This story is from February 2, 2008

Reel history!

Tanvi Trivedi / TNN / Feb 2, 2008, 00:00 IST

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Lavish sets, elaborate costumes, picture-perfect locales, gorgeous actors, lilting melody can make a good historical film, but whether they can also rake in the moolah at the ticket windows is another story.

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A still from Jodhaa-AkbarHistorical romance across the world holds a special charm for literature and cinema. And when it comes to Indian mainstream cinema, it comes with the added package of lavish sets, elaborate costumes, picture-perfect locales, drop-dead gorgeous actors, and usually a great musical score.
In mainstream Mumbai movies, Mughal-e-Azam and Anarkali, of course rewrote box-office history, but over the years, reel history hasn’t always spun major commercial returns.In fact there have been some major box-office disasters too (Razia Sultan, Taj Mahal, Asoka, Mangal Pandey -The Rising, the new version of Umrao Jaan..., Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose) and the list gets bigger every time.
But that still hasn’t stopped our dream merchants from recapturing history on celluloid over the years. Take a look at the reel historical affairs ahead of us in 2008: Jodhaa-Akbar (ready for release) with Laxmibai, Prithviraj Chauhan, Benaras 1918, Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam, Bajirao Mastani, Ramayan (two versions), Mahabharata, Gautam Buddha, Ashoka — some at the casting stage and some under production.
Most filmmakers agree that creating history on 35 mm is not only an expensive, but also a time consuming affair and needs a director who’s well-read, a scriptwriter who’s erudite, elaborate sets created down to the last detail, authentic costumes, in short a big-ticket production.

And after putting together a film on such a big scale, when it fails to woo the audience or light up the box-office how does a filmmaker feel? Veteran flmmaker Shyam Benegal who made Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose - the Forgotten Hero admits that the audience is not really interested in history unless there’s a dash of glamour and romance in it.
Actor Farooque Shaikh feels more than the expensive sets and lavish look, the film needs to strike a chord with the audience, which is what made a film like Mughal-E -Azam wow the audience. “I feel commercial failure of historicals is because of the sheer incompetence of filmmakers.

People go to cinema for entertainment. And if you can’t give them an interesting narrative, they will not spend long hours in a dark theatre, watching your epic. Authentic recreation of history, strong characters and a powerful script is very important for a historical. And filmmakers who can retell history well usually manage to make money too.”
Many feel that masses prefer paisa-vasool entertainers and not history, when they go to watch a film. Trade analyst Komal Nahta says, “That youth want to see entertainment and not history is quite clear, when these films don’t click. It depends on who makes it. There is a reason for each film not clicking, history as a genre can’t be connected with it.” Actor Rahul Dev, who acted in Asoka says, “Most importantly, these films should be encouraged because they are talking about the history of our country. Whether the film will rake in profits, if some filmmaker has a conviction, then I don’t see why it can’t click just like other movies do.”
So even as countless number of historical films flop, Bollywood is in a rewind mode. Producer of Gandhi, Alex Grunwald says, “Filmmakers are interested in appealing to the global market. I wouldn’t mind placing my bets on a well-made historical.”
And if these multi-crore celluloid dreams can recreate box-office history too, then sure, there will be more filmmakers heading to libraries and scouting for suitable themes from the pages of history!

About the Author

Tanvi Trivedi

It is important to enjoy what you do and I feel writing is a beautiful way of expression. India thrives on Bollywood and Entertainment and Tanvi likes to write on - TV, Music and Films. She also contributes to topical trends, lifestyle and relationship stories. And when she is not on the Entertainment beat, she loves to spend time meeting different people, travel, watching plays, films and reading autobiographies.

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