Producing Bollywood: Inside the Contemporary Hindi Film Industry (29 page)
Read Producing Bollywood: Inside the Contemporary Hindi Film Industry Online
Authors: Tejaswini Ganti
Tags: #ebook
Whether it was the distributor from Delhi visiting the set unannounced, the aspiring writer meeting the director, or the senior writer dropping by to give a pitch, the sketch in chapter four portrays the centrality of faceto-face interaction in the Hindi film production process. Films, deals, and commitments are made on the basis of personal communication and discussion between key players, rather than via intermediaries or written materials. What I was struck by early on in my research was the relative absence within the industry of professional mediators, such as casting agents, talent scouts, or talent agencies, as well as gatekeepers such as publicists, agents, or personal managers.
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To my surprise—but consistent with everyday practice—I was able to set up meetings or interviews directly with informants, rather than having to go through any type of professional mediator. The figure of the professional mediator is the most immediate locus of difference encountered by Indian and American filmmakers during their attempts to cross the borders of their respective filmmaking worlds.
Sabbir Khan is a Hindi filmmaker whose directorial debut,
Kambakkht
Ishq
(This Damn Love, 2009), was a big-budget spectacle set against the backdrop of Hollywood, and included cameos by Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh, and other American actors. He spoke in an interview with the online magazine
rediff.com
about the inordinate amount of time it took him to just meet people and clear permissions in the United States. “I met dozens of agents to get access to their actors. That’s very difficult, as we have to go through many agents before you meet the star’s real agent.”
Referring to shooting in iconic locations like the Kodak Theater where the Oscars are held, Khan stated, “There are so many channels to go through. That one year was spent in organizing all this” (N 2009).
If Khan found all of the channels and agents frustrating, Sri Rao, the American filmmaker introduced in this chapter’s opening anecdote, was frustrated by the lack of them. He spoke at length during the panel about how the extremely personalized nature of the Hindi film industry, especially in relation to discussions over remuneration, was a source of bewilderment and aggravation. He related that despite his entreaties to discuss all money matters with his agents, the Bombay producers would continue to contact him directly, so that the negotiations over money became a long and circuitous process. Addressing his agents Rao said, “As you guys know, it took a long time to get them to understand that they needed to talk to you guys and not talk to me directly about how much money I’m going to make and what’s going to be the contract and all that sort of thing.” Turning back to the audience, Rao continued, “It would always be the sort of thing where David and Suchir would call them and they would call me. And then I would have to call them [his agents] and tell them that they [Yashraj] called me and could you please call them” (MIAAC 2009a).
The root of Rao’s and Yashraj’s mutual unintelligibility is that except for actors, the other creative personnel in the Hindi film industry— directors, writers, or musicians—do not have any formal
gatekeepers
or mediators serving as proxies for attaining work. Even actors who have achieved star status in the Hindi film industry do not have agents; rather they have people known as “secretaries” who primarily manage their work schedule referred to as “dates.” For actors at the beginning of their careers who do not have prior connections to the film world, secretaries can serve as agents, in terms of arranging introductions with filmmakers, just as Jignesh did with the London-trained actor in the chapter four sketch. While a few secretaries in the industry have reached some positions of power, using their connections with stars to become producers, most secretaries are marginal to the negotiations between a producer and a star. Producers with clout and standing in the industry would consider it an insult to negotiate or consult with a star’s secretary. The other members of a star’s personal staff—makeup men (for actors), hairdressers (for actresses), drivers, or man Fridays referred to as “boys” (for male stars)—mainly consist of people who look after his or her physical appearance and material comforts, rather than serving as mediators with other members of the industry. Sometimes these individuals do serve as
gatekeepers on sets and public spaces with respect to industry outsiders, as with the journalist trying to interview Vijay Khanna in the chapter four sketch.
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The other creative personnel in the industry are even less likely to have their staff, if they possess one, operate as gatekeepers.
