Hi Shekhar,

1. multi-linear storytelling
2. digressions like comedic subplots
3. direct engagement of the audience by
film characters
4. occasional illogical twist in the story
5. strong sense of participative viewership.

All good stuff.

I like films that I cannot predict.

I am still waiting for the first Global Premier of a Film.

The only way to do it is over the Internet.

It could be interactive and the whole world could participate in the first global group thing.

How about filming two outcomes based on a decision and let the audience influence the characters decision and which determines what they see.

What if the audience could choose to send divine intervention to one of the character of their choice, like playing Gods?

I am ready to stream to the world just need the content.

I know a lot of people don’t have Internet but they can meet together in places that do, and eventually we close the digital divide. Many theatres are getting digital projection and we could feed a few thousand theatres around the world.

We could even have like commentary by actors and directors.

I guess I am just a dreamer.

Dear Shekhar,

I know you didn't like my reaction to one of your posts. On second thoughts, I do feel that I tend behave more as a critique who sees only the negative aspect & failes to appreciate positive vibes!
Having wisened (?!)like this, I do have a suggestion for you & Deepak & all the executive committee of this blog:

Please take this in the right perspective & it might be a coincidence, but please invite some writers/personalities from Western/Southern part of India. It will add a new dimension to this beautiful tapestry of intellectual discussion! (Phew!I could write this!!)

It's great to know that Hindi movies are appreciated in other parts of the world. Although most of them *are* repetitive boy-meets-girl stuff which gets boring very quickly.

I wish we herein India would also have some exposure to foreign films. Indians in general seem to be completely insular to non-European cultural products. I guess it's the colonial hangover. Heck, most don't even see movies from other parts of India.

I got the opportunity to see some amazing Iranian films when in the US. They have a very quiet sensitivity and individuality.. completely unlike the loud, brash formulaic style of both Hollywood and Bollywood, which is also fun sometimes of course.

Unfortunately, I haven't got the chance to see movies from any other country, other than the US (or other English countries which are more or less the same) or Indian.. Anyone here have any good recommendations for highly rated movies from their own country?

Hi Shekhar,

I feel vindicated.You may recall that in your previous post on the oscar entry I had expressed the view that Indian cinema is coming of age and talent in our country can match if not better, with premium talent elsewhere.

Apart from the films mentioned above, there are a multitude which can showcase our distinct mindset, way of life, attitudes morals and so on.We are different, evolved ,and a strange mix of the best of the east and the west. I may be vain in thinking so ,but I truly believe we have a lot to offer to the world in the cinematic medium.Given time we will emerge as a force to reckon with.As the phenomenon of 'global village' gains strength, and our cinema is exposed to the discerning viewer, criticism and brickbats are bound to follow. This in turn will polish our rough edges and compel us to be quality conscious, more as a rule than an exception.I promise to make my contribution to this goal, in my own small way. You have undoubtedly created an enviable niche for yourself .We are proud of your pioneering effort in this field. Only this time, it has to be with an Indian film Shekhar. You dont need backers. If you feel convinced to put India on the world map,then obstacles are of no consequence.Your posts reflect your deep concern for your nation. Wish this would translate in the world of bollywood too.Sometimes I can sense your disdain ,if I may put it, for bollywood.You may have your reasons, legitimate, I am sure.However, committment to the cause is all that is needed.More than a Yash Chopra or a Karan Johar, I would moot for your brand of sensiblity.You reflect an Indianness which Is real and not gimmicky.Film makers such as you have to analyse the purpose for having been born Indian.There is a lot you can do to encourage makers and guide them with your expertise in the matter of world cinema.Why not initiate an academy of sorts?I am only thinking aloud, and am sure you might have at some point chewed on the idea yourself.Go for it Shekhar,in whatever way you can.

"what makes Hindi commercial films so appealing to foreign audiences?"

Their make believe world of innocence, their appealing to primary feelings of the human heart, their marrying of traditional values with the freshness of the actors (whose acting talents could sometimes be put into question, though, but that's not the point anyway).

I like the design of popular Indian films which is very familiar to me : we often have a "hybris" (the overstepping of cultural codes and ethical boundaries by one of the protagonists which results in innocent victims), the "nemesis" (the inevitable punishment or recall to order) and the "catharsis" of the emotions of the audience which suffers with the main hero/heroin, whose admirable character and good qualities gain our sympathy from the very beginning.

All this is almost comparable to a religious ritual, a Dionysian ceremony with songs and dancers, gods and mortals and heros. There is simply something sacred about those films.

