Copycat Bollywood: Plagiarism and Copyright Breaches

Bollywood has been notorious for shamelessly lifting from Hollywood, Tollywood and Kollywood without giving due acknowledgment or compensation to their sources. With recent threats from Sony Pictures regarding the almost frame to frame copying of Dhawan's Partner (seen in the graphic on the left) from Hitch, and the court ruling enforcing the payment of $500,000 by Rakesh Roshan for the replication of Ram Sampath's ad-jingle in Krazzy 4's theme song, it is clear that this issue is finally gaining prominence and affecting Bollywood's reputation internationally. Last week, I therefore decided to explore the blogosphere to investigate how audience's responded to problematic presence of such widespread plagiarism in Bollywood. The first post I decided to comment on, Kraazy Logic: In B'wood, Copy Right is the Right to Copy, found on the reputed blog Naachgana, discussed the legal issues faced by Krazzy 4, (see illustration to the right) and the possible future of copyright infringement in Bollywood. Vikrant Bhakta's Plagiarism in the Hindi Film Industry, the second blog I chose to contribute to, discusses possible solutions to this casual attitude towards illegally copying. My comments can be seen by following the above links and are also included below for your convenience.

Kraazy Logic: In B'wood, Copy Right is the Right to Copy

Comment:
Your post on the culture of plagiarizing in Bollywood is extremely interesting and pertinent in an era where the Hindi film industry is growing in reach and stature and is refusing to acknowledge international copyright laws. I completely agree with your statement that as "Bollywood's market is expanding across the globe, the chances of being caught become relatively higher". More importantly however, if Indian cinema is attempting to build a reputation and brand for itself, it is essential that future films live up to the ethical and legal standards followed by media industries the world over. Furthermore, Misra's quote that "80% of what Hollywood produces are remakes that have been done with due authorization" is integral in pointing out that being inspired by myriad sources is an indispensable practice in any creative process and that Bollywood is not necessarily less original, but merely less cautious with respect to legal proceedings than Hollywood.

I do however disagree with the fact that the "increasing pressure on the creators to come up with original ideas" is the cause of this lax attitude towards copyright infringements. Due to the unprofessional nature of the industry prior to the recent wave of corporatization, relations within the field were based on personal interactions. Therefore, to avoid any conflict between the tightly-knit film fraternity, copyright issues were overlooked. Even today, while Bollywood has certainly come a long way from family run companies to global corporations, the role of the producer is not as clearly defined as it is in Hollywood. In India, a producer is the head of the production company and oversees all the films in progress, whereas a Hollywood producer manages one of the studio's many films and plays a key role in conceptualizing and developing a story rather than merely seeing an already established script or treatment through production. I respectfully disagree with the fact that "the malaise of copyright and plagiarism are here to stay" as I feel that with the further evolution of Bollywood's business models and the increased accountability and individual attention given to upcoming films by producers, Indian cinema might finally tap into the indigenous talent pool more effectively and focus on story, innovation and creativity. Rather than seeing the emerging, highly competitive industry as compelling artists to come up with products on a tight time constraint and recycle the narratives of already established box office successes, I believe that it is this very environment that will facilitate increased capital and attention spent on the research and development of screenplays. The suing of Rakesh Roshan for copyright infringements regarding Krazzy 4's music will hopefully set an example by drawing attention to the problems and repercussions of continuing plagiarism within the industry.

Plagiarism in the Hindi Film Industry

Comment:
Thank you for your informative post on the problematic issues of copying in Bollywood today, and I applaud you for attempting to start a productive discussion regarding this topic instead of merely stating past instances of such lifting. You raise an important question as to why "we don't see many members of the film industry criticizing this practice". With decelerations like "Yes I copy " from Ram Gopal Varma and similar attitudes from well-known professionals, I think garnering respect for and awareness of copyright laws is the first step in generating change in the film community. Moreover, while I agree with many of your suggestions, I do feel that ultimately it is the producer who must be held responsible for copyright infringements since he or she is accountable for the film as a whole and will be the first to be indicted when such a breach occurs. Furthermore, during the 50s when auteurs like Raj Kapoor carefully controlled their films from start to finish, products like Kaagaz Ka Phool were incredibly creative and original. It was only from the 70s onwards when the unprofessional yet lucrative industry began mass producing films in the quickest and cheapest way possible that knock-offs become popular. Thus the careful supervision of a film by a single producer is integral and makes the accountable party creatively involved in the process. Increasing the recognition given to writers is also another way of tackling this problem. Although screenwriters in Hollywood too suffer from under representation and low pay, Bollywood provides almost no acknowledgment and only an extremely low, one time fee as compensation to them. In order to encourage creativity, it is crucial for industrialists to make this profession more lucrative. Lastly of course, copyright laws need to be strengthened in order to meet international standards and for Bollywood to maintain its growing global stature. With the onset of the final stages of maturation of the industry, and most importantly, with the recent threats and prosecutions as in with Partner and Krazzy 4 to name a few, I am certain that Hindi cinema will only thrive with this newfound necessity for creativity and ingenuity.

