Bollywood has been known for its monotonous way of storytelling since many years. Occasionally there comes a movie which delves into the nature of non linear way of storytelling from Bollywood. Some examples of this can be of Ghajini, 3 Idiots, Kaminey etc. While all of these movies have been a success, there still weren’t enough films that were using this method in mainstream movies.
On the other hand, South Indian movies have ample content library based on the non linear way of storytelling. For those who aren’t familiar with “Non Linear Narrative” – It is the term used for movies and shows where the storyline and the events are not in the chronological order. But then eventually, are interconnected with each other. It is different from linear storytelling and probably a little bit better as it has the potential of surprising people. Be it a miniscule detail in the past which led to a bigger event in the future or showcasing detailed backstory of the characters.
The best example of this can be Memento with it’s use of reverse chronology and Vada Chennai.
Recently, there has been an increasing trend of non linear way of storytelling in India. Be it Sacred Games which was undoubtedly a pinnacle in the Indian OTT industry as it simultaneously focused on two timelines. Vijay Sethupathi starrer Super Deluxe also joins the list as it followed 3-4 stories simultaneously overlapping with each other.
‘Asur‘ in 2020 can be the prime example of how the thought process of directors and writers are changing in the industry as they are letting go off the conventional way of storytelling and are using their knowledge to bring something interesting and new to the audience.
Anurag Basu’s mad caper anthology styled ‘Ludo‘ followed the similar pattern of storytelling as it followed four stories simultaneously leading all of them to a dramatic and hilarious finale. If we see the response all the above mentioned titles have received, one could agree for the fact that non linear way of storytelling are bringing success to the venture.
Seeing the response, one could comfortably state the fact that in India, the love for these styles of content has increased in the span of past two years. And with that, there is a huge possibility of people makers frequently cashing in on this opportunity. Let’s hope that the future content are as gripping as the ones that have been released so far.
OTT platforms can serve a huge role in the future of these contents as people are desiring fresh and gripping stories from the streaming platforms and with non linear storytelling, it wouldn’t be a surprise of we’ll see many stories based on this.