India, Jan. 24 -- My wife and I spent two nights at Ganga Kutir, the new Taj Hotel built in collaboration with the Neotia Group, two hours beyond Kolkata, where the river appears to be as wide as the ocean it is about to merge in.

Among the others invited were Aparna Sen, Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar. On a balmy winter day, as Shabana and Aparna discussed their remarkable cinematic experience, I asked them whether, over the decades, audience tastes have changed, and how this has impacted the art of filmmaking?

Both of them said that the change was noticeable. Earlier, films could be made that were less melodramatic, more subtle and nuanced, and beautiful for the quality of their making and message. Today, most films are overloaded with...