Small films no biggie

IT was only three years ago that the off-beat Khosla Ka Ghosla!, a low-budget film with no Khans, was embraced by critics and audiences.
It has been two years since Bheja Fry, made on a shoestring budget with Vinay Pathak as its protagonist, was declared a commercial hit. In 2008, with the success of Aamir, A Wednesday!, Mumbai Meri Jaan and Rock On!!, it finally seemed like small-budget films were finally working in Bollywood.
But this year, with the exception of Quick Gun Murugun, there have been a string of small films in the last few months that fizzled out.How many viewers knew that the Rishi Kapoor-starrer Chintu Ji released last week? Similarly, Meerabai Not Out, Barah Aana, Aloo Chaat, Straight and Sankat City were other such films that went unnoticed.
Industrywallahs point towards bad scripts and marketing strategies. Says trade analyst Komal Nahta, ���Because there���s minimum risk in a small-budget project, producers take the content for granted.��� Entertainment editor Indu Mirani, adds, ���I also blame the marketing strategies adopted by some of the producers. I don���t remember seeing promos of a few of these films.���
However, the makers of some of these films say they were not given enough exposure. Raja Menon, director of Barah Aana, blames the producers��� strike, which caused a backlog of big-budget movies to be released one after the other since the strike ended. ���People would obviously rather see a film starring Shah Rukh Khan or Hrithik Roshan than one starring Vinay Pathak or Vijay Raaz,��� says Raja.
Director of Chalo America and King of Bollywood, Piyush Jha, took three years to make his third film, Sikandar. He agrees that he will never find investors if his films have no faces. ���I���ll always face problems unless I get Hrithik Roshan to act in my film. Producers ask, ���Where are the stars, where are the songs, how will we market the film?������ complains Piyush.
There���s also an overkill, says Robby Grewal, director of Aloo Chaat. ���Small-budget films are supposed to be off-beat films meant for a certain market. Two years ago, there was one Bheja Fry but today, there are 50. So, there���ll be a lack of stories,��� explains Robby.
But most believe it is only a matter of time before we see a repeat of Bheja Fry���s success. ���We were never fooled into thinking our movies could give Shah Rukh Khan sleepless nights. Small-budget films will never eclipse big-budget ones, but there are people who believe in them,��� says actor-director Rajat Kapoor, who starred in Bheja Fry and directed Mithya.
A top official in a leading production house hints they have 8-10 small films under production. Apart from which, two films ��� Peter Gaya Kaam Se and Pan Singh Tomar ��� will release this year.