Star of India Period Film a Venture Capitalist Icon
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010908/lf/leisure_india_movie_dc_1.html
By Narayanan Madhavan and Maria Abraham
BANGALORE/BOMBAY (Reuters) - An Indian film about a cricket match that pits British colonial oppressors against 19th-century farmers has been driving audiences wild – and has made its star a hit with the country’s venture capitalists.
Actor-producer Aamir Khan’s ``Lagaan,‘’ or Land Tax, may be an unlikely blockbuster but it has enthused the world’s most prolific film industry, eternally desperate for hits to pack theaters.
``It’s a story which is universal in its appeal… It’s a story about the triumph of the human spirit. Of achieving the impossible,‘’ Khan, 36, told Reuters in Bombay.
``There is humor, drama, emotion. You come out feeling good.‘’
The film flouts the usual boy-meets-girl, hero-fights-villain formula and melodramatic conventions of ‘‘Bollywood,’’ as India’s film industry.
And nearly half of its four hours is devoted to a cricket match – a strategy that might not work everywhere but has struck a chord in the cricket-mad subcontinent.
``Lagaan’’ has won praise from fans, critics and venture capitalists alike.
``He (Aamir Khan) is the venture capitalist of the year,‘’ Mahesh Murthy of Passion Fund told a conference on Internet business in the southern city of Bangalore, India’s technology capital.
LESSONS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Khan’s triumph has brought solace to Indian venture capitalists yearning for success as they nurse their bruises from the dotcom bust and the global technology slowdown.
At the same conference, Bharati Jacob of the Infinity Venture Fund called ``Lagaan’’ a case study in path-breaking entrepreneurship.
``It was a high-risk strategy in 2001 to do a period film – and in that a four-hour film which has a cricket match built in,‘’ Jacob told Reuters in Bangalore.
How would you keep the audience in the theater for so long?'' she asked. It was flawless execution… And it gives investors the hundred-fold return.‘’
No doubt the film’s nationalist appeal helped. Its mainspring is the colonial rulers’ promise to waive the peasants’ land tax if the cultivators can beat them at a cricket match – a game entirely alien to the farmers.
Yet against almost unbelievable odds, the home team wins.
ACROSS THE BORDER
The tale is proving popular with overseas audiences as well.
It won the audience choice award at Switzerland’s Locarno film festival.
Trade magazine ``Screen’’ reported that the film has been sold for viewing in eight nations including Switzerland, Finland, Germany and Austria and is set to be dubbed into Italian.
Box office-analyst Taran Adarsh classified Lagaan,'' which was released in June, a super-duper’’ hit. After 11 weeks, it still carried the ``super-hit’’ tag.
The film cost an estimated 230 million rupees ($4.9 million) to make.
Besides its success at the box office, it has drawn praise for its sophistication. And a lilting music score by whizkid composer Allah Rakha Rahman has helped.
``The film rarely falters when it tells the tale of the underdogs rising to take charge of their own lives, without the violence but through the spirit of a game,‘’ analyst Arati Koppar wrote on the Internet site Indiatimes.com.
SUCCESS AFTER REJECTIONS
Bringing the tale to the screen was a story in itself, rich in the elements that make for successful entrepreneurship.
Khan initially turned down the script, brought to him by director Ashutosh Gowarikar, who persisted despite several rejections. The director stubbornly refused producers who wanted script changes – also unheard of in the film world.
Finally, Khan not only agreed to act but also produced the movie, and backed it to the hilt.
Khan hails from a family of movie-makers and is considered one of a rare breed in Bollywood.
He takes on just one movie at a time and insists on reading the entire script – rare in an industry where details are often left to be worked out at the last moment.
But as an actor his success ratio is far higher.
Khan is said to take a year to decide things and says a movie must be meticulously planned from start to finish.
In the industry, he is seen as a perfectionist.
If I say I'm a perfectionist, it implies I'm good at what I'm doing,'' he said. I would like to say that I try my best and would go to any length to get something right.‘’
But the very success of ``Lagaan’’ could prove embarrassing.
It is expected to win several awards but Khan has in the past refused to acknowledge private awards such as those by industry publications Filmfare'' and Screen,‘’ preferring to hold out for the government’s national awards – should any come his way.
FOLLOWING HIS HEART
Khan’s next movie will showcase his versatility. From the peasant he played in ``Lagaan,‘’ he transforms himself into a swinging, carefree youngster who sports a tufty beard resembling rock guitarist Frank Zappa.
The new film, ``Dil Chahta Hai,‘’ or The Heart Desires, was shot extensively in Sydney, and drew critics’ praise for slickly dealing with a chic, urban theme.
The new film was profitable in Mumbai and parts of South India and has done well in Delhi city. The box office may not have warmed to it in the same way, but Khan has always been one to take risks and follow his heart.
That's what I find exciting,'' he said. I’m doing something totally opposite from what I did in terms of its flavor, style and kind of character.‘’
Khan, despite his financial success, says he has no head for figures. His wife, Reena Dutta, who takes care of his finances – served as executive producer for ``Lagaan.‘’