Bollywood is a money-spinner in all respects. But unless there is meaningful and clean cinema, the money that Bollywood earns or its contribution to Indian GDP will remain a body without a soul
Notwithstanding the contribution that Bollywood makes
Kumkum Chadha
Bollywood has made India proud. Wherever Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an unknown entity, for instance in the distant Greek islands, it is Amir and Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai who are better known.
Amir and Shahrukh are two of the three Khans while Aishwarya is a former beauty queen turned film star. Her other attribute is that she is married into the well known Bachchan family and is mega star Amitabh Bachchans daughter in law.
It is strange that between the three Khans, Salman is not mentioned in distant lands be it Greece or Turkey.
In India Salman Khan is a hot favourite. He has in a row delivered hits, raking in mind- boggling figures. His recent Bajrangi Bhaijaan, based on the Indo Pak theme has crossed the 200 crore mark, if its earnings overseas are clubbed to the collections in India.
Within the country, Bhaijaan crossed the 100 crore mark in three days: the amount doubled in less than a week.
This reportedly shattered box office records created by Aamir Khans PK and Shah Rukhs Happy New Year.
PK, had, in one week, earned around Rupees 184 crores while Happy New Year around a 160 crore rupees.
Salman Khan makes it a point to release his film on Eid every year. Call it Allahs blessings, but they are instant hits. Taking the cue, now Shahrukh has also announced his next film to be released on Eid.
That Salman has a massive fan following is a given. Add to that his having an item number or a touch of Sufism by way of a qawwali and the audience gets hooked. Be it Munni badnaam hui darling tere liye in Dabaang or Meri photo kochipka le Fevicol se. from Dabaang 2 were hits that helped both films immensely. The pre release publicity of the item numbers were a determining factor in getting crowds to theatres.
It was Kareena Kapoor who gyrated on the Fevicol number, close on the heels of Malaika Arora in Munni Badnaam hui.
Salman Khans earlier films Ek Tha Tiger that fell short of the 200 crore collection or Bodyguard that did good business remain talking points. However it was Dabaang that made Khan a household name.
But entering the rupees 100-crore club is pass: an old story. The new thing is the entry into 200 or 300 crore club.
Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer Chennai Express entered the 200 crore club as did Krrish 3 followed by Aamir Khans Dhoom 3 and Shahrukhs Happy New Year.
Dhoom 3 did it the fastest: under ten days.
Amir Khan achieved this feat when he was 45 years old, while Shah Rukh and Salman Khan when they were around 48 years. Hritikh Roshan achieved this milestone when he was 40: the youngest to enter the rupees 200 crore club.
While the three Khans and Roshan are the only four to have made it to the exclusive 200 crore club, among the actresses who have joined the elite ranks include Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.
Aishwarya Rai took a break after the birth of her daughter: her first. She is now likely to stage a come-back.
Given the revenue their films generate, Bollywood stars are very highly paid.
Of the famous Khans, Salman reportedly charges as much as 55 crore per film in addition to a share in the money the film earns; Amir Khan 45 crores and a share in profits; Shahrukh gets 35-40 crores excluding the profits he earns on each film. Given that most of his films are home productions, he rakes in crores.
Amitabh Bachchan, a super star, reportedly charges half the amount the Khans do: some 20 crores per film.
For the others, Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor and Hritik Roshan, the figures range from 25 to 30 crores per film. There are however indications that Hritik may better others by charging a whopping 50 crores for his forthcoming film which will make him among the highest paid actors in the industry.
Among the women actors, the highest paid include Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif among others. Their earnings range between 6-7 crores per film. Kareenas remuneration per film touches a 10 crore mark.
The lesser paid are Anushka Sharma and Sonakshi Sinha: around 6 crores per film.
There is big money riding on Bollywood. Several zeroes have been added to collections of yesteryears when a few crores were enough to declare a movie a hit.
That apart, its contribution to the Indian economy cannot be undermined. The film industry, according to reports, contributed rupees 50,0000 crore to the Indian economy equating it to 0.5 percent of GDP in 2013. In 2008-2009, it contributed over 28 crores to the economy.
According to the Economic Contribution of the Indian Motion Picture and Television Industry report the sector has a total output of $20.4 billion or rupees 92,645 crore, contributing more to the gross domestic product of India than the advertising industry does.
Consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers prepared the report.
Filmmakers and production houses abroad, particularly in the US, have hailed the Indian film industry as the worlds largest markets in terms of the number of consumers.
It is also one that has tremendous growth potential. In the past few years it has achieved double-digit growth and if the report is any indication, this trend is likely to continue.
But Bollywood is not about money alone: or the crores it manages to rake in. It is more than that: it is about entertainment and the high levels of expertise that it has achieved in recent years.
From the era of silent films to black and white and then colour, Bollywood films now boast of technical excellence and production standards that have few parallels.
Therefore at that level it has arrived. Where it has failed is that it has not been able to club responsibility with entertainment. It has not been able to weave in gender friendly messages or make women as relevant as men actors in their themes. Women actors still remain annexures to the male lead actors.
Women oriented cinema apart, in other films particularly those with item numbers, women are portrayed as sex symbols. Not only are their gestures provocative, but also dialogues carry double meanings and are often loaded. In films where violence is the key, four letter words are commonplace.
It is this that needs to change. Unless there is meaningful and clean cinema, the money that Bollywood earns or its contribution to Indian GDP will remain a body without a soul.
The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])
