Amit Khanna: Back to good scripts

FREEZE FRAME

A common complaint against Bollywood films is that they are banal. The most obvious reason cited is the poor and hackneyed storylines. A script is the very foundation on which a film either stands or comes crashing.

Popular cinema does not accord the kind of importance to scripts they deserve. There is the constant accusation of plagiarism. A whole breed of directors has earned the rather dubious distinction of being 'video directors.'

These are people who, often to the best of their abilities, just watch popular Hollywood (occasionally regional) films and copy them with clumsy cosmetic changes. Some of the biggest names in recent years have belonged to this breed.

This was not the case once upon a time. In the thirties, forties and early fifties some of the best literary giants worked in films. Litterateurs like Munshi Premchand, Bhagwaticharan Verma, Sadat Hasan Manto, Krishan Chander,Rajinder Singh Bedi, Ismat Chugtai and almost all major Urdu poets worked in Bollywood. The studio system was then alive.

Bombay Talkies, Prabhat, New Theatres, Ranjit, Imperial were not only important movie producers but also employers of great literary talent. Later on film makers like Mehboob Khan, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Raj Kapoor, Chetan-Dev-Vijay Anand and B R Chopra continued the tradition of tapping established writers for their films. No wonder we have a rich heritage of cinema.

Things began to deteriorate in the seventies. Except for an occasional Salim Javed, mediocrity ruled the roost in writing. Stereotypical films became the norm and copying an art.

The last few years have seen the emergence of some really talented young film makers and the much talked about corporatisation. The advent of multiplexes, the rise of the non rsident Indian market abroad and the entry of new professionally trained crew are altering the very foundation of Bollywood.

There is much more experimentation and a lot more film makers are willing to walk the edge. While several wacky films, including the so-called crossover films, are being made, what is heartening is that mainstream films are becoming adventurous. Bollywood is about to come out of the creative rut.

What makes me optimistic is the list of films currently under production. They signal a major change "� the return of the writer. Let's begin with the most successful of today's film makers, Yash Chopra. His new film starring Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukerji and Amitabh Bachchan has an Indo-Pak love story and has been shot on location in Punjab.

Chopra has opted to use some unused old melodies of the maestro Madan Mohan for the soundtrack. If edit room reports are to be believed, Chopra's film has not only an unusual story "� very contemporary "� but the look and feel are quite different from his traditional synthetic romances.

In short, we have a winner. Subhash Ghai after a disastrous "Yaadein" is back with 'Kisna,' a story of an simple hill boy's love affair with a British memsahib. Ashutosh Gowarikar has just completed "Swades," the story of an Indian engineer working at the National Aeronatutical and Space Administration in the US who gives up his job and returns to his roots. Sanjay Leela Bansali is completing "Black," a thriller with the Big B and Rani Mukerji.

Ketan Mehta's Amir Khan starrer 'The Rising" is a mammoth production based on the story of the 1857 hero Mangal Pandey. Shyam Benegal has just completed a bio pic on Netaji. There are, of course, film makers like Ram Gopal Verma who is not only prolific but also edgy with films like 'Darna Mana Hai.' He has several intriguing projects lined up.

Even more exciting are some of the films being planned. UTV, for example, is bank rolling a dozen films, including an Amitabh Bachchan-Madhuri Dixit starrer directed by US-based film maker Somnath Sen.

Sanjay Bansali is set to launch "Bajirao Mastani," a legendary romance. Pritish Nandy is getting Deepa Mehta to do a remake of the Guru Dutt classic "Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam."

Vinod Chopra is remaking the Sarat Chandra classic "Pareeneeta." Even Karan Johar' forthcoming period drama and Raj Kumar Santoshi's 'Prithviraj Chauhan' are quite different from their previous films.

All these film makers are paying much greater attention to their scripts. This in turn is leading to better planning, controlled budgeting and generally improved fiscal discipline, so critical for any business.

There is a palpable difference in Bollywood today. Not only is more professionalism creeping in but there is much more cross-fertilisation among various media practitioners.

There is once again a slow but sure tilt towards literature and other arts. Everyone is agreed upon the primacy of the script. While the pot boilers, slam bangs and even skin flicks will remain, cineastes can at least now hope that in the coming months they will be entertained in a worthwhile manner, even in Bollywood ishtyle!

Amit Khanna is chairman of Reliance Entertainment. The views expressed here are his own