CINEMA N NEW BLOOD

A market savvy, technologically hip and resolutely individualistic breed of young talent is rescuing a staid film industry from its financial slump

D I R E C T I O N What makes them different

KARAN JOHAR, 26. LAST FILM: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai USP: Yash Chopra mould-yuppie romance.

People say we look at life through stained-glass windows but cinema is a release for the common man.
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VIKRAM BHATT, 30.

LAST FILM: Ghulam USP: Gritty visuals, highvoltage thrills, strong drama.

I want to leave my stamp. Im looking for a film only I can make.

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SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI, 35.

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Bollywood BRIGADE

The

NEW

LAST FILM: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam USP: Gorgeous song sequences, epic relationships, nuanced emotions.
Photographs by FAWZAN HUSAIN

By ANUPAMA CHOPRA with NANDITA CHOWDHURY

Bhatt, Chandra, Bhansali and Johar (from left): new kids on the block about. After that, I never went back. This is Bollywoods Generation Next. A technologically hip, market savvy, resolutely individualistic but bottom-line smart bunch of 20- and 30somethings who are rewriting rules and shaking up a staid industry. Raised on Hollywood but firmly grounded in Bollywood, the new kids on the block directors, writers, musicians, choreographers, art directors, editors, stylists, distributors, publicistsare serving up a clever cocktail of desi values draped in Yankee slickness. They are opinionated, aware and, to borrow their lingo, totally happening. Its not quite the new Hollywood of the 70s when auteurs like Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Altman and Arthur Penn created groundbreaking work but it is a paradigm shift. As Bollywood marches into the mille-

I can only make tea and movies.

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HIS IS HOW ANURAG Kashyap told Amitabh Bachchan off. Kashyap, 26 until six years ago, a confused zoology graduate in Banaras, now the in-demand Satya-writer in Bollywoodsays, Bachchan called me and said, Lets do something different. I told him clearly, Let me do it my way then. Dont set any limits because Im writing for Amitabh Bachchan. I wrote the script, which had Bachchan playing a gray character. Everyone liked it but Bachchan developed cold feet. He wanted a justification for the character. I said no. I said, Lets respect the audience. Lets give them something to think

TANUJA CHANDRA, 30s.

LAST FILM: Dushman USP: Strong female protagonists.

I insist on putting the womans voice on the Indian commercial screen.

nnium, the white-shoes-safari-suit cliches are being replaced by Tommy Hilfiger labels and an attitude to match. Gen X has hit where it matters most: at the box office. In 1994, Sooraj Barjatyas Hum Aapke Hain Kaun took film business to stratospheric Rs 100-crore heights and other baby-faced filmmak-

