Time for Controversy Again!

Aaja Nachle, a film which I have been looking forward to, released today. In true Bollywood style, it is already knee-deep in controversy.

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mayavati Kumari, has decided to ban the film from the state. In the title song of the film, there is a reference to Dalits (untouchables) which she found offensive. Because of this, she banned the film from the state she leads. "[It] is not only objectionable and humiliating but also unconstitutional and, therefore, the screening of the film has been banned."

The part of the song which she (and many others who were protesting in Delhi) found offensive was:

maine galati kari thi, meri nathani padi thi - 2
ke sone mein usako ranga gayi, mein rangaake atariya pe aa gai
mohalhe mein kaisi maara maar hai, bole mochi bhi khud ko sonar hai

Which translates to:

I made a mistake, I colored my nose ring gold, and came on the roof. There were fights in the area to see me, and even the low caste shoe makers would call themselves goldsmiths.

To understand Mayawati's decision, one must know about her background. She herself was an untouchable (a dalit), and often cites how successful she has become, despite her background. The party she represents is Bahujan Samaj Party, a party which is known for representing the lower caste. Her victory earlier this year made her the first untouchable woman to become the leader of a state, and her campaign was largely grassroots and attracted upper castes, lower castes, and even other religions.

The line from the song was not smart on the part of the lyricist or the filmmakers, because they are all in powerful positions, and made a regressive statement about castes in India. But, banning the film was not the way to go.

The film should not have been banned. The portrayal of (or the lack of) Dalits in Bollywood needs to be changed, altogether. Instead of banning the movie and creating controversy over one line in a Bollywood film, Mayawati should have simply used this as an example of how the very concept of the caste system needs to change and make progressive decisions as the leader of the most populous state in India. Bollywood shouldn't be her focus.

And, India is still a democracy. If Mayawati bans this film, is it possible for the BJP to call for the banning of the movies they don't approve of? (Trust me, I shouldn't even go there.)

The treatment and portrayal of Dalits and untouchables in India and even in Bollywood needs to change now-- along with the portrayal of other minorities. The line in Aaja Nachle should be discussed, recognized- but not banned.

Cheer for my Blog!

As many of you know, I started this blog for a class. As time went by, it definitely became more than a school project. This assignment challenged me-- looking for stories, writing four times a week, and finding my own voice was difficult, but exactly what I needed.

I was surprised about how much material there is for me to write about. In the beginning, it was hard to find a focus. I initially believed that a blog about how Bollywood is flourishing around the world would provide me with the most material. Obviously, that didn't work out for me. My blog soon morphed into a critique of commercial Bollywood cinema, a topic I had no problem writing about.

I have always enjoyed reading blogs-- Sepia Mutiny, Think Progress, and even some of our class blogs like Laugh Tracker. But, I always admired these bloggers' capability of having that witty sort of style. I never thought I had it (and I don't), but I was able to maintain this blog somewhat, while trying to be factual and frank about my opinions.

I definitely enjoyed writing this blog, and I will without a doubt continue to do so. It keeps me on my toes, and keeps me Bollywood-updated. What more could I want from life?

Some of my friends did read my blog-- although I only know of a few (CB and VM!) who kept up with it. I really thank them for that.

Overall-- it was a great experience, and it definitely hasn't ended!

Mainstream met Parallel... in 2001

Although "Om Shanti Om" has been on the minds of all Bollywood fans this past month, another film captured the attention of an audience at The Museum of Fine Arts last month. The film, titled "Zubeida," was showcased in part of a series dedicated to Indian culture, a weekend-long event the museum has every year.

The film's showing attracted many viewers, some who were fans of parallel cinema, and others who were new to Bollywood. A Boston local made came to watch his first Bollywood film, and made his first visit to the MFA. "It's definitely a unique experience for me," said Jerry (above).

Most others are fans of the director, Shyam Benegal. Benegal, who's films defined the 1980's era, had many loyal followers because of his simplistic style. His actresses seldom would wear make up, unless the role demanded it (like the film about an actress, Bhumika)m and the actors were usually from a more serious house of journalism. The characters were usually from lower class communities, and his storylines were often dramatic (but not over the top) and always nontraditional.

