The Outsourcing of Production Companies-- from India to America

In the past, American distributors have held an arm's length relationship with Bollywood-- rarely collaborating with the people, but sometimes acknowledging it.

Times have changed. Some view Bend it Like Bekham or Monsoon Wedding as breakthrough movies, making the connection between Hollywood, the richest movie industry, and Bollywood, the industry with the most popularity. There's only one problem with that: Those films aren't Bollywood.

The film Lagaan did make the news when it was nominated for an Oscar, but that was six years ago.

Now, as India is becoming more of an economical force and a greater presence in international affairs, Hollywood, and American entrepreneurs, can no longer ignore the "other" movie industry.

Recently, Sony Pictures decided to produce a film titled "Saawariya." The movie is directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who has won countless awards for the four previous movies he directed. This will make "Saawariya" the first film produced by an American company.

The movie features two newcomers, children of accomplished Bollywood stars. The film has been creating much buzz among Bollywood fans. Let's hope that the movie lives up to the expectations, and initiates a great collaboration between India and America, Bollywood and Hollywood.

Chak De India!

Although my previous post was about the film, "Chak De India," I had to make a special note on India's victory over Pakistan in the Twenty20 match, which made them World Champions!

And of course, Bollywood has to have a hand in this incredible victory, and in the changing face of the cricket team. NDTV reported that Rashid Latif, former Pakistani Cricket Captain, said that "it was the film Chak de India and actor Shah Rukh Khan's presence that inspired Dhoni [the Indian cricket team captain] and his men to victory." We'll take your word for it, Latif!

The Bollywood-Political Connection

There are 22 official languages in India. Each state, each region, even some cities-- have a culture, language, and traditions of their own. There are more than ten movie industries in India (each in a different language). Bollywood, which is the Hindi film industry, is the most popular film industry in the country.

Recently, a Bollywood film titled "Chak De India" dove into the issue of isolation among Indians. "Chak De India" stars one of the most popular actors in Bollywood-- Shahrukh Khan. Not only did the film focus on cultural differences and traditions among Indians, it was also a movie about a sport, hockey, and on top of that, it focused on the women's hockey team.

Without a doubt, the production company Yash Raj was taking a risk with this film, which is about a disgruntled coach (Shahrukh Khan) who takes a group of 16 girls and makes them hockey champions. With the star power of Shahrukh Khan, great advertising and promos, and of course, an adept script and bold dialogue, the film did remarkably well. It has been added to the Oscar library and is being used as a case study as well.

It did so well, in fact, that Bal Thakeray, the leader of the conservative and religious Shiv Sena political party, had his entire staff watch the film. If Thakeray asked his staff to watch the film for the ideal of "team spirit," to show the disconnect that exists among Indians (and the hope that this may one day change), or to see the troubles and sexism women face in the country, one doesn't know.

But it does show that these films can make a difference. We'll wait and see how much that difference turns out to be.

Bollywood Stops Pretending

A certain type of prosititution has been covered for decades in mainstream Bollywood movies, from the days when prostitutes were beautiful and talented dancers, catered to the rich of society. In "Umrao Jaan," which was recently re-made (though it was a flop, compared to the original classic), actress Rekha played the famous role of a courtesan who was a legendary poet and singer. "Pakeezah" was another incredible movie, portraying the role of a courtesan who fell in love with a rich man. "Devdas," remade three times in Bollywood, also had a courtesan who lived in luxury and fell in love with a handsome, rich man.

I use the word "courtesan" to describe all these characters because, although these women were prostitutes, they lived a life of beautiful jewelry and costumes and love affairs with young rich men.Actual "prostitutes," women who actually sell themselves on the street, are rarely seen as main characters in mainstream Bollywood.

"Laaga Chunari Mein Daag," a film releasing next month, deals with a middle class family moving to a big city, Mumbai. The main character becomes a prostitute, and must hide this truth from her sister, father, and loved ones.

Although the films "Chandni Bar" and "Chameli" were movies where the actresses were prostitutes, those movies were not as mainstream. The reasons that I believe this film is more revolutionary than others are:

1. It will have a greater effect and outreach than others because of the star-cast, which includes six extremely popular Bollywood stars.
2. The director's last film (which was his first) was an award winning, box-office success
3. The music is catered towards the mainstream Indian audience (there is an introductory song, a love song, a sad song, and a party song-- ingredients to a hit musical score)
4. The production company, Yash Raj Productions, is the currently the most popular and successful in India.
5. The film brings together Rani Mukherji, who plays the main lead, and Konkona Sen Sharma, the supporting actress. Mukherji is one of the top actresses, who has extreme commercial appeal and great credibility. Sharma has been tagged by many as an incredible actress (seen in more art-house style films), but has slowly started acting in mainstream films.
   

