Small budget big hits

As recession sweeps across the globe, several low-budget, non-star productions are being green-lighted, most of them with first-time directors, writes Derek Bose

AS the year draws to a close, some clarity is beginning to emerge on what the future holds for Bollywood. For one, directors, rather than stars, would determine the fate of films at the box-office. For another, the role of heroines is getting minimised. In content, narrative style, technical finesse and treatment of stories, Hindi films would increasingly resemble Hollywood productions. And Akshay Kumar will be calling the shots for some more time.

But more than all these projections on expected lines, what has come as a surprise and in many ways will have a definitive impact on Bollywood filmmaking is the recession trend sweeping across the globe. Money is already scarce and corporate producers are slashing their budgets big time. Multi-star projects are on hold. So are the many multi-film deals struck with top-ranking actors and directors recently. In their place, several low-budget, non-star productions are being green-lighted, most of them with first-time directors. Clearly, this is no time to go overboard and splurge.

That small is beautiful has been established by recent box-office hits like Khuda Ke Liye, Aamir, A Wednesday, Mumbai Meri Jaan and Rock On. These films were made on unusually small budgets and have recovered their costs many times over. Aamir, for instance, was made for Rs 2 crore (much less than what a popular actor charges these days) and has reportedly netted Rs 5 crore. Likewise, A Wednesday (which is still running to full houses in many parts of the country) was made for barely Rs 3.5 crore and has already raked in Rs 14 crore. Even a Shyam Benegal film, Welcome To Sajjanpur, made on a budget of Rs 3.5 crore (with a rural setting), has generated more than Rs 8 crore.

Now, compare this with the performance of the big-budget so-called ‘blockbusters’ like Sarkar Raj, Tashan, Karzzzz and of late, Yuvvraaj. Nobody likes to be seen a loser in these times and producers especially, would never admit to turning out a turkey. They would rather go about assiduously fudging figures and continue to claim that their films were "blazing hits". But anybody who has kept track of how long the films had lasted in the box-office would know where the claims come from. These are no more than weak ploys to keep the pot on the boil.

This is, however, not to suggest that all big-budget productions are potential disasters and small-budget films are guaranteed successes. Casualties occur for both types of films, the only difference being the level of financial risk involved. In these bleak times when the appetite of producers for risk-taking is severely reduced, a big project is doomed right from the conception stage itself. Even banks have frozen their credit lines to producers and private moneylenders are charging unheard-of rates of interest. Little wonder, the production of a number of big films, including Vipul Shah’s London Dreams, the much-hyped Himesh Reshammiya-starrer Kajra Re and a Shah Rukh Khan FX film (hitherto untitled) has been stalled indefinitely.

Given this scenario, makers of small-budget films shall be having an edge over the biggies in the business. After all, it makes more sense for a producer to spread his risks across multiple projects than put all his eggs in one basket. Thus, all major production houses — be it Anil Ambani’s Big Films, Ronnie Screwvala’s UTV Motion Pictures or Sunil Doshi’s Alliance Media and Entertainment — are going all out to lure the so-called ‘minnows’ among the directors, such as Sriram Raghavan, Dibakar Bannerjee, Neeraj Pandey and Rajkumar Gupta.

Significantly, these are the names generating the biggest buzz in Bollywood today. All of them are young and enterprising with a fair understanding of the sensibilities of the target audience and a proven track record to boast of. Most importantly, they have worked with some of the most talented, but affordable actors in Hindi cinema like Paresh Rawal, Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey and Sharman Joshi. A winning combination between the new generation of directors and actors has, thus, been already established. And it is this synergy that will take Bollywood filmmaking ahead, not the success of stray multi-starrers like Race, Fashion and Dostana.

There are, of course, some more big films like Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (with Shah Rukh Khan), Ghajini (with Aamir Khan) and Chandni Chowk to China (Akshay Kumar); but again, these are in the nature of flashes in the pan. These productions were launched in better times when most producers did not understand, let alone expect something called a ‘global meltdown’. In effect, all the A-list stars out-priced themselves and now are left with very little option but to take a voluntary fee cut or bankroll films on their own. This is another reason why the doors are opening wider for the Paresh Rawals and Vinay Pathaks and their brand of films like Dibakar Banerjee’s Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Onir’s Sorry Bhai, Saurabh Srivastava’s Oh, My God!!, Shivam Nair’s Maharathi and Anil Senior’s Dil Kabaddi.

Scores of such small, but intelligent films are currently in the making, including some by the veterans Saeed Mirza (Ek Tho Chance) and Kumar Shahani (Anna Karenina). Even Mani Kaul is staging a comeback with a Hitchcockian thriller. Apart from being low on costs and high on concept, there are some distinguishing features about them that need to be taken note of:

• The films are uniformly shorn of all glamour and glitz by way of a star-studded cast, ostentatious sets and costumes, needless songs and dances`85 unless of course, there is a historical point of reference.

• Most of them are shot in one or two outdoor locations, and the rest, indoors. This is because with every change of location, production costs multiply and surely, scenes in the Swiss Alps do not fit in the scheme of things.

• There is no room for incredible feats, exaggerated heroism, larger-than-life characters, villains`85 The films are mostly about ordinary people in everyday situations that audiences can identify with.

• Age-old Bollywood clich`E9s like convenient coincidences, lost-and-found brothers, triumph of good over evil and happy endings do not figure at all. In fact, anything that smacks of being formulaic is shunned.

• As these films are targeted at a so-called ‘multiplex audience’, typically concerns of the urban youth, their hopes, sentiments and sensibilities, the language they speak in (Hinglish)`85 are highlighted. Rural India rarely finds space here.

These are the elements that would determine the complexion of Hindi cinema in times to come. Even more significant is that the conventional star-driven, lavishly mounted escapist fare Bollywood is known for would eventually be viewed as parallel or avant-garde cinema. Already, the film trade has stopped calling them ‘films’. That is a term reserved for the small-budget productions. Big-budget films are now colloquially referred to as ‘projects’. This itself, is saying a lot about the direction Bollywood is headed.

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