EDITORIAL
SKIMS SUBTERFUGE
The people of this State
have been deeply distressed by the wide-ranging
allegations of nepotism, corruption and favouritism at
the Shere Kashmir Institute of Medic Sciences, Soura. It
pained all that one wholesome dream of the late Sheikh
Mohd Abdullah should so degenerate under the care of his
very son and scion. That it should become a means for
high transience of rule and regulation is an indicator of
the general malaise plaguing the administration of public
institutions in the State. SKIMS today is a far cry from
the elegant establishment when the legendry physician Ali
Jan presided over it. It had a fine faculty, good
administration, responsibility and care. Over the past
decade all its achievements have been dissipated, one by
one. The rot began when the terrorists came to use the
institute as a hideout of sorts to escape the police and
to recuperate from their anti-State exertions. The efflux
of the faculty members, which had been gathered after a
decade-long painstaking effort, followed. Even as the
budgetary allocations increased and SKIMS became an
autonomous institution, the dissatisfaction with its
working grew. The series of reports, about the
allegations of unfair practices in the recruitment
process, abject flouting of rule and regulations for that
selection, described in detail how fast the institution
was slipping into rot.
The reports buttressed
what had been a gut feeling with a lot of people in the
State. They also did finally take the crying pigeon to
the howling halls of the Government. The loud cries could
just not be ignored. And finally a (conveniently?)
sleeping administration was aroused and an enquiry
ordered. An enquiry commission headed by a distinguished
member of the State judiciary was constituted with
members of an equally flawless record. Hope was kindled
that now the SKIMS would see some much needed correction.
As it now transpires that was only the first stage in
Governmental subterfuge. The pattern is all to familiar:
ignore the cries as long as you can; when it becomes
unavoidable appoint a commission, sabotage it in the
terms of reference and let the whole thing rust there.
Apparently, the violations were, very glaring in fact,
much too pointed here. So the inquiry had to appear more
than mere eyewash. The original notification appeared
sincere as it asked the commission plainly to probe the
allegations and report as early as possible. The next
stage unfolded as soon as the outcry seemed to have
dimmed. Within a week the order was 'superceded' and the
commission deflected into the labyrinth of SKIMS
functioning. Whereas originally the commission was to
inquire 'into the allegations of unfair means having
allegedly been committed in the recruitments'' and to
''report as early as possible'', the superceding order
asked it to ''look into the overall working of the
institute'' to suggest 'measures for improvement'' and to
''examine the records of the entire faculty'' to cover
the original probe. The focus in the original order
became an after thought. And the time limit is naturally
dissolved. With a masterstroke in enquiry becomes a
study, recruitment becomes overall working and the
pointed allegations are drowned into the larger
functioning of the institute.
While it is otherwise hard
to imagine that the gross irregularities of this
dimension would have been committed without the State
administration looking the other way, if not actively
conniving at them, it becomes very clear from the way the
inquiry has been sabotaged. It cannot but deepen the
impression that the allegations, serious as they were,
were based more in truth than the clarifications that
were handed out. In any case nothing would have been lost
if the commission had been allowed to proceed as the
original notification intended it to. The scuttled
inquiry would only push a mired SKIMS deeper into the
bog. The promise of a flourishing medical facility for
the State is today a stinking dump and the authorities
appear to be playing highball with it. Like everything
else, one may add. Choron kay bhi kuchh asool hotey
hain : some institutions are simply sacrosanct,
to be upheld in all circumstances, at all costs. Though
the people would see SKIMS as one of those in the State,
the Government does not apparently think so.
NON-MLAs are out
Well, not exactly. People
who are not members of legislative assemblies can still
become ministers with the condition that they shall have
to get elected to the legislature within the stipulated
6-month period. The Supreme Court in its latest decision
has, however, clarified that this constitutional
provision is a mere grace period allowed to the person
and shall not be misused to override the provision that
only members of the house can become ministers. There is
a reiteration that being a member of the legislature is
essential for being in the cabinet or heading it. The
6-month condition is just an enabling provision, which
allows the head of Government to bring talent of his/her
choice into the cabinet. Or, even to allow the
legislature party to elect leader of its choice who may
not be a member at that very instant.
