You don’t need to be Einstein’s long lost cousin to know the fact that no matter how forward or open minded we appear to be getting in relation to “cinema” or more correctly “Hindi Film Industry” – we still end up at point zero.
Last year when I met up with Anurag Kashyap, he didn’t leave any stone unturned in explaining the Big Brother role played by a handful of individuals. His very words were…
“You look at it from any which way, you have these few families in this industry who run the show. They are actually like a mafia and they are the bullies and they play like bullies and that’s the sad part. There is so much talent but it gets lost in these fringes. We have more hypocrisy and bifurcation and that’s the main worry for people like me.”
So while on the outside we witness an increase in small budget films, fresh faces, scriptwriters, directors and producers but on the inside it’s these “families” who will decide their Bollywood shelf life.
My first few thoughts on the conversation I had with Anurag were not that favorable. To me they appeared to have been generated out of bitterness and lack of success – I mean come on, two films fully completed but no ata-pata of their release. Plus its human nature to blame your faults or lack of luck onto others. But frankly speaking, now when I think about the very same conversation I can’t help but nod my head in approval.
Last week’s on Koffee with Karan, Kareena Kapoor was asked to choose between Yash Chopra and Vishal Bhardawaj by our tacky host Karan Johar, in the rapid-fire round. Pretending that it’s a difficult to pick either of the two, Ms. Kapoor chose (as expected) Yash Raj Banner. This to me is a perfect example of Anurag’s thoughts on Bollywood industry. Kareena Kapoor decided against Vishal Bhardwaj even though he gave her an opportunity to set-off on a different creative tangent with a film like Omkara. With Vishal she stood out as an “actress” and not a “glamorized commodity”. To her Yash Chopra or Aditya Chopra is most definitely a safer option; after all they churn out films with the sole purpose of raking in the moolah and have all the means to back their intentions. And then who gives a fuck about creativity.
But this is not just the case with commercial chickens like Kareena Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Rani Mukherjee, etc. Sadly the main-stream bug has bitten even those whom one would least expect.
Talking about the reason why Konkona had to opt out of The Japanese Film, Aparana Sen says, “When Konkona did my last film 15 Park Avenue, she had to give up Mira Nair’s The Namesake, which she happily did.
This time around, I did not want her to give up two wonderful Yash Raj films, Laga Chunri Mein Daag and Aaja Nachle. Even though Konkona would have happily agreed to opt out of those films, I was adamant that she take them up.”
Now what load bull-shit is Mrs. Sen dhaping on us. The calculation here is easy; Mrs. Sen and Miss. Sen very well understand that a film with Yash Raj means finally a breakthrough for Konkona in main-stream films. Agreed she is a fine actress but her film choices haven’t brought her anything in terms of mass-popularity, fame and money. Working under a well-known masala banner, Konkona now gets a chance to get what many Bollywood aspirants can only dream off.
The bottom line is – in order to survive in Bollywood one has to either be blessed by one of these industry families or else have bucket loads of patience, determination and “never say die” attitude. If either of the two is missing then you better have an alternate profession as backup.
As mentioned earlier terms like talent, creativity, meaningful cinema and originality can all go for a toss – its fame and money which rules the roost.
Comments
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Harsh
Mar 12th, 2007 at 1:22 pm | #
But Sakx, you can’t entirely blame these dons of Bollywood. They do what they do because it sells. They have a common, well-trodden path to follow for their projects, and they do so with confidence and flourish.
Agreed, Indian audience is awakening and becoming more mature in choice and opinion. But you yourself know how much people crave for the big bang movies with all the glitz, charm-power of celebrity faces and exotic stuff. Maybe you are speaking from the perspective of a mature and aware person, but you have to keep in mind that there is a huge chunk of society that still loves being starry-eyed at K3G type movies.