And I can say that not only the Czechs but also a lot of Swiss, Germans and Dutch share a love for the Indian movies (this was also my personal impression when I attended the Locarno Film Festival last summer and the premiere of "The Rising - the Ballad of Mangal Pandey" - by the way, I still shiver when I come to think of it: I was sitting five steps away from Amir, Rani and Ketan !!!)

Sunil,

as far as Iranian cinema is concerned I recommend you Abbas Kiarostami's masterpiece "The Wind will carry us";

Also: Theodoros Angelopoulos' "Ulysses's Gaze" (Greece), Werner Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo" (Germany), Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Amores perros" (Mexico) and Fernando Meirelles' "City of God" (Brazil).

Enjoy !

Chryssoula

To extrapolate the reactions at a festival and generalize that the whole world likes Bollywood films and conclude that Bollywood films can suplant Hollywood films is very naive. That's like saying Iranian films or French films can replace Bollywood films in India because people respond to them warmly at festivals. Also, you will find out if you check that for every Czech viewer crying with Veer Zaara, ten viewers were cringing with embarassment. Because, the fact is, the nautanki grammar is great, but then so are Greek Tragedy, Elizabethan Drama, the Arabian Tales, and so many other traditional forms. The point is how have they been updated and married to the cinematic language to create something contemporary. Obviously the masters like Guru Dutt, Ritwik Ghatak, and to some extent Raj Kapoor and Mehboob Khan, and present day directors like Mani Ratnam, Shekhar Kapoor, Ashutosh Gowarikar are creating good work using the form. But the bulk of them are plain mediocre and worse. In fact there are more interesdting work being done in tamil cinema, using this grammar than in Hindi films. We include tamil films under Bolywood when reeling of statistics of 900 films annualy, but when organizing festivals we talk of only Hindi films. Why? If you say Hollywood films enjoy a hegemony because of the economic and cultural dominance of the West. The same argument can be made in the context of Tamil and Hindi cinema. ( The Malayalam films are another issue, since they dont really use the Nautanki grammar.) In fact films like Pithamagan, Dalapathi and Nayakan are far superior examples of mythical storytelling than Veer Zaara. It is time, we started apreciating the difference between Indian cinema and Bollywood.

FANTASTIC OBSERVATION UTAKAL MOHANTY, BRAVO!

DID YOU CHECKOUT AUTOGRAPH(TAMIL FILM)

Namaste Utkal

Personally, I avoid generalizing (I prefer "a lot of" instead of "the whole world") and I avoid any compare to Hollywood - why should it be Bollywood v. Hollywood, it is not about politics in this case. They are two different genres and it is a matter of taste if you like Indian movies or Woody Allen or Spielberg ... Or should we start one of these inhibited discussions on how "quality" in the arts is to be defined ?

By the way, appreciating the difference between "Mughal-E-Azam", Mira Nair, Deepa Mehta's trilogy or our Shekhar on one side and Yash Chopra & Co on the other does not change the fact that they all come from the same (Bolly)Wood - exactly like Hollywood's wide spectrum gives us really good and really bad movies. So what?

Where I see a point in your post is that regional movies should be promoted in order to reach a wider audience outside India - and I would be most grateful for any recommendations coming from your side !

Chryssoula

I like the upbeat review of Indian cinema posted by Sangeeta but I have to agree with Utkal that there must have been people squirming in the audience. Personally, the only way I can sit through a Bollywood film is if I have the option to fast forward through the "playful digressions".

Utkal, you say - "If you say Hollywood films enjoy a hegemony because of the economic and cultural dominance of the West. The same argument can be made in the context of Tamil and Hindi cinema."

The kind of Hollywood films that are popular are generally of the same rotten calibre as the Bollywood films. The good films made in the US, which fall under the "Indie" banner do not get the exposure they deserve. These would be the equivalent of the tamil films that you are talking about. I think the reason for this is that where cinema is concerned people generally prefer garbage.

From the film discussions in the past few weeks it appears India has good quality regional language films that are not getting exposure. Perhaps someone in the Bollywood industry could take up such promotion as a pet project?

And what is it about the Iranians? Where does their magic come from? My dream for Indian cinema is for it to parallel Iranian cinema in terms of quality.

why do we need to be validated by the czech?

"why do we need to be validated by the czech?"

Why not?? The more the merrier :))

Whohaha,
haaha,
Sri, you crack me up!

Love, Passion, haha, great one!
haah

One question I wonder about is, if Bollywood is really trying launch itself to the global market, is it at all interested in casting more non-South Asians in non-South Asian narratives and cultural contexts? or is the Bollywood cinema style indivisible from its ethnic history (in spite of its tradition of borrowing from other entertainment cultures)?

also -
Here's a news article about the czech reaction to the Bollywood article - says the czechs reacted in different places from the way indians in teh audience reacted

http://www.radio.cz/en/article/71685

theres an interview with Sangita too:
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/60038

H Shekhar, Among the movies shown in Prague,I have only watched Shree 420.I will have to remedy that. I loved Shree 420,especially the music.Thank you Shekhar for an interesting post.God bless. Geeta.

