And the saga continues…
Consistency is the hallmark of talent they say. But this year there is tremendously low consistency as far performance is concerned, from the directors in Bollywood.
Picture this, a maverick director, who is the only Indian director, apart from Satyajeet Ray to get an Oscar, for his Diploma film, or something like that, one of the leading production houses to back his creative efforts, and a mammoth Starcast. The result would be thunderous as everyone would have expected. But then, moving away from his remarkable style of cinema, Vidhu Vinod Chopra failed to deliver with Eklavya.
Neither did the Indian box-office laud his efforts, and as far as the critics go, well let us not get there. Mr. Chopra however kept harping on the rave reviews which his film got from the critics, worldwide. Sadly the Indian audiences didn’t feel like turning back, after they had already turned their back towards the film.
Ironic as it may sound, but Parinda didn’t have half as much the hype which Eklavya did, neither did 1942, A Love Story. The films worked well, and boy the audiences loved them. Is it the hype which kills the content in the movies, one may ask, and as a religious follower of Hindi cinema, I’d say after so many years of watching and enjoying the movies, I still don’t know. What is interesting is the fact that the directors change, but the saga continues.
Every Indian generation grows up on a romantic movie. The first young Indian romance in my opinion is Bobby. My father was in his twenties then, and I am sure he must have been smitten by the Bobby bug too. The trend then started, and every five or ten years, there used to be a love story on which an entire generation would grow up. Love Story came somewhere in the early eighties, and then there were two films, which I can’t ever forget, Maine Pyar Kiya and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. Almost everyone in my generation learned all the words for Pyar and Ishq, through the ballads in these films.
The reason for the background was that I wanted a flowery introduction for another director, who became my favourite, and then again disappointed. After MPK, he made Hum Aapke Hain Koun, but somehow the Sooraj Barjatya magic failed to impress that much, after the blockbusters. And it is painful to know that Mansoor Khan, who not only made a thunderous debut with QSQT, but also gave my generation their most favourite Love Song of all times, Pehla Nasha, from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, has gone absconding from tinsel-town after a not so memorable Josh in 2000.
The question becomes pertinent in the current context, because several directors, who’ve carried the burden of the budget of a few millions, and also the burden of the hopes of millions of movie buffs like me, have disappointed this year. If Eklavya wasn’t enough disappointment, the list which follows, is endless.
Come January, and I went and watched Salaam-E-Ishq. Not that I had too many hopes from Nikhil Advani, because the labour of his love, Kal Ho Naa Ho was far too inspired by the head honcho of the production house, which produced it. And very honestly, it wasn’t close to the emotional richness of a Karan Johar film. But then, it was an interesting film, and I certainly expected more than a plain simple disaster from him, which is precisely what Salaam-E-Ishq was. And the cheap and sleazy humour of the desperate couple only killed the fun, if there was any.
Before I move on with the disappointments this year, I just want to remind Mr. Subhash Ghai, that as a fan of some of his good movies, which include Khal-Nayak and Ram Lakhan, I am still willing to forget Yaadein and Kisna, if he decides to make something, which is at least of the Pardes quality. But I would be sad if the next generation asks me who Subhash Ghai is.
On the contrary, some new kids on the block are delivering well. This year, the sheer enjoyment which most of the audiences have had is with first time film makers like Sagar Ballary and R. Balki, who made Bheja Fry and Cheeni Kum respectively. It just took one Shootout at Lokhandwala, for everybody to forget that Apoorva Lakhia debuted with a highly forgettable Mumbai se aaya mera dost. Everyone worships the rising son in Bollywood they say, and thus one won’t be surprised that the first timers deliver well. Though personally I didn’t enjoy Cheeni Kum much, I liked it for its freshness. I liked it for the layers of hidden meanings, in every little frame. Reema Kagti definitely took the cake this year, with her debut, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., which was both intelligent and enjoyable.
But what went wrong with Shaad Ali Sehgal, who most definitely got a dream debut with Saathiya, and proved his mettle yet again, with Bunty aur Babli. Forget him, nobody apart from Bobby and Lara were in full form with Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. From the crew members, they were the only ones who needed a hit very badly. So is it the need for success which makes them work hard, and is it the actual success that makes them not deliver? With the current reviews against JBJ, Shaad Ali would again have to work his way up. It is ironic that the dream merchants work hard for success, and then become complacent, to again work harder to re-achieve their success.