One fan, Anita, was at the event because of Benegal's "brilliance," she stated. But Zubeida was one of her least favorite Benegal movies. In this film, Benegal gave in to the current commercial Bollywood, and Anita said "Bollywood movies, I cannot stand." He had all extremely marketable stars, music, and dancing. The story was about a prince who marries a divorced mother-- not usual Benegal.

But the film was an attempted blend of commercial and parallel films, an attempt which worked. Richard Delacy (in the middle), Lecturer for Urdu-Hindi, Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, said that:

"One could look at the parallel cinema movement collapsing into commercial cinema.... it's necessary for directors like him to make movies that appeal to a rural audience. It's not as viable to make films like Benegal made today. He's experimenting and using different forms, continually, and that's great."

But although the film was mainstream, it still had the staple Benagal parallel vibe. An audience member, who was from Pakistan, pointed out how brilliantly Benegal was able to cover intelligent themes, without losing the commercial effect. She referred to problems Muslims faced in India after the Partition in the 1950's, and even the core issue of the lonely lives all the women in his film had.

Although this film may not have been a true Benegal fan's favorite film, it was a film, that I believe, helped usher in the current slowly growing parallel movement. Zubeida was still a brilliant film, and a romance-- but without the cliched dialogues, horrible acting, and predictable storyline.

The film won many awards, and although it wasn't a box office hit, it had great reviews. Today, it's possible that this film would have been a hit (box office wise). This film is definitely a model to follow for Bollywood film directors.

** Fulfills Assignment 5

Adolescent Bollywood

Seems like Bollywood has matured, but still has a long way to go-- or so says Naseeruddin Shah, one of Bollywood's most respected actors.

In an interview with Reuters India, the actor says that, "I do not think our industry has matured but yes the attempts to experiment with different subjects, different themes have surely gone up."

Shah is known for his brilliant acting in off-beat films, and flourished in the parallel cinema movement of the 1980's.

So, how can Bollywood mature and grow? With the producers, of course, as I stated in a previous blog. "A lot depends on the producers... They should support fresh content and push originality. India has some very talented directors and they can do well with the help."

Redundant story lines and dialogues and over-the-top romances should no longer dominate Bollywood. There has been some progress, especially in 2006. Even this year, progressive films have become marketable. But, there is still a long way to go.

Producers need to start taking risks-- or Bollywood will always be stuck in its adolescent stage.

Munnabhai's Back!

All you Munnabhai fans, rejoice!

Sanjay Dutt, who was sentenced to six years in prison for being "peripherally linked" to the 1993 bombings in Mumbai, was released on bail today.

After serving a sixteen month sentence after the bombings in 1993, Dutt received the six year sentence fourteen years after the actual event.

The film industry, and even politicians such as Sonia Gandhi came out in support of Dutt, as I wrote in an earlier post.

Personally, I'm glad he's back!

Where The UN meets Indian Idol

What do The United Nations, A.R. Rahman (the best composer in Bollywood, maybe India), a former Miss Universe, and a Hindi entertainment channel have in common?

A musical reality show, of course! The show is called "Mission Ustaad: Jaago India" (wake up India), which showcases big names in the Bollywood music scene, and has AR Rahman, Javed Akhtar (a lyricist) and Lara Dutta, former Miss Universe and now a Bollywood actress, as judges.

The show's goal is to unite and enlighten India through music. There will be four teams, and each will be competing to see which team will be able to bring to light many of India's problems.

The UN has a set of goals, titled The UN Millennium Development Goals, in which India has to complete certain promises by 2015. According to The Tribune, UN Millennium Campaign Director Salil Shetty said:

"If India does not achieve the MDGs by 2015, the world will not achieve them. For the marginalised people of India like the Dalits, tribals and minorities, the Goals offer a real hope to achieve better education, health and livelihood. Mission Ustaad will act as a reminder that time is running out."

I don't know if it will work, but it definitely is a noble cause. The kind of outreach these stars have through television is incredible, and if something good can come out of these reality shows (there is a new one almost every month), then I'm definitely for it.

It's not the media's fault this time!

After the only real failure in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's career, "Saanwariya," he decided to blame the media.

Bhansali reportedly said that "Saawariya is the biggest hit of my career so far... Media manipulation won't kill my film.” Honestly, Saawariya was not the biggest hit of his career. Devdas (which won eleven Filmfare awards, including best actor, actress, director, and film), Khamoshi (my favorite), or Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (which won best actress and film and director), were all better movies.

