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| World Home » Entertainment » | Sun. Oct 12, 2008 |
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Hollywood and Bollywood stars help make good movies MIL/Agencies/BL, Apr 21, 2006. V. Gangadhar Some decades ago, top Hollywood stars like Stewart Granger, Ava Gardner and Barbara Rush came to India to star in films like Bhowani Junction, Harry Black and the Tiger and so on. French director Renoir shot his award-winning film, River in India while more recently Richard Attenborough won eternal fame for his Gandhi, which had a huge Indian cast. Most of these films were made by well-known Hollywood studios. Though the themes were Indian, the direction, finance and the more important roles were handled by foreigners. On the creative side, there had always been an `exchange' of actors between the two countries. In the 1950s Sabu, the `Elephant Boy' from Mysore made a name for himself in Hollywood while comedian I.S. Johar was featured in character roles in films like Harry Black and Death on the Nile based on an Agatha Christie thriller. But Hollywood offered no major roles to Indian stars though it was rumoured that Dilip Kumar was one of the contenders for the lead role in David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia. Finally, it was Peter O'Toole who bagged the role. Foreign act Of late, there has been a lot of talk but very little progress on this front. Bollywood baddie Gulshan Grover told the media he was `extremely busy' with Hollywood films but was turned down for the villain's role in the forthcoming James Bond thriller, Casino Royale. Aishwarya Rai is not seen much on Hindi screens because of her `stature' as an `international' star though she too did not have much to show for except Indo-British productions like Bride and Prejudice which flopped in India. Foreign actors had the same problems with Indian cinema. There was a demand for them in party scenes, holding liquor glasses and dancing, or as the villain's sidekicks. It was prestigious for the Indian villain to boss over some white thugs but few actors from abroad were offered meaningful roles. The trend though, is changing. Toby Stephens played an important role of a British officer and matched skills with Aamir Khan in Mangal Pandey. Australian actress Tania Zaetta caught our attention playing Arshad Warsi's foreign wife in Salaam Namaste after creating a favourable impression in Bunty aur Babli. The key role of a foreign documentary filmmaker in Rang de Basanti went to the British stage actor, Alice Patten, who did full justice to it. She spoke the Hindi dialogue herself and did not need someone to dub for her. Such exchanges augur well for the arrival of a global cinema, which is likely to have a tremendous scope in the years to come. Enter the Hollywood studios Hollywood, which had been cautious about investing in global cinema, is slowly changing its mind. To start with, most of the investment seems to be in local language cinema in China. Sony Pictures owned by Sony Corporation, appears keen to make movies for local audiences outside the US. For instance, the 2004 release Kung Fu Hustle directed by actor Stephen Chow grossed $67 million in Asia, $34 million in other regions and was also a hit among America's vast Chinese population.
While it produced 550 films in 2005, non-English films made by different studios since 2000 numbered only around 180. Warner Brothers Entertainment produced or co-produced around 30 films including the 2004 release, A Very Long Engagement, which was a hit in France. The main problem arises over exhibition of the films owing to non-availability of theatres. Hollywood appears keener to acquire distribution rights of foreign films thanks to its extensive international distribution network. Further, it is focused on high cost films while the local language films can be produced for about $1 million and gross $3-5 million. Indian angle Where does India figure in all this? With its vast network of theatres and production facilities, there ought to be more local language films made here. Sony Pictures is co-producing Sawariya directed by well-known filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Paramount is keenly eyeing the Indian market and recently one of its top brass, Tom Freston, said his studio was determined to go global and had a lot to offer to India. In 2002, 20th Century Fox announced a deal with producer Ram Gopal Verma but this fell through because the studio ceased its operations in India. Over the years, Hollywood had eyed the Indian market only for distributing its films after dubbing them in the various Indian languages. But now a rethinking is visible. After all, the Indian market has a potential of around $1.5 billion. While Sony has taken the first step, other studios should not lag behind. Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line
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Walt Disney productions is making a film with a Chinese company which is expected to be released later this year. 20th Century Fox successfully produced and released a Portugese film, If I were You, which became a hit in Brazil. Yet, Hollywood is still treading cautiously. 
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