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‘Omkara’

“Lage Raho bagging four awards proves that a film based on the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi can also offer wholesome entertainment. That, surely, is a big achievement,” says film-maker Rajkumar Hirani.

A decade ago, a film-maker or an actor winning National Awards would have been branded ‘arty’. There were very few exceptions to the rule. The tables have now turned. Box office hits Omkara (special jury award for best film, best supporting actress for Konkona Sen), Khosla ka Ghosla (best Hindi film), Traffic Signal (best director), Kabul Express (best debut director), Lage Raho Munna Bhai and Paruthi Veeran (Tamil-best actress for Priyamani) have earned laurels.

‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’,

“More than the jury waking up to the tastes of mainstream audience, I think it’s the audience that has begun appreciating different films,” says Kabir Khan, who won the best debut director award for Kabul Express. He feels the evolution of multiplexes has made it possible for alternative films to be seen and heard like never before. “Kabul Express and Khosla ka Ghosla don’t conform to the formula of having six songs and a love story. People appreciate intelligent cinema, which is why a production house like Yash Raj Films picked up my idea of Kabul Express. This film had John Abraham and Arshad Warsi who are mainstream actors but I didn’t have song and dance routines or a love story. The film was realistic, based on my experience in Afghanistan. Still, we made profits.”

‘Khosla ka Ghosla’,

Madhur Bhandarkar, winner of best director award for the third time, agrees. “Chandni Bar may be termed arty but not Page 3 and Traffic Signal. The film industry has gone through a revamp and the credit goes to multiplexes. I am really happy that films that are popular and have had a social relevance have won the awards this time,” he says. Madhur points out that his films Chandni Bar, Page 3, Corporate and Traffic Signal, made with a modest budget of Rs. 3 to 5 crore, have become multiplex hits, earning much higher revenue.

‘Traffic Signal’

The line that differentiates mainstream cinema from the so-called parallel cinema is blurring, feels Kabir Khan. He says, “Even Chakde India is not a masala film. There’s Shah Rukh but there’s no love story; the songs were also in the background, taking the film forward. The concept clicked and it went on to become a blockbuster. Clearly, we are heading towards a time when young film-makers don’t need to succumb to formula films.”

‘Kabul Express’.

Will commercial hits continue to sweep the awards the next year? Bengali film-maker Buddhadeb Dasgupta, who chaired the jury for feature films this year, maintains, “The jury decides the award based on a film’s merit and does not consider whether it was a box office hit or not. This time, being the chairperson, I decided not to cast my vote.”

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