100 crore flick is a risky business!

Hello to all. I am an aspiring film maker. This is my first post on Pinkvilla. I hope you like it.

Given the number of films Bollywood produces, it’s an irony that we can’t remember even 10 good films at the end of the year. The obvious reason behind this consistently disappointing performance of the Hindi film industry is its focus on money than on the art of filmmaking. The mainstream cinema seems to be identifying itself with the film, whose either revenues or at least the budget is of Rs 100 crore.

Rather than working on good and creative scripts, producers prefer remakes and sequels of earlier hits. They choose a pair of stars, sometimes multi-stars, a young actress to do a raunchy number and a done-to-death story as the formula to make a hit films. The competition seems to be for making hundreds of crores of rupees and not good films. However, mostly, it proves to be a costly affair.

The last couple of years saw some star-studded films ruling the box office, with every film claiming to have broken all records of the earlier hit. Then there were many others that came with much fanfare, only to disappoint the audience. And amid all these hits and flops, there were some interesting flicks that came silently and won the hearts. This proved that Bollywood is not only about big releases. If a blockbuster like Dabangg can rule the box office, a small film like Do Dooni Chaar can also become a smash hit.

Siddique’s Bodyguard, Anees Bazmee’s Ready, Anubhav Sinha’s Ra.One, Rohit Shetty’s Singham and Golmaal 3, Farhan Akhtar’s Don 2, Abhinav Kashyap’s Dabangg and Prakash Jha’s Raajneeti were declared super-hits during 2010-11. Some of them even crossed the Rs 100-Crore mark. It’s a different story that critics still ridicule the content of most of these films.

Although these films managed to do well, the disastrous fates of other big productions have alarmed the distributors. They learnt that producers employ the best innovative and creative teams for post-production publicity, but the same is not done with scripts or content.

This was quite apparent in Farah Khan’s Tees Maar Khan, Vipul Shah’s Action Replayy, Anees Bazmee’s Thank You, Nikhil Advani’s Patiala House, Puri Jagannath’s Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap, Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan, Anil Sharma’s Veer, Anurag Basu’s Kites, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzarish, Mani Ratnam’s Raavan and Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Say. These were some of the big budget and multi-starrer films that were rejected ruthlessly by the audiences due to their hopeless plots.

At a literary event held recently, famous actor Vikram Gokhale said big budgets were squeezing out producers with integrity and commitment. "There is a need to control expenses of films being made. An honest producer, who wants to make a good film, stands no chance in today’s scenario,” Gokhale lamented.

Director Tigmanshu Dhulia, whose Haasil on small town college politics had though failed to bring in the money but became a cult-classic through word of mouth, said in a recent media interview, “When producers manage to get big stars, they believe their films are made. But a commercial venture usually overlooks the fact that it still needs a good script and interesting direction. Spending more does not make a good film,” he added.

Bollywood has hundreds of producers, who spend lavishly on big stars and expensive sets but end up making mindless stuff. In the same industry, there are a few, who explore creativity even in a tight budget to present heart-winning entertainment.

During 2010-2011, many films succeeded in giving cine-goers the opportunity to breath in some artistic freshness. They include Zoya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar, Milan Luthria’s The Dirty Picture, Rajkumar Gupta’s No One Killed Jessica, Anjan Das’ Faltu, Abhinay Deo’s Delhi Belly, Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghat, Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster and Shagird, Sudhir Mishra’s Yeh Saali Zindagi, Amol Gupte’s Stanley Ka Dabba, Dibakar Banerjee’s Love Sex Aur Dhoka, Abhishek Sharma’s Tere Bin Laden, Vikramaditya Motwani’s Udaan, Anusha Rizvi’s Peepli Live, Habib Faisal’s Do Dooni Chaar, Manish Sharma’s Band Baaja Baaraat and Nupur Asthana’s Mujhse Fraandship Karoge.

These films not only earned rave reviews but also performed well at the box office and kept the cash counters ringing. In fact, the makers of some of these films had confessed that these films were not expected to entertain the masses. However, good scripts and mind-blowing performances by dedicated actors and matured directors produced amazing results. Most of these films were produced at shoestring budgets, but their success at the box office made it very clear that such films can cater to the people’s hunger for quality entertainment, irrespective of the presence of stars.

While Kiran Rao's Rs 5-Crore directorial debut Dhobi Ghat collected Rs 16 core, Rajkumar Gupta's Rs 9 crore No One Killed Jessica was able to rake in Rs 28 crore at the counters. Earlier, films like Udaan and Peepli Live also turned out to be surprise earners.

After the success of such films, distributors are now interested to experiment with small-budget niche films. Trade analysts believe that small budget films are a safer option because even if they don’t work, they don't create huge losses for the investors.

Dibakar Bannerjee, the expert of small-budget flicks who made Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and LSD, had once opined that not every small budget was good. He stated, when a big-budget movie flops, it becomes a news, but when a low-budget film sinks it hardly gets noticed. So it’s not the size of the budget but the way money is spent that makes a difference. In a recent interview, Bannerjee also said that even he wanted his films to earn Rs 300 crores, but he was not willing to degrade the content.