“Riddhima’s Perspective on the Impact of Cinema: Exploring Reality, Social Issues, and Scriptwriting Mastery”

Riddhima, a passionate movie lover, shares her deep insights on the powerful influence cinema has on society, the impact of impactful films, and the crucial role of scriptwriting in shaping narratives. In her exploration of different film genres, she emphasizes how movies, whether they are grounded in reality or fictionalized, have the potential to mold our perceptions, relationships, and outlook on life. From thought-provoking films like Lapachhapi, which shed light on pressing social issues, to the intricate storytelling of Bulbbul and Black Warrant, Riddhima highlights how these cinematic works resonate beyond entertainment, offering lessons in social awareness, intellectual strength, and self-transformation. Through her reflections, Riddhima underscores the power of cinema as a mirror to reality and a catalyst for change in the world we live in.

Q1) What comes to mind when we talk of cinemas ?                                                                         

 

Ans: movies refer to the depiction of the reality of our world. Sometimes, they are based on books of fictional stories so movies are a reflection of the society we are living in and that makes me believe that movies can influence an entire generation of people. It can be how they approach another person, their social life, how they talk with others, how their interpersonal relationships work. There are Bollywood movies which romanticize stalking and harassment so what happened is in the 2000s, there was a case of harassment in Australia where an Indian woman was harassed by an Indian man. When he was taken to the police , he said that he got inspired by the movie ‘Darr’ which starred Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Sunny Deol and other famous actors/actresses. Even though we think that movies are for entertainment , the movies influence society and people in real life. It can’t be denied that movies don’t any any effect on people who are watching it, sometimes it can be true for the mass entertainment films but for other movies, they do have an effect on you as an entire human being with an intellect and rational functional mind.

 

Q2) As someone who loves watching films, which is the last impactful movie you have seen ?

Ans:   I am a big horror movie buff so one such movie which had a great impact on me was ‘Lapachhapi’. Its a marathi regional film which in marathi means hide and seek and it focuses on a social aspect. Horror movies have a few stereotypes like they have a person who is dumb and keeps on asking who is there, creaky doors and jump scares. This film is more of a social horror about female infanticide in villages. So, there was this tradition where the girl child was drowned in a lake when she was born in villages because she was thought to be unlucky for the family and people wanted a ‘male’ heir. So, the impact it had on me was it inspired me to study harder and become something myself because it shows how a modern woman who is not from the village, when she goes to the village and encounters the ghost of associated which such an incident where the woman was burnt alive and her infant was killed, she changes the entire situation with her wit and intellect. That somehow makes me believe that in a society where patriarchy is very dominant, I feel like it teaches young girls and  women to study and become intellectually strong. Financial independence is important but intellectual wit can help you escape from scenarios where you are stuck socially for example a toxic household. 

 

Q3) Do you feel all movies are a picturisation of reality or are disconnected from it ?

Ans In India if we look at film, there are various film industries like Bollywood, Tollywood and other regional film industries. There are 2 categories of films according to me , which might not be very rational. One is the commercial movies which are really nonsensical according to physics. Now I would start using films again, there was this film called ‘Ugly’ and it is about the kidnapping of a young girl. It’s a really dark film because the ending is really heartbreaking but it shows the reality of India. What it shows here is the complexity of human nature because once a child gets kidnapped everybody becomes a suspect like her own mother, her father, her stepfather, every character in the film becomes a suspect. The audience has questions about the motives which have a really ugly and harsh side to it. Other than this there are documentaries based on crimes which are based on real crimes happening in India for example there was a documentary where a few friends were involved in a crime case. As for the lopsided films which don’t make any sense to me like the film ‘Loveyappa’ which is a remake of a south indian movie but the original film was really good. Then there are comedic flicks which make nonsensical but people laugh and then there are films like ‘Masaan’ which depict reality. One thing I would like to add is that people prefer masala movies over realistic movies because they already have a piece of this reality in their daily life, the stress, the tension , the loss of a loved one or anything else. So what they look for in movies is something light and refreshing or something that makes them feel better.

 

Q4) Do you feel that script writers play a major role in movies? Is there any movie whose script writing has left an impact on you ?

Ans  When a movie is written the scriptwriter plays a really crucial role, basically his perceptions and his way of deciphering things like the metaphors and how they will show it in front of the audience. The narrative or the flow of the movie as we see the pictures on the screen depends on the scriptwriter. It can be a linear or non-linear narrative, or a narrative that enhances a lot of recollections and anecdotes. Secondly, for the scriptwriting part, there was this one movie which did leave an impact on me, that is the movie ‘Bulbbul’. I am saying the scriptwriting impacted me because no doubt the story was very good, because it was not really linear. It starts off with the direct event which is the precursor to everything, then it cuts to the future and then it goes back past and then the present. Yet the narrative did not leave any gaps unfulfilled or questions were not answered in a rushed way leaving the curiosity of the viewers unsatisfied. But in the movie ‘Bulbbul’, the narrative ties all the knots together and answers all unanswered questions. Writing a story which is a social horror, depicts the pain that women go through and focuses on the events is something I want to achieve as a scriptwriter in the future.

 

Q5) So far, which is your favourite movie in 2025 .What did you learn from it ? 

Ans I recently watched a series on netflix ‘Black warrant’ starring Zahan Kapoor. It’s a very different kind of series and it cannot be called a crime series exactly. It’s the story of a jailer in Tihar jail, like his experiences as a jailer and what he saw. The title is taken from an act like whenever a prisoner is sentenced to death, a black warrant is issued which is linked to the entire idea of the series.  What I liked is Zahan Kapoor’s acting like the way he portrayed a timid guy, the change which he showed because he was initially a timid person and could not beat the prisoners. From that to a person who curses, his aggressive behaviour and beating people, that shift seemed very natural. The names of episodes were also very synced with the theme and were perfectly timed. There are many famous cases which were shown in the series like the  Ranga-Billa case. The entire point is that it was very realistic and showed how corrupt the entire Indian system is.                                                                                                               

 

Interview by Riddhima Sen