After a very disappointing 2010 (My Name is Khan fans: stop reading now), I have good reason to be optimistic about the rest of the year. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait too long. On Friday, July 16, two movies that I’ve been eagerly waiting for will be released. Soon after that, Aamir Khan’s Peepli Live and Aisha will also hit  theaters.

Next week, Udaan and Tere Bin Laden will release. Udaan is another film that appeals to the urban youth audience, the latest trend in Bollywood. (Thank God the NRI phase is over). Anurag Kashyap  started last year with a bang when Dev D.’s success was attributed to this emerging demographic. As a producer for Udaan, I expect this film will also be able attract a younger crowd, and slowly, a larger audience. After the horrific HLS , which was as formulaic, predictable and cliche as they come, sensible Bollywood fans are dying for a film that is, well, good. Udaan will stand in stark comparison to IHLS. And if the film doesn’t turn out to be the saving grace of indie-Bollywood, we at least have some great music by Amit Trivedi. Check out the theatrical trailer for the film:

Promos for Tere Bin Laden never fails to make me burst out laughing. With such an enticing premise, which includes a look-alike Osama Bin Laden, the film has set up high expectations for anyone who hears the title or watches the trailer. If the filmmakers can pull off such a novel concept, it will be the biggest story in Bollywood this year. It’s a hard task, one that reminds me of my ultimate favorite film, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron– it’s hard to beat the film’s satiric tone and  its intricately woven message about corruption. As is well known in Bollywood, it takes one movie to become a hit to start a trend. Bollywood hasn’t yet been able to consistently address political issues, and Tere Bin Laden would be a great start.

Peepli Live is the reason Aamir Khan is infinitely better than his arch nemesis, Shahrukh Khan. The film addresses farmer suicides, and even though it is produced by Bollywood’s favorite actor, most actors are either art house or unknown. The film would have gone unnoticed by the masses if it weren’t for Aamir Khan’s name attached to the project, and no matter how big Khan’s ego is (one of the biggest in Bollywood, which is saying something), the fact that he’s putting his name behind a film that isn’t a popcorn movie (even the music is authentic), is inspiring and commendable.

Here’s a great video about the film:

Let’s see what the coming weeks in Bollywood bring us. Hopefully, these films can carry us through the winter, when the brainless masala films takeover the industry.

Although I am unsure about I Hate Luv Storys (but not completely disheartened), I am much more confident and excited about another rom-com that will release soon after IHLS: Aisha. Now, watching the trailer, it doesn’t hide its obvious similarities with the other Jane Austen’s Emma interpretation, Clueless. But, unlike my concerns with IHLS, I believe this film will push the envelope and give Bollywood something that will be more innovative, rather than feed off of Bollywood’s developing love of romantic comedies without the over the top drama. Yes, it is a commercial Bollywood film made to draw in the crowds, but I believe it will do so on its own terms, not because of a tried and tested routine. There are a few reasons that I believe this film is the romantic comedy worth waiting for:

• Abhay Deol. He plays the male lead, and his career so far is amazing. As I wrote in a previous post, he is THE Bollywood actor worth watching and following, and the very fact that he is starring in Aisha makes me believe that this film will be ripe with artistic merit and innovation.
• The lack of any Swiss Alps locale in the promo. Must I say more?
• Amit Trivedi. It is often assumed in Bollywood that music takes a back seat in “art” or “parallel” films. Trivedi has defied this notion. He won accolades for his stupendous work in Dev D. and for by far the most memorable and popular  song in Wake Up Sid, “Iktara,” which shined above the other music in the film, which was composed by Bollywood’s some of Bollywood’s most famous musical men, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. His involvement in this film can only be a good thing, and will also prove to be in stark comparison to the more typical, unimaginative track of I Hate Luv Stories.
  
• The Director. Rajshree Ohja. She’s a woman, she’s young, and she seems amazing. Check out this article about her and see for yourself.

