This inclusive community service is available daily on Al Hamriya Beach from 6.00am to sunset
uae4 hours ago
In show business, nothing is ever as it seems. Scanning the about-to-end-annual report of Bollywood's harvest of films, one could be forgiven for concluding that 2015 was a pretty good year.
After all, despite a slow start, the box office was at a high. Approximately 110 films were premiered. And it seemed like just about every weekend brought another hit - if not blockbuster - to a rabidly enthusiastic audience. The only problem with such an upbeat assessment is that it's not entirely accurate.
Sure, there were a number of extremely profitable films - Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, for instance. But with costs going completely out of control, film corporations, assorted producers, and financiers, who bankroll projects from behind the scenes, have painted themselves into a very dark corner - one in which a single, big-budget failure can wipe them off the map. At least two leading corporates that were flying high now belong to the almost-extinct species.
Moreover, an unhealthy competition is on to book as many multiplex screens as possible and amass the maximum ticket sales during the opening weekend, as in the case of Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani. Numbers count; quality can go fly a kite. Add to this the spiralling budgets that are essential for marketing (a euphemism for media publicity), and all these add up to a movie-making scenario that is in shambles.
Disturbingly, the clout of A-list heroes has strengthened to such a degree that they're the ones who call the shots today. The value of directors, producers and writers is at its lowest point. To continue in the fray, they must be in the good books of the super-saleable actors who, without so much as a by-your-leave, intervene in every component of a project - from finalising the leading lady and music composer to the cinematographer and costume designer. Male heroes - the heroines don't have a say, really - supervise the editing, suggest international songs that can be 'adapted' and even indulge in ghost-direction frequently.
Of course, this isn't an entirely new phenomenon. Dilip Kumar, for instance, was known to have driven his directors up the wall. Nowadays, that's a given. The Khan trinity - Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman Khan - go more by their gut-feelings and their own sensibilities than those of the director, whose status has been reduced to a yes man, or a Noddy in Wonderland.
|
POWER PLAY: Some of the industry's biggest stars such as (left to right) Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan prefer to produce their own films, else demand jaw-dropping fees to star in projects not their own |
This inclusive community service is available daily on Al Hamriya Beach from 6.00am to sunset
uae4 hours ago
The floods on Friday also destroyed about 2,000 houses, and damaged thousands more homes and businesses
world4 hours ago
They waited nearly two decades before the club was able to break the trophy drought
football5 hours ago
For the last three months, Marwa Harb's journey through intensive treatments has shown positive results
uae5 hours ago
Stunning win over American Tommy Paul sets up Italian Open title clash against against Alexander Zverev
sports6 hours ago
For most, these marketing calls are nothing but annoying distractions — for some, however, it's a job
uae6 hours ago
Pep Guardiola's all-conquering Blues go into the final day of the season on Sunday with a two-point cushion over the Gunners thanks to an eight-game winning streak
sports6 hours ago
The event connected students with global university representatives, parents, and guidance counsellors
kt network6 hours ago