To Chryssoula I would like to point out that the major difference between Hollywood and Bollywood is that Bollywood is predominantly single-genre..the masala film. I mean we do other genres but not that well. While Hollywood does Action, Drama, Romance, Musicals, Historicals, Scifi, Animation , what have you. In fact as many in this forum have pointed out the greatest Bollywood film ever is Titanic. What does that prove? That Hollywood dos Bollywood better than Bollywood! We are supposed to be best at making romantic movies. Then why the last three movies from Yash Chopra's staple are all Hollywood remakes? That is why I follow Tamil films more these days though I am not a Tamilian. They are more rooted, have original script ideas crafted in the grammar of masala melodrama and show better understanding of the cinematic language and modern sensibility. And thankfully they are more often based in a village or snmall town in Tamil Nadu rather than in Melbourne or New York. Yes, Arjunan, I have seen Autograph, Kaadal, Peralgan, Annian..all of them telling great Indian stories with panache ( Just think of the Yama element in Annian, and the Sanskrit crossword device. Can't imagine seeing such elements in a Hinmdi film ever. The best start for promoting regional cinema would be for people in this forum getting familiar with some of the more important films in this genre, all of which are available in subtitled DVDs.

can anyone tell me if are there any other Hollywood films that could be considered Bollywood films apart from Titanic and Moulin Rouge?

But I think we are giving Bollywood too much credit by saying that Titanic and Moulin Rouge are like Bollywood films. Titanic was based on a true story, one that has never ceased to capture the imagination, and Moulin Rouge was very funnily clever in the way it incorporated the catchiest modern pop songs with an 18th century story. It was meant to be absurd. Bollywood on the other hand combines absurdity with seriousness and ends up with a huge mess.

Gee mysterious force @ work.

India's Bollywood Opts for Low-Cost Digital Cinema

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/29/2256215&from=rss

"While Hollywood is yet to figure out who will pay for the costly $100,000 digital projectors required for the digital roll-out of films, the Mumbai (India) based film Industry (called Bollywood) is settling for cheaper projectors of a bit lesser quality available at one-third the price, to proceed with their digital roll-out. Industry officials call this cheaper version of the digital cinema the 'E-Cinema', in contrast to the 'D-Cinema' which Hollywood is waiting for. Over 1000 films are made each year in India and just 1 film in 12 makes a profit. Transporting conventional celluloid prints to remote towns gives video pirates plenty of time to copy and make prints. Digital cinema will cut down on piracy and help the industry to increase its profits."

Utkal,

I will try to get hold of the films you are referring to on DVD - I hope there are some good, subtitled copies available on the European market.

Hope I will get the chance on the Intentblog to let you know of my opinion.

Chryssoula
Chryssoula

Well, Moulin Rouge was explicitly inspired by Bollywood.

http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/aa030902a.htm

Regarding Iranian cinema, I think the posters here have a bit of a restricted view of Iranian films - only the arthouse movies get seen much internationally. This gives a skewed view of what the Iranian film industry is like. There are many more not-very-sophisticated popular culture movies made than the arty movies. For instance, two recent films - the most popular movie in Iran ever is called "Girls Dormitory" and is a comedy-horror movie about a serial killer of schoolgirls (the tag line is "You'll get scared as much as you laugh"). Another one is the most expensive Iranian movie ever made, "The Duel", which is supposed to be about the Iran-Iraq war, but is mainly about expensive audience-pleasing explosions and battles, with little plot.

and by "most popular in Iran ever", I mean "this year's big hit movie"

I agree with Divya, we give too much credit to Bollywood for Titanic or Moulin Rouge. I doubt James cameron has seen too many Bolywood films. And Hollywood has ben making epic love stories from the birth of cinema ( Gone with The Wind, Casablanca, Dr. Zhivago..) And when you see how songs are picturized in Moulin Rouge and compare that to song sequences in Moulin rouge you will know they are chalk and cheese. I was only taking a dig at those who think Titanic is a hindi film, by saying in that case Hollywood does it better than Bollywood. The fact is Bollywood melodrama is a subset of Holywood which does many other genres too. Even Monsoon Wedding is not Bolywood at all. Yes there are songs, but not lip-synced, not shot as a break in Switzerland or as a dream sequence. No, the Western cinema or audiences have not really been influenced by Bollywood significantly..not yet.