Redefining Bollywood: In Defense of Sanjay Leela Bhansali

"I express my personal anguish in my cinema" says Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and indeed the central theme of all his films is the pain and passion of physically or emotionally flawed individuals attempting to connect across vast psychological and spatial distances. Khamoshi, Bhansali's debut film was about a daughter trying hard to bridge the communication chasm with her deaf-mute parents. His next two films were more Bollywood mainstream: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, a lighter and frothier love story that dealt with the complexities of infatuation and separation, and the musical extravaganza Devdas, a lavishly executed portrayal of unfulfilled romance and tragedy. Then came Black, a stark, intimate psycho-drama about a deaf and blind girl and her obsessive teacher, and finally Saawariya, a moody, lyrical fairy tale of unrequited love based on Dostoevsky's White Nights. While all his films have had their share of awards and accolades, Bhansali has often been accused of being over-ostentatious, pretentious and self-indulgent. His films, say critics, suffer from being "too heavily designed", are "all atmosphere and no soul" and result in "wearying, cloying melodrama". I would like to offer another opinion.

I believe Bhansali is one of the freshest and finest talents of Bollywood, a trend-setter unafraid to continually challenge himself. He has clearly mastered the craft of film making, and references a breath of work from V. Shantaram and Raj Kapoor, to Bertolucci and Baz Luhrmann. He demonstrates an impeccable feel for visual design, consistently producing films that are sumptuously ravishing; the rich architecture of Gujarat in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, the ornate havelis and costumes of Devdas' Calcutta, and the alluring fantastical city in Saawariya that combines elements of Mumbai, Venice and Istanbul. Even his harshest critics agree that his use of lighting and color is extraordinary, whether the rainbow palette of Devdas or the completely monochromatic Saawariya where the exclusive use of blues intensifies the mysteriousness and melancholy of the protagonists. His ear for music is pitch-perfect, allowing carefully crafted melodies to perfectly compliment his aesthetics rather than distract from the filmic medium. The sound tracks of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas and Saawariya have been phenomenally successful and as a trained Odissi dancer, his eye for choreography has been keen. Who can forget Madhuri and Aishwarya in the stunning song and dance sequence of Devdas' Dola Re? The soundtracks in his films, sometimes as many as fourteen, are always poetic and integrated into the narrative perfectly. Yet, while music is an obvious strength he bravely chose to make Black without a single song, path-breaking for mainstream Bollywood cinema.

Which brings me to what I must say in defense of Saawariya. Universally panned by critics and audiences as "repetitive, sentimental, cliched", and "an underwhelming waste", to me, it was a cinematic poem. Like the best evocative poetry, it was high on atmosphere, concentrating on evoking a mood and tone as the deliberately stylized sets as indicated in the graphics above, added to the strangeness and mystery of the narrative. Any attempts to slot the film by genre or time seem irrelevant as Bhansali's camera steers seductively through a city that could be anywhere, in a setting that could be decades ago, or present day, unwinding a timeless story of love that is universal.

About his lack of restraint Bhansali has said "I was born and brought up in Bombay where people shout at each other from windows of flats on opposite sides of the street. I belong to a community with a loud lifestyle. You cannot expect dignity, propriety, control and detachment from me. I cannot make a film without melodrama." Yet he has consistently brought a high standard of aesthetics to his human interest stories, marrying high-brow art with the pointedly commercial, and creating almost an entirely new genre for Bollywood. His pluck in hurling himself in new directions is most recently evidenced in his latest venture the French opera ballet Padmavati, as seen in the illustration above, that opened in Paris and was given a fifteen minute standing ovation. Bhansali directed an entirely French cast and crew through an interpreter and worked seamlessly with a hundred member orchestra and a sixty member choir. By all means it was a vintage Bhansali- a story of pathos (an Indian queen dying for honor and dignity) told in breathtaking visuals, dazzling colors, brilliant choreography and superb performances.