But that person has to get
himself elected to the house within that prescribed
period. It was never the intent of the constitution to
allow the prospective person to nullify the condition of
membership by a clever construction of the provision, viz
by resigning from the ministry before the expiry of the
6-month period and getting re-inducted a few days later
to begin another 6-month term without fulfilling the
condition of house-membership. In fact, this has been the
general understanding of the 6-month stipulation. There
are few instances of people having stayed in cabinets by
this clever construction of the provision. But the
possibility has always been there. Former Punjab Chief
Minister Beant Singh's son, in whose case the Supreme
Court ruling has come, had done just that. On the current
political scene Jayalalitha who had been disqualified
from contesting the elections came to occupy the CM's
chair via the 6-month provision. It was widely talked
that she would, or can, circumvent her disqualification
by resigning before the 6-month period is over and get
sworn again the day after to begin a new 6-month term.
And, presumably to repeat the process for the full term
of the State legislature.
A literal reading of the
constitution would appear to allow that type of
happenstance. Now the elucidation by the Supreme Court
has put that construction out. It has clarified that the
Non-member's privilege is a mere grace neither to be
granted nor to be invoked for a second term. Though the
court has not exactly mentioned CM, the ruling would
apply to the case of a CM in a like predicament. Likewise
the pronouncement would apply to the cases pertaining to
the Minster-ships in the Union Cabinet and involving the
membership of the parliament. For the constitutional
provisions here are identical in scheme and intent to
those relating to the State legislature and State
cabinets. Whatever the merit of restricting the cabinet
formation to the elected legislators, and there is much
to be said against its desirability and effects it has
had on kinking the whole legislative/executive division,
the ruling would ensure that the provisions of the
constitution would not be perverted from the personal
ends and promotions.
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Security
of Borders- I
By Dr
Surinder Singh
Lack
of strategic concept
There is
no doubt now that sound management of
India's land borders has acquired
strategic meaning and significance. We
are bound to pay the price if we fail to
be alert on borders. Historically, we
have been highly complacent towards
security and developments of our
variegated borders. It is a fact that
India did not inherit a relevant and
suitable strategy of border management
from the British who left the
Sub-continent hurriedly. Moreover, the
colonial rulers had different
requirements of controlling and securing
the vast frontiers of their empire.
Low
level of appreciation of border
developments
One field
of India's strategic ambivalence is the
persistent low level of appreciation of
situation and happenings on the borders.
International boundary with Pakistan both
in the East and West was artificially
drawn across socio-economically developed
area having composite population. This
was an arbitrary division of a single
geographical, ecological and economic
region with all the resultant irritating
incongruities, anomalies and
irrationalities. This complex nature of
boundary line gave rise to the
never-ending problem of illegal
immigration of nationals of Pakistani,
Bangladeshi, Burmese and Nepali origin to
various states in the North East of
India. This has emerged as a major
security hazard besides disturbing the
socio-economic, demographic and
ecological structure of this sensitive
region of India. The undemarcated
boundary line between India and China
along vast stretches of insurmountable
terrain induced complacency in the
political establishment in the country.
On the
Western side, Kashmir conflict of 1947-48
gave birth to politico-historical
convulsions sending frequent
destabilizing tremors down the entire
length of international border, Kashmir
issue has now acquired its own strategic
dimensions bedeviling mutual relations
between India and Pakistan. Now Jammu
& Kashmir has gone into the
consciousness of the masses on both sides
and the Line of Control is the most
violated dividing line between the two
adversaries. Our appreciation of
developments on the vast stretches of
both sedate and 'live' borders has been
marked by complacency unprofessional
approach, piecemeal treatment, adhocism
and 'contextual charity of the
adversary'.
Ethnographic
profile of Border Areas
No
tangible effort was made to carry out an
ethnographic survey of a determinable
border belt from security cum development
angle. Strangely, certain ethnic groups
and minorities occupy strategic areas of
India's borders. One has to just glance
over the demographic pattern from Gujarat
to Jammu & Kashmir on the Western
side, all along the vast Bangladesh
border and our tribal populations on
borders with Myanmar, Bhutan and China.
