What makes a great movie?

Like everywhere, films are a major source of entertainment in India but the scale is much different. Many are die-hard movie fans and there had been quite a few incidents where the fans even sacrificed their lives for their favorite stars. What began as a mass entertainment medium, has grown in the depth and the technology; and today it is not an overstatement to say India is making world class movies (though less in number).

The moment I say world class, the comparison starts. We have too many film industries to compare with - hollywood movies, French movies, Russian movies, you name it... That said, it is not uncommon to find this educated, hi-fi, cosmopolitan dudes (I didn't quote dudes, so no second meaning intended :)) and their encomiums about unknown faces in unknown film industries. Weird names like 'Vandiserslkjao Eroiolklasnsd' (God knows how their parents name them) fill the air and Indian movies are bashed, slandered, abused and equated to mud. The common reasons mentioned - no great actors here, screenplay is not at 'the genius' level, stories aren't so strong. As much as I don't disrespect the unknown talents of the unknown artists, I find it hard to accept that there are no 'good' films produced in India.

Now comes the tricky part. What makes a 'good' film? The common conception is movies that are extremely tragic, slow moving and on a very deep subject; making the audience sob and providing the scope for the artist to demonstrate all that s/he is capable of. I beg to differ here. Unlike filthy rich people who spend a million dollars to get a wall hanging in auctions, a commoner (most often) doesn't look for heavy themes and amazing performance in a movie. His ultimate point is entertainment and if he comes over to the theater to watch a movie, he shouldn't look at his watch every now and then. That is what he considers solid entertainment and the value for his money; and this is not a trend restricted to India alone. Movies like 'x'man where (x = super, spider, bat, etc :)) are all illustrations of this reality.

Personally, I like movies with a heavy subject, crafted screenplays and amazing flow but I'd say the three items below are the basic qualities of a good movie

(a) The audience never look at their watches
(b) The movie doesn't impart any evil into the minds of the viewers
(c) The movie doesn't try to justify something at the cost of entertainment/screenplay

As long as these criteria are met, anything is acceptable as a good movie. What makes a good movie into a great movie is the performance of the actors/actresses, the screenplay, the way the director handles the subject and to an extent the music. When these combinations work out well, the result would be an excellent movie like Shawshank redemption, Tare Zameen Par, Bommarillu or Mozhi. Every country is different and so is its culture. The beauty about movies is that they can transcend these cultural barriers and impress anyone who loves them. I wouldn't accept nullifying this beauty by comparing two movies from a completely different cultural background, with a motive of degrading one of them. A true movie lover would spot and appreciate the beauty in every great movie without any prejudice!