And who’s the No 1 game continues…

I just read an article which asked whether SRK was back at the numero uno position in Bollywood. It got me thinking about how the movie business is all about numbers – not just at the box office but even as to where an actor stands as compared to others in the industry.

Top heroes are always pitted against one another in terms of rankings and even when they openly say in interviews that they don’t care about the numbers game, other people make sure they do! And then there comes the talk of rifts because of how one actor has suddenly moved up the popularity scale due to a movie’s success and the cycle continues.

But do the actors themselves care about numbers? When I had done an interview earlier in the year with actor Vijay and asked him about Thuppakki hitting the Rs 100 crore mark, Vijay replied, “I never look at numbers but my producer and distributors kept updating me on how well the movie was doing and its collections. I am very happy that it crossed the Rs 100 crore mark. This will set the ball rolling for other films in the industry and the movie business here will boom for sure.”

SRK meanwhile is basking in the glory of his Chennai Express having hit the Rs 200 crore mark. But he gives the full credit to the film’s success to his director Rohit Shetty. At no stage is he taking credit or even comparing the film’s business to other films – instead, he is wishing that Rohit’s next film does even better business than this! And that film stars Ajay Devgn.

So while stories abound about number 1s and 2s, the actors themselves are focused on enjoying their success and ensuring that all those who contributed to their film also profit. SRK said, “Being a director is a very lonely job. So you don’t just thank them, you just stand by them.”

Actors are always happy when their films succeed and work even harder – for them and those that believe in them and invest – when they don’t.  I don’t think they lie awake every night wondering if they have hit the number one spot – it only probably fleetingly crosses their mind when they see the newspaper in the morning.

When politics plays on cinema

As we all know, Ilayathalapathy Vijay’s Thalaivaa was a movie that was highly looked forward to by the audiences in Tamil Nadu and the current trouble has put a full stop to its release here. The trouble started with Thuppakki  moved to Vishwaroopam, and now has affected Thalaivaa.

Cinema and politics were always intertwined in the south but I think earlier the relationship was mutually satisfying and healthy. Today, it is starting to become bitter with small dissent groups suddenly coming to life at the time of movie releases that are alleged to have a political or religious slant.

Our cinema has always celebrated the diversity of India and Indian culture.  Our cinema was and is always about entertaining the audience and with its song-and-dance routine transport the audience to another world for the three hours they are in the theatre.  Our cinema is made to pander to their emotions – laughter, joy, tears, sadness and much more. And at the same time, due to our diversity,  to a large extent film-makers in India do a lot of self-censorship to appeal to the masses and make sure they don’t hurt any sentiments intentionally.

Considering this was what Indian cinema is and was all about, it is surprising that politics is now dictating what can be spoken or shown. The average movie-goer does not walk into a theatre wearing his political or religious affiliation on his sleeve – he or she is there to be entertained. Full stop. He or she wants paisa vasool for the three hours and leave the film having enjoyed the experience.

India has always prided itself in being a land of free speech but though we are moving into the 22nd century, local factions are pushing us back to the era gone by.  On one hand we are watching Hollwyood blazing trails with their innovative projects and on the other, we are running to the powers that be for tax exemptions and help release a film.

The question is – is cinema actually entertaining the audience now or just being used to play politics?

Successful films vs flops: it’s in the hands of the director!

 

A Kollywood actor commented to me, “It’s easy for a director to make a film that fails but tough to make a film that will succeed.” What he said may sound pedestrian but it actually is true.

The number of films being churned out in our film industry years after year is in hundreds. But how many of them see a release and how many of them are declared a hit? You can count the hits on your fingers.

Directors come up with ideas, a script and find a financier and start their project. But as an audience member looking at the number of flops, it makes you wonder whether the director actually gave any thought to that project. How long did he work on the project? Is the subject a novelty factor for the audience? Is the casting right? Is the screenplay tight? Are the songs noteworthy?

I saw a small-budget film and was shocked that the shoddy script actually managed to get a producer to put in money! It just seemed to have elements thrown in together – songs, comedy, fights – and there was no continuity or solid storyline. Nothing in the movie was memorable. I came out feeling bad for the cast and the producer.

Directors absolutely need to take into account that the producer is investing in him in good faith – and often several crores – and they need to do justice to them and their cast. They shouldn’t just feel happy that they managed to make a movie – they should feel that the money invested was worthwhile – and even if the producer incurs a loss, he should feel that the product was good.

Are single screen heroes disappearing in B-Town?

I had an interesting conversation with a producer from Mumbai yesterday about the power of single screens and multiplexes in Bollywood. But what made the discussion more interesting was heroes and the power they had in getting the audiences to the theatres.

Today, we have the Khans, Akshay Kumars and Hrithik Roshans, ruling the roost at the box office there with their ability to pull in the audiences to single screens. And whether a hero in Bollywood is a mass hero is determined by this sole ability. If a Salman Khan, for instance, can deliver successive Rs 100 crore films, it is thanks largely because of his success in drawing audiences to single screens across India. He is mass, he is action and he has the power.

Single screens can play a film for a 100 days if the star flick is fabulous and so the audience keeps flocking to the theatre. This is another USP. In contrast, multiplexes today are perfect for multi-star films, small films and films with lesser known stars. Most often made with smaller budgets, the multiplex film never goes mass and a film running for a 100 days is unheard of.

But who are the heroes who will have the same kind of pull and power to draw audiences to single screens five years down the line in Mumbai? Other than Ranbir Kapoor who has become successful and is seen as a single screen mass hero, noone else in Bollywood has measured up to this expectation.

The Imran Khans, Arjun Kapoors and Ranveer Singhs have had good performances but do they have the ability to become a mass hero? The next few years will be a litmus test for many young actors in Bollywood. While the older Khans and others start to recede into the background, the younger generation of mass heroes need to emerge. Or will they? We’ll have to wait and watch!