A cellphone rings in any given place, and a dozen hands reach out for the hip pocket. Hard to believe, but it wasn't always like this.
Just three short years ago, cellphones were still objects of desire for the young. Now, just about every 16 year old seems to have one. What happened?
Several things. Phone companies realized that latching onto the youth was the key to growing the subscriber base. Affordable prepaid cards were pushed aggressively, no thanks to competition from Reliance CDMA.
Rs 330 - which is the minimum monthly prepaid card- is no big deal for a working young adult. Or even the student with a part time job. But there's still a large population of teens entirely funded by parents. And Rs 7000 a year (taking into account airtime charges + a basic Rs 3000 handset) is money a middle class Indian householder usually thinks twice about.
So, how did a non essential expense suddenly become so much a part of life?
A conversation between parent and teen a couple of years ago would go something like this:
Teen: Mom, I need a cellphone.
Mom: I don't think so.
Teen: But Aparna has one
Mom: Aparna is a spoilt brat.
Teen: You have an excuse for everything.
Mom: Look I'll think about it, maybe next year.
Then, parent bumps into Aparna's mother at kitty party and there is a conversation about how there is 'so much peace of mind' now that beti (daughter) has a cellphone. "You know, it's so essential these days in case of an emergency. And so many times children get late from tuitions..."
Aha. There is now a perfectly rational reason to buy your kid a cellphone - without seeming like an over-indulgent parent or one who succumbed to peer pressure. It's not a luxury but a necessity.
The paradox of technology
Parents may feel a sense of security in knowing 'where their kids are', but the truth is - they have less idea than ever before. In simpler times, when you went to a friend's house for a sleepover you left your friend's telephone number behind.
In the cellphone era there's no way to tell where you really are. And when you don't want to be reached, you can always claim the signal was weak or you are out of network coverage. I'm not saying all teens use the cellphone to deceive their parents but many sure do.
Further, there is unprecedented privacy for the young person - especially girls from less liberal backgrounds. No longer can paranoid pappas vet all incoming calls and ask to know why such and such boy keeps calling.
The balance of power has shifted. Calls can be received after midnight on silent mode, with nobody the wiser for it.
It's happened before
Remember computers? Every parent thought he was investing in an important educational tool for his kid. The 'education' bit is true to the extent that merely being habituated to using a computer is an important skill in the job market today. But beyond that, were kids using the computer for essential school projects? Or was it primarily for internet surfing, email, chat, gaming - even accessing porn.
It took a combination of peer pressure ('everyone has one so my Raju should too') and rational argument (after all it is educational) which led to the computer becoming a fixture in every upper middle class household. And of course the drop in prices of computers/ availability of financing was another welcome factor.
I think this is a pattern now being seen in digicams. The average home user shoots 3-4 rolls a year which costs about Rs 1000 in film and processing charges. It will take a decade to recover the Rs 10,000 invested in the digital camera.
Yet, the purchase is usually justified by saying digicams are 'economical' to use - instead of outright admitting I-want-to-have-it-coz-its-so-cool.
Conclusion: If you're looking at the teen market - don't forget the parent. The right mix of (perceived) utility and value pricing is key to a new technology taking off in a big way.
Once the teen is a young adult with an independent income you can hope to sell the feature-rich, status-heavy stuff. But don't bet on it. There's a calculator of cost vs benefit still ticking away in the average Indian brain...
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Bhojpuri Incredible
Ever since I watched “Namak Halal” and Amitabh’s “I can talk Ingliss I can walk Ingliss. and I can laugh Ingliss…Ingliss is a varry phunnny language…Bhairon becomes Byron because their minds are very narrow” I knew that there was a Bhojpuri movie hidden somewhere there just waiting to come out.
And so it has —Namak Halal has been dubbed into Bhojpuri and was released as “Babua Khiladi Dadua Anari” —inspired by “Main Khiladi Tu Anari”, one of Bollywood’s rare movies with a subtly gay subtext (or so people claim).
Of course there is nothing of the sort in “Babua Khiladi Dadua Anari” except some beautiful “Daddu Tum” moments between Amitabh (who has always had a Bhojpuri appeal with the “Khaike Pan Banaras Wala”“Dhanno ki aankh sharabi re humka laage” and songs) and “sharaabi, kababi buddha”— the nasal Oooommmm Prakash.
Which brings us to the bigger issue at hand—the phenomenal growth of the Bhojpuri movie market.
Perfectly logical. Imagine yourself as a cowherd in Chapra district or a miner in Ranchi or a farmer in Bareilly or a pickpocket in Varanasi. After a day of backbreaking labor you want to get drunk, go to a movie wearing a comfortable lungi with your ribald mates, pass comments, throw some chawannis, dance in the aisles—–in short have fun. Which is exactly what “Sasura Bada Paisawala” (a dream of most Indian working men) and “Daroga Babu I Love You” (an interesting premise) provide.
These movies target the problems of the proletariat—-when you know you are going to go home to a wife shouting at your drunken-ness clutching 3 kids in her hand, you want to see “Dulhan Banwa Chudail” (The Bride Becomes The Witch) before the inevitable happens at home. Mother bossing, wife shouting, sister-in-law unwittingly seducing? Yes there is a movie for you— “Ma Biwi Aur Sali” ( Mother, Wife and Sister-in-law). Kids treating you poorly? Old age? Don’t watch King Lear—-”Mat Bhulaiye Mai Baap Ke” (Don’t forget your parents”) is here.
