Condemning prejudice against mainstream cinema

Kabir Khan says film festivals should also feature good movies with big budgets and stars

NEW DELHI:

In a country full of star-performers, Indian films with a powerful cast tend become the highest-grossing movies. But making it to Indian or international film festivals is not a cakewalk for them. Kabir Khan, whose Bajrangi Bhaijaan - starring Salman Khan - tasted stupendous success at the box office as well as film fests, shared that commercially successful movies shouldn’t be ignored at such festivals.

“When you are making mainstream films especially with superstars, you are not really thinking of festivals. That’s because you don’t have the time to travel to festivals before the film’s release. In the case of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, at that point of time, we were not thinking of fests at all. But we are happy that it has been received the way it has and that people are inviting us to festivals,” he added.

But not all money-spinning Indian films get a similar chance to showcase their work at fests, which are attended by filmmakers from across the globe as well as other movie buffs. “When you are looking at films, you should definitely try to get good films to fests. But I don’t think there should be prejudice against mainstream cinema, especially today, with lines blurring,” the Phantom director stated.

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Kabir, who often makes films around the subject of terrorism or uses Indo-Pak ties as a backdrop, says mainstream cinema filmmakers should make films that are “more real and logical” to find a spot at film festivals. He added, “Mainstream cinema needs to be included in their fests programming or otherwise they will be catering to a very small audience.”

Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which unfolds the story of a man on a mission to take a young Pakistani deaf and mute girl back to her country minted over INR600 crore worldwide. After its screening at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival in South Korea last month, it will entertain the attendees of the 46th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa this month.

“When we were making Bajrangi Bhaijaan, we were not expecting half the reaction we have gotten for it. The kind of love and acclaim we have received for this film is something truly heart-warming. I am really happy that it was screened at BFF and will feature now at IFFI,” Kabir shared in an interview.

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Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which is Salman’s first release since he was sentenced in May to six years in jail in the infamous 2002 hit-and-run case saw the director and the actor teaming up again after the 2012 film Ek Tha Tiger. They didn’t stick to the action-thriller genre and so the audience got to see Salman, in a different avatar in this year’s blockbuster.

“In the movie, he is beaten up and is mostly seen in one set of clothes in the entire second half and it’s not a big love story. I think all that in some way made his character very endearing and people reacted positively to the fact that Salman made a lot of effort in portraying a certain character,” said the director.

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And if everything goes well, the formidable duo of Salman and Kabir might be joining hands again for another film. But “when, how and where,” are still not clear shared the film-maker. 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2015.

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