Ye desh hai superheroes ka
Making Dharmendra play Marlon Brando
In 1987, Mr Gupta made Superman, a film that has become a cult (bootleg) DVD sensation around the world because people can't believe it was actually made. Puneet Issar starred as Shekhar/Superman, Dharmendra played the Jor-El character, and Shakti Kapoor starred as Verma, the Lex Luthor character. Not only was the project made completely independent of DC Comics' authority (not really a surprise given Bollywood's penchant for plagiarism), it also seems to feature stock footage taken from the 1978 Richard Donner original!
What possessed him to take on this project? "I made this a few years after Hollywood's Superman was released. I gave Dharmendra the Marlon Brando role! It was a guest role. Brando played Superman's father and I thought Dharmendra had the image to match him in stature. Ranjita played his wife. Puneet Issar had a good body, so we made him Superman. I didn't make Superman for the actors; I made it for myself, as a special effects man."
Gupta vehemently denies that he used any of the original film's footage. "I went to America to shoot some scenes. I took a helicopter from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to shoot backgrounds for the movie. I then took those shots and placed our Superman against them. The music? My film had 4, maybe 6, original songs. You have seen the movie. In the end, I had to use models we had made for the water effects."
"I know it couldn't have been like the original Superman. Those films cost millions. But I managed to make my own version." The budget Gupta worked with was astounding, but he claims the film made money. "I went to an art-director and told him to design all my sets and models for the film for Rs 7,000-8,000. And we used the whole set for a month. I make a film in about 30-35 days. My total cost was Rs 18,00,000. And we covered that, with about Rs 20,00,000. Superman released in theatres in Punjab, Delhi, Kolkata and overseas."
Overseas? Really? "I remember selling overseas rights for the movie for Rs 5,00,000. I then sold satellite rights to Zee TV a couple of times, for about Rs 4,00,000. So, my Rs 20,00,000 was more than covered. But I can bet that, back in those days, if someone else had tried to make the film, it would have cost at least Rs 50,00,000."
Now, after enjoying X-Men: The Last Stand, Gupta is looking forward to watching Superman Returns. But he doesn't really see a full-fledged revival of the fantasy genre in India just yet. "With films like Krrish, all that shows is the money. You have money, foreign locations, expensive effects. But, if you don't have a good story, the film will still disappoint. It looks like a big film, but that doesn't mean it will be a hit. Just because the last film worked doesn't mean this one will. You can never tell. People need to use technology as a tool, not a substitute for a story."
Currently, Mr Gupta - the first man to convert videocassettes into a film format ("I converted a tape called Midnight Confessions and it ran for several weeks at Regal Cinema") - is trying to master a radically new technology. "These days, I am trying to convert normal films into 3-D. It's a difficult process, because 3D films are shot with a different technology, but I'm trying to work on a method of converting old films into 3D. Imagine Mughal-e-Azam in 3-D! It will be a spectacular hit! Imagine the elephants riding over you. I think it can be done. If I can take a normal film and convert it to cinemascope, why can't I take a non-3D film and convert it to 3D? I'm working on it."
Good luck, sir. May the force be with you.