Who really cares about 3 friends who go to Goa in a Mercedes and “break up”, like girlie men, on some trivial issue? Not someone who has spent the whole day walking in knee-deep dung in a cowshack. Who cares about badly executed copies of “Usual Suspects” or “When Harry Met Sally”? Or the story of a live-in relationship with the male protagonist prancing about in his underwear? Not the man who pulls a cart down the streets of Patna—he neither knows what a “live-in” relationship is nor the concept of underwear.
If further proof of Bollywood’s total disconnect with the heartland is needed it is this. In 2005 there were two remakes of Roman Polanski’s “Death and the Maiden”—”Siskiyan” and “Dansh”. Can you imagine watching Roman Polanski in a cinema theatre with the stench of urine, buzzing flies, pan-stained walls and one working fan? Neither can I.
There is so much people like Mithun-da can do in sustaining popular interest in celluloid creations (after all it is not easy to produce movies like “Classic Dance of Love” every few weeks). Other people also need to put their hands up.
In this context, it is heartening to see some other superstars (Big B, Dilip Kumar) taking a leaf out of Mithun-da’s book. Not to speak of the Bhojpuri heavyweights: Manoj Tiwari, Ravi Kishen and Rani Chatterjee (whose original name is Shabina Sheikh but who has been renamed Rani Chatterjee because the word “Sheikh” at the end has masculine overtones among the target audience and also because Bong ladies are every daily laborer’s fantasy).
I have seen Ravi Kishen’s work—he is phenomenal. His debut movie “Agnimorcha” was in Hindi where he played a disillusioned youth on the wrong side of the law and the song “Bolo Mooncipalty ki jai” swept the nation like a tidal wave. Bhojpuri directors, no doubt inspired by his pronunciation of the word “municipality”, took him into the world of proletariat movies—and he provided one superhit after another—”Suhagan Bana Da Sajna Hamar”(Make my lover my wife) and “Dulha Aisan Chahi” (Want a husband like this).
And the biggest heroine in Bhojpuri movies is our very own Nagma (who is considered Bengali by many—possibly because of the Sourav connection). I am sure her sterling work in “Super Police” and the song “Khaki wardi chasma wala, Patthar dil hain police wala, Phir bhi maine dil de dala, ooh yeah” in that movie caught the attention of the production company that made “Daroga Babu I love you”.
With Sourav’s career in the state that is in, it might not be long before he makes his debut as a hero opposite Nagma in “O Kiran, More Pyar Kario” (Love me dear Kiran) ,”Chappa(e)l Pawar Ab Huya Hamar” (The power of the shoe is now mine) and “Tani Pher Na Najariya Hamar Prabhu Ji” (Lord please look after me).
Its a fact. Producers are sick of stars who want to make movies only to get “Oscars” and thin anorexic heroines who remind the audience of poverty. Similarly, the demographic that forms the backbone of the industry is also tired of the elitist dreams the Bollywood people try to foist on them—a man wanting to sleep with 21 women in 21 days, a mafia saga where noone looks like a villain, a lady getting pregnant by a ghost, a man who has murdered his wife, a story about Mumbai high-society or a failed bank-heist in LA.
With smaller budgets , no star tantrums, no Chinese food on the sets, no frills and stories that appeal to the unwashed masses, Bhojpuri movies have become a serious threat to the pretentious, bloated, disconnected fluff that comes out of the dream factories of Bollywood.
Really who cares about soft-focus, sepia tones and techno-Arabic-Bhangra after a hard day’s night? Not the heartland man. All he wants to see is a buxom lady getting wet in the rain. Is that too much to ask?
Move over Mumbai, Mughalsarai is in the house.
And so it has —Namak Halal has been dubbed into Bhojpuri and was released as “Babua Khiladi Dadua Anari” —inspired by “Main Khiladi Tu Anari”, one of Bollywood’s rare movies with a subtly gay subtext (or so people claim).
Of course there is nothing of the sort in “Babua Khiladi Dadua Anari” except some beautiful “Daddu Tum” moments between Amitabh (who has always had a Bhojpuri appeal with the “Khaike Pan Banaras Wala”“Dhanno ki aankh sharabi re humka laage” and songs) and “sharaabi, kababi buddha”— the nasal Oooommmm Prakash.
Which brings us to the bigger issue at hand—the phenomenal growth of the Bhojpuri movie market.
Perfectly logical. Imagine yourself as a cowherd in Chapra district or a miner in Ranchi or a farmer in Bareilly or a pickpocket in Varanasi. After a day of backbreaking labor you want to get drunk, go to a movie wearing a comfortable lungi with your ribald mates, pass comments, throw some chawannis, dance in the aisles—–in short have fun. Which is exactly what “Sasura Bada Paisawala” (a dream of most Indian working men) and “Daroga Babu I Love You” (an interesting premise) provide.
These movies target the problems of the proletariat—-when you know you are going to go home to a wife shouting at your drunken-ness clutching 3 kids in her hand, you want to see “Dulhan Banwa Chudail” (The Bride Becomes The Witch) before the inevitable happens at home. Mother bossing, wife shouting, sister-in-law unwittingly seducing? Yes there is a movie for you— “Ma Biwi Aur Sali” ( Mother, Wife and Sister-in-law). Kids treating you poorly? Old age? Don’t watch King Lear—-”Mat Bhulaiye Mai Baap Ke” (Don’t forget your parents”) is here.
