By Surendra Bhatia
Remembering Miss India
This last week of May is a truly memÂorable one. No, not because Narendra Modi and his BJP were re-elected to power but because this week, 32 years back, had seen the release of Mr. India, one of Bollywood’s most loved films. This may not mean much to the under-35 generation but for the ones who were around and in their senses those three decades back, Mr. India was like a welÂcome storm unleashÂed across the counÂtry. With Mr. India, it seemed like BollyÂwood filmmaking had changed so much that never again would rotten films be made. But, of course, we know, that is not ever going to come true.
The film brought together a host of then highly successful film personalitiÂes. The producer, Boney Kapoor (the younger generations may think of him as the rather overweight husband of Sridevi) was actually slim and hand some and was considered the smartest producer in the business. He had launÂched his production company with a small film, Hum Paanch, which becaÂme a sleeper hit. His next, Woh 7 Din, tailored to launch his younger brother, Anil Kapoor, as hero, was also a small film, but the business it did lifted not just Boney’s finances but also gave a leg-up to Anil’s career.
With the launch of Mr. India, Boney took a leap of faith. Unlike his earlier low-budget films, Mr. India was a bigÂgie, not just in terms of production but also special effects and star cast, and technical crew too. Finance ought to be a major hassle when a producer of small films tries to up his scale and get into a big production but, as his later career proved, finance was, tragically, never a problem that Boney could not over come. (This trait of unconcern for economics later led him to very big disasters in Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja and Prem, but that is a post-Mr. India story.) Boney managed to raise the resources and the film was planned as an extravaganza of entertainment. It helped that brother Anil Kapoor had al ready become a star and the heroine, Sridevi, too was at the top of her game. With these two around, at least the ground under Boney’s feet looked solid.
The director was a failed actor, known better at that time as Shabana Azmi’s ex-boyfriend. Earlier, he was famÂous as Dev Anand’s flop nephew-actor. But Shekhar Kapur had just come off a marvellous career coup which proved to the world that there was something right about him that had met Shabana’s eye and fitted in well with Dev’s genes. He had directed an incredibly sensitive and highly entertaining family film, Masoom. ProÂduced by a producer on a shoe-string budget, Masoom was acclaimed by criÂtics and public as one of the loveliest Hindi films (even though it was a copy of a Hollywood film) and catapulted Shekhar as a director to watch out for… So, he fitted in perfectly in Mr. India. Besides, he still had much to prove, which is always good to have in a young director…
The other key player was writer Javed Akhtar. He had come off a high or a low, depending on the perspective. Salim-Javed had been a formidable writing jodi for many years but they had just callÂed it quits, going their separate ways. TechÂnically, Mr. India is the last film for which they are jointly credited, though it is generally accepted that Javed worked more closely than Salim with Boney and Shekhar and saw the subject through production.
The team did seem unbeatable but except for the stars, Anil and Sridevi, the rest were on trial, with much to prove.
When Mr. India released, Sridevi, in the blue sari that has become iconic, was hailed as a hoor pari by north IndiÂan audiences which had, till then, lookÂed less kindly upon her than their Southern and Western counterparts. They wanted the film title to be changed to Miss India, in her honour! No one in Delhi and Punjab talked about apsaras any more… the dream seductress was replaced by the effervescence of the character Salim-Javed and Shekhar had crafted for Sridevi. Anil Kapoor was more Raj Kapoor in the role than any of the showman’s biological sons, and he shone in the part. Then, there were surÂprises – Amrish Puri with his Mogambo khush hua and Satish Kaushik, the Calendar who laughed his way to the directorial chair of the next two Boney Kapoor films. Mr. India had superb perÂformances by the kids… too many to mention here… and, of course, the unÂbeatable songs… the film was a winner through and through, taking Bollywood films, in terms of sensitivity of scripting and direction, to another level.
Everything worked in Mr. India: stars, characters, story, screenplay, proÂduction values, music, direction… but that is so only when the film is dissected. Actually what worked superbly was the aura of plausibility that Shekhar created and nurtured throughout the film. Mr. India seemed like a dream-come-true for the masses, a feeling that the Lord had come in this kalyug to pull India out of its stupor. Despite its fantastical ‘superhero’ story, Mr. India articulated every Indian’s wish in that era.
Thirty-two years is a long time. Most films stop looking credible and are not worth a second look 32 weeks after their release but Mr. India, 32 years and counting, is evergreen for its sparkling humour and fabulous story-screenplay and marÂvellous performances, and especially for Sridevi. Just for Sri and her blue sari, Mogambo khush hua… and will re main khush for an other 32 years.
