When Paresh Rawal called up Shivam Nair (Ahista Ahista) and asked him whether he wanted to direct Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Boman Irani, Nair didn?t even wait to hear the story to say yes. When Rawal narrated the story, Nair couldn?t wait to direct it. From the Ashtavinayak Cine Vision (Jab We Met) stable, comes another little gem, Maharathi, adapted from a famous Gujarati play, which has been running for 20 years with Rawal as producer. Playwright Uttam Gada himself adapted the play, a black comedy about a murderous wife, into Hindi with Nair at the helm. In a year full of surprises in Bollywood ? when overhyped projects fell by the wayside and small budget, content-rich films ruled the box-office ? the next three to four months will see the release of a clutch of interesting, meaningful films which are creating a lot of buzz.
For example, Percept Picture Company?s (PPC) Firaaq, Nandita Das?s directorial debut that is already doing the festival circuit, and Priyadarshan?s offbeat drama Kanchivaram, set in the thick of Kanchi?s silk-weaving industry or UTV?s Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Dibakar Banerjee?s second film after the hugely successful Khosla Ka Ghosla or even PNC?s Meera Bai Not Out, directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni or Indian Film Company?s Dil Kabaddi, directed by first-time director Anil Sr Sharma, and slated for a December 5 release.
Some of these films like Meera Bai Not Out, Dil Kabaddi and Nagesh Kukunoor?s Aashayein were scheduled to release earlier. But this year, a number of factors, not least the IPL of cricket and the absence of a hit film, played havoc with schedules. Kukunoor?s Aashayein got pushed back because of several reasons and now with John Abraham?s Dostana, released on November 14, PPC has been forced to put off the launch to December. Dil Kabaddi, about two couples caught in a marriage crisis, was also scheduled to release in September but got pushed to December 5.
Films on offer
But the important thing is different types of films are being made, says a trade analyst. Even in the time of a financial meltdown, ?the atmosphere for making various types of films is good,? says Kulkarni, who has directed Marathi films and plays in Hindi, English and Marathi, but is now ready with his first Hindi feature, Meera Bai Not Out. ?There?s space for different kinds of films. Now, a no-star, no-formula film like Aamir also works,? he adds. Meera Bai, played by Mandira Bedi, is about a Mathematics professor and cricket fan who teaches her students through cricket; Anil Kumble plays himself in the film.
?It?s a simple, sweet, funny story in the Hrishikesh Mukherjee genre of film-making,? says Kulkarni, who is already onto his next film, a satire called Carry on Pandu (PPC) with Ranvir Shorey. Some of these small on budgets, but big on ideas films are a learning experience for directors. Says Nair: ?With Naseer Bhai, Om Puri, Paresh Bhai and Boman Irani, I got to see four different schools of acting and I got valuable tips from all of them.? Nair says the experience has helped him in his new project immensely, a PVR-produced romantic comedy where Rahul Bose plays a friendly ghost who wants to come alive. Nair is also working on a football story set in Goa, about a gangster-owned football club.
With the industry already thinking twice and thrice before green lighting projects, are small-budget, different films going to take a hit. ?I hope not,? says Nair, ?this year small films have done better.? Ask Banerjee whether he expected Khosla Ka Ghosla to be a hit, and he quips: ?Frankly, no. I was just happy to see it out there because we struggled to find a producer till UTV gave it a good release. I surely didn?t expect it to become an urban legend.?
So, is Bollywood finally beginning to embrace non-Bollywood like people? Maybe yes, because the fact is Nandita Das didn?t have to struggle too hard to find a producer for Firaaq, a story about ordinary people a month after they are caught in a communal carnage. ?It?s a work of fiction, based on a thousand true stories,? says Das of Firaaq. Priyadarshan, who has made a spate of comedies in Bollywood, already has a critical hit with Kanchivaram, which wowed audiences at the Toronto film festival. Now he says he wants to try out more offbeat films.
Banerjee says there?s been a change in the last three years. ?Some of these shallow, big-budget films have flopped and producers are waking up to the fact that content-hollow films aren?t going down well with the audience. On the other hand, independent films have to do well too at the box-office. Because if one does badly, the next five films are condemned,? he points out.