Who really cares about 3 friends who go to Goa in a Mercedes and “break up”, like girlie men, on some trivial issue? Not someone who has spent the whole day walking in knee-deep dung in a cowshack. Who cares about badly executed copies of “Usual Suspects” or “When Harry Met Sally”? Or the story of a live-in relationship with the male protagonist prancing about in his underwear? Not the man who pulls a cart down the streets of Patna—he neither knows what a “live-in” relationship is nor the concept of underwear.
If further proof of Bollywood’s total disconnect with the heartland is needed it is this. In 2005 there were two remakes of Roman Polanski’s “Death and the Maiden”—”Siskiyan” and “Dansh”. Can you imagine watching Roman Polanski in a cinema theatre with the stench of urine, buzzing flies, pan-stained walls and one working fan? Neither can I.
There is so much people like Mithun-da can do in sustaining popular interest in celluloid creations (after all it is not easy to produce movies like “Classic Dance of Love” every few weeks). Other people also need to put their hands up.
In this context, it is heartening to see some other superstars (Big B, Dilip Kumar) taking a leaf out of Mithun-da’s book. Not to speak of the Bhojpuri heavyweights: Manoj Tiwari, Ravi Kishen and Rani Chatterjee (whose original name is Shabina Sheikh but who has been renamed Rani Chatterjee because the word “Sheikh” at the end has masculine overtones among the target audience and also because Bong ladies are every daily laborer’s fantasy).
I have seen Ravi Kishen’s work—he is phenomenal. His debut movie “Agnimorcha” was in Hindi where he played a disillusioned youth on the wrong side of the law and the song “Bolo Mooncipalty ki jai” swept the nation like a tidal wave. Bhojpuri directors, no doubt inspired by his pronunciation of the word “municipality”, took him into the world of proletariat movies—and he provided one superhit after another—”Suhagan Bana Da Sajna Hamar”(Make my lover my wife) and “Dulha Aisan Chahi” (Want a husband like this).
And the biggest heroine in Bhojpuri movies is our very own Nagma (who is considered Bengali by many—possibly because of the Sourav connection). I am sure her sterling work in “Super Police” and the song “Khaki wardi chasma wala, Patthar dil hain police wala, Phir bhi maine dil de dala, ooh yeah” in that movie caught the attention of the production company that made “Daroga Babu I love you”.
With Sourav’s career in the state that is in, it might not be long before he makes his debut as a hero opposite Nagma in “O Kiran, More Pyar Kario” (Love me dear Kiran) ,”Chappa(e)l Pawar Ab Huya Hamar” (The power of the shoe is now mine) and “Tani Pher Na Najariya Hamar Prabhu Ji” (Lord please look after me).
Its a fact. Producers are sick of stars who want to make movies only to get “Oscars” and thin anorexic heroines who remind the audience of poverty. Similarly, the demographic that forms the backbone of the industry is also tired of the elitist dreams the Bollywood people try to foist on them—a man wanting to sleep with 21 women in 21 days, a mafia saga where noone looks like a villain, a lady getting pregnant by a ghost, a man who has murdered his wife, a story about Mumbai high-society or a failed bank-heist in LA.
With smaller budgets , no star tantrums, no Chinese food on the sets, no frills and stories that appeal to the unwashed masses, Bhojpuri movies have become a serious threat to the pretentious, bloated, disconnected fluff that comes out of the dream factories of Bollywood.
Really who cares about soft-focus, sepia tones and techno-Arabic-Bhangra after a hard day’s night? Not the heartland man. All he wants to see is a buxom lady getting wet in the rain. Is that too much to ask?
Move over Mumbai, Mughalsarai is in the house.
Move over Bollywood, here's Bhojpuri
Bollywood is having to take a backseat as the hitherto little-known regional Bhojpuri film industry steals the show in India.
The industry, catering to 400m people who speak the Bhojpuri language - a dialect of Hindi - and live in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, is raking in cash like never before. Sticking to home-grown Indian family melodramas and throwing in some glamorous faces and slick foreign locations for a contemporary feel, Bhojpuri films are often outperforming Bollywood biopics at the box office these days.
Take, for example, two of the Bhojpuri mega hits of 2005, Sasura Bada Paisawela (My Father-in-Law is Rich) and Daroga Babu I Love You (Dear Policeman, I Love You). Both did more business in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh than the A-list Bollywood releases.
Star cast
Made on a modest budget of $65,000, Sasura Bada Paisawela took in over $3m at the box office. Daroga Babu mopped up nearly $900,000 on a similar budget.
With a success rate of almost 100%, it is not surprising that Bhojpuri cinema is wooing Bollywood players like never before.Superstar Amitabh Bachchan and star actress of yesteryear, Hema Malini, have signed up for a Bhojpuri film together. Other actors who have appeared in or are about to appear in Bhojpuri films are Ajay Devgan, Juhi Chawla, Raj Babbar, Rati Agnihotri and starlet Nagma.
That's not all - Bollywood's top choreographer Saroj Khan is directing a Bhojpuri movie, director Tinnu Verma is remaking a Bollywood hit, Mera Gaon Mera Desh (My Village, My Country), in Bhojpuri, and Bollywood singer Udit Narayan is producing a Bhojpuri film called Kab Hoi Gauna Hamar.
The four-decade-old Bhojpuri industry is attracting foreign talent too. Ukrainian model Tanya has already played a Russian girl in love with a Bihari boy in Firangi Dulhania (Foreign Bride). Now 24-year-old Cambridge-educated British actress Jessica Bath has signed for two Bhojpuri films.The Bhojpuri industry is buzzing as never before - with some 30 films this year, double the number of previous years.
