Beyond the banners
ZIYA US SALAM
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Times have surely become better for independent filmmakers in Bollywood but not easier yet.
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PHOTO: AFP
STAR SUPPORT Deepa Mehta with John Abraham.
Far from the shadow of the Yash Chopras, the Ram Gopal Varmas and the Mahesh Bhatts, life is no dream for the single, independent filmmakers. Maybe because they are no dream merchants, dabbling in reality as they are. Maybe because they have no studio backing them. And in most cases, no stars assuring an initial at the box office. Life is no walk in the park for our independent filmmakers, many of whom are challenging destiny this Friday.
Today, even as Deepa Mehta's "Water" touches the silver screen amidst all the Oscar-generated hype and hope, make some space for the more anonymous Krishna Mishra who struggled for almost three years to put together "Wounded", a real-life story of bandit Seema Parihar. Then keep a little niche for Raman Kumar whose much-delayed "Sarhad Paar" is finally being released too. Keep a little corner for Amrit Sagar too, whose debut venture, "1971", based on the story of the prisoners of war in the Indo-Pak war, is opening this Friday. Even as all these films have had to wait for their tryst with cine destiny, there have been no such problems for Vikram Bhatt's "Red" that is also being shown from this week. His name that is almost a brand, and the presence of "mainstream" actors like Aftab Shivadasani, Celina Jaitley and Amrita Arora in it being enough to make the release certain.
So, is everything hunky-dory with Indian cinema with stars and studios, and everybody else existing in a wonderful harmony? And with multiplexes coming up in a big way — according to Manmohan Shetty of Adlabs, "Some 500 multiplexes are scheduled to come up over the next five years" — things could not be better for the independent filmmaker?
Common sentiment
That is not quite the case. From Sagar with "1971" under his belt or Mishra with "Wounded", to Rahul Dholakia with the recently released "Parzania" or Anurag Kashyap with "Black Friday" in his resume, they all voice one sentiment: It is not easy making your own kind of film in our industry. If finance is still a problem for some, release is a challenge for all.
Anurag Kashyap
Says Sagar, "It is better, not easier to make an independent film. You can make a film the way you want. You don't have to have a studio behind you because if you make a film for a studio then it tells you what to make, how to make it. You are governed by its opinion. If I have to make a film I would do so according to my sensibility, not the studio's mindset."
It is this steadfast refusal to adhere to any studio culture that has seen Sagar, himself hailing from the Ramanand Sagar School of Filmmaking, make "1971" with his vision. "It is not that our house has never made a war film. We made `Lalkar' in the 1970s with the sensibilities of the times. For `1971', the entire country is my target audience. I do not have a heroine in the film. There are no rain-drenched songs, no fantasies, no nostalgia numbers. There is no exaggeration, nothing filmi about the film. I have done it the way I wanted." Sagar, apparently, has succeeded. His film with only Manoj Bajpai and Ravi Kissan among the identifiable names, is opening with about 150 prints across the country.
Krishna Shah with Seema Parihar
Mehta and Mishra have not been as lucky. Mishra's low-key, low-budget "Wounded" has been complete for six months now, and is only now releasing with limited prints, and even more limited publicity. While in any metropolis it is common for a big banner film to get more than two-dozen prints, Mishra's film is opening with only three prints in Delhi. The scene is the same elsewhere.
Defends Mishra, "It is still difficult being an independent director. The finances can still be managed but the release becomes more difficult. My film will open with 35 prints initially." Incidentally, it took Mishra almost three years to complete the project where the bandit herself stars in the title role. "That is the USP of our film."
But Mishra is in good company. Mehta, with "Fire" and "Earth" to her credit, was struggling to get distributors for "Water" until seasoned producer-director-distributor Ravi Chopra stepped in. Of course the fact that John Abraham, more saleable than most others, stars in a lead role, helped. He actually coaxed Chopra to look at the film. Says Mehta, "I did not get the distributors in India initially. Then John helped me out."
Stars sell
Kashyap explains, "Stars sell for sure. Somewhere we are still a patriarchal society. Raja ka beta raja hota hai. That will remain part of our generation. But things are changing. Outside perspective is seeping into Bollywood. Stars are experimenting, everybody is doing a balancing job."
He, however, feels any good film will work. And thanks to the entry of big studios and distributors, things are working out better for niche filmmakers too. As he said around the time of the release of "Black Friday", "If an independent film works, the multiplexes will give it good shows. Adlabs and others can help in increasing the number of prints but at the end of the day the product has to be good to sell." As Shetty chips in, "Multiplexes give a lifeline to serious cinema makers."
Manmohan Shetty
Fighting the big fish
However, Dholakia, despite a critically acclaimed "Parzania", has had a different experience with the multiplexes often not offering the best shows. "The script was ready at least two years before we got the finances. Similarly, we have had to distribute the film ourselves. We need resources because filmmaking is about passion. We as independent filmmakers are fighting the big fish out to crush us."
Sane words. Little wonder Ketan Mehta, whose "Mangal Pandey", starring Aamir Khan and Rani Mukerji, was distributed by Yash Raj Films, says, "Independent filmmakers cannot be individuals in isolation anymore. There is a need to form an umbrella alliance, a global consortium is needed." Then maybe, "Water", "Wounded" and "Parzania" will not meet the fate of "Leela", Somnath Sen's film that was appreciated by critics and the masses alike yet was not accepted as a major commercial hit. As Sen puts it, "Unless you are a Salman Khan you cannot go mainstream, or hit the jackpot in most territories." Reality byte?
For sure.
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