SubscribeAgneepath’s boldness a victory for Bollywood
Let’s get this out of the way– yes, Agneepath is yet another remake of an Amitabh Bachchan film. It is a film that didn’t receive the mainstream success many of Amitabh Bachchan’s films were famous for. Instead, it reached a status more familiar with Amol Palekar’s films– it became a cult classic.
Karan Johar, whose father produced the original Agneepath in 1990, said that his goal was to remake this film and give the story the limelight it deserved. Meaning—he didn’t want a cult classic, he wanted a box office hit. I am not against remakes, but when I heard of Johar’s hand in the film, I got a bit nervous. The filmmaker usually represents the Bollywood that I think audiences have, or should, outgrow– the glossy over-the-top melodramas. Aside from Johar’s few attempts at supporting fresh, innovative film like Wake up Sid, I didn’t have much faith in the filmmaker—I didn’t believe he would be able to capture the darkness that a film like Agneepath demanded. In this case, I am glad I was wrong.
Agneepath worked for me. Yes, it was an all-out Bollywood film. It had the drama, the love story, the songs, the villains, the very attractive actor and actress. And yes, it is impossible for the film to live up to one of Amitabh’s greatest performances as Vijay Chauhan. But the film worked, and here is why.
The creators of this film took a really bold step in avoiding copying the movie frame by frame. They also avoided doing what Farhan Akthar did with another Bachchan remake, Don, where the classic film was taken and made modern and slick. Agneepath was actually the opposite– the film was more authentic, more grim, and more real than the original– even more than most Bollywood films.
The 1990 Agneepath did break a lot of barriers, and it may have been the reason the movie failed at that time. It was a time in Bollywood where Madhuri Dixit was on the rise, where feel-good family dramas like Maine Pyar Kiya and Mr. India were attracting mass audiences. But it still remained within the industry’s parameters—the film didn’t try to get too dark, too real.
The strength of the original Agneepath was the dialogue story, and more than that, the delivery. Few can match the style, mannerisms and acting of Bachchan’s Vijay Chauhan. There also wasn’t a ridiculously awesome scene where Bachchan randomly splashes out of the ocean. Hrithik Roshan and the filmmakers were smart in avoiding any attempts of replicating that. They put their energy in the script– and that was the smartest thing they did.
The film plays out like a Shakespearean tragedy– a son watches his self-respecting idealist father, who wanted to open a salt factory and make the community more educated and self-sufficient, murdered by the people from that village for a crime he did not commit. He was framed by a man, Kancha, who also wanted to open a factory, but wanted to produce cocaine.
This son grows up to be Vijay Chauhan. From an early age, Vijay embarks on a path to regain the village he and his family were forced to leave. His goal wasn’t to get rid of the evil around him (which there was plenty of– he actually works for an evil underwold gangster, Rauf Lala). Vijay had a less-than-noble desire to get his village back, a village that was ripe with his father’s memories. Vijay’s mother saw the dangerous road her son had chosen, and she leaves with her young daughter and asks Vijay to keep his distance.
Today’s Agneepath has something to offer that the original didn’t. The movie wasn’t afraid to go places Bollywood has avoided. Rishi Kapoor’s commanding performance as Rauf Lala, an underworld don, showed his character in the business of selling young girls– a concept rarely shown in Bollywood, yet one that is a reality in India. The original rape scene in which the protagonist’s father is seen with a prostitute is changed to a young girl with a leg brace, who is raped and killed. The film freely showed prostitutes, transvestites, and both in a positive light.
Then, there is Kancha. The 2012 chief antagonist was much creepier, deranged, and more psychotic than the original. The contrast from the 1990 Danny Denzongpa’s Kancha was wonderful—Sanjay Dutt’s Kancha wasn’t an aviator-clad white suit-wearing villian, but rather a scary hairless man who couldn’t stand the sight of himself. He wasn’t suave, he wasn’t handsome– he was pure evil.