Good business
So what makes Bhojpuri cinema tick? Bhojpuri cinema has an audience of 400m. Many Bhojpuri movies take about 10 times their costs. For one, the film-makers have astutely targeted the Bhojpuri-speaking audience at home and abroad - a substantial expatriate population in places such as Mauritius, Fiji, Surinam and the West Indies.
With Bollywood productions increasingly targeting the urban middle and upper classes in India's cities, Bhojpuri directors have cashed in by churning out home-grown local fare. The industry also has its own stars now - Manoj Tiwari and Ravi Kishan are the biggest male actors, while an actress from Mumbai, Rani Chatterji - originally Sabiha Sheikh and renamed after Bollywood actress Rani Mukherjee - is the most popular actress. Tiwari, who began as a small-town crooner, now has more than a dozen films to his name and charges as much as $90,000 per film. Kishan charges as much. He has been quoted on an Indian website as saying Bhojpuri cinema is like "home-cooked food".
Vinod Mirani, an editor of a Bollywood trade journal, said on the same site: "Bhojpuri movies are not about Technicolor fantasies. The thrust is towards home-grown subjects. The concerns are largely to do with marriage and family. There are lot of emotions."
Clearly, the formula is working. "Bhojpuri cinema has finally got its identity and real worth. Now its commercial success is making everybody sit up and take notice," says Raghuvansh Babu, chief of the Bihar Motion Pictures Association.
Bhojpuri movies also make eminent business sense. "Most Bhojpuri films are made on small budget of usually $50,000 to $60,000 and usually gross 10 times their costs at the box office, which is much higher than any Bollywood hit," Bollywood trade analyst Taran Adarsh says. Bhojpuri film-makers now claim they are pushing the envelope with themes. Manoj Tiwari says Bhojpuri films are being made around "gender themes and even a political satire is in the works".
To exploit the industry's potential, there is also a rush now to dub 40 Bollywood hits, including films like Sholay and Deewar, into Bhojpuri.
The industry, catering to 400m people who speak the Bhojpuri language - a dialect of Hindi - and live in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, is raking in cash like never before. Sticking to home-grown Indian family melodramas and throwing in some glamorous faces and slick foreign locations for a contemporary feel, Bhojpuri films are often outperforming Bollywood biopics at the box office these days.
Take, for example, two of the Bhojpuri mega hits of 2005, Sasura Bada Paisawela (My Father-in-Law is Rich) and Daroga Babu I Love You (Dear Policeman, I Love You). Both did more business in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh than the A-list Bollywood releases.
Star cast
Made on a modest budget of $65,000, Sasura Bada Paisawela took in over $3m at the box office. Daroga Babu mopped up nearly $900,000 on a similar budget.
With a success rate of almost 100%, it is not surprising that Bhojpuri cinema is wooing Bollywood players like never before.Superstar Amitabh Bachchan and star actress of yesteryear, Hema Malini, have signed up for a Bhojpuri film together. Other actors who have appeared in or are about to appear in Bhojpuri films are Ajay Devgan, Juhi Chawla, Raj Babbar, Rati Agnihotri and starlet Nagma.
That's not all - Bollywood's top choreographer Saroj Khan is directing a Bhojpuri movie, director Tinnu Verma is remaking a Bollywood hit, Mera Gaon Mera Desh (My Village, My Country), in Bhojpuri, and Bollywood singer Udit Narayan is producing a Bhojpuri film called Kab Hoi Gauna Hamar.
The four-decade-old Bhojpuri industry is attracting foreign talent too. Ukrainian model Tanya has already played a Russian girl in love with a Bihari boy in Firangi Dulhania (Foreign Bride). Now 24-year-old Cambridge-educated British actress Jessica Bath has signed for two Bhojpuri films.The Bhojpuri industry is buzzing as never before - with some 30 films this year, double the number of previous years.
Good business
So what makes Bhojpuri cinema tick? Bhojpuri cinema has an audience of 400m. Many Bhojpuri movies take about 10 times their costs. For one, the film-makers have astutely targeted the Bhojpuri-speaking audience at home and abroad - a substantial expatriate population in places such as Mauritius, Fiji, Surinam and the West Indies.
With Bollywood productions increasingly targeting the urban middle and upper classes in India's cities, Bhojpuri directors have cashed in by churning out home-grown local fare. The industry also has its own stars now - Manoj Tiwari and Ravi Kishan are the biggest male actors, while an actress from Mumbai, Rani Chatterji - originally Sabiha Sheikh and renamed after Bollywood actress Rani Mukherjee - is the most popular actress. Tiwari, who began as a small-town crooner, now has more than a dozen films to his name and charges as much as $90,000 per film. Kishan charges as much. He has been quoted on an Indian website as saying Bhojpuri cinema is like "home-cooked food".
Vinod Mirani, an editor of a Bollywood trade journal, said on the same site: "Bhojpuri movies are not about Technicolor fantasies. The thrust is towards home-grown subjects. The concerns are largely to do with marriage and family. There are lot of emotions."
Clearly, the formula is working. "Bhojpuri cinema has finally got its identity and real worth. Now its commercial success is making everybody sit up and take notice," says Raghuvansh Babu, chief of the Bihar Motion Pictures Association.
Bhojpuri movies also make eminent business sense. "Most Bhojpuri films are made on small budget of usually $50,000 to $60,000 and usually gross 10 times their costs at the box office, which is much higher than any Bollywood hit," Bollywood trade analyst Taran Adarsh says. Bhojpuri film-makers now claim they are pushing the envelope with themes. Manoj Tiwari says Bhojpuri films are being made around "gender themes and even a political satire is in the works".
