While talking about aspiring artists, Amazon miniTV’s Industry spills the tea about Bollywood

Industry is an honest portrayal of filmmaking that shows the reality of the showbiz and the truth behind making a Bollywood film!

They often say that it takes a village to make a film but one must also remember it also takes a script and a bucket full of luck to covert that script into a film. Or at least that is what The Timeliners' Industry is here to talk about! Focused on the hustle of scriptwiters, the five-episode series spills the beans on many hidden agendas and hypocrisies of Bollywood. TVF is back with yet another show this month; in short it can be said that this series could be so much better if the makers and writers of the show paid a little more attention on developing their story and characters which seemed half-baked here. Nevertehelss, this lived-in reality of 'the artists in Mumbai wanting that one shot to prove themselves' showcases the harsh truth that lurks behind this sapon ki nagari! 

Also Read: Maharaj review: Weak performances and overdone male saviour complex

Here's how it airs the dirty laundary! 

Scriptwriter - the least compensated and most underrated part of a film

We walk through the lanes of this filmy Mumbai through the perspective of a talented scriptwriter, Aayush (Gagan Arora), who is the protagonist of this show. Usually found writing in Blue Tokai in Aram Nagar, Andheri West (hub of strugglers) or endlessly narrating his scripts, he is a walking talking encylopedia on everyone and everything in the film industry. He has been surviving as a ghostwriter for ten years, desperately waiting to make his film 'Dhoom Dhadaka' which never pans out because of egoistic actors or wannabe fake producers. The show is largely packaged as an angry rant of a scriptwriter who has been frustrated over how this system woks. As no one wants to take the time out and read scripts while half of the decision makers don't know f of filmmaking, it's all come down to marketing and economics where scriptwriters are paid the least amount! After all, who cares about the story if the stars' dates don't match?

Nepotism - the neverending debate and a star-kid's dilemma

Another character of the show, Rocky (Lakshya Kochhar), is the son of a producer and critic who wants to make his own name as an actor but has given four straight flops. Using Siddhant Chaturvedi's infamous line 'Jahan humare sapne pure hote hai wahan inke struggle shuru hote hai', the show shows us how star kids dream just like any of us; it's just that their opportunities and struggles are different from us! 

Sexism - regardless of your job, gender is an issue everywhere

Through the characters of Gayatri (Ankita Goraya), a scriptwriter and Sanya (Asha Negi), an actress, we are shown that no matter who you are, you will always be looked at through the lens of your gender. Gayatri is constantly reduced to her beauty and is asked to act instead of write while Sanya is always reduced to being a TV actress and is asked to be comfortable with some give and take to be able to shift to films. 

Hypocricy - friendship in the business of art is a double edged sword

Writers betray other writers, producers sideline writers, directors belittle actors and actors steal opportunities from each other. Networking surely gets you to know people but friendship in this business of art is hardly trustworthy! Aayush is betrayed by his friend cum collaborator, Romil, in the past as he takes the entire credit of the film and Aayush repeats the same thing with Gayatri by pitching her female-centric film as his and sidelines her opinion completely. Sanya, despite being a TV actress, is made to compete with new age star kids, influencers and actors while Rocky is made to screen test only to be offered a side role. 

Keeping everyone happy - the art of balancing egos

There's the self-made star's ego, four National award film winning director's ego, and of course the piggy bank producer's ego. They're all sitting on the same table deciding which one's bigger than the other. The scriptwriter too is busy managing all their egos by changing the story as they like and keeping everyone happy. Because a film being made is more important than a good film being made! 

Could the series have been more fleshed out and passionate in its storytelling? Absolutely! But right now with real names, film references, many cameos, and no sensationalism, this series by Navjot Gulati and Shreyansh Pandey is effective in showing the relentless pursuit of artists in a system that has forgotten to value art and the ground reality behind making a film which is rather disappointing! It's time for change and probably these unafraid groundbreaking projects might help do just that! 

Industry is currently streaming on Amazon miniTV!

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