• The Producers. The Kapoor clan, Sonam Kapoor’s family, is producing the film. Although her last two and only films weren’t great, she does have a certain modern appeal that her colleagues lack, and I’m not quite ready to give up on her. Her character seems very different from the one in IHLS. In this film, she represents the globalized Indian girl, a character I, a 24 year old living in Boston, can easily relate to. The reason I have so much faith in her character is because of:
• Devika Bhagat. Bollywood’s latest trailblazer is the number one reason I believe I will not be disappointed by Aisha. Bhagat is best known for writing the witty, television show, Mahi Way. The show just aired its series finale last week (it lasted one season), and the dialogue, messages, casting, and story line made it one of the best shows I’ve seen on Indian television, and without a doubt the most accurate portrayal of today’s Indian urban youth. I first wrote about the show in the beginning of its season, and will write about my opinion of the show in its entirety when Rishta.com, another brilliant dramedy by the same production company comes to an end next week. Until then, I will add Devika Bhagat to my growing list of Bollywood game changers. She’s up there with Abhay Deol, Ranbir Kapoor, and one day Vishal Bhardwaj, Anurag Kashyup, and UTV (and even Imtiaz Ali. We will just pretend that Love Aaj Kal never happened).

As I have said before, I am equally supportive of parallel films like Mr. and Mrs. Iyer as I am of films like Dev D. and of Lage Raho Munnabhai. There is room for films in Bollywood that are commercial but aren’t formulaic, and Aisha seems to fit in with these new crop of movies. If done right and my expectations are not to be let down, Aisha has the potential to further propel the world’s largest film industry in an even more progressive and innovative direction.

Here is the theatrical trailer. Enjoy!

Priyanka tweeted, “kashmir is absolutely safe and definately a place i wanna come to on a visit.. stay on a house boat.. walk around the lake.. mmmm.. ” But when she returned to India, she tweeted, “Back to civilization,” which caused some offense.  She corrected this by tweeting further, “by back to civilization i meant coming back to my regular life.. kashmir has been amazing and i love it.. you guys MUST plan holidays here!!”

Peer’s mirthful and sympathetic (well, slightly)  tone toward Chopra points to a much bigger issue. One of the obstacles to peace in Kashmir is that fact that both Pakistan and India have tended to overcompensate and use Kashmir to project there own rhapsodic fantasies onto it. (Peer discusses this at length in the discussion, of which the full conversation can be viewed here.

In particular, Hindi cinema has tended to reinforce an ahistorical notion of Kashmir as India’s Paradise. For decades, Kashmir was the lush backdrop for some of the most exquisitely romantic song and dance sequences. To give Ms Chopra the benefit of the doubt, location filmmaking is gruelingly dull. Remember the fuss created when Sienna Miller, fatigued from filming The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, described Pittsburgh as “Shitsburgh”?

But Priyanka Chopra, wittingly or not, was playing into this ecstatic and traditional honeymooner narrative of Kashmir.

In this clip from the 1970’s super hit film Bobby, Kashmir is the dreamy backdrop for young Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia.

Political events in Kashmir over the last generation has made it all but impossible for Kashmir to be represented in this way. And as Hindi cinema has grown richer and more global, the whole world

is now its theater when it comes to song sequences. And Kashmir, in the Bollywood film imagination, has become a Paradise Lost.  The treatment of Islamic fundamentalism and the Kashmiri insurgency in films like Fiza and Mission Kashmir — both of which curiously star Hrithik Roshan as a dream boy Taliban — are in many respects political cop-outs,

even if they at least acknowledge a history of state violence, repression and discrimination in India against religious minorities. Suketu Mehta in his staggering book, Maximum City, tells of the experience of being politically at “left angles” while writing the screenplay of Mission Kashmir with Vinod Chopra, “I do not believe in the mouths of my characters,” he wrote. “The script,” he complained, “keeps making half-hearted attempts to balance the view of the Indian state with that of the Kashmiris.” Mani Ratman’s visually very beautiful Roja of 1994 plays virulently plays into this tragic- paternalistic and Indian nationalistic Paradise Lost narrative. (Ananya Jahanara Kabir has an interesting discussion of Roja in her book Territory of Desire.)

Where, one wonders, is the bold, Pontecorvo-or Loach-like  filmmaker to unsettle this and turn Bollywood’s treatment of Kashmir upside down? Could a filmmaker of the dazzling and subversive talent of Anurag Kashyap frame Kashmir in a non-nationalistic way? There are rumors that Arundhati Roy–a brave writer who is never one to shirk controversy—is writing a novel set in Kashmir. And one can hope that there is a filmmaker who has the sensibility to render Peer’s eminently cinematic memoir to the screen.