To exploit the industry's potential, there is also a rush now to dub 40 Bollywood hits, including films like Sholay and Deewar, into Bhojpuri.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Bhojpuri ?
Probably Paresh Rawal speaks Bhojpuri.....(with a very Bihari accent).
Khaali bhor dopaharon mein
In India, every city, every town, every gali, koocha, mohalla has some new experience to offer. And that's how I found watching my first (and most likely last!) Bhojpuri film: 'Daroga babu, I love you'.
Actually, it was fate that dragged me in. I was merely watching a cover picture of this movie at a DVD rental - which was quite fascinating in itself. I mean where would you find a movie which mentions credits for nirdeshan (direction), sangeet (music) and 'maar dhaad' (I guess they mean action sequences but note the literal meaning!)
Anyhow, the shop owner noticed me and struck up a conversation. "Accha, aap North se hain?" He too had a brother in Baddi-Himachal Pradesh working in a chemical company.
Then, he said, "Lijiye na, dekhiye...". And I found myself walking down with the movie.
The movie started. An old lady was shown praying to a tulsi plant - asking for God to give her son a good naukri. Enter son: Maa hamka naukri mil gavat (subtitle: I have got a job!).
A few push ups and running races later, son acquires a vardi. Camera focuses on his badge and then cap and then he puts on the most important accessory: a pair of dark glasses.
Next scene: The villain is introduced. A man with a 'Mangal Pandey' moustache sticks a stainless steel sword into some random villager's stomach. Bright red 'blood' drips from the instrument which appears to be longer than the line at the Food Bazaar check out counter on a Sunday.
Next scene: heroine is introduced. Daroga babu alights from a bus, only to collide with the girl on a scooter. The usual pleasantries are exchanged. Girl calls him 'goonda, badmaash - dekh kar nahin chal sakte kya?" Hero is already naming their children.
Cut: Daroga babu enters the police station. Here, he has two bumbling assistants called 'Loncha' and 'Kharoncha'. A nubile nymphet arrives at the police station to deliver lunch to her bapu. The real purpose of her existence is to bung in an item number.
I couldn't help but wonder, "In the India of 2010, how could such pea-brained, predictable, poorly made films have a market?"
Bhojpuri on a roll
Well, they do - and a big one. Trade analysts say , "Most Bhojpuri films are made in small budgets, usually Rs 20-30 lakh, and they fetch Rs 1-2 crore."Several of these films are grossing 10 times their production costs. A good film can even make a profit of Rs 10-12 crore..."
The hero of this film, I learned, was one 'Manoj'. In 2005, Manoj, a struggling singer, debuted in a sex comedy Sasura Bada Paisewala. The film ran for more than 50 weeks in Varanasi and Kanpur in UP and for 25 weeks elsewhere. Sasura... made with a modest budget of Rs 30 lakh, grossed a stupendous Rs 15 crore. Manoj’s other films such as 'Daroga Babu I Love You' then went on to do a business of Rs 4 crore and 'Bandhan Tutey Na' has already made Rs 3 crore.
Now Manoj would never ever make it as a Hindi film hero. He is just too ugly. But that, I guess is part of his charm. He is the kind of guy your taxi driver in Mumbai or factory worker in Ludhiana could look at and say, "This could be me".
The women, in contrast, can be called 'pretty'. At least they have no spare rolls of fat jiggling around. And they use 'Fair and Lovely'. So the ugly hero gets the soni kudi. Excellent form of escapism.
The world depicted in 'Daroga babu' is completely alien to you and me. Which is why it probably appeals to the target audience. In a world where everything is in flux, maybe the 'formula film' offers comfort to migrant Bihari labourers who appear to be the primary target audience.
This was bound to happen with Bollywood totally losing its touch with the Hindi heartland and instead catering to the multiplex-going city slickers.
Who really cares about 3 friends who go to Goa in a Mercedes and "break up", like girlie men, on some trivial issue? Not someone who has spent the whole day walking in knee-deep dung in a cowshack."
Fine - but this is what I don't get. Manoj recently declared,"Gone are double-meaning dialogues, lack of a coherent storyline and poor technical quality. The films are slicker...".
Er, if this is slick, I wonder what Bhojpuri films used to be like earlier! The point however is that 'upgrading' too much Bhojpuri films makes no sense. As actor Ravi Kishen puts it, "Bhojpuri cinema is like home-cooked food".
If the sets and actors and locales improve too much - will it be any different from their 5 star cousins - the Bollywood film industry? Except for the language, that is. And Bhojpuri is really more like a dialect of Hindi, rather than a complete bhasha in itself.
And once costs go up - with actors dancing in Switzerland instead of random maidans and mountains - will it remain as profitable a proposition?
Bhojpuri vs Mainstream
A recent BBC article noted that Bhojpuri films are beating Bollywood releases in the Hindi heartland. "Both (Daroga Babu and Sasura Bada...) did more business in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh than the A-list Bollywood releases".
Sure. But the fact is in small towns, there is no 'family crowd' at the dilapidated, paan stained, A/C-less theatres. Where stall tickets sell at an amazing 10 bucks and balcony for a princely 15.
So the potential theatre audience for mainstream Bollywood in small towns was quite limited. Here, 'decent' people watch movies on CDs or wait for the cable wallah to show them.
There is a market for a better theatre with pricier tickets. And perhaps it's quite right. If the girls at NIIT wish to see a Bollywood flick, they'll have to do it in bigger towns....