ers followed suit. Aditya Chopra with Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ); Dharmesh Darshan with Raja Hindustani; Aditya again with the screenplay of father Yashs Dil To Pagal Hai (DTPH); Sohail Khan with Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya (PKTDK); Karan Johar with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (KKHH); and Vikram Bhatt with Ghulam. Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (HDDCS), opened last week to packed theatres. By one estimate, Gen X films have done a business of over Rs 250 crore in the last five years. And those that fell flat at the box office, like Tanuja Chandras Dushman and Bhansalis debut film, Khamoshithe Musical, got critical acclaim and awards. Naturally then, Bollywood pundits are equating youth with success. The industry is waiting reverentially for Barjatyas Hum Saath Saath Hain (HSSH), releasing on Diwali with a rumoured 1,000 prints. In a curious reversal of fortune, even A-list Bollywood barons are aspiring for the youthful tag. Taal is a film for youngsters, Subhash Ghai says about his latest film. The characters are modern, not filmi. Anything filmi is out. Anyone filmi is out. As distributor Shyam Shroff says, his own salt n pepper look notwithstanding: If youre over 45, youre redundant. 1996: Aditya Chopra and Tanuja Chandra are writing the screenplay for DTPH. Its a love quadrangle between a hipper-than-thou theatre director, a barely seen NRI and two dancers. The premise: someone, somewhere is made for you. The sessions drag into hours. But who are these people? Dad wants to know, between spoonfuls of chyawanprash. What is their postal address? Adi doesnt know. He bounces a basketball as he thinks. And only says, Just relax dad. 1999: DTPH, a box-office bonanza raking in over Rs 25 crore, is still running. Postal addresses are for fossils. Aditya and his erstwhile assistant Johar, trained in the Yashraj school of gossamer romances, have adopted the trademarksstars, Switzerland, sentimentbut taken the rose-tinted recipe further. Concentrating equally on storyline and packaging, they have created what critic Maithili Rao calls exotic travelogues, stories situated in a romanticised no-mans land, which ultimately reaffirm Indian values and the establishment. So even the miniskirted, Oxford-returned collegiate in KKHH can sing a bhajan on cue. And hero Shah Rukh Khan may wear a silver chain that pronounces him to be COOL but hell also visit the temple every week. On the one hand it shows that one has arrived with foreign labels
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heroines a better deal. Dushman, which had Kajol playing fiesty twins is being followed by Sungursh, the story of a CBI trainee (Preity Zinta) out to track a serial killer (Ashutosh Rana), a la Silence of the Lambs. EMOVED from the mainstream is director-cinematographer Santosh Sivan. Sivan, among the earliest cameramen to become a brand name, is today a director of international repute. The Terrorist, his film about a suicide bomber, was the first Indian film to be accepted at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, a mecca for independent cinema. And now Sivan dreams equally passionately about making a mega historical with Shah Rukh and Mahatma 2000, a strange film about a little kid who is asked to play Mahatma Gandhi in a fancy dress. Sivan works with a thin line on paper and keeps the rest in his head. Im waiting for the moment when a little voice within will say, Santosh, you better make this or youll die. Then I just make it and its over in 20 days. Bollywoods music scene is also undergoing a change. Several blue chip projects, once the prerogative of music heavy-weights like Jatin-Lalit, Anu Malik or A.R. Rahman, boast of new composers. Sanjeev-Darshan, sons of music director Shravan, have made a hit debut with Mann. Vishal Bhardwaj, Sandeep Chowta, Sajid-Wajid and the trio of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsan Noorani and Loy Mendonca are all names connected with big movies. Lyricist and filmmaker Gulzar credits Rahman with changing the familiar concepts of meter, saying, In-

M U S I C
VISHAL BHARDWAJ, 33.
LAST FILM: Hu Tu Tu USP: Lilting, catchy, technologyequipped music.

Noorani, Mendonca and Mahadevan: forever experimenting with new sounds stead of having the fixed format, the song can also run like free verse with his kind of music. These composers, following in Rahmans footsteps, are constantly experimenting with new arrangements and sound patterns. Says Vishal: The idea is to give something new to the listeners everytime. What drives directors to new music composers is not so much the idea that they could cost less but that elusive difference. For instance, for HDDCS, Bhansali zeroed in on Ismail Durbar, formerly a violonist in Jatin-Lalits orchestra. Says Bhansali: As a part of the research, Durbar and I travelled deep into rural Gujarat to pick up new strains. We are constantly on the lookout for new sounds to keep up the freshness. Coming from advertising and pop music backgrounds, some also flaunt attitude. The trio refuses to be part of full-fledged music sittings and no Shankarji, Ehsanji or Loyji for them. Says Noorani: You have to like a song in its absolute raw form, then it works. Their credo is go have a ball. And make music while you do it. Stylist Manish Malhotra is in a meeting with veteran director-producer Pramod Chakraborty. Manish will be designing clothes for Raveena Tandon in Chakrabortys Barood. What is the story, Manish asks. Chakraborty looks shocked. Why do you want to know? Because I cant decide what kind of look to give the character if I dont know the story. Oh. Form is crucial in Gen X cinema. Presentation is all. Helping the direcMARCH 00, 1996 INDIA TODAY

and yuppie lingo, says Rao, on the other, they give the assurance that its okay to be westernised because in our hearts, we are Indian. Sohail, who marketed PKTDK as a cool love story offers a hipper take on bubble gum froth. He doesnt have the same control on the craft as Aditya and Johar but that hardly matters. Buzz on his forthcoming romantic comedy Hello Brother, starring brother Salman in all his barechested glory, is glowing. But youth is not necessarily translating into urban college romances. Barjatya, who heralded the New Age of Bollywood, is sticking to his tried and tested jolly-joint-family formula. HSSH, by all accounts, is an impossibly glamorous 90s Ramayana with characters donning silks even for breakfast. And Darshan, 33, who convinced audiences that a gorgeous, educated city-bred babe can love and marry a chauvinist, small-town taxi driver (so what if its Aamir Khan) in Raja Hindustani is going rural in Mela. Of course, this isnt the art house village of a Shyam Benegal but a designer landscape peopled by a brawny Aamir and coquettish belle, Twinkle Khanna. Darshan, inspired by Raj Kapoor, wants to recreate classic entertainment. Everyone has their own way of reaching the audience, he says, for me it is the traditional, rustic narrative.
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C H O R E O G R A P H Y
FARAH KHAN, 30s.
USP: Slick and innovative movements as the Chaiyya chaiyya number atop a train in Dil Se and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

