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Kaun Banega PRODUCER!
This is my 1st article for PFC. I must start with an ode to the man who created it. Yeah i’m licking his balls for letting me this opportunity ….but his balls are so cool right now. This article is a result of my 1st phone conversation with OZ last night. For those of you who don’t know the man just quit his job to pursue his dreams of film making. So all our good wishes to him. And the best thing about him is he doesn’t dream of directing(atleast not right now) like most of us. He wants to produce. And honestly man i was so happy to hear that.
Now one thing (of the many other problems) that is a big problem in Bollywood is lack of sensitive, creative & well read producers. Who wants to be a producer? I never even gave it a thought when i started out. Reasons being many like - its a non creative job(I didn’t know shit), too much headache with money etc etc. Plus unlike in Hollywood where Producers are considered FILMMAKERS too, in our system they are known as only money men. So kids who are passionate about cinema do not aspire to be producers. Plus it seems easier to write a screenplay than to raise a million dollar. Right? Wrong. Its cheaper to write a screenplay not easier. A good screenplay is priceless. Being poor strugglers from middle class families we can’t even imagine raising that kind of money. So after Cable came to India, there was this whole generation of us who watched all these international films (mostly hollywood) & realised how cool films can be. Those of us who lost our minds, left everything & came to Bombay only to become directors. I hardly know anyone or met anyone during my stint in bombay who came to Bombay to produce good films. We all wanna direct. So some of the guys came back from US ( KAIZAD & KUKOONUR) & made really cool & honest films. I think those two guys & Dev Benegal showed us the way along with RGV that we can do it. We can make films about what happens around us. So we have trainfull of kids from all over the country landing in VT station wanting to be directors. We all struggled. There was all this talk about a new generation of educated kids changing Indian cinema. It never happened. Why? Because a director cant make the film alone. He needs a like minded producer. But no one wanted to do the dirty job. So the producers remained the same old hiralals. They kept making the formula films while all these kids were burning out. RGV was the only guy who gave breaks to so many kids. people say he exploited everyone. that he ghost directs them…. But hey he let u direct a fuckin feature film man. After that you are on your own. Thats a great step.
So coming back to OZ, I’m so glad, happy & relieved that he is taking the other route. If he can make it, it will help 5 losers like me. What was supposed to change indian cinema almost died out. Atleast thats what it seems from the quality of films I see on screen. Though my friend who works in Bombay is very upbeat about the future. I wonder if there was a bunch of really smart cinema crazy kids land in Bombay with dreams of producing films & struggle through production while their so called creative brothers rise up through the direction path - would things would have been better? I definitely think so. What about you?
36 Responses to “Kaun Banega PRODUCER!”
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I think my balls just shrunk 6 feet under.
mainak. very interesting post.u missed out on people like farhan akhtar & nikhil advani. they are also producers.
very true mainak.. afterall the producers are the real Film MAKERS or Film Breakers..keep it up OZ.. bring ur balls out ..let the world see it..what it is made of..steel? if it is … we will all lick it..
Wow!!
Oz sir it does take balls to do what you just did. Whatever u do will be worth appreciating for sure!
Oz,
U sure have BALLS man!!!
Raaj
what good Advani has done to comparw with likes of Kukunoor,RGV etc?
Exactly.
Advani has directed that Gay film in New York & Love Actually in New York again. So i dont get what is worth writing about him?
Farhan Akhtar? He produced his own piece of shit DON. Apart from that he produced That Honeymoon travels which happens to be directed by his close friend & 1st AD on Lakshya. He started out great with DCH & even Lakshya was great in parts. Then he digressed…big time. It would be hard for him to make another film as fresh as DCH. What a pity. He really has potential & is a very smart dude i think.
I had heard this story about the guy who made DANGER. I mean produced. He comes froma producing family & wanted to make something original so he read filmmaking books & made his 1st film DANGER. I liked that film. This story could be about the director instead too. its been a long time….
Thats a good example for me.
I think Prakash Jha is a producer to look out for now. When i was in india he was planning to produce a bunch of films. I think he has the right sensibilities to be a good producer. He has struggled all his life to make films he believed in. And he is very good at producing too. I saw it during Gangaajal.
Ritesh Sidwani also seemed like the right guy. Rich ,educated, proffesional. Then he also got caught in his own ego like his partner Farhan.
UTV is probably another place where good films ill come out.
Pritish Nandy Communications ofcourse is the best alternative house for last few years.
You have touched a very good subject here Mainak. Congratulations for your first post. I have worked with many producers in India I have felt the same that they do not have, in most cases, the creative input. I will not blame them. They start producing coz they have money, good that they are bringing money into the film world. The problem is that they don
Welcome Aboard Mainak…
I would like to add Sanjay Gupta to this list. People really rip this guy apart, but, I do love his movies. Even today i feel that i connected more with Kaante than i did with Reservoir Dogs. He is now producing a bunch of cool phillums in association with White Feathers.