I think it comes down to the audience. Who are you and me to decide about the calibre/level of these films? In rural areas, watching a film in a theatre is 'once-a-year' kinda phenomenon. People actually forego their meals to watch a film. You can not give them artistically designed fims filled with esoteric logic and ask them to enjoy it. They want all the 'masala' in a 3 hour film, dialogues that they can understand and characters they can identify with; however loud it may be. SO its a pure demand and supply equation.
Well, I guess one day when Bollywood gets more corporatised, we may probably see a 'Portfolio Manager' of a studio house 'spreading his risk' across various genres which may include Bhojpuri movies, sleazy sex comedies, and art house productions?
Reminds me 'Bottom of the Pyramid' theory by C.K.Prahalad... Just goes on to show how we are good at making things with good value. It isn't sheer luck that these gross & get 5-6 crores.
Films like Daroga babu are a great value business models with a big market to be catered to. We can indeed export these to places like Pakistan and Afghanistan (and host of 3rd world nations) where Bollywood sells hot. Great going 'Bhojiwood'...we hope to see u on top.
Meanwhile, Bhojpuri films with evil zamindars, daroga babus and gaon ki goris continue to be a great business proposition. And a reminder that all is not candyfloss and Chopragloss in this, our wide and varied country called India.
Actually, it was fate that dragged me in. I was merely watching a cover picture of this movie at a DVD rental - which was quite fascinating in itself. I mean where would you find a movie which mentions credits for nirdeshan (direction), sangeet (music) and 'maar dhaad' (I guess they mean action sequences but note the literal meaning!)
Anyhow, the shop owner noticed me and struck up a conversation. "Accha, aap North se hain?" He too had a brother in Baddi-Himachal Pradesh working in a chemical company.
Then, he said, "Lijiye na, dekhiye...". And I found myself walking down with the movie.
The movie started. An old lady was shown praying to a tulsi plant - asking for God to give her son a good naukri. Enter son: Maa hamka naukri mil gavat (subtitle: I have got a job!).
A few push ups and running races later, son acquires a vardi. Camera focuses on his badge and then cap and then he puts on the most important accessory: a pair of dark glasses.
Next scene: The villain is introduced. A man with a 'Mangal Pandey' moustache sticks a stainless steel sword into some random villager's stomach. Bright red 'blood' drips from the instrument which appears to be longer than the line at the Food Bazaar check out counter on a Sunday.
Next scene: heroine is introduced. Daroga babu alights from a bus, only to collide with the girl on a scooter. The usual pleasantries are exchanged. Girl calls him 'goonda, badmaash - dekh kar nahin chal sakte kya?" Hero is already naming their children.
Cut: Daroga babu enters the police station. Here, he has two bumbling assistants called 'Loncha' and 'Kharoncha'. A nubile nymphet arrives at the police station to deliver lunch to her bapu. The real purpose of her existence is to bung in an item number.
I couldn't help but wonder, "In the India of 2010, how could such pea-brained, predictable, poorly made films have a market?"
Bhojpuri on a roll
Well, they do - and a big one. Trade analysts say , "Most Bhojpuri films are made in small budgets, usually Rs 20-30 lakh, and they fetch Rs 1-2 crore."Several of these films are grossing 10 times their production costs. A good film can even make a profit of Rs 10-12 crore..."
The hero of this film, I learned, was one 'Manoj'. In 2005, Manoj, a struggling singer, debuted in a sex comedy Sasura Bada Paisewala. The film ran for more than 50 weeks in Varanasi and Kanpur in UP and for 25 weeks elsewhere. Sasura... made with a modest budget of Rs 30 lakh, grossed a stupendous Rs 15 crore. Manoj’s other films such as 'Daroga Babu I Love You' then went on to do a business of Rs 4 crore and 'Bandhan Tutey Na' has already made Rs 3 crore.
Now Manoj would never ever make it as a Hindi film hero. He is just too ugly. But that, I guess is part of his charm. He is the kind of guy your taxi driver in Mumbai or factory worker in Ludhiana could look at and say, "This could be me".
The women, in contrast, can be called 'pretty'. At least they have no spare rolls of fat jiggling around. And they use 'Fair and Lovely'. So the ugly hero gets the soni kudi. Excellent form of escapism.
The world depicted in 'Daroga babu' is completely alien to you and me. Which is why it probably appeals to the target audience. In a world where everything is in flux, maybe the 'formula film' offers comfort to migrant Bihari labourers who appear to be the primary target audience.
This was bound to happen with Bollywood totally losing its touch with the Hindi heartland and instead catering to the multiplex-going city slickers.
Who really cares about 3 friends who go to Goa in a Mercedes and "break up", like girlie men, on some trivial issue? Not someone who has spent the whole day walking in knee-deep dung in a cowshack."
Fine - but this is what I don't get. Manoj recently declared,"Gone are double-meaning dialogues, lack of a coherent storyline and poor technical quality. The films are slicker...".
Er, if this is slick, I wonder what Bhojpuri films used to be like earlier! The point however is that 'upgrading' too much Bhojpuri films makes no sense. As actor Ravi Kishen puts it, "Bhojpuri cinema is like home-cooked food".
If the sets and actors and locales improve too much - will it be any different from their 5 star cousins - the Bollywood film industry? Except for the language, that is. And Bhojpuri is really more like a dialect of Hindi, rather than a complete bhasha in itself.
And once costs go up - with actors dancing in Switzerland instead of random maidans and mountains - will it remain as profitable a proposition?
Bhojpuri vs Mainstream
A recent BBC article noted that Bhojpuri films are beating Bollywood releases in the Hindi heartland. "Both (Daroga Babu and Sasura Bada...) did more business in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh than the A-list Bollywood releases".