Farah and Ahmed: They have redefined choreography with trendy numbers suffering, he says, and how people overcome their struggle with dignity and hope. Bhatt and Chandra opt for a more gritty narrative. Bhatts Ghulam, which rocked the country last year (heroine Rani Mukherjee is still declining invitations to Khandala), was a clever reworking of the Hollywood classic On the Waterfront. Future projects include Mulaqat, an adventure love story with lots of thrills, and an untitled thriller about a Bombay boy discovering his roots. Chandra, a rare female director, is attempting to give

The idea is to give something new all the time.

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SHANKAR MAHADEVAN, EHSAN NOORANI & LOY MENDONCA.

LAST FILM: Dus USP: Technology savvy.

Our dances are less filmi and more cool.

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You have to like a song in its raw form, only then it works.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SANTOSH SIVAN, 37.
LAST FILM: Malli USP: Ethereal visuals.

AHMED KHAN, 24. USP: Trendy songs, brought MTVhip to movies with Rangeela.

I want to do distinctive songs, movements that cant be imitated.

Bhansali also doesnt belong to the sunshine filmmakers group. A master of colour and texture, he specialises in the relationship film. HDDCS, a tapestry of emotion shot against glorious colours is a heart-wrenching love triangle. I will always explore human Santosh Sivan: The cinematographerdirectors films are visually brilliant

Scripts are pouring in from Hollywood but Im waiting for the moment when an inner voice says, Santosh, make this or youll die.

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tors realise their dreams of Hollywood-like slickness are a group of young, innovative technicians. You need an energetic, peppy dance number, who you going to call? Any KhanFarah, Ahmed or if it is less dance, more emotion, then Rajuwill do. Farah, who started with the lilting Pehla nasha number in Joh Jeeta Wohi Sikander has out-danced the competition and the older choreographers Saroj Khan, Chinni Prakashare struggling to keep pace. The 200-dancers-swivellingin-the-background trend is strictly passe. And Sarojs aggressive chest-heaving (remember Madhuri Dixit in Dhak dhak karne laga) has been replaced by the sinewy energy of a Malaika Arora on top of a train in Chaiyya chaiyya. Both Farah and Ahmed, who brought MTV-style hipness to movies in Rangeela, work with their own group of dancersurbane, slim, fresh faces as opposed to the flabby, jaded dancers of five years ago. The entire look has changed. Art director Sharmishta Roy has become synonymous with funky sets. She created the out-of-Manhattan loft for DTPHs theatre director, the out-ofArchie-comics college for KKHH and has been roped in to jazz up projects as diverse as M.F. Husains Gajagamini, Ghais Taal and Prakash Jhas Dil Kya Kare. Nitin Desai, who is quickly running out of space for awards, specialises in the mega set. Aeroplanes, crystal domes, Roman coliseumsfrom the fantastic to the realistic, hes done them all. And while art directors make over the frame, stylist Malhotra rejiggs the star. Malhotra, high priest of Bollywood glamour, single-handedly re-created the images of Urmila MaManish Malhotra (left): Transforming gawky ducklings to elegant swans

ART DIRECTION
SHARMISHTA ROY, 30s. USP: Trendy, cool, westernised sets as in Dil To Pagal Hai, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

Roy and Desai: Their funky settings give films a new feel and look tondkar (Rangeela), Karisma Kapoor (Raja Hindustani), Kajol (KKHH) and is currently working his lashes-andlycra magic on Rani Mukherjee, Shilpa Shetty and Tabu. Fashion-wise, heroines today are as up-to-date as models. As Farah puts it, Our films are less filmi and more cool. VEN the cobwebbed distribution and marketing sectors cant resist the change. Shravan Shroff, a marketing MBA, shocked colleagues when he did a comparative trend analysis for his 24-year-old company, Shringar Films. My father said, Forget graphs and come back to reality, he says, and everybody else wrote me off as a brat. Today, Shravan manages two state-of-the-art theatres in Mumbai and is planning multiplexes. Says father Shyam Shroff: Theatres was completely his idea. I said, Dont leave me behind. Take me with you. What Shravan did for theatres, brothers Rahul and Himanshu Nanda have done for film publicity. Three and a half years ago, the Nanda brothers upgraded publicity from shabby cutand-paste jobs to slick, computerdesigned art work and forced other designers to follow suit. Today, producers and stars like Shah Rukh, Aamir and Ajay Devgan spend hours in their office planning marketing strategies. Recently producer Vashu Baghnani took out advertisements in the trade papers thanking the Nandas for their contribution in making Biwi