Back in Bombay, fresh from his success, Bhansali said in The Times of India, "All my pain over Saawariya has been washed away", perhaps in reaction to the tasteless digs made by hosts Saif Ali Khan and Shahrukh Khan about Sanjay "Neela (Blue)" Bhansali at the 53rd Annual Filmfare Awards. Few Bollywood directors can boast of such a rich body of varied, creative productions and I believe that every one of his forgivably flawed films is a future classic. His work, like fine wine, must be savored as a sensuous experience, in its entirety, where the whole is far greater than the sum of its constituent parts. Analyzing the contribution of each separate component serves only to diminish from the total phenomenon. Generations of forthcoming film majors will be studying his work and paying respect to his special aesthetic. What we should do in the present is leave him alone to innovate, experiment and push the boundaries of what is, and allow him to show us what can be.

Linkroll Update: Expanding the Frame to Global Cinema

After my somewhat unsuccessful attempt at compiling a list of high quality Bollywood links several weeks ago, I decided to explore the web for Hollywood as well as global cinema websites this week. As I mentioned before, I would like my blog to be advantageous to my readers and believe that the items located in my linkroll will compliment my posts given their constant references to various film industries across the world. While applying the Webby Awards criteria, I would like to take a moment to discuss my selections here. The two most generic sites I have included are Rotten Tomatoes and imdb.com. Visually striking and extremely well organized, Rotten Tomatoes cleverly provides general critical consensus of a film along with box office figures in a concise and systematic manner, so as to be easily seen by the viewer within seconds of reading the title of the film itself, as seen in the graphic below. Despite the highly reputed reviewers that are associated with the website however, Rotten Tomatoes does not present much background or production information of the films, nor does it follow the success or failure of the movies after their release. Similarly imdb.com, although structurally and visually mediocre, serves the singular purpose of providing an almost inexhaustible database for existing and upcoming films, artists and producers from around the globe. Box Office Mojo is another source that documents an infinite number of films, providing extensive breakdowns of all aspects of box office performances, while tracking budgets, release patterns and foreign grosses. Nevertheless, the website provides a purely numerical analysis of the films and lacks mediums of communication such as streaming videos. Roger Ebert's website is also far too text intensive and devoid of sufficient illustrations. However, its structure and organization is flawless and it is replete with excellent reviews and highly informative articles discussing the historical significance of films and their influence on present cinematic aesthetics and practices. Premiere too, features well-written reviews, detailed interviews and displays exemplary organization and functionality. The news section however, like many of the Bollywood websites included in my linkroll, is too glamor oriented.

On a more international level, the Hollywood Reporter: Asia provides a global perspective on the growing industries of India, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Korea. It is user friendly and easy to navigate. Nonetheless, due to its broad range of content, it lacks depth of information as well as elements of interactivity. The New York Times' Movies section on the other hand, allows for more engagement from its viewers with its series of "readers' reviews" accompanying each professional critique. Structurally however, the website is cluttered, providing a plethora of information on a single page. The International Federation of Film Critics suffers from a similar issue of poor presentation of information and is tedious to navigate through. Yet the website offers a comprehensive overview of all the international film festivals across the world and features remarkable articles discussing the global significance of foreign film movements and directors. Cinema-Scope and Indie Wire's world cinema section, the final two links I chose to include, share a similar niche, foreign film appeal, spotlighting international films and artists while discussing global film industries. Cinema-Scope is primarily a print magazine, which is clearly reflected in the site's lack of multimedia elements and interactivity, while Indie Wire is unprofessionally executed, with an overly simplistic and repetitive layout as well as a dearth of streaming videos and sound bytes. Overall, despite the obvious negatives of the items I have chosen to include in my linkroll, I do consider these websites to be of the utmost relevance to anyone in the field of cinema and hope that my readers will find these resources equally beneficial.