“RGV was the only guy who gave breaks to so many kids. people say he exploited everyone. that he ghost directs them
Yeah it really, really sucks man. I think any would-be writer/director has had their share of bad experiences with producers. 90% of the producers out there only care about making money. Its a misconception that they want to make “safe” films… many want (or think they want) to make “hatke” films but films that will make money at the same time.
You know what, nothing wrong with that. But then its these same guys, who unfortunately run the show especially when working with fresh talent, that don’t have a bloody clue about what makes a good, entertaining film.
What a young, up and coming writer/director needs to do is convince the producer that you know filmmaking is a business and that you fully intend to deliver a film that will simultaneously:
- satisfy the creative needs of the maker,
- be a visual/technical treat (we often forget that sound design is as/or more important than good visuals)
- entertain a wide section of the audience
- have a very strong potential to gain a return on the investment
Screw that. I’m so wrong. What you need is producers that will UNDERSTAND that’s what your trying to accomplish once they read your script.
PS - Nikhil Advani, under his banner Orion films, is producing a film for Vikram Adiya Motwane (who Anuran Kashyab I believe described as a wonderkid) starring John & Vidya. So, I think he merits a mention where in comes to promising producers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikramaditya_Motwane
Yeah Tony….
This guy seems multitalented. he was the sound designer for Devdas & Paanch.
I dont think producing 1 film merits mention.
Manmohan Shetty to me has been the best producer so far to have produced a lot of Art films. Most of it was for his friends though. But he does look at alternative films. Now that Reliance have bought over Adlabs I dunno which direction that will go. But that group has some really talented directors like Prakash Jha, Govind Nihlani & John Mathew.
Whats happening to METALIGHT? Anyone knows? They produced Nagesh’s TEEN DIWAREEN.
Vikramaditya Motwane has directed a short film that is screening at IFFLA this year called Undisputed: http://indianfilmfestival.org/movies07/undisputed.html
Very funny film.
That looks the most interesting film to me so far!
But its a bit confusing from the tag line. But its cool that Akshay Kumar has acted in a short film. This guy seems to be on his way.
Nahi yaar, you are mistaken. Akshay Kumar has not acted in the film. The main character’s name in the film is Akshay Kumar.
Yeah yeah…i figured that after i already posted….
OZ i think we should be able to edit our comments….
I will try to see this film anyways.
Vikram will be here i assume?
We should get all these filmmakers at IFFLA hooked to PFC & make them authors. This is a big opportunity. We have the best INSIDE MAN!
What is the amount required to make a decent movie like an Iqbal??
Even i dream of becomin a director/screenplay writer
but ur article has made me think on becomin also a producer
Iqbal would be 25 days of shoot.
2-3 months of Pre Production.
4 months of Post(including publicity).
I will let you know the exact detail tommorow. My very good friend Himanshu Vora was AD on IQBAL.
Yeah Karthik….please become a Producer. You will have the real power:)
I was once approached to direct a film. The producer was the one who wrote the script. He said that it took him 12 years to write the script. I read the script and I told him that a lot of scenes had to be changed. But he said no as he had spent so much hard work on the script. He then told me that he would be playing the lead role. I did not like the idea at all. But he wanted to prove that he is a very good actor. He performed some scenes from the film. Sometimes he would be a Raj Kumar and all of a sudden he would become Nana Patekar. I argued with with him for 1 week. I was confused also because I needed money which he was ready to pay. But I walked out.
There are many people who are ready to be producers so that they fulfill their dream of becoming actor.
When a film flops everyone blames the director. The director may blame the script, the producers and sometimes the actors. If I made the film I would blame only one person. Me, for accepting the film.
Nice first post mainak!! looking fwd to reading some more… and best of luck Oz!!! make some difference..
Something about the new Bollywood -
http://timesnow.tv/Glitz_NOW/ENow_Special_The_Studio_System/articleshow/345583.cms
Karthik Shah, please become a Producer. We need Creative Producers in this industry. I would also become a Producer - I want to infact. Ofcourse I want to write & direct but I want to produce also. Money is where it all boils down to. You asked for budget of IQBAL. It was of budget 2.5 crores but went over and touched around 3 crores. We shot in 37 days.. 28 in Tenali (a small town in Andhra Pradesh near Guntur) and 9 days shoot in Hyderabad. It was a straight one shooting schedule with ofcourse one day break as we had a long shift from Tenali to Hyd. All said and done, I think a brilliant film from my mentor Nagesh Kukunoor. The rest is same what Mainak has posted.
I see a bright future in the Indian Film Industry right now. Definitely we need great producers around. Very good first post Mainak. And thank you OZ for this initiative. Brilliant work. I am not surprised why this site has taken a great step ahead. Passion of cinema rocks.
Lets make brilliant films folks! Welcoming great producers!
Welcome to PFC Himanshu.