In this film, Bhansali launched two newcomers, who were not very talented. The first hour had four songs, and it was really difficult to get through the rest. Even The New York Times (which is obviously outside the Indian media) gave the film a bad review.

Blaming the media doesn't always work. How about trying to make better movies for the sake of art, not for the money.

Prediction: Great film to fail... again.

After Anurag Kashyup's "Black Friday," an incredible film about the plotting behind the 1993 Bombings in Mumbai, director Nishikant Kamat is making a film titled "Mumbai Meri Jaan" about the commuter rail bombings that took place last year, which resulted in almost 200 deaths.

It took the government three years to actually allow "Black Friday" to release. While "Black Friday" focused on the conspiracy and planning behind the 1993 bombings, "Mumbai Meri Jaan" is a story that will be told from a reporter's eyes, who witnesses the deaths and bombings first hand.

"Black Friday," despite receiving rave reviews, failed at the box office. Sadly, "Mumbai Meri Jaan" will probably have the same fate.

Or maybe, the Indian public will actually realize that not all good movies have to be unrealistic... but maybe that's asking for too much.

The Winners and Losers for the rest of 2007

As 2007 comes to an end, some of the best Bollywood films are going to be released. Here are the films I'm looking forward to, and the ones that, well, I'm not.

The winners:

1. Khoya Khoya Chand-- If you saw Sudhir Mishra's Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, you'll understand why. He's a great director, and both of the actors (Shiney Ahujya, Soha Ali) are talented actors who have proven themselves over and over again. The film is about films, set in the glamorous era of 1950's. A definite winner for me.
   
2. Aaja Nachle-- Of course! It's Madhuri, and she's fabulous. With a great supporting cast and with a backdrop of dancing, I'm very excited for this film. I just hope it will live up my expectations and not turn completely Yash Raj on me (they are, sadly, producing it).
3. Taare Zameen Par-- even though I feel that Amir might over-do it (especially after watching a frightening clip when he was dressed as a clown and was jumping around... it was supposed to be fun, but trust me, it wasn't), I still think that it's different enough that I will enjoy it. There is no love angle (progressive!), and the story focuses on children. Rare for Bollywood. Maybe, it's unconventional-ness will make it work.

The Losers:

1. Welcome-- It's a story about Akshay Kumar, and this girl he likes... and this girl has three crazy brothers, who are part of a gang, or something like that. Basically, it will be the same jokes, same songs, and the same ending. It will probably be the predictable hit, but that doesn't mean it will be a good movie.
   
2. Dus Kahaaniyan-- The film has ten pieces, and there is a different director for each segment. One segment might be incredible-- the one with Shabana and Naseerudin, but other than that, I don't see the film working. It may be great in parts, But as a whole, I don't see the film selling as a package, or having some sort of unifying theme. Maybe it could pull a Babel, but I think not.
   
3. Strangers-- even though the film has one of my favorites, Kay Kay Menon, it also has Jimmy Shergill, not one of my favorites. I feel like he will drag the film down, but I'll still watch it for Menon. Overall, I predict it won't be a good film.

Let's wait and watch!

She said what?

Konkana Sen Sharma, known for her brilliant acting skills and the incredible niche she has formed in serious and off-beat cinema, recently said at an event that "cinema isn't meant for preaching," and that is was "a form of expression, an art form."

What's interesting about this is, many mainstream actors who refuse to do "art" cinema believe it is made for preaching to an audience. It was reported that Farah Khan repeatedly said she didn't want to make anything "artsy," while Preity Zinta (who is now doing an art film) said in Filmfare in September that at one point in her career, she did not want to be a part of that cinema which preaches.

Now, I find this really silly. If a film has no songs, or if a film is out of the mainstream, why must people think it has to have some sort of message, or that it's preaching to an audience? Director Nagesh Kukunoor, who's films are also known to be off-beat, says that he does not believe films should have messages.

His film "Dor" did focus on the difficulties women face when they are widows, but his story also focused on an incredible relationship two women, who were completely the opposite, were able to form. Yes, it's great if some people in society understand how wrong they are in treating widows in a demeaning manner after watching the film, like when Karan Johar realized how silly is was to name all his films with the letter "K" after watching Lage Raho Munnabhai, but that wasn't a message of the film-- it was merely a story that Kukunoor wanted to portray.