From Los Angeles to Bombay: The Influence of the West on Bollywood's Business Model

While many indigenous film industries, especially in developing countries, have met with a sharp decline due to the domination of Hollywood cinema, Bollywood has been one of the select few that Hollywood has been unable to make an adequate dent into, with an astonishingly low market penetration of 5%. Domestically, the industry is continuing to boom as indicated by the 20% annual growth projection and Indian films have seen a rise in overseas viewership with a whopping 40% of revenue coming from international ticket, video and DVD sales. This is of course a direct result of the new avenues of revenue that have opened up through the development of multiplexes, DVD sales and internet releases, and further catapulted by the consequential innovation of the formulaic content of the films themselves. However, the influence of Hollywood on this tremendously developing industry that is steadily gaining international stature cannot be ignored. The predominant factor in the staggering growth of the Hindi film industry, both domestically and internationally, is the change in the business models of Bollywood corporate houses due to the increasing influence of western film industries, most notably Hollywood.

With the gradual shift from family- run production companies by filmmakers financing and distributing their own products to companies akin to Hollywood Studios, the industry took a sudden turn from one where pre- production consisted of a single meeting and a script was constantly changed at the whim of the director minutes before a shoot. Emerging production companies like Yash Raj Films are now beginning to pre- plan a sleight of films with large and small budgets to offset losses, market and distribute their own films and even acquire finished products for distribution and exploitation. Indian corporates are realizing the importance of specialization and are beginning to outsource the actual production of their films while choosing to focus on marketing instead. The increasing expenditures on marketing is another implementation based on the Hollywood model, with UTV's Rang De Basanti setting the standard by spending 40% of the cost of production on print and advertising, instead of the usual 5%.

International distribution outlets are also being developed by the bigger players as they are attempting to target more than just the Indian Diaspora overseas. Jodhaa- Akbar for example was released with about three hundred prints internationally, the largest number of global prints for a Bollywood film till date, and garnered the highest ever overseas revenue for a Hindi film in the United States and even found itself in the UK top ten charts on its opening weekend. Hindi films are increasingly available on demand and on pay- per- view for further exploitation. Furthermore, UTV Motion Pictures has even created labels like UTV Spotboy to focus on the development of independent and smaller budget films, much like a Fox Searchlight or Focus Features. Hollywood's concern for good screenplays is also beginning to rub off on Bollywood, as production houses are beginning to invest larger amounts in the development of scripts, and even have eminent Hollywood screenwriting gurus such as Syd Field doctor Hindi scripts as seen with Rakesh Omprakash Mehra's upcoming Dilli 6. The impact of Hollywood's Studio model on the Indian film industry is incredible, and Bollywood's revenue breakdown is also beginning to resemble that of Hollywood's, with skyrocketing profits from DVD sales and new media along with growing income from international consumption, although limited in comparison to Hollywood.

In the race of corporatization, expansion and "Hollywoodization" however, Bollywood seems to be altering current business models on the basis of western studio models with some discernment. The Hindi film industry is in many ways facing what Hollywood underwent in the 60s with the demise of the musical. Nevertheless, this transformation that took Hollywood a decade will take India only a few years since it has the hindsight of western models, which will give Bollywood the leeway to reject aspects of these models that are inefficient or harmful to the industry. For instance, the Indian Government's refusal to provide grants and concessions for the industry is inspired by the ruin of the British film industry that was unable to sustain itself commercially after the Government reduced financial backing. Moreover, the permitting of foreign direct investments in the industry only in 2002 allowed for the maintenance of Hindi films as the primary form of cinematic consumption domestically, as opposed to Australia, where huge investments by studios have only limited local production. Bollywood has also guarded against the procedure of talent taking profits off the gross income of the film before the studios are able to recover expenses, thereby ensuring the evolution of system based on profit maximization in the interest of the industry as a whole.

