Producing Bollywood: Inside the Contemporary Hindi Film Industry (25 page)

“
Of course, this
picture
has a great story! It has great songs, big
stars
, and
it will be shot in beautiful foreign
locations—
one
outdoor schedule
will be
in Lick
—” Malhotra turns to his production manager, “
Hey, Iqbal, what is
the name of that tiny
European
country
?”

Iqbal answers, “Lich-ten-stein.”

Malhotra continues, “
Aah yes
, Lickenstein
. Another
schedule
will be in
Cro. . .”

Even before he has a chance to turn and ask, Iqbal pipes up, “Cro-atia.”

Without skipping a beat, Malhotra resumes, “
Yes
, Croshia—
no one in
India has ever shot at these locations before
—
it will be a completely new experience
for the
audience—
to see such
fresh locations!
After all how often
can you keep seeing the same
Switzerland, England, Australia, America
,
you know
?”

Agrawal continues, “
The price you’re asking for Delhi-U.P. seems a bit high
for an untested combination like Vijay and Sulekha. Also Rakesh Chadda’s last
couple of
pictures
were
flops.”

Unfazed by Agrawal’s skepticism, Malhotra persists, “
The combination
of a
superstar
like Vijay Khanna and a new girl like Sulekha will set the screen
ablaze I am telling you! And Rikki’s last two films? I didn’t produce them, but
the problem was that those films were not promoted properly. Other producers
don’t understand the importance of
marketing.
Those films were treated like
stepchildren. I treat every film I produce as my own flesh and blood. Rikki is
like my own son. All of his films with me have been
hits.
I have so much faith
in this
project
that I am not even selling
[the rights for]
Bombay
[territory].
I will be
distributing
the film myself in Bombay
.”

Agrawal responds with, “
The heyday of the
love story
is gone
. Audiences
have gotten bored with
romance.
Nowadays, they want
action
and
comedy.
All of the
hit
films last year were either
action
films or
comedy
films
.”

Malhotra exclaims, “
But this film is much more than a
love story!
It has
everything—
romance, drama, emotions, comedy, action.
Just you wait and
see! It will appeal to everyone from six to sixty, from the
front
-
benchers
to
the
families!”

“
Malhotra-saab, last year I had to bear so many losses and the
market
is
tight nowadays, but our relationship goes back for many years which is why
I have come to you today
.
Otherwise
, distributors
do not even want to offer
an
mg
anymore and would rather distribute the film on a
commission
basis
,” counters Agrawal.
¹⁰

Malhotra responds, “
Oh, Agrawal-saab, have you ever suffered a loss with
any of my pictures? For a picture that will be released next year, the price is
not high at all, in fact, when you take
delivery
, you will think it’s fifty or sixty
lakhs less than what it should be!
”

Agrawal and Malhotra continue their negotiations over the sale of the film’s distribution rights for a few more minutes until finally they both stand up, shake both hands, and Agrawal leaves the set. Malhotra looks very pleased and calls out after him, “
I will definitely let you know when the
first
trial [screening]
is of the film. You must come!

By this time it is noon, and the star, Khanna, has still not arrived; Malhotra is becoming angry. “
Rikki, where is that idiot? Who does he think he is?
Just because a few of his films have become
super hits
, does it mean he can do
whatever he wants? If this picture
flops
, will he return my money?

Chadda tries to placate him, “
Malhotra-saab, he just called a little while
ago; he is very sorry; he will be here very soon
.” Chadda looks at his watch and tells one of his assistants to announce to the crew to break for lunch. He turns to Malhotra, “
Please come and have lunch with me, I have homecooked
food
.” While the workers, dancers, and assistants eat lunch outdoors seated on the ground, Chadda, Menon, Khan, Malhotra and his sons retreat to a large air-conditioned room in a building adjacent to the shooting floor, where lunch has been laid out on a table. One of the spot boys serves lunch to everyone and leaves the room.