Get ready to lose your sleep now. Its addictive.
But man… I was pretty close on the IQBAL numbers.
cheers!
Hey Mainak,
Nice post indeed.
…and what a surprise…Oz as a producer…My Best Regards and Wishes to you Oz.
Hope my days of “WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ” will be back again (by Oz’s cinema).
:)>-:)>-:)>-
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Director/Writer/Editor/Composer/Art Director/Actor: Artists
Producer: Businessman/Crusader??
Mainak, wonderful insights…but how does a prospective producer trade-off the urge to promote meaningful cinema, with the profitability aspect of it (especially in a country like India where places like northeastern region haven’t yet seen a glimpse of Khosla ka Ghosla or Being Cyrus or Mixed Doubles or 15 Park Avenue or Black Friday in THEATRES- barring mayde DVD versions)? Assuming the poor guy goes ahead simply for the sake of the spirit of cinema, without giving two hoots to ROI or profitability, how long will he/she hold aloft the flag of the kind of cinema that we at PFC have come to love and swear by?
Well …I have always wondered how can these South States make such movies profitably all the time. They ar all 1 state or maximum 2 state audience. While for Bollywood we have almost 3/4th of the country. Now do your numbers.
The main issue is not profitability. The issue is safety for them. Safety = Stars. Look at all the corporate money being flushed right now. where is it going? to mega deals for the stars. Hritik signed a 5 movie deal, Akshay did a 3 movie deal. Now for me it seems like things are bad if not improved with the corporates in it. Adlabs have always done good work. Now the corporate guys from Relience with their MBAs from IIMs probably are calculating how to squeeze everything out of Bollywood.
All that is fine as long as it helps the smaller independent films. thats how it works in hollywood. A MI3 or MATRIX makes it possible for them to throw money at movies like HALF NELSON.
i can understand the big banners wanting to cash in on the stars’ image and make a dhoom 1,2,3 and so on… that’s their business model, and that’s fine. but for every 2 big films, it wouldn’t hurt them so much to do a ’smaller’ film which introduces RAW TALENT. that really isn’t a lot to ask, especially for these big guys who’ve been around for so long. they do have the power to bring about a change in the industry.. it’s the fact that they’d rather sit on their asses and play it safe rather than experiment, which pisses most like me off.
Spot On striker….
Bhenchod inke pass guts nahi hai. Except amair none of the big stars want to take any risk. They should make money on stars and spend it on young talent.
I agree with you Varun. But Saif Ali Khan did a Being Cyrus. Times are changing. I believe if you have a good script, a good convincing power to the financer of producer then you are on! I know it sounds easy to say but its the reality.
Saif I think is an exception among the Khans. i remember watching his interviews before DCH was released & for the 1st time he seemed comfortable doing what he was doing. he seemed very smart & intelligent dude who was lost in craziness of bollywood & in his own shortcomings as an actor too. Now that he has come up as a star in his own right I hope he does a indie film atleast once a year.
I think they should produce these indie projects & not charge their hefty rates. That way the film gets picked up & no one pays half the money to the lead actor. Give them ‘percentage’.
Brad Pit, Dicaprio & so many other A list stars here have their own production houses which keep making Indie films or pick them up at Festivals & promote them. I think we need our Amir Khans & Saif Alis to start doing it. If they are too scarred to star in it atleast they can produce it.
Absolutely…. you said it Mainak. If Hollywood and Europe can… India can too… come on all Super Stars I hope you are hearing this! As indie is the future and theres big competition for the so called Super Stars!
I must mention Japan and other nations too…. I mean we have it in India… Super Stars need to promote and produce the indie culture if not act in it…. the world is doing… we need to show our world to the world!
Hey this posting thing should have some editing thing!
@ himanshu… This Posting thing has editing thing but only for Editing staff…what thing do you want brother?
I don’t think all this would make any dent in the existing vicious circle of so-called “popular” cinema (less popularity, all muscle!) unless meaningful/good/arthouse/noire/indie (or any other nomenclature we use to refer to CINEMA per se, as opposed to the flashy all-color atrocities we are subjected to) films make it to all sections of audiences, rather than play to a select MULTIPLEX gathering…give the rest of them a chance to try and rediscover their preferences…give them more CHOICES maybe, before looking down upon them from our comfy ivory towers and sneer, “In logo ka koi TASTE nahi hai”. Pretty long shot, but that perhaps is the only way a Homi Adajania or Rajat Kapoor can fight the Chopras and the Johars and come out victorious, rather than depend on a ‘model’ that would wait for leftovers from the biggies.
:d What is happening to bollywood is to make easy money whereever possible. A original film will take 5 years and a copied film may take 30 minutes or just 10 days. So the problem isnt Bollywood the problem is Indian. u got it - the best politicians in India are bollywood directors - Kiss the dons ass Kiss some actresses ass. and u get some rich kids spend their dads money to watch some desi flick of hollywood remake.