Even as skeptics f
orecast doom for the Hindi film industry, it continues to flourish.
At least seven or eight films with budgets over Rs 150 million are being readied for release in 2003. This year's first purported blockbuster is Anil Sharma's The Hero (Sunny Deol), followed by several money spinners like Boney Kapoor's Dharmesh Darshan-directed Bewafaa (Anil Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor), Sooraj Barjatya's Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan), J P Dutta's LoC (Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Suniel Shetty, Akshaye Khanna, Manoj Bajpai, Kareena Kapoor and Raveena Tandon, among others) and Rakesh Roshan's Koi Mil Gaya (Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta).
Producer Feroz Nadiadwala, who belongs to a family of film producers and is producing one of the year's big ones, Aan, is tremendously charged about the future. "Big films will be made. They will finally bring big audiences in. Aan, directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, is 90 per cent complete. In a few months, we shot the entire talkies portion with Shatrughan Sinha, Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal. Now, we only need to shoot the songs. We producers with big dreams need focused directors like Vikram Bhatt, who made my last hit Awaara Paagal Deewana, and Madhur Bhandarkar.
"Fortunately, my stars don't give me a hard time. Akshay, Suniel and Paresh were in my last three films Hera Pheri, Awaara Paagal Deewana and, now, Aan. They will be there in my future projects. I feel a great comfort level with them. Why should I change my stars?"
One reason for the industry's falling fortunes is star truancy. There are producers in Bollywood whose films are stuck because stars don't dole out dates. Says Nadiadwala, "If you have a sturdy team, filmmaking becomes a picnic. I work with people who don't throw attitude at me. Directors don't think twice before consulting me if they are stuck in a scene. Stars are like children on the sets, though many of them are senior to me."
Nadiadwala is now concentrating on completing the action and song sequences. "We need ample time for publicity and promotion, since they are as important today as execution and presentation. No point spending on production and scrounging on promotion. I want Aan to be counted among the big films of 2003."
Next, Nadiadwala goes into four big projects with Vikram Bhatt, Bhandarkar, Mani Shankar and E Niwas. Bhatt is slated to make Kutumb, a new version of The Godfather, with Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Akshay Kumar. "That project has been put on the backburner for now," Nadiadwala says. "There is no point in rushing into a project just because it has been planned. I believe there is a right time and a proper state of mind for every endeavor."
For Nadiadwala, a project's cogency depends on the people behind it. "My father always says, 'Get good people on board and you have a winner on hand'. On a scale of 1-10, I want human beings who qualify as eight. I don't mind if they get only six on 10 as professionals. "
Aan
is special, says Nadiadwala, because it stars Union Health Minister Shatrughan Sinha. "Shatruji and his wife [Poonam] have done so much for me and Aan. You will be amused to know a man of his seniority plays Akshay Kumar's junior in Aan. Akshay, for his part, has been dedicated. He spent time with real cops to get their mannerisms, behaviour and protocol right. In a year, Akshay will be recognised as an actor to reckon with. He is so particular not just about his scen
es but the whole project as well. That makes a lot of difference to a producer's morale and self-confidence."
Speaking about the slump in the music market, Nadiadwala says he has no plans to launch a music company like some of his colleagues: "There are songs in Aan. I have kept music in the expenses account. I do not expect any profits from it. I'm quality-driven, not profit-driven. I want my production company to achieve in five years what others took 25 to achieve. I cannot run after profits if I want this kind of result. I want Aan to be in the same category as this year's other big ones LoC, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, Koi Mil Gaya and The Hero."