The insignificance of professional intermediaries means that interactions and relations are much more immediate and direct; therefore, if producers want a particular star for their film, they speak directly with the stars. When journalists want to meet stars for a story, they contact them personally or simply show up at a film shoot, sometimes without any prior notice, to conduct an interview. During my research, I enjoyed a similar level of access to members of the film industry. I was able to approach some of the biggest stars personally for interviews; some even had no qualms giving me their cell phone numbers.
The relative absence of professional intermediaries and gatekeepers, however, does not mean that the industry is a completely open and accessible world. Instead, personal relations and Bombay-based social networks serve as the mediating and gatekeeping forces within the industry. In the chapter four sketch, the aspiring screenwriter who comes to meet Rakesh Chadda, with a screenplay in hand, is able to do so because his aunt is Chadda’s neighbor. Journalists who write for the glossy Englishlanguage film magazines such as
Stardust, Filmfare
, or
Cineblitz
, among others, frequently have some sort of prior connection to a star, such as attending the same high school or growing up in the same neighborhood. Additionally, every film journalist I met had their own exclusive set of stars—their own “star beat”—they covered, which cultivated the personal relationships necessary for easy access to stars.
As I continued to meet members of the film industry, asking them how they became involved in filmmaking, their stories revealed the importance of social networks for recruiting and incorporating personnel into the industry. For example, Vashu Bhagnani was in the business of manufacturing audiocassettes, and during our interview he told me that he was inspired to turn to film production after watching the film
Aankhen
(Eyes, 1993) because he enjoyed the film immensely. By virtue of his friendship with the owner of a music company who produced both film soundtracks and films, Bhagnani easily met the director and star of
Aankhen
, convincing them that he was a serious and committed producer. They agreed to take part in his maiden production and, according to Bhagnani, he was able to finish the film in a relatively short period of time, despite his absolute lack of experience in film production.
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While in Bhagnani’s case the requisite enthusiasm, resources, and con
tacts enabled him to become a filmmaker, in other instances, man’s best friend can pave the way, as in the case of screenwriter Anjum Rajabali, whose induction into the Hindi film industry was by way of his dog. During our interview, Rajabali narrated the fortuitous manner by which he became a screenwriter:
We have a dog actually; through the dog we met this family of the Azmis—actually Shabana Azmi’s brother, Baba Azmi, the cinematographer, and his wife, Tanvi Azmi, who’s also an actress.
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We were looking for somebody who would help us look after the dog because both of us were working—my wife and I. We bumped into them, and it worked out: we sort of hit it off very well. Through them we began meeting people in the film industry, but socially—at parties and at dinners or at the gym. But this friend of mine, Baba Azmi, he had had ambitions of graduating to director also. He wanted to direct films. He and I used to discuss a lot. So he said, “Why don’t you write something?” I said, “I don’t even know what structure, I have no idea how to write.” He said, “No, you’re interested: you write about what you would like to see.” That was the starting point. (Rajabali, interview, September 1996)
Even though he had no background or professional interest in screenwriting, Rajabali said he decided to write a sequence of scenes to humor Azmi, who was becoming vehement about it. When Azmi praised his skills as a writer, Rajabali decided to teach himself by reading books about screenwriting and watching more films. Another chance encounter through a common friend led Rajabali to meet director Govind Nihalani, who asked him for feedback on a script that he was writing. Rajabali ended up collaborating on Nihalani’s screenplay and that led to further opportunities and more assignments. What Bhagnani’s and Rajabali’s examples attest to is that personal relationships can far outweigh relevant experience in gaining access to the industry.
Social and kin networks played a central factor in my ability to attain access to members of the film industry as well. The vast majority of people I met, whether they were stars, directors, producers, writers, distributors, or exhibitors, I met through their friends and families via personalized, face-to-face introductions, frequently on film sets. For example, my first encounter with Shah Rukh Khan, who continues to be one of the most powerful, sought-after, and successful stars in the industry, was on the set of the film
Duplicate
in March 1996. I was sitting on the steps of the set next to Tanuja Chandra, at that point an aspiring director whom I knew from Philadelphia, and observing the activity around me.