Both Deol and Kapoor’s films have captivated the youth of India. Both men hail from major Bollywood families, and both have acted in films that have done well with the masses, critics, and awards.

Deol has been in the industry longer, and is, in my opinion, the better actor. His track record is impressive– he was the star in last year’s most successful off beat film, Dev D. Before that, he starred in films like Honeymoon Travels, Pvt. Ltd., Manorama Six Feet Under, and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! His latest film, Road, Movie, has done amazingly well at various festivals, and with critics. The film is directed by Dev Benegal, a famous documentary filmmaker.

Here is the promo:

Deol’s choice in films are telling. He isn’t an actor from Nasseerudein Shah or Rahul Bose’s house of acting, that is, he doesn’t act in art films. But, his films are far from mainstream. His films represent the new crop of Bollywood films that are off-beat, but have humor, romance, and music. They’re often low budget, with new directors. He avoids major mainstream films that usually have a high box office return.  Deol’s films don’t always make a lot of money, but are well-made, original films that find their niche audience.

Kapoor, on the other hand, does act in major big budget blockbuster films with high profile stars. His first film, Saawariya, was Hollywood’s first major investment in Bollywood, and was made by an established and famous director. Ranbir Kapoor the won best male debut award at the Filmfare Awards for his role.

After the film, Kapoor was sought after some of the biggest names in Bollywood. He could have followed Hrithik Roshan or Abhishek Bachchan’s career path, two actors who also hailed from famous Bollywood families. Instead, Kapoor did a little bit of both. He wasn’t as courageous as Deol– he still stuck with big production houses, but after an initial mainstream phase, started to act in films with new directors in films with fresh scripts.

Kapoor had a great last year. He starred in the very filmy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahaani (which was mainstream, but much better than many of his previous films). Along with the masala flick, he acted in two parallel films, which won him the Filmfare Critic’s Award last year. His film Wake Up Sid was one of my favorites- It was about a rich boy who hadn’t yet figured out what to do with his life. The plot wasn’t anything too new, but the way the story unfolded and the superb acting made the film one of the best of last year.

Here is a promo for Wake up Sid:

In Rocket Singh- Salesman of the Year, Kapoor played a Sikh. He wore a turban and spoke a lot of Punjab. The film didn’t have songs and had a very compelling and original story. Kapoor is a favorite among the youth and has a huge female following, yet he chose to take a huge risk with his career and acted in two films that weren’t guaranteed box office hits, and in fact didn’t earn as much money as some of his other more safe offers would have.

None of Kapoor’s films compare to Deol’s film Dev D. last year, which also managed to fair extremely well in India, as well as bag many prestigious awards. The film was not only path breaking, but revolutionary for Indian cinema.

These two actors have all sorts of options available to them, and are easily the most sought after actors in Bollywood. Yet, their choices are far from expected. These new breed of actors aren’t repeating the safe choices of actors before them, but are taking risks and trying new roles. They are the future of Bollywood, and right now, the future looks promising.

“Yash Raj has the power to change cinema. We don’t. We’ve been trying hard. But Yash Raj can do it overnight. Yash Raj changes, our cinema changes. But they choose not to change. They choose to stay in their mediocrity, just counting money. Everybody is doing business. That’s fine, but they are making us regress.”

Although big names such as the director Karan Johar, were quick to criticize Kashyup, he is definitely correct. Yash Raj productions make films like “Ta Ra Rum Pum,” “Jhoom Barabar Jhoom,” and “Neal N’ Nikki,” movies that are, in Kashyup’s words, “mediocre.” Yash Raj Productions are the most powerful production company in Bollywood, yet they do not challenge themselves to take risks, which they can definitely afford.

Kashyup also said that “Chak De India” was a good move forward for the company– but it was an “apologetic release… They didn’t have faith in it. For the first time they didn’t ask for terms and conditions with the exhibitors. If they had faith in the film they would have played on the front foot.”

Kashyup also said that his distributors had to make the film more “marketable” by Bollywood standards by including a famous actress in an “item number” to promote the film, a concept that Kashyup believes Yash Raj has the power to change.