But, if commercial filmmakers and actors believe that making good films is preaching, then they should try it. I would rather be "preached" than to watch a Farah Khan film, any day.

She's Back!!

There is much buzz in India (and now everywhere else) about a certain Bollywood actress, 42, with two kids, making her comeback after six years.

Yes, Madhuri's back! And it seems like everyone is excited (even the International Herald Tribune). What's significant is, in the very much male-dominated world of Bollywood (where most films have the actor in the lead role, where most actors get paid twice as much as actresses), Madhuri Dixit is returning to the film industry after having an illustrious career, after marriage, and at the age of 42, a very uncommon age for the female lead of a commercial film.

So maybe this means that women are getting more respected in Bollywood. With movies like Corporate, Dor, and Farah Khan, maybe we'll be seeing more mainstream films with better roles for women.

Or it could just be a phase. But let's hope for the better!

For now: check out the song that put Madhuri on the map!

Bollywood in Lollywood

While the government of Pakistan is looming under a political crisis, the Pakistani people are waiting for a Bollywood movie to release in the country next week.

The film, called "Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal," stars Bipasha Basu, John Abraham and Arshad Warsi, is not the first Bollywood film being released in Pakistan, but it's the only one to have have such big stars.

Although there is a ban on Indian films in Pakistan, this movie is allowed to be released because it was produced by non-Indians and shot outside of India, according to The Hindu.

By the looks of how much the film is being promoted and talked about in Pakistan, it's sad that more movies aren't allowed in the country. There are estimates that, although Indian movies are banned in the country, 90 percent of the people still find ways to watch them. Let's hope that the government will one day mirror its people's obvious wishes.

A Learning Experience... we hope

In one of my earlier posts, I wrote about my hopes for Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, and how great it was that such major actors, a director, and the producers were making a film about the growing number of small town women in India who move to a big city, and because of the difficulties in getting an education and finding a job, often resort to prostitution.

I thought this film, which loosely means "a stain on character," would portray the hardships on these women, would openly talk about prostitution, and would also express how families and society perceive these women.

But no, the film included a trip to Europe (of course, Yash Raj Films produced it), songs and dances with the actresses singing about her new found love, and at the end, the female lead (the hooker) is "accepted" by the man she loves, whom she met for a couple of hours.

The film, which had so much going for it, failed-- both with critics and in the box office-- because it tried to fit into formulaic Bollywood cinema. If the film was bold and actually dealt with prostitution in a much more clear and distinctive fashion, without the melodrama and the lame love stories, the Yash Chopra camp would have had a clear winner in their hands.

Hopefully, they will learn!

Less is more, Karan

A film about the struggle of a Muslim man after 9/11-- cliche, I think-- but not for Bollywood. The film industry finally decided to cover the subject, but who has decided to make the film?

It's a much talked about project with none other than Karan Johar-- master of commercial and big budget movies that make loads of money and could be so much better minus the over-the-top emotions and unnecessary drama. So, will Karan Johar be able to pull this movie off? Or will it be another film that ends up with a scene filmed on the lead actor walking around Times Square reminiscing about the time he was taken off a plane while a sad song plays in the background?

Whatever comes out of this project, "My Name is Khan," I do have to applaud Johar for not making another film about love and its hardships. Hopefully- he'll learn from the failure of his last movie, and learn that less is more.

So Long Europe, Hello Banaras!

In the 1960's, A film called "Sangam" was made and was one of the most popular films of that time. In fact, it is still remembered and cherished today. One of the reasons for its popularity is-- it was the first Bollywood film to have a been filmed in Europe.

Since then, whenever the actress dreams of dancing with her lover, or when a couple goes on their honeymoon, the scene goes straight to some beautiful location in Europe. In fact, Yash Chopra, master of romantic films, received an award from the government of Switzerland, acknowledging how many scenes he has filmed in their country.

But this type of foreign fascination is dwindling in Bollywood. Last year, the film "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna," which was filmed purely in New York, received mix reviews and was the least popular of the director's films, which in the past have always reeked of American-European obsession. The films that succeeded last year took place in rural India, New Delhi, or Mumbai.