Sure. But the fact is in small towns, there is no 'family crowd' at the dilapidated, paan stained, A/C-less theatres. Where stall tickets sell at an amazing 10 bucks and balcony for a princely 15.
So the potential theatre audience for mainstream Bollywood in small towns was quite limited. Here, 'decent' people watch movies on CDs or wait for the cable wallah to show them.
There is a market for a better theatre with pricier tickets. And perhaps it's quite right. If the girls at NIIT wish to see a Bollywood flick, they'll have to do it in bigger towns....
I think it comes down to the audience. Who are you and me to decide about the calibre/level of these films? In rural areas, watching a film in a theatre is 'once-a-year' kinda phenomenon. People actually forego their meals to watch a film. You can not give them artistically designed fims filled with esoteric logic and ask them to enjoy it. They want all the 'masala' in a 3 hour film, dialogues that they can understand and characters they can identify with; however loud it may be. SO its a pure demand and supply equation.
Well, I guess one day when Bollywood gets more corporatised, we may probably see a 'Portfolio Manager' of a studio house 'spreading his risk' across various genres which may include Bhojpuri movies, sleazy sex comedies, and art house productions?
Reminds me 'Bottom of the Pyramid' theory by C.K.Prahalad... Just goes on to show how we are good at making things with good value. It isn't sheer luck that these gross & get 5-6 crores.
Films like Daroga babu are a great value business models with a big market to be catered to. We can indeed export these to places like Pakistan and Afghanistan (and host of 3rd world nations) where Bollywood sells hot. Great going 'Bhojiwood'...we hope to see u on top.
Meanwhile, Bhojpuri films with evil zamindars, daroga babus and gaon ki goris continue to be a great business proposition. And a reminder that all is not candyfloss and Chopragloss in this, our wide and varied country called India.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Swear word mil gaya
We hold these truths to be self evident: That all words are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights among which is the right to life — to simply exist free of harassment; liberty — the right to be seen and spoken freely and used whenever deemed desirable. And happiness — the special joy that comes when they happen to say best what is in one's heart.
- The Bawdy Manifesto
Why do people swear? Most people start because it makes them feel cool and grown up to use 'forbidden' language. But in time, these words become a sort of short-code to express certain emotions - anger, frustration, amazement.
Swear words are extremely 'all-purpose' and can usually be moulded to fit into any mood or situation. As Bawdy Manifesto believes, "Few other words have their force, directness, or clarity of meaning".
While all cultures and languages have these words, some use them more freely. And the use of swear words in art forms like music and movies remains a contentious issue.
Hollywood uses swear words - so does the music industry, especially with the advent of rap and hip-hop. Parental concerns are addressed by rating films using expletives PG-13 or R. And albums with the 'parental advisory - explicit lyrics' sticker.
Gaali gaali mein shor hai...
No new information so far - so why write about it now? Well, two reasons. As film makers seek to make movies which reflect 'youth culture' how do they get around this problem? You want dialogues which embody how people actually speak but if you do that, the censors will go bleep bleep bleep!
The scriptwriters of Rang de Basanti solved this problem by getting creative. They coined entirely new phrases like 'Teri maa ki aankh' and 'Behn de takey' to convey the actual swear words... And it was pretty amusing and effective I must say!
On the other hand the song 'Sutta na Mila' by Pakistani band Zeest - a campus cult - actually uses MCs and BCs and gets away with it because it's been 'released' only as an MP3. XLRI band Bodhitree's song GMD (G**** mein Danda) also spread from PC to PC.
Whether you like it or not, it is a trend to take note of. Swearing (verbal Diarrhea) is a habit like bed-wetting or nose-picking. Evolved ones grow out of it. The lesser humans die with it. Every now & then while driving you see well dressed, elderly people in high-end model cars cutting lanes like an ill behaved professional driver or a ill-bred young person. These are examples of people who never grow out of their bad habits. It is mostly a function of pedigree. We have all been through collage using swearwords. Some feel embarrassed at the memory (function of pedigree) & some condone it as youthful exuberance (again function of pedigree). And Indian culture, education & society do not help in this toilet training.
I do not like these songs, because they are remarkably poor in musical or entertainment values. What they do represent however, is a remarkable paucity of content, especially in music and movies, that the Indian college going student can relate to. Does not mean that we have an entire generation using swear words, but profanity is a part of youth, and the brashness that comes with it. To some, such language comes naurally. Some pick it up the way one picks up a mother tongue.
The choicest of the swear words are always meant for best friends.I mean I can't remember any day when friends will meet together in a simple desi way and say "namaskar" to each other. I remeber having competitions between batches and also have a swear antakshari.
Swearing is a part and parcel of our daily lives. We hear it on the road, on the bus, in the campus etc. Then why do not we hear it in films. Directors show crap in their sleazy films and they become fricking hits. So why not use swear words in songs as it is indicative of the society we live in.If you go by the words and use it literally then probably you will draw unwanted attention and censorship (in movies).
But if you happen to say it as any other word in your day to day life, then I don't see it the wrong way. Well let me put it this way, you are fresh out of college and you love those 4 and 5 lettered words and they are used in your langauge quite frequently but with time,one matures and you don't use those. I think it comes down to the fact that there's a time and place for everything, and if you're with college buddies, *especially* if they're Punjabi, swearing is as much a part of ettiquete as is a well pressed shirt for a job interview.