My favorite aspect of the script is the nuances of Vijay’s character. Is he good? Or not? On the one hand, he kills ruthlessly to gain his village back. He does anything in the name of gaining Mandwa– even takes part in an underworld lord’s evil doings for several years. On the other, he risks everything for a cop, a cop who would arrest him if he had the proof. But Vijay choose to protect him—the policeman’s self-respecting and moral ways remind him of his own father.
In Bollywood, films are usually black and white– there isn’t much room for a gray area. That is probably the reason why the original Agneepath failed at the box office, but nevertheless gained cult status. In the remake, the filmmakers didn’t shy away from exploring territory that is more or less uncharted in the Hindi film industry. Bollywood has often been criticized of avoiding the “other” India. In Agneepath, here it was, in a high-budget star-studded motion picture.
The performances were noteworthy, the songs were authentic (created by local Marathi musicians), but there were still some over-the-top moments, too many unnecessary subplots, and the film could have been about an hour shorter. Nevertheless– it went where few mainstream Bollywood films go. It had a protagonist who was angry, lost, maybe mistaken– not your typical Bollywood golden boy. It was a film that challenged the Hindi film industry’s precious image of India, and it still provided entertaining, yet intense cinema.
If the filmmakers made the film with a lower budget, less drama, fewer songs, no Katrina Kaif item number—it would have made for great cinema. But this is Bollywood, and this is also still a film produced by Karan Johar. With all that in mind, I commend the filmmakers for avoiding the fluffy, safe route and taking a risk. And for that, Agneepath is a good step for Bollywood.
A Call Center Joke? How Original.
Anil Kapoor has become one of the most famous Bollywood stars in America. After the success of Slumdog Millionaire. The actor bagged a gig in the hit Fox series 24.
Recently, he was interviewed by Good Day LA’s Steve Edwards. While Kapoor enthusiastically explained the dwindling gap between the poor and the middle class in India, Edwards responded by saying, “How come every time I call tech support I seem to get you on the phone?”
Here is the video of the interview:
The interview was difficult to watch. Sadly, ignorant comments like Edwards have become quite common. In a blog post for The Boston Globe, I wrote about then Senator Joe Biden’s racist remark to an Indian American.
South Asian Americans are now regulars in prime time programing (all four shows in NBC’s two hour comedy line-up has an Indian American in a significant role), in Hollywood films, and even as heads of corporations like Pepsi and Citigroup.
Even Bollywood has built its presence in the US over the last few years. When My Name is Khan was released earlier this year, the stars and director of the film had interviews with CNN, NPR, and other leading media outlets. The stars, Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, even rang the opening bell for NASDAQ.
It’s not surprising that Edwards was the one who rudely interrupted Kapoor and made the absurd comment. On his show The Soup, Joel McHale often mocks Edwards for his less than appropriate comments. He had an amusing response to Edwards’ remarks to Kapoor.
In an interview, Shahrukh Khan had stated that Bollywood actors will be known in the US “in the next five or six years, very easily.” Here’s hoping that incidents like this don’t repeat themselves.
Aaja Nachle: Greatest Lesson for Bollywood
The verdict is in: Aaja Nachle has failed. This is definitely a wake-up call for Bollywood.
First of all– the reason Aaja Nachle failed was because it had a poor script, lack of strong character development. It was filled with cliche dialogues, too many songs that took away from the story, and great actors that were completely wasted.
The thing is– this movie could have been monumental. A 45 year old single mother (Madhuri Dixit’s character) was the protagonist, a rare feat in Bollywood. The film was not another Mother India or any sort of Bollywood tragedy where the actress is crying the whole time or is faced with extreme injustices– it was supposed to welcome an era in Bollywood where producers would make films that could stand with a female as the lead in mainstream masalas.
But, this didn’t happen. And as this movie fails, people are labeling it as a failure for Dixit, for whom this film was a comeback. The problem in actuality is that, although the concept for the film was fresh, nothing else was. Along with Dixit, there were at least four other mainstream actors and three mainstream actresses. This is a typical Bollywood technique– fill the movie with surprise guest appearances and other stars to make it more marketable. The film wasn’t a failure for Madhuri– but for Bollywood’s mainstream masala formulas.
