Everything is becoming more interactive, so it’s only a matter of time before storytelling onscreen joins the brigade. The critically acclaimed Black Mirror series tried it with the TV movie Bandersnatch. The latest is an eight-part miniseries called Kaleidoscope. It’s like a build-your-own-adventure puzzle, and we are intrigued.
The heist series presents a world that is both familiar and unfamiliar in more ways than one. As the characters are forced to confront their own deepest fears and insecurities, the viewer is left wondering what will happen next. Each episode is a colour — in keeping with the title concept made up of multiple colours. As a viewer, you would start with a trailer called Black and end with the series finale titled White. The episodes in-between are shuffled, and you choose the order in which the story progresses, leading to a different watching experience for every viewer — the combinations add up to 5,040, so your friends will watch a different storyline than you.
With Indian makers experimenting far more than ever before, would this concept work out here? “Kaleidoscope is a worthy experiment and a successful storytelling attempt that breaks away from our conventional line of thinking,” says former film journalist Mohar Basu.
Bandersnatch |
Twenty-two-year-old MBA student Sudhanshu Sanghvi was thrilled that he wasn’t “just passively consuming entertainment but was more like a puppet master”. Says Soumik Sen, screenwriter and director of Gulaab Gang, “Black Mirror tried the multiple POV (point of view) approach before with Bandersnatch. While it may work as a novel experimentation, eventually it’s the engagement of the screenplay and narrative which holds the viewer’s attention.”
Agrees Hussain Shaikh, Senior Manager — Marketing for an online retailer. Although he found the concept interesting, it didn’t engage him enough as a viewer. Actor Giancarlo Esposito and the heist were the only saving grace for him. “Kaleidoscope started pretty well, but the plot was disjointed, the storyline jumbled and the whole thing felt gimmicky after a few episodes,” says Shaikh.
However, some believe a series like this could work in India, its success depending on several factors, including the quality of the writing, cultural context, and marketing and distribution.
A lot would depend on the quality of the writing and the ability of the Indian production team to effectively convey the themes and stories of the show.
“Interactive storytelling is going to be the future. After Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch, Indian audiences got to command what Ranveer Singh got to do in his action escapade in Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls,” says Sunayana Suresh, Chief Enabling Offices at a film production house in Bangalore. “It is only a matter of time before we get to see indigenous content with the same format. People always walk out with questions of ‘what if’ and that vicarious desire is what is spoken to in these shows.”
Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls |
The success of an interactive series made in India would also depend on the marketing and distribution of the show. If the show is marketed effectively and reaches the right audience, then it would likely be well-received.
“It is a misconception that the Indian audience is not ready for a certain type of content, a certain style of content. Crime and heist shows have the ability to engage audiences wholeheartedly. It is now upon creators and makers if they wish to experiment with how they tell a story,” Basu adds. “In the near future, I do believe that Indian platforms might nudge creators to move away from traditional storytelling methods, and Kaleidoscope could be viewed as a great starting point for creators to think how else can we tell our classic stories.”
That said, there is the question of balancing the right amount of content vis a vis flashy gimmicks. “The pandemic has already turned people into editors, where they forward unnecessary content or watch shows on 1.5 or 2x speed. So giving them that added power to steer the narrative, albeit only for a bit, is something they will not be able to resist,” Suresh says.
It would be the bigger players and trusted production houses who’d get the opportunity first. The success of those shows will determine whether or not interactive storytelling is here for the long run.