I shall not mention about Siddharth Anand, because I personally loved Ta Ra Rum Pum, though I can see the flaws in the film. For someone who debuted with a progressive and shocking (for some) Salaam Namaste, resorting to the stereotypes in TRRP wasn’t a cakewalk. It was rather a ropewalk, and according to some he may have slipped, but I shan’t comment, as I actually loved the saga of emotions. The film did have a message, in a beautifully packaged format.
The examples are plenty, and the lack of delivery from the big names is something that is bothering everyone, from the audiences who seek entertainment, to the distributors who seek monetary pleasure. With KANK and Umrao Jaan last year, and Salaam-E-Ishq, Eklavya, Nishabd, JBJ and TRPP this year, the ratio of disappointing biggies is alarming. Again, Nishabd is a film I personally enjoyed.
From Kaagaz ke Phool and Mera Naam Joker to The Burning Train and Razia-Sultan to Rajkumar and Trimutri, to the list of the disappointments this year, Bollywood has time and again seen several ventures which haven’t lived up to the expectations.
In case of Kaagaz ke Phool, I strongly believe that it was the misfortune of the box-office to not having capitalized on one of the rarest gems of Hindi cinema. In case of Mera Naam Joker, it was part disappointment and part misfortune. But it is high time that the Indian film-makers stop disappointing and then commenting that the film is ahead of its times. With some of the disappointments this year, I am sure the directors can’t even think about the excuse. So either they start thinking of newer excuses, or stop making disappointing films.
The onus now lies on Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who currently has only his own name to bank on for the upcoming Saanwariya. Being one of his devotees, I’d pray that he doesn’t disappoint with this one. One also has hopes from Ashutosh Gowarikar on Jodha Akbar, Pradeep Sarkar on Laga Chunari mein Daag, and to some extent from Farah Khan on Om Shanti Om. Personally I expect passion, intensity and entertainment respectively from these three creative enterprises in the making. A lot also rides on Shimit Amin’s Chak De India, but that is one film which I shall write about in greater detail, some other time.
With the new kids working wonders, I’d also pray for Anil Mehta and his magnum opus, Aaja Nachle which releases on November 30th. Being blessed with the Goddess herself, for his debut film, I just pray that he blesses Madhuri back with a hit, something which she’s always delivered, and more importantly deserved.
Consistency is the hallmark of talent they say. But this year there is tremendously low consistency as far performance is concerned, from the directors in Bollywood.
Picture this, a maverick director, who is the only Indian director, apart from Satyajeet Ray to get an Oscar, for his Diploma film, or something like that, one of the leading production houses to back his creative efforts, and a mammoth Starcast. The result would be thunderous as everyone would have expected. But then, moving away from his remarkable style of cinema, Vidhu Vinod Chopra failed to deliver with Eklavya.
Neither did the Indian box-office laud his efforts, and as far as the critics go, well let us not get there. Mr. Chopra however kept harping on the rave reviews which his film got from the critics, worldwide. Sadly the Indian audiences didn’t feel like turning back, after they had already turned their back towards the film.
Ironic as it may sound, but Parinda didn’t have half as much the hype which Eklavya did, neither did 1942, A Love Story. The films worked well, and boy the audiences loved them. Is it the hype which kills the content in the movies, one may ask, and as a religious follower of Hindi cinema, I’d say after so many years of watching and enjoying the movies, I still don’t know. What is interesting is the fact that the directors change, but the saga continues.
Every Indian generation grows up on a romantic movie. The first young Indian romance in my opinion is Bobby. My father was in his twenties then, and I am sure he must have been smitten by the Bobby bug too. The trend then started, and every five or ten years, there used to be a love story on which an entire generation would grow up. Love Story came somewhere in the early eighties, and then there were two films, which I can’t ever forget, Maine Pyar Kiya and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. Almost everyone in my generation learned all the words for Pyar and Ishq, through the ballads in these films.
The reason for the background was that I wanted a flowery introduction for another director, who became my favourite, and then again disappointed. After MPK, he made Hum Aapke Hain Koun, but somehow the Sooraj Barjatya magic failed to impress that much, after the blockbusters. And it is painful to know that Mansoor Khan, who not only made a thunderous debut with QSQT, but also gave my generation their most favourite Love Song of all times, Pehla Nasha, from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, has gone absconding from tinsel-town after a not so memorable Josh in 2000.
The question becomes pertinent in the current context, because several directors, who’ve carried the burden of the budget of a few millions, and also the burden of the hopes of millions of movie buffs like me, have disappointed this year. If Eklavya wasn’t enough disappointment, the list which follows, is endless.