While Hindi films will never have the reach and box office numbers of Hollywood cinema, over the next few years Bollywood will be at par with Hollywood in terms of efficiency and organization. The Indian film industry is already making a mark in the international arena with major Hollywood films such as Ghost World and Moulin Rouge applying the "Bollywood masala" formula, as illustrated by the extravagant dance sequence in graphic above. With the emergence of cross- over films such as Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding, Gurinder Chadha's Bend It Like Bekham, and Miramax's Bride and Prejudice, Bollywood's recognition across the globe is apparent. Moreover, the growing number of Hollywood co- productions with Hindi filmmakers such as Columbia- Tristar's backing of Sanjay Lila Bhansali's Saawariya along with enormous investments by multinationals such as Disney and Viacom into Bollywood production companies, it is clear that Hollywood is attempting to penetrate this enormous market in anyway it possibly can. Bollywood too is finally globalizing, led by UTV's co- financing of Fox Searchlight's The Namesake and it's upcoming co- production with 20th Century Fox's M. Night Shyamalan tentpole, The Happening as seen in the illustration on the left. In fact, UTV's box office valuation for the upcoming year is expected to shoot up with this Hollywood deal, making it one of the largest production houses in Asia in terms of box office revenue. Research reports preempt an annual growth of 35- 40% for the company, allowing it to quite possibly equal Hollywood's Lions Gate Films in terms of gross income over the next few years. There is no reason why Bollywood production companies will not emerge into international production houses and play bigger roles in shaping domestic as well as global cinema over the next decade.

Sticking to the Silver Screen: Bollywood's Lack of Representation on the Internet

This week I decided to explore the web for informative and esteemed Bollywood websites, in an attempt to build my linkroll and allow my blog to serve as a useful resource to my readers as well as myself. After extensive navigation and on applying the Webby Awards and IMSA Criteria to the websites I selected, I was somewhat disappointed with the quality of online resources available for Bollywood enthusiasts and industry experts. Box Office India is perhaps the most visited for its detailed analysis of revenue collections of recently released films, compilations of the top grossers since the 1940s and profit breakdowns in terms of national territories and international sales. Despite its organized structure and easy navigability however, the website has delayed updates regarding opening weekend collections and lacks interactivity. Similarly, over and above the limited content of Variety: India, the website also lacks interactive elements and engaging graphics, but provides a global perspective on Bollywood, focusing on its international performance and relevance in Hollywood. In contrast, India FM is probably the most extensive in terms of content, with film reviews from India's most revered critics, on-the-ball news updates, and exclusive behind the scenes footage and interviews. The website has superb functionality with a tremendous breadth of broadband content that is compatible across all platforms, and is highly interactive with its high- traffic forums. Business of Cinema is also extremely resourceful with respect to content, offering detailed analysis on the business of the industry, from documenting home video sales to the online consumption of movies. Nevertheless, the website suffers from poor visual design and has several outdated links. Bollywood.com suffers from similar aesthetic and structural shortcomings, with a disorganized layout and unprofessional visual design. Despite the distracting inundation and repetition of graphics, the website offers current news, reviews and trailers, but also encompasses other mediums of communication such as news media and the music industry and the ways in which they relate to the Indian film industry. Screen also offers unique content in its updates on regional cinema and emphasis on the overall Indian entertainment business, from television to gaming. However, the website is text intensive, with no streaming videos and limited graphics and is difficult to navigate. On the other end of the spectrum, Bollywood World has a fantastic lay out and user- friendly structure along with multi- media forms of communication, but the website is far too glamor oriented, with more focus on the private lives of celebrities rather than the business of the industry. Moreover, there is virtually no interactivity as the website does not even have a "contact us" link. Conversely, Planet Bollywood is perhaps the most interactive Bollywood website, allowing readers to vote for films while reading its reviews, and contribute to information through people's choice polls. The website is truly indicative of audience receptions to new films or industry affairs, nonetheless, it completely lacks in terms of design and navigability. Finally, two niche websites that really caught my attention were Upper Stall and Passion for Cinema. Upper Stall is perhaps the only website that provides an academic analysis of Indian films, with a special focus on classical Indian cinema as well as independent short films and documentaries that are largely ignored in the industry today. The site's visual design, as indicated by the graphic above, appropriately reflects its content and is professional and sophisticated, a stark contrast to most online Bollywood sources. Unlike Upper Stall which has limited interactivity, Passion for Cinema, the only blog I chose to add to my linkroll, has well written and thoroughly researched entries as well as critical analysis of films and events in the industry, maintained by revered writers and eminent Bollywood personalities. Despite being the only Bollywood blog of its kind, its structure and navigability has a lot to be desired. It is clear through my findings that there is a dearth of high quality Bollywood websites, not only by professionals but also by enthusiasts and scholars, perhaps because the web as a medium has not yet matured in India and has limited reach across the nation. Through my blog, I hope to personally contribute to the growth of current and relevant online resources on the Indian film industry.

