The last major release of the year Dangal is around the corner and the year could end on a high as Dangal is one of the very few films that can be called a real Hindi film for the wider audience. There have been three major releases which can be called real Hindi films this year Sultan, M.S. Dhoni - The Untold Story and now Dangal. Generally today the attempts in Hindi cinema are for urban stories and these so called cool multiplex films where think they are making a multiplex film but in fact its just a metro film. Today there are more multiplexes outside the metros than in them so you may be thinking you have made a multiplex film but today all of the multiplex audience is not the same like it was 10 years back as multiplexes were generally there only in and around the metros.

Its not these heartland rustic films are certain to be succesful but what they give, is a chance of a big number due to wide appeal. The only other way for a big number is a big budget commercial action extravaganza but this is getting tougher as a demanding audience wants the action to get bigger and bigger which put demands on the budget of the film. There has not been any of these this year.

So with this big action extravaganza out of reach for most the next best bet is that Hindi heartland film of ant genre. These films are set in real India and have relatable characters, yes a M.S.Dhoni as a film goes slightly wrong in storytelling and a weak hero who limits the potential business but the audience gives it a chance as they relate with the rags to riches story of M.S. Dhoni which is shown in the promos. The hero issue for M.S Dhoni - The Untold Story had to be there for the film as the audience would have found hard to relate a star to the character of M.S. Dhoni so its catch 22 for that film. There is no such situation here with Dangal as Aamir Khan is among the top three most popular stars of the day.

It is a weird situation that it was Aamir Khan who was in the forefront of this urban and cool cinema wave in 2001 with Lagaan (setting may be rural but the treatment and story telling was urban which meant restricted appeal) and Dil Chahta Hai which many in the industry at that time actually believed was the way forward only to come up a cropper. Actually with Dil Chahta Hai and how a certain segment of the industry believed in its very mediocre success has a part to play in the poor fortunes of the industry today as a huge section of the industry went barking up the wrong tree but with corporates around to shoulder the losses, the mistakes were repeated again and again. 

Dangal unlike a Lagaan or Dil Chahta Hai is the real thing, it is basically what Hindi cinema should be and this time if it is followed it will only benefit the industry unlike 2001 but the industry has a habit of following wrong paths and keeping away from the right ones as maybe its the easy way out. This is not about Dangal being hugely appreciated and smashing records as that may or may not happen but what this heartland cinema does is put you in a position to have a chance of universal appreciation and if that comes the rest looks after itself.