Young technicians are bringing in a lot of vibrancy.

C O S T U M E S
MANISH MALHOTRA, 31.
USP:Revamping the look from gawky to elegant: Urmila Matondkar in Rangeela, Karisma Kapoor in Raja Hindustani, Kajol in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

You can take an Indian script, give it a western look and it works like magic.

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No. 1 1999s first super hit. Shravan Shroff, against the advice of reputed trade pundits, picks up a low budget film with no stars made by an unknown NRI director Nagesh Kukunoor. Its called Hyderabad Blues. What is it, one of Mumbais biggest exhibitors asks him, A blue film? Hyderabad Blues runs for 29 weeks and sets the stage for small, independent cinema. With a new generation, a new work culture is slowly seeping in. Hollywood-style professionalism is still light years away but the days of god-like stars, deigning to give darshan at 4 p.m. for a 9 a.m. shift are over (Govinda, of course, still hasnt heard about this). In fact, now the technicians are stars. So a Mani Ratnam delays the shooting of Dil Se rather than replace Sivan with another cameraman. There is a certain vibe, Johar explains, a one-to-one relationship on the sets. Im not interested in taking anyones crap. There is also an urgency to succeed, a fierce ambition to move on.

S C R E E N P L A Y
ANURAG KASHYAP, 26.
LAST RELEASE: Kaun USP: Realistic dialogue, willingness to experiment.

I want to do my own stuff and find my own audience however limited it is.
D I S T R I B U T I O N
SHRAVAN SHROFF, 28. LAST RELEASE: Biwi No. 1 USP: Revamp Mumbais theatres, innovative distributing strategies.

Im moving away from the Indian bania approach of doing business.

Anurag Kashyap: A non-conformist scriptwriter whos in step with the times unapologetic about chasing the box office. Directors like Aditya and Johar make it a point to see films on the first day in the first show. How else, asks Johar, will you learn to make the scene right after interval a buffer scene because people are still finishing their cigarettes? But despite the formidable knowledge of market and craft, the resounding passion and the willingness to sweat, New Bollywood is yet to produce ground-breaking cinema. Every filmmaker describes his film as hatke (different) but there is little new work being done. The Hollywoodinspired slick form cloaks stories that may be departures from the ordinary but are hardly classic material. The youth factor has diminished the seriousness in subjects, says Yash Chopra. People dont want anything sad these days. No one wants to see a Devdas and a Kabhie Kabhie may not work today. Perhaps. But in a box office-run industry, hits are preferred to classics. Bachchan also seems to have figured out the score. The superstar-inremission recently signed on to play one of the leads in Adityas next film, Mohabbatein. The film also stars Shah Rukh and six newcomers. The storyline is closely guarded but the names alone were enough to send the distribution sector into a frenzy. Pundits predict a windfall for the Chopras and more magic at the box office. Finally, it takes a 30-year-old yuppie to resurrect a legend. I
MARCH 00, 1996 INDIA TODAY

Shravan Shroff (left) and Rahul Nanda: professional and market savvy We spend time gossiping, Shyam says, catching up on industry news but Shravan has no time. This is bullshit, he says, lets work. Kashyap is already planning his directorial debuttentatively titled Parasites, it deals with Mumbai in the new millennium, young wannabes, the hunger for money and a slow descent into crimeas is Farah and Apurva Asrani, a 20-year-old editor, who recently took home a Filmfare trophy for Satya. These films will aim to find mass audiences. Gen Xers are
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P U B L I C I T Y
RAHUL NANDA, 33. HIMANSHU NANDA, 38.
LAST RELEASE: Biwi No. 1 USP: Upgrading film publicity from tacky cut-and-paste jobs to computer-created slickness.

Publicity cant make a film run but it can get an initial.

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