves sending films to international festivals for acclaim and attention. Thirty-one-year-old Munjal clearly avoided this 'validation' trap. He considers it dangerous. Once lured by validation, creators spend lifetimes making things they don't believe in, just for compliments.
After completing the film, Munjal gave OTT platforms a narrow window but recognized selling would be long and difficult. He understands YouTube well as co-creator of Chalchitra Talks, a successful channel recommending films and books. He calls YouTube a great medium if you're not serious about recouping money.
The Money Problem in Filmmaking
Money remains cinema's hardest problem. Even famous filmmakers struggle for funds. Recouping investments presents greater challenges. This seems odd when most of the world remains in cinema's trance. People spend hours daily searching for themselves in drama, almost never finding it in mainstream or art cinema.
In an ideal world, entertaining art films should have money-making chances. They should stream on YouTube with viewers paying ticket prices. Half a million people paying ₹300 each could create an entirely new enjoyable genre. While many say this cannot happen, Manu Joseph believes it represents the future of honest, entertaining art cinema.