For those interested in the "psychology" of swearing, read Broca's Brain by Carl Sagan, which offers an interesting viewpoint on why we swear. Swear words and acne ridden teens, you cannot seperate the two, Can you imagine an ID Rock without 'Start the Fuckin' Music'? Not that I am pro-fanity ;) In many ways a band wants to stand out and what better way than to stir up a controversy?
Swear words are definitely an essential part of language, and regarding the 'quality of the lyrics' argument, low-brow songs exist in every generation, and even they are generally necessary (as necessary as something of this sort can be). They provide a compliment to the 'quality' songs, after all.
Beyond the literal
Personally, I'm not into swear words - or smoking - but I quite like these songs for the spirit they represent. The words, I think, simply add an extra 'underground' appeal. Part of the overall package.
As lyricist and lead vocalist Skip of Zeest says, " I created this satirical, comical, slang song just for fun, but I always wanted to compose a song that could reflect my life story and that of other optimistic losers too. The song is so popular only because every average “tapori bachcha” can relate to it".
Here's to more songs by unknown, talented bands, outside the realm of ishq vishq pyaar vyaar. Songs with or without swear words that junta can relate to!
- The Bawdy Manifesto
Why do people swear? Most people start because it makes them feel cool and grown up to use 'forbidden' language. But in time, these words become a sort of short-code to express certain emotions - anger, frustration, amazement.
Swear words are extremely 'all-purpose' and can usually be moulded to fit into any mood or situation. As Bawdy Manifesto believes, "Few other words have their force, directness, or clarity of meaning".
While all cultures and languages have these words, some use them more freely. And the use of swear words in art forms like music and movies remains a contentious issue.
Hollywood uses swear words - so does the music industry, especially with the advent of rap and hip-hop. Parental concerns are addressed by rating films using expletives PG-13 or R. And albums with the 'parental advisory - explicit lyrics' sticker.
Gaali gaali mein shor hai...
No new information so far - so why write about it now? Well, two reasons. As film makers seek to make movies which reflect 'youth culture' how do they get around this problem? You want dialogues which embody how people actually speak but if you do that, the censors will go bleep bleep bleep!
The scriptwriters of Rang de Basanti solved this problem by getting creative. They coined entirely new phrases like 'Teri maa ki aankh' and 'Behn de takey' to convey the actual swear words... And it was pretty amusing and effective I must say!
On the other hand the song 'Sutta na Mila' by Pakistani band Zeest - a campus cult - actually uses MCs and BCs and gets away with it because it's been 'released' only as an MP3. XLRI band Bodhitree's song GMD (G**** mein Danda) also spread from PC to PC.
Whether you like it or not, it is a trend to take note of. Swearing (verbal Diarrhea) is a habit like bed-wetting or nose-picking. Evolved ones grow out of it. The lesser humans die with it. Every now & then while driving you see well dressed, elderly people in high-end model cars cutting lanes like an ill behaved professional driver or a ill-bred young person. These are examples of people who never grow out of their bad habits. It is mostly a function of pedigree. We have all been through collage using swearwords. Some feel embarrassed at the memory (function of pedigree) & some condone it as youthful exuberance (again function of pedigree). And Indian culture, education & society do not help in this toilet training.
I do not like these songs, because they are remarkably poor in musical or entertainment values. What they do represent however, is a remarkable paucity of content, especially in music and movies, that the Indian college going student can relate to. Does not mean that we have an entire generation using swear words, but profanity is a part of youth, and the brashness that comes with it. To some, such language comes naurally. Some pick it up the way one picks up a mother tongue.
The choicest of the swear words are always meant for best friends.I mean I can't remember any day when friends will meet together in a simple desi way and say "namaskar" to each other. I remeber having competitions between batches and also have a swear antakshari.
Swearing is a part and parcel of our daily lives. We hear it on the road, on the bus, in the campus etc. Then why do not we hear it in films. Directors show crap in their sleazy films and they become fricking hits. So why not use swear words in songs as it is indicative of the society we live in.If you go by the words and use it literally then probably you will draw unwanted attention and censorship (in movies).
But if you happen to say it as any other word in your day to day life, then I don't see it the wrong way. Well let me put it this way, you are fresh out of college and you love those 4 and 5 lettered words and they are used in your langauge quite frequently but with time,one matures and you don't use those. I think it comes down to the fact that there's a time and place for everything, and if you're with college buddies, *especially* if they're Punjabi, swearing is as much a part of ettiquete as is a well pressed shirt for a job interview.
For those interested in the "psychology" of swearing, read Broca's Brain by Carl Sagan, which offers an interesting viewpoint on why we swear. Swear words and acne ridden teens, you cannot seperate the two, Can you imagine an ID Rock without 'Start the Fuckin' Music'? Not that I am pro-fanity ;) In many ways a band wants to stand out and what better way than to stir up a controversy?
Swear words are definitely an essential part of language, and regarding the 'quality of the lyrics' argument, low-brow songs exist in every generation, and even they are generally necessary (as necessary as something of this sort can be). They provide a compliment to the 'quality' songs, after all.
Beyond the literal
Personally, I'm not into swear words - or smoking - but I quite like these songs for the spirit they represent. The words, I think, simply add an extra 'underground' appeal. Part of the overall package.
As lyricist and lead vocalist Skip of Zeest says, " I created this satirical, comical, slang song just for fun, but I always wanted to compose a song that could reflect my life story and that of other optimistic losers too. The song is so popular only because every average “tapori bachcha” can relate to it".
Here's to more songs by unknown, talented bands, outside the realm of ishq vishq pyaar vyaar. Songs with or without swear words that junta can relate to!
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