Noted film-maker Ashutosh Gowariker; make-up artiste, Vikram Gaikwad; and film scholar, Samar Nakhate participated in a seminar on the declining importance of historical films in Bollywood on Wednesday. The event marked the completion of 50 years of the landmark film, Mughal-e-Azam.
The seminar-cum-discussion was held on the sidelines of the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF). Gowariker said that in the early years of cinema, films were expected to present larger than life subjects and grand sets. That made historical films the popular choice.
“Even Dadasaheb Phalke chose a larger than life subject for his first film Raja Harishchandra instead of a normal father-son story. But in the next few decades, the fad died down because such films need a huge budget and our society was changing too,” he said.
Gowariker said while digitalisation is an important aspect of historical films, it is the subject that decides the final outcome.
“Many big budget Hollywood films like Troy failed despite digitalisation and grand sets because they lacked the core story,” he said.
Talking about the debacle of his latest film, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, Gowariker said, “It’s not that we failed to communicate with the audience. The audience failed to come to the theatres. The film didn’t have much entertainment value, but since it was about a revolutionary, I had to be true to the story. I could not take creative liberty and show romance instead. We also fell short on marketing. Now I am looking forward to the DVD and satellite release. In fact, I would like to do a period film again and also do a
murder mystery.”
Expressing concern about Bollywood film-makers’ and actors’ apathy towards historical films, Gaikwad said, “In Hollywood, China and the European film industry, big budget historical films have brought about a revolution. Even Marathi films like Sant Tukaram and Telugu films in the same genre have a great sense of creativity, but Bollywood films revolve only around love and sex.”
“Make-up and costumes are very important aspects of historical films, but sadly, most of the producers don’t keep aside enough budget for both. Most of the young actors have nothing to do with history. While I want them to look like the characters, they just want to look good,” he added.