Jodhaa- Akbar: The Subtleties of the Bollywood Masala Film

Last weekend I watched the much awaited Jodhaa- Akbar (2008) as it finally released in theaters. Set in the sixteenth century, the Muslim emperor Akbar marries a Hindu princess Jodhaa, to strengthen his political relationships with the Rajput Kings. In an act of defiance and retaliation against all expectations of female subordination, the princess agrees to marry him only if she is allowed to maintain her Hindu traditions and is allowed to have a temple in the palace. As the relationship between the couple evolves from an alliance to a marriage based on love, we see the evolution of Akbar into a heroic and humane leader as he is shaped by Jodhaa's teachings of religious acceptance and ruling with one's heart.

Despite the reputation of Oscar nominated Ashutosh Gowariker and the star cast of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan, the film had a mediocre opening weekend. Supposedly one of the most anticipated films of the year, 1500 prints were released across 26 countries, making it one of India's largest releases. However, several problems, such as the shutting down of theaters running the film due to apparent historical inaccuracies prevented a smooth release. Moreover, the inability of the distributors and multiplex exhibitors to reach a revenue sharing ratio by the release date, as well as strong opposition from animal rights activists caused further difficulty during the opening weekend.

Film critics gave Jodhaa- Akbar raving reviews, but I wanted to examine audience reaction to the film, especially given its problematic release. I therefore decided to explore the blogosphere, and on coming across very mixed reviews of the film, I chose to respond to two posts. The first, Was It Suraj Barjatya Directing the Movie? on FilmiKhabar, is a negative review of the film, discussing its adherence to the formulaic melodramatic conventions of Bollywood. The second, When Love Meets War: Jodha Akbar at Sulekha.com is more flattering, discussing its musical accomplishments, excellent performances and impressive costume design (see illustration above) while pointing out its shortcomings in terms of historical accuracy and set design, as seen in the illustration below. My responses can be seen below as well as on their respective websites.

Was It Suraj Barjatya Directing the Movie?

Comment:
I enjoyed reading your review and appreciate your balanced feedback on the film. Moreover, your comparison of Jodhaa- Akbar to an average Indian family melodrama and even an Ekta Kapoor television soap is interesting, and I do see a superficial resemblance between the two. However, I would like to illustrate the depth and larger significance of Jodhaa- Akbar's narrative in contrast to the meaningless formulaic drama of many other Bollywood films.

Unlike the typical portrayal of an arranged marriage, Gowariker uses this alliance to discuss pertinent issues of secularism and feminism that plague India today. The ground- breaking marriage of a Muslim emperor to a Hindu princess in the sixteenth century, the respect he shows for her religion by allowing her to remain a Hindu, a practice uncommon even today, and her ability to have a Hindu temple in the Islamic palace serves as a metaphor for a larger message of tolerance and acceptance that is still lacking in the country.

The developing relationship between Akbar and Jodhaa is far from predictable, and their characterizations are strong, dynamic and three dimensional. The concurrence of Jodhaa to marry Akbar for her father's political gain, but the stipulation of conditions under which she will marry represents her defiant nature without her disregard for traditions, an important statement for women in India today. Similarly, the "wife trying to impress the husband by cooking food for him" is indicative of Jodhaa's retention of Indian values despite her rejection of Indian female passivity with her confrontational, independent- minded character and her flare for sword fighting. The "husband trying to impress his wife with his body" is more than just a display of Roshan's physique in this case, since the body of Aishwarya Rai, who is known for her beauty the world over, is surprisingly never showcased in a similar light. The objectifying of the male body rather than the female body epitomizes Gowariker's message of feminism in his attempt at straying away from the exhibition of the female body and the prioritization of the male gaze.

I do, however, agree that moments in the film are overly dramatized and that critical plot points are spelled out for the audience, leaving little room for narrative subtlety. Perhaps these elements of a Bollywood masala film are Gowarikar's response to the lukewarm reception of his last film Swades (2004) that went against many norms of the mainstream Bollywood musical. However, the visual scale of the film should not be ignored in favor of narrative critique. Jodhaa- Akbar's cinematography meets international standards with its extravagant set design, opulent costumes and magnificent visual style. The depth- of- field of the shots depicting the growing romance between the central protagonists serves as an effective indication of the larger societal implications of their cross cultural relationship. Furthermore, the rich red and green costumes that are echoed in the set design are indicative of their opposing yet complimentary personalities and the socio- political impact their relationship has on their surroundings. Although the CGI leaves room for improvement, it is unlike anything Bollywood has ever seen before, let alone ventured to accomplish. Clearly, behind this Bollywood masala film is the cinematic subtlety and vision of a master, continuing to bravely conquer untrodden paths.

