Hollywood, Bollywood-style!

Subhash K Jha

A process of Hollywoodisation has gripped a section of Hindi cinema.

There have been J P Duttas and Ramesh Sippys openly paying their desi homages to Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah in the vast epic vistas like Hathyar, Batwara, Sholay and Saagar.

But today, Hindi films seem to be shedding their colourful ethnic plumes for a more international look and sophistication. Take Vikram Bhatt's Raaz, a horror film that could have been set anywhere.

Some of this cosmopolitan heat comes from ad filmmakers who have been practising international standards of filmmaking for a while. Last year Rakesh Mehra's Aks celebrated a universal emotion --- fear of the unknown --- with slickness. There were no weepy mothers, giggly sisters and cretinous sidekicks. But the Indian audience didn't appear to be ready for a globally acceptable style of cinema.

But then, along comes Mani Shankar's all-West-no-waste espionage thriller 16 December --- with no major stars (unless you count Danny Denzongpa and Milind Soman), and nothing to make the man in Rai Bareilly or Bhagalpur feel at home. It opened to a so-so response. On the Tuesday after its release, collections had picked up perceptibly. 16 December opened in Mumbai to around 70 percent collections as opposed to (K Murali Mohan Rao's) Kya Yehi Pyar Hai's 62-63 percent. By the Tuesday after its release, Pyar had dipped, while 16 December was up by about ten percent.

It isn't expected to be a big success, but 16 December will make a profit for I Dreams, its producers.

It does give credence to the point that audiences now seem receptive to films that do away with traditional elements of filmmaking, to concentrate on telling a believable and compact story with as much economy of space as permissible. Why has a film with no traditional elements associated with entertainment in this country accorded a warmer welcome than the simultaneous release Kya Yehi Pyar Hai, which has all the formulaic trappings --- songs, known faces, recognisable emotions and stereotypical characters?

Actor Akshay Kumar says, "You see, the equations and profile of the moviegoing audience has changed drastically. Audiences who want the typical rona-dhona [tears] and other family-oriented emotions are getting them in ample measure at home on television soaps like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki. They now want another kind of thrill if they take the trouble to visit a movie theatre. The film experience now has to be spectacular, dazzling and larger-than-life. In short, Hollywood Bollywood-style."

His draws attention to latest film, Aankhen, directed by Vipul Shah, due to release in the first week of April. Says Akshay, "Aankhen has topnotch stars. But they will be seen in a completely different light [from the usual fare]. I don't think audiences want to see Amitabh Bachchan , Arjun [Rampal] or me doing the same tired old stuff. It's time stars changed tracks."

Ramgopal Varma, who is ready with his gangster epic Company concurs with Akshay. "See, the stars will always be in favour. A man who pays a 100 rupees to see a film wants to see good-looking, glamorous people. But our stars need to get seriously adventurous. They have to grow up."

Varma's own film, Company opening in the second week of April, he says, is his tribute to Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather.

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta's Westernised thriller Kaante has been shot completely in Los Angeles with an American crew. A filmmaker known for a Hollywood hangover, he has made such films as Aatish (remake of A Better Tomorrow), Ram Shastra (Hard To Kill), Khauff (The Juror) and Jung (Desperate Measures). None of the films worked at the box office.

Gupta is aware of the pitfalls of over-Hollywoodised Hindi cinema. Yet, he shows no hesitation in going ahead with his film. He explains, "I know a group of people will have a problem with the Hollywood aspect of Kaante. My film is about a group of outlaws in the US. They could be Hispanic, Latin American or Mexican.

"Kaante does have songs. But my six heroes [Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Mahesh Manjrekar, Suniel Shetty, Kumar Gaurav and Lucky Ali], don't run around trees. If Robert de Niro in Michael Mann's Heat doesn't break into song in the middle of a dramatic scene, why should Amitabh Bachchan? The only formula to success is to defy the formula."

Hansal Mehta, whose gangster epic Chhal is ready for release, agrees: "Sure, we must have songs in Hindi films. But we have to redefine their position in the narrative. In my film the characters sing, talk and behave in character. If that makes Chhal very Hollywoodised, so be it."