As Chadda is about to start his lunch, his cell phone rings. Looking at the caller id, he announces to everyone in the room, “
It’s Sunil calling
about Vijay’s new
release.”

Sunil Taneja was the editor of one of the industry trade magazines that collected information about the box-office performance of films, and he had called Chadda to inform him of the first day box-office report of Vijay Khanna’s latest film.

Answering the phone, Chadda says, “
Haan
, Sunil, tell me, what are the reports?
Accha
, Bombay is bumper? How about Delhi-U.P.? I see.

Theek hai
, keep me posted. Thanks, bye.” Chadda closes his phone with a
slightly troubled expression, “Vijay’s film,
Pyaari Batein
, is carrying mixed reports. It had a bumper opening in Bombay and Delhi City, but not so good in U.P., Bihar, or C.P.-C.I.” Turning to Malhotra, he asks, “Malhotra-saab, are all territories closed for our film?”

“
Not yet, C.P.-C.I. is still
open
. Don’t worry Rikki, I’ll have buyers lining up
for the film. Pyaari Batein is not a
universal subject
; there’s nothing in it for
the
masses
or the
interiors
. I’m not surprised that it didn’t get a good
opening all-India.”

Menon adds, “I heard
Pyaari Batein
was too much like
Mohabbat Masti
. That film was a flop. There’s no action in either film and you know action is always a safe bet in smaller centers.”

Chadda concurs, “
Haan
, that’s true, but Vijay doesn’t have the image of an action hero. The problem with
Mohabbat Masti
was that the romance angle between the hero and heroine was too different. People have to remember that this is
Hindi
cinema we are making and our audiences don’t accept everything. This isn’t Hollywood!”

Lucky, Malhotra’s younger son, adds, “My friend Jai went to see
Pyaari
Batein
yesterday—first day, first show—and he said it was mind-blowing! It was too good!”

“Nowadays, Vijay’s films are doing much better in the overseas and the metros. Somehow, the interiors are not connecting with his films,” Chadda reflects.

Malhotra retorts, “
That’s because the Singhanias
[the film’s producers]
only make films for those
territories
. Rikki, not to worry, our film has universal
appeal. Just you wait and see
, all-India
and
overseas, masses-classes
,
everyone will love it!
”

Khan, who has been flipping through a film magazine during this exchange, pipes up, “Hey look here are photos of the
mahurat
of
Awaaz
—it was quite a fabulous evening! Jawahar Singh spared no expense after all he was launching his son, Rohit. I wonder how the film is going? You know the Singhs: they don’t talk about their films or show them to anyone from outside. You would think they were protecting the Kohinoor diamond!”

Vikky, Malhotra’s older son, answers, “I work out in the same gym where Rohit’s co-star, Amar Kohli, does, and seems that Rohit’s dad is not happy at all with the way the film is turning out. He’s thinking about getting rid of Suresh Gupta and directing it himself!”

“No way!” Khan exclaims.

“Wow! Poor Suresh,” Chadda chimes in.

The visibly surprised group is about to discuss this tidbit of gossip, when someone knocks on the door. Lucky opens the door and a short,
slight man enters the room, followed by a tall, muscular man in his midtwenties. Chadda recognizes the first man and exclaims, “Jignesh-
bhai
,
what’s up? Why are you here?

Jignesh replies, “Rakesh-
ji
, I have brought someone to meet you and Malhotra-
saab
, allow me to introduce Tanuj Singh. He has come here from London, where he was studying acting.”

Singh steps forward and does an exaggerated
namaste
to everyone in the room—holding his palms together very straight and bowing his head slightly. Chadda and Khan appear amused by his gesture. Malhotra concentrates on his lunch. Chadda asks Singh, “
So you’ve come here from London
to work in Hindi films, why?

Singh replies, “
I’ve been a big fan of Hindi films since I was a child
. . .”

Khan exclaims, “Oh so sweet, his Hindi has a British accent on it!”