Many are using this film as an example of Bollywood’s glaring problem of how to deal with actresses that are too old to be love interests but too young to be mothers of 20- some actors. Aaja Nachle was an attempt to try a new “formula.” But the problem rests with this idea of a “formula.” The film was horrible because of the script and the addition of more than four love stories and many more subplots in the film. It should not be viewed as a Dixit failure, or a queue that Dixit should be done with Bollywood.
Aaja Nachle shouldn’t make the industry shy away with having older women as protagonists in mainstream cinema– but it should make Bollywood realize that the same routine techniques for hits that have been used throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s will not work. Aaja Nachle was one of the most anticipated films in Bollywood for 2007 because of Dixit– nothing else. That being the case, Bollywood needs to stop following the “formula” and be more innovative.
Adolescent Bollywood
Seems like Bollywood has matured, but still has a long way to go– or so says Naseeruddin Shah, one of Bollywood’s most respected actors.
In an interview with Reuters India, the actor says that, “I do not think our industry has matured but yes the attempts to experiment with different subjects, different themes have surely gone up.”
Shah is known for his brilliant acting in off-beat films, and flourished in the parallel cinema movement of the 1980’s.
So, how can Bollywood mature and grow? With the producers, of course, as I stated in a previous blog. “A lot depends on the producers… They should support fresh content and push originality. India has some very talented directors and they can do well with the help.”
Redundant story lines and dialogues and over-the-top romances should no longer dominate Bollywood. There has been some progress, especially in 2006. Even this year, progressive films have become marketable. But, there is still a long way to go.
Producers need to start taking risks– or Bollywood will always be stuck in its adolescent stage.
Less is more, Karan
A film about the struggle of a Muslim man after 9/11– cliche, I think– but not for Bollywood. The film industry finally decided to cover the subject, but who has decided to make the film?
It’s a much talked about project with none other than Karan Johar– master of commercial and big budget movies that make loads of money and could be so much better minus the over-the-top emotions and unnecessary drama. So, will Karan Johar be able to pull this movie off? Or will it be another film that ends up with a scene filmed on the lead actor walking around Times Square reminiscing about the time he was taken off a plane while a sad song plays in the background?
Whatever comes out of this project, “My Name is Khan,” I do have to applaud Johar for not making another film about love and its hardships. Hopefully- he’ll learn from the failure of his last movie, and learn that less is more.
Bollywood’s Favorite back in jail
One of Bollywood’s favorite actors, Sanjay Dutt, returned to jail on Monday, Oct. 22. He was convicted of possessing illegal weapons and having relations with the underworld in India. But the crime that he was charged with did not take place a month, or even a year ago. It happened thirteen years ago– and at that time, Dutt spent sixteen months in jail.
The court finished examining his case in August, but Dutt was released on bail. Until now, that is. He was convicted with a six year sentence, one that seems quite harsh, seeing that the court decided that Dutt was not a terrorist or a threat.
Of course, the media is intently focusing on the story. But what I find more interesting is the emotional involvement of the common man– from taxi drivers to doctors, everyone has been praying for Sanju Baba (as he is fondly called).
Both of Dutt’s parents were extremely popular movie stars, who had strong Congress Party connections. Because of this, many politicians, such as Sonia Gandhi, have come out in support of Dutt.
I don’t know if the court was fair or not to Dutt– but I will definitely miss Bollywood’s favorite Munnabhai.
Bollywood’s Regression
In the 1980’s, Bollywood flourished with parallel cinema– low budget films with incredible depth, void of the masala and commercialism of today’s films. As we see a glimmer of hope with some films taking a risk, one such director of one such film zeroes in on the problem. Director Anurag Kashyup of the forthcoming “No Smoking” said this in an interview:
“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.
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