Although this movie isn't going to be groundbreaking, it is always exciting when Bollywood stops pretending that certain societal problems do not exist, or that audiences won't be able to handle it.It's about time that a mainstream, blockbuster film about prostitution is made.

Indian Idol Winner Declared

So, Prashant Tamang was declared the winner of Indian Idol.

As now is obvious, becoming Indian Idol is just an outcome of governments and businesses pooring money into voting for the Idol.

On many news channels in India, Lata Mangeshkar (arguably the most respected singer in India) has also disagreed with the singing reality shows. They just don't work in India, and hopefully, people will soon realize that.

Indian Idol--- is it Really Indian?

Think the American Idol hype is bad? Indian Idol is all set to choose its third Idol this Saturday. The two top contestants, Prashant Tamang and Amit Paul, battled it out last week-- and now, India has been feverishly calling and texting in their votes.
In Darjeeling, a city in the Northeast region of India, authorities decided to impose a ban on the sale of alcohol because of emotions running high. For the first time, a contestant from Darjeeling is a top contestant for Idol.
An official told The Times of India that

"The liquor sale ban is normally enforced during important festivals but with the Hills engulfed in Prashant frenzy, it is best to keep things under control."

The region, which includes the Northeast hills and cities such as Darjeeling and Sikkim, are setting up free round-the-clock voting for its residents. Officials fear that, whether Tamang wins or loses-- the use of alcohol by the residents could result in riots or violence.

The region is devoting all their time to have their native resident become Indian Idol. But is it fair that a region in India, because a contestant is a native, hijacks the contest and sends thousands of votes?

Although it's incredible that a whole region of India has united due to a singing contest on television, it's sad that residents don't view the Indian Idol as their idol. People vote, not based on talent, or even looks or background (like in America), but based on where the contestant is from.

Last year, the extremely talented, judges' (and even guest judges) favorite, NC Karunya, lost to Sandeep Acharya. Karunya is from Hyderabad in South India, where Hindi isn't the main language, thus neither is Hindi-language television. Acharya is from Western India, where the region was engulfed with a similar state of frenzy as Darjeeling is currently facing. The Acharya rage in Rajisthan resulted in an Indian Idol that really was not as talented-- but more importantly, was an Idol that represented only a region of India. The same happend in Saregamapa, another singing contest, where the mediocre Debojit won, and the incredible singers

The problem isn't that these states want an Idol from their region-- it's the overwhelming fact that Indians don't see themselves as Indians-- but as residents of the state or city they belong to. Yes, of course that happens in the United States as well- but not nearly as often, or as strong.

It's not just about Indian Idol-- it's about the basic concept of national identity.

Trapped in a Closet-- For How Long?

A recent article on Indiafm about a 27-minute long movie about a non-resident Indian caught my attention today. The movie, titled "When Miland Soman Made me Gay," explores the difficulties of being gay in the Indian community.

This subject hasn't been dealt with very much in mainstream Bollywood in the past.

In recent times, Bollywood has started covering the topic better than it had before. "Kal Ho Naa Ho," a blockbuster hit and an all-out mainstream film with some of the most popular actors in the industry, had a joke playing out through the movie where a maid thought the two main lead male actors were in a relationship. It was silly, but it did portray how the conservative maid from India was not at all accepting with the idea.

But, the movie did have some mention of homosexuality, which is a start. Earlier this year, A film called "Honeymoon Travels, Pvt. Ltd." about six couples on their honeymoon, dealt with the subject in a better manner. Two of the men are in heterosexual marriages, happen to be gay. One man knew he was gay from the start, and the other discovered he was homosexual after he was marred. The men end up staying with their wives, one man not revealing his homosexuality to his very Indian wife, and the other who tells his wife, but they still decide to stay with each other. The men in "Honeymoon" were not depicted in the stereotypical Bollywood manner, where a gay man would simply mean a man with feminine qualities. The film is definitely a great start.

Other movies, such as "Girlfriend" and "Fire," are about lesbians. "Girlfriend" was made during the height of Bollywood's fascination with provocativeness and sexuality, while Fire was a much more substantial, deeper movie-- but I wouldn't call it a mainstream Bollywood film.

Go Bollywood!

Bollywood has realized it's political power, and is starting to play a stronger role in society, which is no longer one of just entertainment. Whether it's a movie about a wacky gangster whose own enlightenment of Gandhi's teachings enlightens the whole country in reality, or if it's simple steps in lowering enmities between India and Pakistan, Bollywood has finally realized its political and social strength. This blog will track its progress, along with some fresh gossip, which, of course, is also of utmost importance.