And why? Because for a lot of people, these movies are the only access to fantastic dreams. Dreams that are so far removed from the reality they see everyday, that they simply want to fly away with that fairyland stuff. These people will also enjoy and try to understand complex and subtle themes like The Namesake, but in the end, big banner mush is what lures them. And I am not being exclusive here. I admit even I – though I hardly watch movies and am not a good judge – would watch KANK readily. Yes, I might crib and criticize the overdose of glamour, but we all have been raised on such stuff and we are used to it. We might grow mature and exposed to quality cinema and alternate world views, but we will never be able to shun the “typical” Bollywood. And therefore, there will always be a Yash Raj waiting to hog the limelight and steal the show.
Though I agree that these high profile banners should take the initiative once in a while, and try to define new trends. One cannot guarantee if the audience will like an off-beat movie from Karan Johar, but people in the position to steer should always try to find new paths.
Saakshi O. Juneja
Mar 12th, 2007 at 2:06 pm | #
Harsh – Well its not that I have a problem with Yash Chopra or Karan Johar kind off cinema, I as a matter of fact am a complete Bollywood buff. And I accept it with its sheer variety….including apna glamour and gloss, running round the trees routine.
What I meant to say in that it’s fine if these so called Bollywood “families†churn out films just with the goal of money making but what is not acceptable is their fixation on ruling the roost. Since they lack the understanding of the term “originalityâ€, they see to it that those who do…never land up actually making worth of it.
Censor board partiality, blocking of financial funds, lack of work despite immense talent – these are just some of the examples as to what extent these individuals behind big production houses can go to against those who refuse to work on their terms or rules.
As it is often said “Different as times can be dangerous†and therefore people with different vision who intend to realize different dreams….are only seen as dangerous minds by Bollywood Big Brothers. Sad but true.
Anshul
Mar 12th, 2007 at 2:33 pm | #
hey Sakshi,
Nice thoughts. Everyone wants to get into the Yash Raj camp. Akshay Kr who is quite proud of the fact that he made it without the Yash Raj banner is desperate to get in……And I do not blame them…I mean look at the recent filmfare awards – Best Actor to hrithik for D2 – can yu believe it? Khosla ka Ghosla, a wonderful comedy, was not even nominated.
Same goes for Konkona – I mean does anybody remember Park Avenue. But look at Fanaa, Hum Tum, D2 etc etc – they all worked even though they were not so gr8 films – simply on hype created by the Yash Raj banner.
Utsa
Mar 13th, 2007 at 3:55 am | #
Sakshi: I thought Fanaa was one of the crappiest films ever. And to see it win at the Fimlfare Awards was nothing short of ‘dadagiri’ in my opinion. Agree with you that a handful of ‘influential’ families rule Bollywood. But, you cannot blame those actors who have no backing whatsoever trying to make it big. After all, they’re actors by profession and would like to excel in their field, just like the rest of us do in our desired professions.15 park avenue, was quite unimpressive to me, but I thought Konkana did a fantastic job in Mr&Mr’s Iyer. And unfortuntely, in order to gain popularity and fanbase she too would like to make a break with a reupted banner like Yash Raj films..
Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi are/were great actors but then didn’t they make their mark with more ‘commercial’ films and big banners to become popular..just like Jaya Bachchan, Amitabh Bach=chn did.
My two cents..anyway bubby, probably worth less than half a cent!;D
shadows
Mar 13th, 2007 at 11:04 am | #
These yash chopra-karan johar- “saahrookh” type of films are boring… well you can watch them for a while, but then you can switch channels and not bother about it. They are soooo predictable.
Hrithik for D2.. filmfare.. is it ? Ok, I actually like Hrithik, but naah, he doesnt deserve a filmfare for D2.
Oh, Sakshi, I know you wont be surprised by my comment
bikas
Mar 17th, 2007 at 3:04 pm | #
Pls accept my invitation to join the carnival of Bollywood. We would be looking forward to your submission. to submit your post follow this link
http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1296.html
regards,
bikas
http://www.dearcinema.com