CINEMA
Bollywood goes global
NILOSREE BISWAS
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An out-of-the-box idea filmed on documentary lines shot in a conflict-ridden country, Kabir Khan's "Kabul Express" breaks new ground in Indian filmmaking.
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The most striking difference in "Kabul Express" is that it's largely based on the director's experiences.
The true story genre: From left: John Abraham, filmmaker Kabir Khan and Arshad Warsi on location in Afghanistan.
AS "Kabul Express" hits the screen on December 15, it will mark a significant turn in the history of mainstream cinema. There are several firsts about "Kabul Express", the foremost one being that it is a contemporary story turned into a movie. "Kabul Express" joins movies like "Tora Tora Tora", "Towering Inferno", "Pelican Brief", "Day of the Jackal", which were based on true stories.
However, Indian cinema never gave much importance to the "true story" genre. On the contrary, it used the silver screen as a canvas of flowery imagination, though films like "Chandni Bar", "Corporate", "Satya" or "Company" dealt with the world of flesh trade, dancing bars, corporate and the human face of the underworld. Though the makers grounded these films in reality, they cannot be categorised as true stories.
The most striking difference in "Kabul Express" is that it's largely based on the director's experiences. In an interview, Kabir Khan confessed, "I wanted the characters to be natural. I think that comes from my background in documentary filmmaking". Thus, "Kabul Express" is a result of a realistic expression on film largely built on personal preferences to unravel the truth of a conflict-ridden country.
Focus on Afghanistan
Apart from director Kabir's experiences, "Kabul Express" is also a take off on the media's interest in Afghanistan's post-Taliban regime. That Afghanistan became a melting pot of global news is hardcore news in itself; the global media recorded every moment of Afghanistan. "Kabul Express" therefore will become a significant landmark in promoting flicks that have substantially been indebted to the news media.
What needs to be tested is how the crosscurrents of real politics, media and human interest work in the film. The director, in fact, had looked objectively into the role of an all-pervasive media with little empathy towards the glorified Afghan. But that is not the sole point of discussion.
The crucial factor that has significantly worked in the film's favour is the banner that produced it. Yashraj Films is one of the most important producers in the country and has over the years churned out commercially successful and elegant films on the man-woman relationship. In the last two decades, the banner has enthralled audiences with films that epitomise romance. Even if social reality and conflict had a role, they were merely backdrops as in "Fanna". "Kabul Express", therefore, would be an important film for the banner. Though Yash Chopra directed films like "Dhool ka Phool", "Dharamputra", "Aadmi aur Insaan", "Kala Patthar", "Mashaal", which had strong socio-cultural biases, the banner never deviated from its niche of romantic films from the first film it produced "Yeh Dillagi" in 1994.
Marking a change
From Yash Chopra to Yashraj films, it's been several parallel discourses. Today when Hindi cinema is getting a boost at international festivals, "Kabul Express" is definitely a striking film for Yashraj. For the local media and producers, it may be an "out of the box" idea that clicked but, for the director and aspiring filmmakers, the association between Yashraj and a story that delves on an international political crisis is of utmost importance. Many may see light at the end of the tunnel and the producers may receive several expressions of interest from aspiring directors for whom the move to the large screen has always been a matter of struggle.
With Yashraj now in support of movies that work globally, with content that is pro-journalistic, the distribution and marketing of similar films may be less difficult.
Last but not the least as "Kabul Express" begins its tour of the global festival circuit, it enhances the possibility of a big hit at the international film events. Who knows, may be "Kabul Express" will hit the star-studded Kodak Theatre Hall in the spring of 2007.
After all sensitive filmmaking is all about bonding between an intense filmmaker (Kabir Khan) and a daring producer (Aditya Chopra) willing to give each other a chance.
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