Crime thrillers make a comeback in Sandalwood

Every now and then, Sandalwood takes a fancy to a particular genre of movies. While regular masala flicks still rule the roost, other genres also rear their head once in a while. In fact, over the past few years, horror was the chosen subject for a lot of filmmakers, which, it would now seem, has moved on to crime-inspired thrillers, with the odd drama and comedy thrown in. We spoke to the makers of some of these films to understand what makes this genre tick.

Crime is a favourite genre across the globe
One of the most well-received films of the year was Hemanth M Rao’s Kavaludaari. The filmmaker reasons that he chose to make a noir narrative as his second film because he grew up reading books and watching movies about crime that had a marked impact on his sensibilities. “The genre seems to be working everywhere. Even if one checks the television series that click today, crime shows top the list,” he says.
Filmmaker Akash Srivatsa, who is busy with his second film,

Shivaji

Surathkal — a crime thriller, agrees. “We recently researched genres that seem to click across the world and were surprised to see that crime tops the list. There is a steady increase in the number of crime films and series made across the globe. I guess people like to test their minds with some interesting plots and twists, as solving whodunit tales gives one the same kind of kick that solving a Rubik’s cube does,” he explains.

Banking on the popular genre
Filmmaker-actor Rishab Shetty, who was seen in director Jayathirtha’s Bell Bottom this year, feels that while crime as a genre is thrilling, people in any film industry almost always try to follow the genre that clicks at the box office. “If one recalls, when Om did well, everyone wanted to do films that had longu-machchu sequences and had the underworld as the backdrop. A decade later, Mungaru Male had people move to making romantic narratives. The last few years saw a slew of horror films. With crime-inspired stories working, it is not surprising that we are getting to see more such films and they will continue for a while,” he says.

Youngsters prefer crime stories
Filmmaker R Gautham Iyer makes his debut with Vrithra, which has an allusion to Hindu mythology. While his female lead is called Indra, Vrithra happens to be the name of an asura that Lord Indra fought in a battle. He says, “Crime as a genre is something that is alluring, especially to youngsters. It gives one more scope to play around with the narrative. In my film, for instance, I have used the city of Bengaluru as a character.”
This year had two other young filmmakers make crime-inspired cinema. While MG Srinivas’ Birbal trilogy films drew favourable responses from the audience and critics, Lohith H’s

Devaki

, which was set against the backdrop of human trafficking in Kolkata, was another film that stood out. Speaking about his film, Lohith says, “While cinema is medium of entertainment, one also needs to narrate relevant stories that focus on what is happening in the country.”

Crime stories are harder to crack
When asked why there’s been a void in terms of films made in this genre, Hemanth reasons that getting the narrative just right to have audiences hooked on till the end is tough. “It is easy to make crime or horror films, but it is difficult to crack the genre and make good ones that keep audiences engrossed,” he says.

Notable crime stories of 2019- Birbal
- Bell Bottom
- Chambal
- Kavacha
- Kavaludaari
- Thrayambakam
- D/O Parvathamma
- Devaki
- Mahira
- Nanna Prakara

FILMMAKERS TELL US MORE ON THIS
When Om did well, everyone wanted to do films that had longu-machchu sequences and had the underworld as the backdrop. A decade later, Mungaru Male had people move to making romantic narratives. With crime-inspired stories working, it is not surprising that we are getting to see more such films
— Rishab Shetty, actor-director

Crime, as a genre, seems to be working everywhere. It is easy to make crime or horror films, but it is difficult to crack the genre and make good ones that keep audiences engrossed
— Hemanth Rao, director