The Indian film industry has been recruited to revive the fortunes of local cinemas in neighbouring countries. | |
Film director Sharad Sharan (he has a flop Bollywood film to his credit) is hired by Malaysian media giant Astro for a six-film deal. He comes to India, ropes in a Bollywood crew and returns to Malaysia to make Diva, his first offering for audiences there. The film, made in the Malay language, is declared an "average success" within the first few weeks of its release. Sharan's next, Cheating Right, Cheating Left, completed once again with Bollywood technicians, releases this September.
Pakistani film director Mehreen Jabbar is barely two months away from completing her first full-length feature film. The film has been edited by Aseem Sinha, who has worked with the likes of Shyam Benegal, and has music by Indian artiste Debu Chatterjee, with songs sung by well-known singer Shubha Mudgal. Another director, Shoaib Khan has roped in acclaimed actor Naseeruddin Shah for his film, Khuda Kay Liye. The film has been declared a hit in Pakistan. There are talks of the film having an Indian release.
Sohail Khan, a Pakistani investor, has partnered with Mahesh Bhatt's production company, Vishesh Films, for the release of their latest film Awarapan, in Pakistan. It releases with 18 prints and continues to run to packed theatre halls in places like Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Sialkot.
Amarr Upadhyay, once a known face on Indian television, is shooting for a Nepalese film produced by an Indian production company, UD Films. The film, in the Rs 60 lakh bracket, is one of the most expensive celluloid extravaganzas in Nepal, and will showcase a healthy mix of Indian and Nepalese artistes and technicians.
Ali Shah Hatami, a well-known Iranian film director, according to local newspapers, has roped in Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan, for his next Iranian project, The Cage. According to reports, he's already in India to finalise a Bollywood crew for the film. |
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| Stray examples? Yes, but try and solve this jigsaw puzzle and it won't be too difficult to believe that the Rs 85 billion Indian film industry (source: PricewaterhouseCoopers) is on a rescue mission of sorts. When Malaysia's media company Astro briefs director Sharan, it asks him to make films with a "Bollywood breather value". |
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| When Sohail Khan, the Pakistani investor of Emraan Hashmi's latest, Awarapan, visits a Rawalpindi theatre, he is happy to note that "even the elite who had shunned cinemas are flocking to watch this Indian film on the big screen". |
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| Actor Nandita Das, who's just wrapped up shooting for Pakistani film director Mehreen Jabbar's project, says, "Shooting for Mehreen's Ramchand Pakistani was a very unique experience. I'd have crew members talking excitedly, 'Arre, yeh TV drama ki shooting nahi hai, film ki shooting hai (This is not a TV drama shooting, it is a film shoot in progress). I could just gauge the excitement of the local crew there," she says. |
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| "India," she continues, "is the biggest film industry of the world and Pakistan, in comparison, rarely has independent funds for its films. Obviously they want to regenerate their industry and what could be better than turning to the Indian film industry for its expertise and a revival of sorts." |
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| For someone who has done collaborative work in Pakistan earlier (the Indian actor worked in a music video for Junoon's Salman Ahmad) Das makes a pertinent point. Interestingly, it's not just Pakistan that is turning to Bollywood for the revival of its own film and entertainment craft. |
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| In countries like Malaysia, Iran, Nepal, to name a few, audiences, artistes and film and television production companies are increasingly turning to Bollywood technicians, actors and experts for a revival of their respective entertainment industries. |
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| "The film industry in Malaysia is very small as compared to India. With Diva, we wanted to give audiences a regional flavour with the Bollywood twang," says Sharan. Made on a budget of $1 million (lavish by Malaysian film standards), Diva released in 48 cinema halls in Malaysia with a total of 95 prints. A landmark of sorts, especially for a country where local films release with not more than 30-odd prints. |
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| "Companies like Astro that want me to make six films in three years flat obviously want to revive the local film industry. I may have a flop Hindi film behind me, but in Indonesia and Malaysia my work in television and films has always included Indian film experts," he says. |
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| For his first film, Sharan signed cinematographer Santosh C Thundiyil, a well-known name in Bollywood circles, who has worked in commercial Hindi films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Krrish and Waqt, Bollywood choreographers Bosco-Caesar and music director, Mithoon. Diva's first week collections was RM 1,00,000. "It has been declared an average hit," he says. |
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| While Sharan is giving finishing touches to his second project, in Pakistan film director Jabbar is nervous and excited about her first film. "I have my fingers crossed and I'm hoping it will release in India and Pakistan by the beginning of next year," she tells us. |
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| Though it's too early to reveal details, Jabbar is already in talks with Indian production companies to help her distribute Ramchand Pakistani in India. "Having worked with Nandita (Das) for my short film, Saaye, she was the obvious choice for my first full-length film. But I wanted to rope in technicians and other people from India and wanted to create a synergy of sorts between the neighbouring artistes," she adds. |