If you take a look at the next big releases for this year, such as "Taare Zameen Par" or even "Aaja Nachle," which is in fact about an Indian returning to her country from America, both take place in India. The best movies and the biggest successes of 2007 were all located in India as well, some in small towns, others in Mumbai or New Delhi, including two films that were filmed primarily in the holy city of Banaras (not including Chak De India-- but that's a different story-- they went abroad for a hockey tournament, not to dream).

Speaking for myself, I definitely won't miss the lead couple running through fields of flowers in Switzerland. Dancing on a rickshaw is much more fun.

A Small Step for Bollywood, a Giant Leap for SRK!

Need more convincing that formula, commercial Bollywood that dominated for the past two decades is seeing its last days? Check out the reviews for Saawariya, and compare them to Om Shanti Om.

Although I've said it before-- Om Shanti Om is a very commercial, over-the-top and big budget film, it does have some merit-- it mocks the very filmdom it reeks of. The whole appeal of the movie is that it pokes fun of the Bollywood Shahrukh Khan (the producer and main actor) and the director Farah Khan hail from. This technique makes the movie fresh. It actually turns out to be a push forward for Bollywood's emerging progressive movement.
Now, I don't want to give the film too much credit-- The concept of mocking Bollywood has been done before, and been done much better. But that's the thing with this industry-- its only cool if the popular kids do it.

Saawariya, the other big- budget big-deal film failed, according to critics and to the box office (compared to OSO). Ok yes, I sometimes do feel that critics are much harder on the director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, because they do accept more from him. His track record is incredible-- all four of his movies have won many awards and gained critical acclaim. His first movie "failed" at the box office, and was not as popular as any of the other movies. Of course, this film, "Khamoshi," is not only my favorite SLB film, but one of my all-time favorites. Great performances, incredible story-- definitely fabulous. Sadly, the Indian public did not accept it, and Bhansali took that to heart.

After that, all his films had lavish sets, costumes and mainstream commercial actors. (I would include Black in this category. Just because there wasn't a lot of color does not mean the sets were not lavish.) And Saawariya fits into this category with ease. Maybe in 2002, this film would have made as much, if not more money than SRK's "Om Shanti Om." But "Saawariya" was a part of Bollywood that was so three years ago-- a young boy sees a young girl, falls in love, one is shy...etc.

Although it's clear that OSO beat Saawariya this week, I think the winner to emerge from this is the producer and actor of OSO, Shahrukh Khan. The reason for this is-- SRK is definitely one of the most popular actors in Bollywood. And, it is completely obvious that he would play the male lead in a film like Saawariya-- those love stories are what he does best. But he was not in Saawariya-- he was in OSO, mocking films like Saawariya, exposing the silliness of the very Bollywood he helped shape and rule. It's obvious SRK has had a great year, and here's hoping he has permanently retired from Bollywood that is both regressive and formulaic.

This Beats "My Super Sweet 16"

Not sure how much Bollywood stars actually mean to Indians, or should I say, the media? Just glance at the amount of coverage the "King Khan" Shahrukh Khan got on his birthday on Nov. 2. It might just be as much attention Britney Spear's crazy antics get in US papers. Here are some of the stories that have been written in honor of Khan's birthday:

Indiafm.com had three main stories for SRK:

1. A to-do list for SRK's birthday, which included watching all his famous movies, reading his biographies, and watching promotions for his latest movie.
   
2. Indiafm also had another story about a fan who shared her birthday with SRK.
3. And an interview with the man himself, where he discussed his big day

Other websites had other angles:

• Sify.com added a feature where readers could post birthday wishes for SRK. There were 174 wishes the star.
  
• The Times of India reported on what Farah Khan, the director of SRK's forthcoming movie, was going to get him (which, what a shocker-- would be an official print of the film).
• Merinews didn't hide it- they just had a whole article dedicated to the star, chronicling his life, as if he made some big accomplishment. I guess for Merinews, that means turning 42.

It's sad how much coverage a birthday, (not even a birthday party!!) got in the Indian and international press.

Still have hope for 2007!!