We failed to devise any authentic
strategy for the assimilation of
minorities and ethnic groups. We could
not sensitise ourselves to the reality of
minorities' quest for dignity and equity
as against the requirement of loyalty to
the country. It has resulted in
minorities emerging as 'forces of
aberration' and has tilted the
vulnerability equation against India on
its borders. Inside the country, they are
alleged to have spearheaded the forces of
social disequilibrium. This issue needs
to be tackled with caution, flexibility
and pragmatism if India is to achieve
social integration so essential for
nationhood. This can be achieved by the
three pronged strategy as indicated below
:-
(a)
Accepting and engaging the territorial
locales of minorities.
(b) By
determining well-considered packages of
autonomy in socio-economic and
psychological fields. Minimum standards
of religious discipline need to be
enforced for all communities.
(c) By
developing a national level assimilative
matrix for all segments of minorities and
tribal populations. We must accept the
unassailable right of minorities to feel
oppressed and repressed by the majority
community. Even developed countries like
USA, UK and Germany have not been able to
allay the fears of their minority
communities. China has done well in this
field through its programmes cannot be
adopted in our liberal democratic polity.
Standard
of Security :
Geographical
compulsions of India having a land border
of over 15200 kms with six countries of
the region do not reflect an indivisible
whole. Despite India's centrality,
different geographical areas require
different standards of security. There
can be no horizontal stratification.
Political relations with countries in the
neighbourhood do not remain on an even
keel. Regional tension and conflicts too
have their spillover effects.
As in the
case of all directed activities of any
scope, those of border security and
management must be divided for diverse
reasons into manageable categories,
including units of area. Geographical and
segment-wise organization of borders
facilitates the delegation of operational
responsibility and conduct of
administration.
In India,
the politico-bureaucratic establishment
nurtured in the colonial moulded did not
pay the requisite attention to the
politico-strategic dimensions of security
of borders. They tried such forms as
co-existence, mutual accommodation and
complementarity. These really did not
work and India landed with an array of
foes or near foes on all its borders. As
such, till the creation of ITBP and BSF
in 1963 and 1965 respectively, there was
no worthwhile border guarding mechanism
on our borders especially with Pakistan.
The noted strategic thinker K Subramaniam
mentioned in 1972 that India would have
probably not paid the heavy price in 1962
had there been a force like BSF deployed
on Indo-China border.
For
assessing the standard of security on a
specific segment of the border, one has
not only to go by the
geographically-inducted threat
perception. There are several other
triggering elements such as strategic
importance of the area, population
pattern, land occupancy, movements of
population, means of communication,
incidence of trans-border crimes,
disputability or otherwise of the area,
ethnographic profile of the area and
security posture of the opposing country.
As borders acquire dynamic contours,
there has to be an institutionalized
mechanism at governmental and border
guarding agency level to carry out
periodic review and appreciation of
developments on the borders. In the
context of management of India's land
borders, this has not been introduced for
lack of insight and sense of urgency.
One
failing in the field of threat perception
needs to be mentioned having been proved
almost universally in the
representational politics of the
demcoratic world.
Policy-cum-decision-makers move
simultaneously in psychological and
operational environments. They may figure
out a threat based on their prepossession
with regime security and regime
legitimacy. Sometimes, the reverse may
also be true leading to catastrophes as
happened in Kargil or earlier in 1962 on
India-China border. The increasing
strategic requirements of India for peace
time security and developments of borders
as well as for war time need to be
addressed on an ongoing 'functional
prerequisite' basis. There is no other
choice in the present day compelling
scenarios.
Anti-infiltration
policies and economic refugees
Ever since
India gained independence nearly 54 years
ago, India has been swamped by the
unchecked movement of foreign nationals,
political and economic refugees and anti
national elements from a hostile
Pakistan. Political developments in Tibet
region, Myanmar, former East
Pakistan/Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and
far-away Afghanistan have resulted in
influx of refugees in India. In fact, the
influx from Bangladesh and Nepal can be
virtually termed as demographic invasion.
Large-scale settlement of Bangladeshi
nationals in the states of Tripura, Assam
and West Bengal has disturbed the
delicate environmental cum ecological
balance of these states. It has led to
political upheavals and security
degradation. National efforts to have
secured and developed borders in the
region remained unproductive due to the
comings-in and goings-out of this
floating population.