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| "There's a desperate need for Pakistan to revive its entertainment industry. Our last hit film must've been six years ago. Now I hear that local films like Khuda Kay Liye, and Indian films like Awarapan, and Sunny Deol starrer Kafila, are doing very well in Pakistan. Audiences in my country are ready for good cinema," says Jabbar. |
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| Interestingly, the first reel of Khuda Kay Liye begins with the tag line, "Supporting Revival of Pakistani Films". Despite a temporary ban, the film opened with a total of 15 prints in 12 cinema halls in Pakistan. |
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| Some cinegoers in Pakistan have attributed the huge success of the film to the well-etched storyline and the presence of Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah who plays a pivotal role in the film. Within two weeks of its release the film has already done business worth Rs 2 crore. |
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| Rehmat Fazli of Geo TV, the company that produced the film, says, "After the success of the film in Pakistan, I'm trying for the film's release in India." |
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| The company's next project, Mohabbatan Sachiyan, informs Fazli, has developed its digitised negatives in Mumbai, recorded its music in India, and is gearing for a premiere in mid-October in the country. "Adlabs will help us in premiering the film in India and the music of the film has Indian playback singers like Shreya Ghosal and Richa Sharma," Fazli tells us. |
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| Cashing in on popular names from the Indian film industry, say experts, is what gets audiences flocking to cinema halls in these countries. |
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| There's Amarr Upadhyay, best remembered for his role as Mihir in Ekta Kapoor's Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, who is starring in a Nepalese film. Produced by UD Films (a production company started by playback singer Udit Narayan and his wife, Deepa), this film (complete with item numbers) will release in January 2008. In an industry that releases around 20 films annually of five prints each, the top bracket actors charge around Rs 60,000 for each film. |
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| "Actors and technicians are crying for work there," says Anand D Gahatraj, director of this Nepalese film. Adds Deepa Narayan, "Artistes in Nepal are desperate to act in Indian films. |
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| They have local versions of our hit shows there. So one finds anchors on the lines of Channel V's Lola Kutty, there's Nepal Idol, and there are very cheaply made films with the usual song-and-dance routine. Our attempt with this film," she adds, "is to collaborate with Indian technicians and give a fillip to the entertainment industry in Nepal." |
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| It was this need to "collaborate" that prompted Sohail Khan to start his production company in Dubai three years ago, after he met Mahesh Bhatt in Mumbai. "I started the production company with the sole purpose of doing business in India," says Khan, whose first two collaborative efforts resulted in terrible flops. |
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| Films like Nazar and Killer failed at the Indian box office and weren't given a green signal by the Pakistani authorities. But with Awarapan clicking in Pakistan, luck has finally favoured him. Running in select cinema halls in places like Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Rawalpindi and Hyderabad, Awarapan has made average collections of 75 per cent in its fifth week. |
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| On the cards is a joint directorial project with Vishesh Films, besides another film, Jannat, that will boast of an ensemble cast from India and Pakistan. |
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| "Cinema in Pakistan has been destroyed for a long time. Halls were converted into shopping malls and there was little or no quality. With increased collaborations between Bollywood and Lollywood (as Lahore's film industry is nicknamed) there is a lot of hope. Rawalpindi will get its first five-screen multiplex within the next three months. That's a major step forward for us," he says. |
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| While some in the Indian film industry welcome this change "" director Imtiaz Ali, who was approached by the Hong Kong Tourism Board to create a short film to promote the nation, is in talks with country officials to make an English film for audiences there "" others like Sunil Doshi, who helped release Penguins: A Love Story in India, scoff at this so-called trend: "Awarapan releasing in Pakistan is not an event. It's a business activity, not a milestone." |
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| Could be, but ask the average cinegoer or take a look at the box office receipts of these "collaborative efforts" and it won't be difficult to make out that Bollywood artistes and technicians are turning saviours of sorts for countries that are desperate to revive their local entertainment industries. Clearly, the power and reach of Bollywood is spreading. |
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| TOWERING OVER THE NEIGHBOURS |
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NEPAL
Number of cinema halls: 300 Average number of prints released per film: 5 Number of films made annually: 20-25 What the top local actors charge: Rs 60,000 per film |
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PAKISTAN
Number of films made annually: 30 Average number of prints released per film: 10-12 Cost of making a film: "A big budget film costs around Rs 3 crore in Indian currency," says Pakistani film director Mehreen Jabbar |
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MALAYSIA
Number of films made annually: 40-50 Average number of prints released per film: 30 Cost of making a local film: "I've got a budget of $1 billion. That's much higher than most Malaysian films," informs Sharad Sharan. |
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INDIA
Number of films made annually: 800 Average number of prints released per film: 150-200 Cost of making a film: a big budget film in India costs Rs 40-50 crore |
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