Singh responds, “Actually I’m not from London. I studied acting at the Royal Academy in London.”

Chadda asks, “So now, do you know how to act?”

Singh replies, “I think so.”

Chadda retorts, “Either you know it or don’t know it.”

Singh hurriedly responds, “I do know how to act: I’ve done street theater; plays in college; worked with Alyque Padamsee; did Shakespeare in London.”

Chadda asks, “Do you want to work in films or in television?”

“Definitely films! My dream has always been to be on the big screen,” says Singh.

“Have you done any films yet or signed any?” asks Chadda.

“No, not yet,” replies Singh.

Chadda offers, “Word of advice—even if you haven’t signed any films, you need to talk about possibilities in a big way.”

Singh adds, “Actually, I have talked to some people about doing a role in Sunil Mehra’s next film.”

Malhotra finally looks up from his plate, and says to Chadda, “
Rikki,
how long has that Mehra been planning his next film? It seems like he makes
a film every ten years!
”

Jignesh pipes up, “
Accha, Rakesh-ji, Malhotra-saab, we’ll make a move.
Tanuj has an appointment in
town
—since we were in the area I thought why
not have him meet you?

Singh does another
namaste
, “Thank you for your time and it was very nice meeting you.”

Once they both leave, Malhotra turns to Chadda and says with a chuckle, “
Rikki, he seems more suitable for a
villain
than a
hero.”

Khan protests, “No Malhotra-
saab
, he was cute—in an ugly-ish sort of way!”

Khan then turns to Chadda and asks, “
Accha
Rikky, when you went to U.S. a few months ago, what movies did you see? Anything good?”

Chadda responds, “I saw
A.I.
, which was very interesting—very different than the typical Spielberg film, you know? I also saw
Memento
, which was great, but you know that kind of film would never work here. Our audiences would get thoroughly confused. I bought a lot of dvds. I spend so much money when I go to the U.S.!”

Lucky asks, “What did you buy?”

Chadda replies, “So many I can’t even remember! I bought a lot of classic films to add to my collection that I didn’t have before, like the
Godfather
trilogy that got reissued with all of the special features. I bought
Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Twister. .
.”

Vikky interrupts, “Oh man, the special effects in Hollywood are mindblowing! They are so realistic! We could never do that here!”

Malhotra interjects, “
They don’t think of stories anymore in Hollywood,
they just think of sequences of
special effects
and put some
story
on top
.”

“There are good special effects in India, like in
Hindustani
and
Kaalapani
—those were so real, they looked like English films,” asserts Menon. Malhotra concurs, “
Just imagine, those were
South Indian
films
—
so
much money was spent. The
South
is leading us in
technicians
and
music
.
They are very
dedicated.
They take more
risks
and when they spend money,
they do it with conviction. Look at the
track record
of the
director
who made
Hindustani! What a
track record!
Gentleman, Kaadalan
, and
Hindustani—
all
super hits
! Just amazing!
”

Just then the door opens and a short portly man wearing glasses walks in. Malhotra cuts short his comments and exclaims, “
Debu-da! How are
you? Where have you been all these days? I was trying to reach you but something
is wrong with your
mobile
!
”

Debojit Das, a veteran screenwriter, settles himself down on an empty chair and says, “
I had gone to Kolkatta for my niece’s wedding and you know
how it is in a house where a wedding is taking place—absolute chaos! Hello,
Rikki, Tanaaz; how is everybody?

Everyone nods and reciprocates Das’s greeting. Chadda smiles and says warmly, “
So Debu-da, from the twinkle in your eye, I can tell that you
have something good for us
.”

Das chuckles and says, “
Ah Rikki, your father used to say the same thing
to me. What a great
director
he was. If he were here today, he would have been
very proud of you!
”

Malhotra chimes in, “
A great
director
and a great friend! I remember
when we both came to Bombay together from Delhi—what days those were—
sharing a room in Prabhadevi
. . .”