The label has stuck and for good at that. But I am not sure whether we as representatives of Indian cinema should
be comfortable with the term Bollywood. Its roots lie in an event that goes back a couple of decades. Ram Lakhan was ready for release when a devastating earthquake struck a part of India. The government requested me to turn the premiere of the film into a fund-raising show. I readily agreed. The Mumbai premiere was a runaway success, so we decided to replicate it in other cities. The event took on the dimensions of a full-fledged road show with high doses of glitz and glamour thrown in. The stars would appear in full finery, in tuxedos and bow-ties. The ladies, too would be designer togs topped off with sparkling jewellery and striking accessories.
BBC found the phenomenon really interesting. They sent down a team to cover the fund-raising shows. Back in London, the reporter waxed eloquent on how Indian movie stars were aping their Hollywood counterparts. In her reports, this lady reporter noted the sartorial flamboyance of our stars and compared it with that of Hollywood's rich and famous. She called the Mumbai industry "Bollywood" for the first time. There was a pejorative ring to the comparison between Hollywood and Bollywood. We protested for a while. I did on several occasions, so did Amitabh Bachchan. But gradually the term was accepted, albeit somewhat grudgingly. Now we are stuck with it whether we like it or not. Today, it is a fact that Bollywood is a brand name. If we can cash in on it and enhance the global saleability of our films, why should we continue to cry ourselves hoarse about the inappropriateness of the label?
But if anybody were to ask me whether Bollywood is really the global phenomenon that it is made out to be, I would only say that it is as true or false as people calling me a showman. If you accept the appellation, you are only falling into a delusional trap. But if you don't accept it, you would be stupid. The idea is to make use of the hype to create space for your cinema. So when the press began to call me a Bollywood showman after a string of superhits, I went along with them. It gave me a certain profile and enabled me to do all the things that managed to do as a film producer and director. The Bollywood song and dance formula does have an appeal especially among the expatriate crowd in the West. But there is need for a bit of realism here. We shouldn't get carried away by little triumphs. That would hamper our progress.
The hoopla over Bollywood's global conquests should be seen in the right perspective. It is a bit like a man from a village going to the city and doing something of note. The entire village basks in the reflected glory.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009
be comfortable with the term Bollywood. Its roots lie in an event that goes back a couple of decades. Ram Lakhan was ready for release when a devastating earthquake struck a part of India. The government requested me to turn the premiere of the film into a fund-raising show. I readily agreed. The Mumbai premiere was a runaway success, so we decided to replicate it in other cities. The event took on the dimensions of a full-fledged road show with high doses of glitz and glamour thrown in. The stars would appear in full finery, in tuxedos and bow-ties. The ladies, too would be designer togs topped off with sparkling jewellery and striking accessories.BBC found the phenomenon really interesting. They sent down a team to cover the fund-raising shows. Back in London, the reporter waxed eloquent on how Indian movie stars were aping their Hollywood counterparts. In her reports, this lady reporter noted the sartorial flamboyance of our stars and compared it with that of Hollywood's rich and famous. She called the Mumbai industry "Bollywood" for the first time. There was a pejorative ring to the comparison between Hollywood and Bollywood. We protested for a while. I did on several occasions, so did Amitabh Bachchan. But gradually the term was accepted, albeit somewhat grudgingly. Now we are stuck with it whether we like it or not. Today, it is a fact that Bollywood is a brand name. If we can cash in on it and enhance the global saleability of our films, why should we continue to cry ourselves hoarse about the inappropriateness of the label?
But if anybody were to ask me whether Bollywood is really the global phenomenon that it is made out to be, I would only say that it is as true or false as people calling me a showman. If you accept the appellation, you are only falling into a delusional trap. But if you don't accept it, you would be stupid. The idea is to make use of the hype to create space for your cinema. So when the press began to call me a Bollywood showman after a string of superhits, I went along with them. It gave me a certain profile and enabled me to do all the things that managed to do as a film producer and director. The Bollywood song and dance formula does have an appeal especially among the expatriate crowd in the West. But there is need for a bit of realism here. We shouldn't get carried away by little triumphs. That would hamper our progress.
The hoopla over Bollywood's global conquests should be seen in the right perspective. It is a bit like a man from a village going to the city and doing something of note. The entire village basks in the reflected glory.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009
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