When Love Meets War: Jodhaa Akbar

Comment:
You make some excellent points regarding the cinematography and music score of the film. A. R. Rahman's music incorporates "Sufi and Meera Bhajans" as well as "classic and folk songs" to bring out the inherent conflict yet the melodic interplay between Hindu and Muslim cultures within India. Moreover, the use of Hindi by Jodhaa and Urdu by Akbar further depicts the religious subtexts of the developing relationship between the two. Akbar's adoption of the Hindi word "rasoigarh" (kitchen) as a sign of appreciation for Jodhaa's hand- cooked feast is one of many understated attempts on the part of Gowariker to add depth to the declining Hindu- Muslim conflicts between the couple as the film progresses. It is true that Mughal- e- azam (1960) is replete with "silken dialogs" in a completely pure and poetic form of an often incomprehensible Urdu. Gowariker however, uses the intricacies of language to depict the dynamics between religions across the country, and imbues dialog with the elegance and royalty of the Mughal era while making it completely comprehensible to the contemporary common man.

In terms of visual design, I think the film is leagues ahead of anything that has come out of Bollywood. Perhaps a comparison to Mughal- e- azam is unfair given that the film was black and white and much of the beauty of the sets relies on audience imagination. In comparing the Mughal palaces of Jodhaa- Akbar to the "Chandramukhi Mahal of Devdas (2002)" however, I completely disagree with your comments. While Bhansali was aiming at assaulting the senses of the audience with sheer opulence and color, Gowariker's sets were far more sophisticated and detailed, never overpowering the actors or their performances like the latter. Moreover, Gowariker uses more than just lavish sets and costumes to contribute to the visual style of his film. From the visceral high- speed tracking shots going backwards as the two opposing armies collide on the battle- field, to Jodhaa's delicate dropping of the beautifully embroidered translucent veil to serve as a barrier against Akbar during the initial phases of their relationship, the cinematography of film is loading with meaning and is visually breath- taking.

On the note of accuracy, I feel Gowariker effectively modernizes aspects of the characters while retaining the authenticity of the period, thereby leaving out certain aspects of Akbar's life in order to convey the themes of religious and gender equality, and to allow audiences to identify with the film. The disclaimer at the very beginning of the film explicitly stating that it is depicting only one version of history, illustrates that the film was attempting to make a much larger "socio- political critique" on society rather than a factual exploration of Emperor Akbar's life. It is a pity that the visual excellence of this film is going unnoticed in several parts of India due to protests against its alleged historical inaccuracies.

More Than Just Celluloid: Bollywood's Growing Avenues of Consumption

There has been much hype regarding increasing foreign investments, proliferation of local studios and corporatization within the Indian film industry. "The new money flowing into the business may be marking a change of culture behind the scenes", business analysts say. Disney's rise in share ownership of UTV Software Communications to 30%, the first Bollywood co- production with Hollywood major Sony Pictures and the escalating number of initial public offerings of Indian production houses on London's AIM is flooding international media. The credit for the 25% growth in revenue of the Indian film industry is given to increased capital and competition due to the sudden surge of local and foreign players in the field. I however, feel that the primary reason for the evolution of content and business models within the industry, should be attributed to the change in the ways in which audiences are able to consume film today, a factor that is largely ignored.

Corporatization has clearly grown the market, changing the structure of Bollywood production houses. The rise in the number of studios has altered the business model of family run companies with no production contracts, schedules, or bound scripts. The burgeoning number of key players in the industry, extravagant marketing campaigns and unconventional narratives that go beyond song and dance ridden family dramas have contributed to the qualitative transitions of the Bollywood film. However, the crucial and often undocumented reason for such a transition is the establishment of legitimized distribution outlets within the increasingly vertically integrated studios. In the past, production houses created films for distributors. Within the incestuous industry, films were bought on the basis of relationships shared among creative players rather than content. Producers would not display their films to potential distributors in the fear of not being able to sell them, and the latter banked on the star power and universal appeal of the formulaic Hindi film to sustain itself in theaters. Production houses have now helped set up professional distribution systems and often disseminate their own products, thereby allowing for the creation of visual texts for audiences rather than distributors. This has resulted in the generation of more experimental, low budget and independent films without a major star cast, enabling producers to market and distribute their films according to their unique positioning and target audiences. Bheja Fry (2007) for example, made with a $150,000 budget and no A-list actors, made an astonishing $2 million at the box office. Its success was predominantly due to the fact that it followed a pattern of platform distribution, releasing only seventy prints initially and increasing the number of prints as positive word of mouth caused a growth in demand. Moreover, areas and theaters were selectively chosen to distribute the film, even within the more generic target group of the elite, multiplex- viewing audiences, thereby effectively targeting their desired viewers and rapidly recovering costs.

