Should cinema be tasked with the responsibility to educate? The panelists of the last session at the ThinkEdu Conclave had conflicting opinions on this. While the former opined that films should not be burdened with the responsibility of educating the masses, the latter strongly opposed this.
The session was chaired by K Vaidyanathan, Editor - Dinamani. "The purpose of cinema is to entertain. The responsibility of educating and making people aware has to be rested with the education system, the government and the press," said Swamy, who has made a terrific return to cinema after acting in Raja's blockbuster Thani Oruvan. He stressed multiple times that the primary aim of films is to entertain. "After a hectic day, people go to theatres to relax. So you can't use that amount of time to educate them," he said.
Arvind Swamy, actor
On the other hand, Mohan Raja said that only the population of developed countries can actually look at any form of art with the sole purpose of getting some entertainment and it is a luxury for the people of an underdeveloped country like India. "Everybody wants to be entertained. So why don't we educate the people through entertainment?" he questioned. He also took a dig at news channels when he asked, "when news has become entertainment, why don't we add news in entertainment?"
But Swamy countered this view talking about how he loved the film The Godfather that doesn't educate its viewer. "I'd like to see cinema as an art form. Why should it fill gaps?" he asked. While another opinion during the discussion was about the influence of films on masses, Swamy countered it saying, "People are educated enough to see art as art. Everything you infer out of it is up to you. If the viewers are mature enough to elect the Prime Minister, they cannot get influenced by films." He also asked the audience if he should feel "guilty about watching a film that doesn't have a moral."
The panel also brought up issues like censorship, playing the national anthem in movie halls and the latest Padmaavat controversy. The audience broke to laughter when Swamy told Raja "Thank God Thani Oruvan didn't become Thaan Oruvan, just like how Padmavati became Padmaavat."
