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Writer's pictureAtalbihari Baddar

The 5R principle of producing a movie in Bollywood: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle

Updated: Jan 29, 2021

Many Bollywood Movie producers are remaking their own old movies, or remaking movies from other languages in recent years. All they are doing is applying the famous 5R principle from the management books.


According to the 5 R's principle, 4 actions should be considered prior to 'recycling': refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and then recycle.


The 5R  Principle Of Bollywood Produce
The 5R Principle Of Bollywood Produce

Bollywood producers incorporate this methodology into movie makings' waste reduction and recycling efforts. This minimizes landfill waste and helps taking their overall recycling program to the next level.


We thought of mapping few Bollywood remakes made using the 5R principle against futuristic evolution in the parallel universe. The cycle is endless and profit is guaranteed.


Mapping of  Bollywood Remakes  against Futuristic Evolution in the Parallel Universe
Mapping of Bollywood Remakes against Futuristic Evolution in the Parallel Universe

In this post, we will be explaining each of the 5 R's and the benefits by taking the recent release of Coolie no. 1 (2020) starring Varun Dhawan as an example.



Coolie No. 1 is a remake by director David Dhawan of his own movie released in 1995 starring Govinda.


HOW TO APPLY THE 5 R'S IN MOVIE MAKING


Applying the 5 R's to movie makings' waste management and recycling strategies positively impacts the outcome in terms of profit.


In the 5 R's hierarchy, a movie maker remembers to treat recycling as a last option after attempting to refuse, reduce, reuse, or repurpose the scripts, plots, actors, dialogues, songs to the core.


Before disposing off any existing used concept, walk through each of these steps in the following order:


STEP 1: REFUSE


Learning to refuse needs a little practice and that can be skillfully done once you spend few years in movie business. Implementing this step into movie business' strategy is the most effective way to minimize expenses and maximize profits.


Just refuse to buy new or non-recyclable scripts, concepts and ideas. When working with writers, Directors and actors just refuse unnecessary new concepts and request reusable or returnable items from the backyard.


In case of Coolie No. 1, Sadak, Agnipath, Don the principle of Refuse is prominently used.


STEP 2: REDUCE


Reduce the use of new, interesting writers and directors bringing in non-recyclable scripts. Reducing dependency on these kinds of people results in less waste movies ending up in landfill.


In Bollywood, It is recommended to always use the minimum amount of brain to avoid unnecessary waste.


In case of Coolie No. 1, Sadak, Agnipath, Don no new script, dialogues, songs etc have been used under principle of Reduce.


STEP THREE: REUSE


Single-use interesting concepts, scripts have created a "throw-away" culture by normalizing consumer behavior of watching movies once and then throwing them away.


In an effort to reduce such waste, reuse scripts, actors and dialogues throughout the production instead of taking new ones. Replace all such single-use items with reusable alternatives.


In case of Coolie No. 1, Sadak, Agnipath, Don the script, dialogues, movie name, songs etc have been Reused.



STEP 4: REPURPOSE


When any item that can't be refused, reduced, or reused, we try to use principle of repurposing.


This method is also called as upcycling. Many may be surprised to learn how many actors, artists, dialogues and songs serve more than one purpose.


It defiantly requires using some creativity, but the possibilities are endless once you master the art.


STEP 5: RECYCLE


Last but definitely not least step is to recycle.


Once you've gone through all of the other R's, recycling is the most environmentally friendly waste disposal method. If you have chewed some script multiple times, start collecting such waste in backyard. Someone else may buy it from you initiate another reuse cycle.


Dont be surprised if you see robots lifting and carrying luggage on head and singing 'Mai to Raste Se Jaa Raha Tha.. Bhel Puri Kha Raha Tha..' in a re-re-re-make of Coolie No. 1 in the year 2060.


That is already on the cards.


The Futuristic Evolution of Coolie No. 1
The Futuristic Evolution of Coolie No. 1

All said and done, This is the most effective strategy used in Bollywood for years and yielded sure shot returns to the executors.

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