The proliferation of multiplexes is another effect of corporatization which is largely underplayed as a factor influencing the content of Bollywood films. "Before multiplexes came into existence, the film industry was producing just three hundred films a year while now it is churning out over a thousand films", asserts Deepak Tanuja, Vice-President of Fun Cinemas. With the new five year entertainment tax waiver for upcoming multiplexes, the explosion of multi- screen cinemas has altered the face of exhibition and over the years has influenced the content of Indian motion pictures. "The multiplex concept has made it easier for small budgeted movies to make their presence felt among the audience" say critics. Without the pressure of breaking even in a 1,500 person theater, cinema halls with smaller capacities have enabled the exhibition and sustenance of independent films, as well as the growth of genres in an industry that has relied on three hour "masala" films, a concoction of many genres packaged as a predominantly melodramatic musical to appeal to the lowest common denominator. This is seen in the recent surge of horror, thriller, sci- fi and fantasy films such as Bhoot (2003), Koi... Mil Gaya (2003) and Krrish (2006) as illustrated in the image above.

With the growth of digital cinema over the last two years, distributors are able to drastically cut down on the hugely expensive cost of print. This enables viewership among audiences in B and C class towns that would otherwise be unable to access these films due to difficulty in transportation to remote areas or a high cost of print that would not be easily recovered in these regions. With a sudden surge of approximately two thousand digital theaters across the nation, cheap exhibition of small budget, experimental films that depart from the norms of mainstream Bollywood cinema, while targeting a larger audience and easily recovering costs, has been made possible. Given the lower costs, higher shelf life and broader audience base with the rise in digital cinema, Kanwaar of Apollo Group sums up its main advantages as generating "a lower break-even point", thereby increasing revenue and encouraging experimentation and narrow casting.

New avenues of audience consumption such as the growth of in- home consumption of films has also been integral in paving a path for a new wave of Bollywood films. With a huge drop in DVD costs to $3 per DVD, as well the recent practice of releasing DVDs forty five days rather than six months after theatrical release, a huge increase in DVD sales has swept the market, aiding in the potential production of direct to home and direct to television films in the near future. With increased urbanization and nuclearization of homes across the country, there are more television sets per family and with lowered interest rates over the last six years, people who were unable to afford televisions now have home theater systems purchased on installments. Moreover, although internet- based viewing is still nascent, there has been a gradual inception of a new set of small budget films created for online viewing such as Fear (2007), which was the first Indian film to have an online release without a theatrical release, as indicated by the image above. While internet releases predominantly target the Indian Diaspora since broadband connectivity within India is still restricted, corporate heads are forecasting that "the next generation of film distribution will see online and IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) contributing much larger ratios to overall film revenue".

With this burgeoning multiple revenue system, the growing methods of audience consumption as well as the infrastructure to tap into these varying streams is rapidly changing the business model of the insular Indian film industry. This, in turn, is allowing for a newfound opportunity to cater to niche audiences, which is consequently impacting cinematic content. More people are able to watch movies today than ever before due to various technological advances and audience tastes are being shaped by these changes. Not only do these various methods of consumption promote the production of independent and experimental cinema, but the accessibility with which audiences are able to consume movies is also changing their preferences in terms of the lengthy durations of Bollywood films, as more and more films are watched at home rather than viewed as theatrical experiences. The easy availability of films is also causing a demand in a greater variety of genres and narratives. The only issue that needs to be seriously considered in this rapidly growing and evolving market is that these multiple streams of viewing encourage piracy, a grave problem that must be combated against in an industry where piracy already causes a $400 million loss in revenue.