Come January, and I went and watched Salaam-E-Ishq. Not that I had too many hopes from Nikhil Advani, because the labour of his love, Kal Ho Naa Ho was far too inspired by the head honcho of the production house, which produced it. And very honestly, it wasn’t close to the emotional richness of a Karan Johar film. But then, it was an interesting film, and I certainly expected more than a plain simple disaster from him, which is precisely what Salaam-E-Ishq was. And the cheap and sleazy humour of the desperate couple only killed the fun, if there was any.
Before I move on with the disappointments this year, I just want to remind Mr. Subhash Ghai, that as a fan of some of his good movies, which include Khal-Nayak and Ram Lakhan, I am still willing to forget Yaadein and Kisna, if he decides to make something, which is at least of the Pardes quality. But I would be sad if the next generation asks me who Subhash Ghai is.
On the contrary, some new kids on the block are delivering well. This year, the sheer enjoyment which most of the audiences have had is with first time film makers like Sagar Ballary and R. Balki, who made Bheja Fry and Cheeni Kum respectively. It just took one Shootout at Lokhandwala, for everybody to forget that Apoorva Lakhia debuted with a highly forgettable Mumbai se aaya mera dost. Everyone worships the rising son in Bollywood they say, and thus one won’t be surprised that the first timers deliver well. Though personally I didn’t enjoy Cheeni Kum much, I liked it for its freshness. I liked it for the layers of hidden meanings, in every little frame. Reema Kagti definitely took the cake this year, with her debut, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., which was both intelligent and enjoyable.
But what went wrong with Shaad Ali Sehgal, who most definitely got a dream debut with Saathiya, and proved his mettle yet again, with Bunty aur Babli. Forget him, nobody apart from Bobby and Lara were in full form with Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. From the crew members, they were the only ones who needed a hit very badly. So is it the need for success which makes them work hard, and is it the actual success that makes them not deliver? With the current reviews against JBJ, Shaad Ali would again have to work his way up. It is ironic that the dream merchants work hard for success, and then become complacent, to again work harder to re-achieve their success.
I shall not mention about Siddharth Anand, because I personally loved Ta Ra Rum Pum, though I can see the flaws in the film. For someone who debuted with a progressive and shocking (for some) Salaam Namaste, resorting to the stereotypes in TRRP wasn’t a cakewalk. It was rather a ropewalk, and according to some he may have slipped, but I shan’t comment, as I actually loved the saga of emotions. The film did have a message, in a beautifully packaged format.
The examples are plenty, and the lack of delivery from the big names is something that is bothering everyone, from the audiences who seek entertainment, to the distributors who seek monetary pleasure. With KANK and Umrao Jaan last year, and Salaam-E-Ishq, Eklavya, Nishabd, JBJ and TRPP this year, the ratio of disappointing biggies is alarming. Again, Nishabd is a film I personally enjoyed.
From Kaagaz ke Phool and Mera Naam Joker to The Burning Train and Razia-Sultan to Rajkumar and Trimutri, to the list of the disappointments this year, Bollywood has time and again seen several ventures which haven’t lived up to the expectations.
In case of Kaagaz ke Phool, I strongly believe that it was the misfortune of the box-office to not having capitalized on one of the rarest gems of Hindi cinema. In case of Mera Naam Joker, it was part disappointment and part misfortune. But it is high time that the Indian film-makers stop disappointing and then commenting that the film is ahead of its times. With some of the disappointments this year, I am sure the directors can’t even think about the excuse. So either they start thinking of newer excuses, or stop making disappointing films.
The onus now lies on Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who currently has only his own name to bank on for the upcoming Saanwariya. Being one of his devotees, I’d pray that he doesn’t disappoint with this one. One also has hopes from Ashutosh Gowarikar on Jodha Akbar, Pradeep Sarkar on Laga Chunari mein Daag, and to some extent from Farah Khan on Om Shanti Om. Personally I expect passion, intensity and entertainment respectively from these three creative enterprises in the making. A lot also rides on Shimit Amin’s Chak De India, but that is one film which I shall write about in greater detail, some other time.
With the new kids working wonders, I’d also pray for Anil Mehta and his magnum opus, Aaja Nachle which releases on November 30th. Being blessed with the Goddess herself, for his debut film, I just pray that he blesses Madhuri back with a hit, something which she’s always delivered, and more importantly deserved.
1 comment:
I think two common reasons for lack of consistency are -
1. the directors taking their successes for granted (and in the process losing the focus that's needed for being a captivating storyteller)
2. take themselves too seriously (probably, RGV is a gud example for this)
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