Another Eid, Another Salman Release
For once, at Eid, Salman looks vul nerable. The combination of Khans with festival releases (Shah Rukh and DiwaÂli, Aamir and Christmas, Salman and Eid) was considered unbeatable till some time back. Aamir has stayed rock-solid at Christmas though with his irregular releases, he tends to miss one or two December dates occasionally. Shah Rukh was the first superstar to show signs of weakness, bringing in less and less light during the Festival of Lights. Salman, till a couple of years back conÂsidered a blank cheque on Eid, has started lookÂing vulnerable, with his last couple of releases (Tubelight, Race 3) scoring well on opening days but wanÂing rapidly immediately after. Is Salman on Eid going the Shah Rukh way on Diwali?
Perhaps, this is not the best time to venture a guess on that question as his Bharat is awaiting release just a week from now, on Eid. But the fear is very much in the air. Will it be a hat-trick of Eid non-performers for Salman’s films? Or will Bharat bulldoze its way through to the pinnacle of success and prove that there’s no one better than Salman at Eid? Time will soon tell.
Festivals provide the opportunity of bumper collections. Indians get through their festivities (prayers, meeting friends) pretty fast and then the holiday is spent often with families in cinema halls, takÂing in the latest big-budget festival reÂlease made especially to provide them fun and entertainment. The audiences’ time may not be precious but the occaÂsion certainly is, so their expectations are rather high from the festival release. Also, the person who has undertaken the task of making them smile, laugh, cry, feel good and fulfilled is not a fly-by-night star – it is the guy who is at the top of his acting profession, usually one of the three Khans. When high expectations are not met by the festival release, the disappointment is no less. A festival release is the most high-profile film of the year; so when it fails to entertain, it usually results in a backlash against the star. If people feel that Shah Rukh has started slip- ping, it is largely be cause of the disappointing perÂformÂance of his festival films like Ra.One, besides other non-festival rel eases too. The mass es felt let down and this reflected in the collÂections of his later films. Had he been able to scoÂre consistently at DiÂwali, that is, at least once a year, Shah Rukh would not ever see a bad day in cinemas for another 20 years.
It seems simple enough, doesn’t it? A superstar has only one release a year, and that too on a highly-awaited festival. He has all the time in the world, the best technicians at his disposal, sufficient financial resources and a terrific release date… how the hell can he not deliver a great film and score a huge bounty at the box-office? But they fail so often. Just last year, Aamir and Amitabh Bachchan got together for the first time in their careers and put together a masÂsive Diwali release that looked like it would break Bollywood’s all-time collection records. Thugs Of Hindostan, beÂfore release, was unmatched in expectations; on the day of release, it proved to be unwatchable. Reams can be writtÂen about how and where it went wrong but the point is, didn’t the producer (AdiÂtya Chopra) and stars (Aamir, Amitabh) realise, the film was going nowhere? And couldn’t they do something about it, especially as it was a Diwali release? It is too much to believe that all of them thought, it was a great film when almost every lay person in cinemas on the opening day could see that an out-and-out disaster was unfolding on screen.
Usually, films of superstars can’t be faulted on technical grounds. They are manned by the best technicians in the business, and production values are invariably superb. The only stumbling block for festival-day releases of superstars is the content, or rather specifically, the story. And if they trip on the stoÂry, even the festival Gods can’t help them. Conceptually and in its cast and crew, Thugs Of HindosÂtan was a dream proÂject; but in its stoÂry, it was like a nightmarish joke being played on audiences. And that is unforgivable.
Salman Khan has had a few phases when the industry thought, he was slowly sliding down into the orbit of an ordinaÂry star. He has always bounced back spectacularly. There’s no reason that he won’t do it again with Bharat. However, he needs to take better care of his phyÂsique, which has him looking a lot like an ageing star. His contemporaries – Aamir, Shah Rukh – have maintained themselves well enough; SalÂman hasÂn’t, putting on more weight than is good for his image. Perhaps, he should take a leaf out of Aamir’s Dangal and transform from overweight to a svelte young fighter. It could only do him good.
Bharat is not a make-or-break film for Salman but it is important, much more than the usual release. This one is for Eid and he needs it to please his fans and other audiences. It can’t be glibly passed off if it doesn’t do well. Bharat, either ways, will matter a lot. But that said, it’s Salman Khan, the actor who has thrived in the orbit of superstars for over two decades. And it’s Eid. An unÂbeatable combination once, and maybe now, again…
New Minister, Old Action
A new Information & Broadcasting minister has been appointed by the BJP government which was voted to power last week. Prakash Javadekar took charge of the ministry on 30th after the new cabinet members were sworn in. The IMPPA was quick to rush letters not only to the new I&B minister but also to new finance minister Nirmala SithaÂraman. But that’s about all. One wonÂders whether the industry will try to do anything more worthwhile than congratulating the two ministers who have the capacity to change things for the better for the industry and its people. For, this has been the routine whenever the ministers change.
