Bollywood is facing intellectual bankruptcy?

Is Bollywood facing intellectual bankruptcy?

(A report.)

In the year gone by, most successful films have either been sequels (Lage Raho Munnabhai, Krrish, Phir Hera Pheri,Janeman) or remakes (Don). The box-office success, wide audience viewership and acclaim received by these films has surely added a new dimension to Indian cinema but is this also a case of intellectual bankruptcy?

A point put forth by writer-director was that remakes are not recent things. “Dada Saheb Phalke remade Raja Harishchandra in 1971. This film was also made 15 more times by other filmmakers. Bhakt Pralhad was remade 17 times using the same film title. Mehboob Khan remade Aurat as Mother India. Satyajit Ray made Aparajito as a sequel to Pather Panchali. Certainly they faced least intellectually bankruptcy,” stated Shukla.Many other films are also remaked many times.

So then why is there a sudden need for remakes and sequels? The reasons are as follows: (1) To repeat commercial success; (2) To reinterpret the film story and (3) To improve narration.

Dhoom and Dhoom:2 scriptwriter Vijay Krishna Acharya is of the opinion that writing a sequel is a tough job. “Remaking films and making sequels is due to bankruptcy as well as an urge to revisit the past. There are emotional reasons attached to it. They do not guarantee success; they are the negotiating power with the audience to make the audience have more fun than before.”

While writing Dhoom:2 Acharya kept in mind the audiences’ expectation. “After watching bikes in the first part of the film Dhoom audience would have expected cars or choppers in Dhoom:2. But we had to fulfil all this and at the same time move beyond.”

Director Sudhir Mishra is of the opinion that the Indian film industry has indeed faced bankruptcy in recent times. There’s nothing new and radical happening in the industry. “Most films are remakes in essence because films keep telling the same story. Democratisation of talent is the need of the hour. Young filmmakers should be given a chance because they have fresh stories. If you keep revisiting the past you are not challenging yourself enough.”

Kunal Kohli believes that the choice of what to make lies in the hands of the director. “Probably in 25 years from now Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s remake of Devdas will also be kept alongside K L Saigal and Bimal Roy’s Devdas and will be called a classic,” said Kohli.

He further went on to state that “commerce is taking over the industry but it is a filmmaker’s choice not to let commercial terms dictate. Filmmaking is a show will come first, commerce is just a part of it.”