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Chandra
was hanging around the set because her mentor, Mahesh Bhatt, was directing the film. Having already introduced me to the film’s choreographer and art director, Chandra turned to me and asked, “Have you met Shah Rukh?” When I shook my head, she simply called out to Khan, who was standing nearby. “Shah Rukh, meet my friend Tejaswini: she’s come from New York and she’s writing a book about the film industry.” Khan nodded, smiled, and held out his hand to shake mine. “Hello, how are you?” While I had not anticipated meeting one of the biggest stars of the industry so early in my fieldwork, that casual and simple introduction allowed me to start interviewing Khan the next day on the set, and continue my interview with him over the span of a week in a variety of locales, from other film sets to rehearsal halls, his car, and his home.
Another outcome of meeting filmmakers by way of their friends and family was that two different directors offered me the chance to join the team of directorial assistants for two films. Akin to the narratives of chance encounters and unexpected opportunity relayed by Bhagnani and Rajabali, my first job offer came about at the end of an interview with director Aditya Chopra in April 1996. Although Chopra was known to be extremely shy and averse to granting interviews, he agreed to my request since it was arranged through his mother, whom I had also interviewed.
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At the time, Chopra was busy with the scripting and pre-production of the film
Dil to Pagal Hai
(The Heart Is Crazy), which his father, Yash, was to direct beginning in June of that year. When I asked Chopra if I could observe the film under production, I was totally caught by surprise when he asked me if I would like to work as an assistant on the film. During our discussion about what being an assistant would entail, Chopra was vague about the specifics and kept assuring me that my most important qualification was that I seemed to have tastes similar to his, while the most important requirement was that I had to love films. I worked on
Dil to Pagal
Hai
mainly keeping track of costume continuity.
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How do those individuals without prior friends or family in the industry, or the social networks that bring one into contact with film people, fare? The answer depends on the occupational role to which one aspires. In terms of acting, women without connections have more chances at a film career than men in a similar situation, through routes such as beauty pageants, modeling, or even being “discovered” by self-appointed star-makers. Ironically, the patriarchal nature of the film industry enables unconnected women to gain entry because the success or failure of a film is not perceived to be dependent upon the lead actress, just as in the chapter four sketch, where the actress is a beauty pageant winner
whose inability to speak Hindi did not prevent her from getting the role.
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Heroines are usually chosen after the male star, director, and music director have been finalized for a film project, and are frequently regarded as interchangeable. The narrative thrust of films and the financing structures of the industry are wholly oriented around the male star.
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Individuals who aspire to become directors encounter greater obstacles if they are outside the kin and social networks that dominate the work life of the industry. The example of Sridhar Kumar, who was an assistant director when I first met him in 1996, is illuminating in this regard. A graduate of a prestigious national institution, Kumar came to Bombay with the ambition of becoming a director. Intrigued by my research, Kumar made it one of his missions to help me as much as possible and was instrumental in introducing me to people who enabled me to get access to significant events or individuals within the industry. Ironically, by the end of my first year of fieldwork, Kumar was asking me to introduce him to important people. Although he assisted three different directors, none of them played a significant role in his own directorial debut in 2003, eight years after he first arrived in Bombay. Assistants who are either friends with or related to directors usually do not have to wait as long to direct their first features, and if an aspiring director’s father is a producer or director himself, then working as an assistant may not even be necessary before one’s directorial debut. Kumar’s debut film, which fared poorly at the box-office, did not garner him much standing within the industry, and he continued to struggle to establish himself as a viable director. Commercial success is not the only determinant of further employment in the industry, however, as there are plenty of examples of filmmakers who, despite their many commercial failures yet because of their family connections or close friendships with stars, keep getting the opportunity to direct films.