|
'We need to change the way we look at entertainment'
Suneel Darshan blames music companies for lull in industry
|
Subhash K Jha
Producer-director Suneel Darshan, who has three major films in various stages of completion, says the music industry is holding filmmakers in Mumbai at ransom.
"The music companies have ganged up against film producers. Since most music companies have started producing films, they have stopped buying music from the outside thereby creating a huge problem of music marketing for filmmakers. The music companies are trying to eliminate all outside competition by getting into film production. They are reverting to the old mould of the Bombay Talkies and Prabhat Studios, where everything from stars to music to directors is inhouse. I think the music companies are trying to control the entire filmmaking process."
Darshan is planning to take concrete steps to minimise the threat posed by music companies. Starting his own music company is an option. But after Vashu Bhagnani did the same with the music of his new production Jeena Sirf Merre Liye with limited success, Darshan feels the only solution is to put out quality-conscious music.
"I haven't decided what I am going to do with my music in future. But I am very careful about the quality of my music. Right now the soundtrack for my movie Talaash is one of the few albums to be doing well."
While Darshan is halfway through the direction of Mere Jeevan Saathi for veteran producer Suraj Prakash, he has also finished the Akshay Kumar-Kareena Kapoor starrer Talaash for another producer Pehlaj Nihalani. Meanwhile, director Raj Kanwar is busy completing Andaz with Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra which Darshan is producing.
The astute moviemaker says the only secret formula to survive the current recession in the film industry is to keep making the films that a filmmaker believes in. "The film industry has already lost about Rs 300 crores this year. The distributors are becoming extinct. Producers will now have to market the films themselves. It is a very dangerous position. The risk is almost entirely the producer's. I am distributing Talaash in Rajasthan and overseas. I manage to keep afloat because I have always been a part of the film industry. I got a lot of success with Jaanwar and Ek Rishtaa -- The Bond Of Love. My brother's Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya wasn't a success. But it finally broke even."
Suneel Darshan blames current filmmakers for bringing stagnation into the movie business by emulating the style patented by Yash Chopra and Karan Johar. "I am passionate about cinema. But I realise it is time for change. We need to change the way we look at entertainment. Most films are crashing because most of the films being made in the last four years were a mixture of Aditya Chopras Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Yash Chopra's Dil Toh Pagal Hai and Karan Johar's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Talaash, which opens in December, doesn't belong to that genre, though it is definitely commercial cinema."