I particularly enjoyed Raja Sen's latest column on Rediff. He takes on the view that 2007 has been a repetitive, regressive year for Bollywood after 2006-- which was an amazing year for Bollywood. I agree with Sen's opinion. Although 2007 hasn't had as much of a spark with quality movies actually making money, great films are made-- and are being watched. Here are some of the greats for 2007:

• Honeymoon Travels: This movie is incredibly entertaining, yet still hits on key issues like homosexuality and female identity. The film made money, was successful, and had actual substance.
• Life in a Metro: Incredible performances. Original storyline. In my opinion, revolutionary music. The movie had some of the hottest names, but not hotter than some of its competition like Salaam-E-Ishq, which also was a story about a number of couples and their problems. And surprise! The film with the better star-cast, bigger banner, bigger names-- failed with the lesser known Life in a Metro was a hit. A good story is vital!
  
• Chak De India: No love story, a film about sports, and one tat explored feminism in India-- loved it!
• Dharm:
  

So we haven't seen the best films ever to come out of Bollywood this year. But we have seen the audience paying attention to better films. It's a start!

It's Too Much!!

I don't think there have ever been so many attempts by actors to promote their movies than this fall in Bollywood. Yes, actors in Hollywood go on talk shows to promote their film, but in Bollywood, actors go on singing reality shows, dance competitions, and anything else they can swing.

But these days, the attempts are going far beyond that. Jab We Met, a film that released last week to some good reviews, was hyped up incredibly by the leading actor, Shaahid Kapoor. He went on the local trains to promote the film, spoke to any journalist who would listen, and there are speculations that he asked his ex- girlfriend and co-star Kareena Kapoor to stay quiet about the break-up for a while, and then to break the silence at an important moment. They did finally go their separate ways, and Kareena's new love declared their relationship live at India's Fashion Week, which generated even more buzz than the break-up to start with.

Shahrukh Khan is doing even more for his film, Om Shanti Om, as he is known for. He has 30 A-list stars to dance in one of the songs in his film-- a first in Bollywood, which is being hyped beyond anything on television.

He has gifted the director of the film with a Mercedes-- apparently because he liked the film that much, which of course attracted even more media attention. His six- pack abs, his co-star's age, the director's pregnancy, the seventies feel of the movie-- are really all that Bollywood is buzzing about these days. The movie is releasing next week-- and it's mega promotion is definitely a first in Bollywood, and frankly, I can't wait until the crazyness is over.

Mind on the Money

There has always been a war between critics and the Bollywood industry-- much worse than Hollywood, for sure. Whether it's the director of the new film No Smoking, Anurag Kashyup, who ranted about the critics who did just that-- criticize his movie, or even popular director Farah Khan's cries that critics are just out to ruin her and her film-- critics are not popular at all among many in Bollywood.

To be honest, I'm not a fan of the critics, for the most part. Not because of Khan's criticisms-- critics aren't evil just because they criticize your movie. My problem is more that most Bollywood critics judge movies on whether or not they have commercial appeal-- which is really sad. Of course, Indian movies are "commercial," for the most part, only if they have five songs, lavish costumes, a glamorous star cast, has a love story or has some sort of a romantic angle, and if it appeals to all ages.

Think about all the amazing movies that are not commercial (and far better). The film Dor, which I thought was incredible, only received two out of five stars from Indiafm.com, not because it was a bad film-- the reviewer acknowledged the film's brilliance. It got a bad review because the critic believed that the film would not make any money. He was right, of course-- but if the film was brilliant, it was brilliant. That should be the end of it.

Freedom of the press is vital, and I would rather have these crazy critics (who are right to criticize Khan's film, in my opinion) than none at all. But it would be nice if they started focusing on the film-- not the box office.

Difficult, or just Impossible?

I often comment on how there is a lot of quality films coming out of Bollywood. They're just harder to come by because they don't spend much time in theaters, and are low budget.

I thought it was just harder-- not impossible. Dharm, a film that has garnered incredible reviews and much praise, and was even a contender to be the Oscar nominee for India, is almost impossible to find in America. There aren't any copies at local grocery stores (unless you settle for a copy where you see the audience in the theater getting up for popcorn-- but even those are hard to come by). They are not available for purchase (unless you're ok with giving your credit card number to extremely sketchy websites).

The film has incredible actors, is filmed in HD, went to the Cannes Film Festival-- and is impossible to find. These types of films don't appeal to the masses in India, so are usually buried and make no money at all. Sadly, next week-- Shah Rukh Khan's extremely commercial, over the top- high budget film Om Shanti Om will be hard to avoid.