Our
ambivalence in shaping a response
mechanism to check the debilitating
menace of infiltration also led to
embittered relations with neighbouring
countries. The problem of push-back of
illegal entrants has caused regional
tentions. Tens of thousand Pakistani and
Bangladesh nationals are overstaying in
India after seeking entry on valid
passports. A large number of these
visitors are indulging in espionage,
sabotage and terrorist activities. Local
political leadership developed vested
interest in retention of the illegal
entrants. India has not come up with a
square stance on these security-related
issues and it has resulted in total
vitiation of domestic security and
environment. Nowadays, domestic security
is highly dependent upon regional
co-operation. On account of the
inexorable flow of infiltrators and
economic refugees, India has not been
able to build a sound platform for
regional co-operation and co-existence.
(To be continued)
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IA's
international operations to expand
By
Deepak Arora
The
national flag carrier, Indian Airlines,
has got its act together with an imminent
fleet expansion to consolidate its
position not only as a domestic market
leader but assume recognition in the
regional market of West Asia and
South-East Asia. By the year- end, the
airline not only plans to increase
frequency to Kuala Lumpur and the United
Arab Emirates (UAE), but also add new
destinations such as Riyadh in Saudi
Arabia and Hong Kong. Subject to
Government approval and bilateral air
services agreements, the airline also
plans to connect the southern cities of
Chennai, Coimbatore and Cochin to Dubai
after acquisition of aircraft.
Towards
that goal, a spokesman said Indian
Airlines had recently launched a direct
flight from Hyderabad to Dubai taking the
number of its international destinations
to 17. The thrice- a week flight to Dubai
aims to meet the long-standing demand of
air passengers to the UAE, which had one
million strong Indian workforce. It was
estimated half ot these expatriate
Indians lived in Dubai alone. Besides the
expatriate population, the service would
attract the steady flow of jetsetting
business community and a large chunk of
tourists, he added.
The IC 951
direct flight, to be operated by a 250
seater Airbus A 300 aircraft, would leave
Hyderabad every Monday, Friday and Sunday
at 9 pm and reach Dubai at 10.50 hours
local time. The return flight will take
off from Dubai on Monday, Tuesday and
Saturday at 0050 hours and arrive
Hyderabad at 5.50 am.
The
airline had decided to dry lease 10 more
aircraft to expand its network. Out of
these, four would be wide-bodies A 320s
and six turbopropos. The 50 - seater ATR
turboprops would be deployed on some of
the existing Boeing routes, including the
North-East, in order to free the larger
planes for busier routes in India and
abroad. Its subsidary, Alliance Air, will
operate the ATRs.
The global
tender for leasing of Airbus A 320 was
released on June 11 and these would be
inducted into the fleet by November to be
in time for the winter schedule. The
turboprops would commence operations in
January and February. Indian Airlines'
decision to induct turbopropos would give
its rival, Jet, run for money. Jet
already has a fleet of five 50 seater
ATRs and has been using them on the
feeder routes. The private carrier plans
to add three more by planes the year end.
The induction of the new aircraft would
also help the airline retain its fleet
size as the two A 300s would be phased
out early next year as these would be
completing 20 years of age. Sources said
the airline plans to cannialize the A
300s as that would fetch the airline more
money than the selling option. However,
the airline is yet to finalise its
strategy of how to phase out its old
aircraft.
With the
other flag carrier, Air India's fortunes
sagging due to the depleting fleet,
Indian Airlines has done the country
proud by keeping the country flag flying
to newer international routes. Indian
Airlines has been playing the successful
role of the brand ambassador to
perfection.
Indian
Airlines has played a pioneering role in
developing air connectivity to the Gulf
from interior parts of the country with
the introduction of the Calicut-Sharjah
flight in February, 1992. As of date, the
airline operates 53 flights per week from
the Gulf flight in February, 1992. As of
date, the airline operates 53 flights per
week from the Gulf stations to India,
including 12 flights operated as a joint
venture with Air India. The airline also
operators additional flights to cater to
the demand during the peak season.
Currently,
Indian Airlines operates 23 direct
flights per week from Sharjah linking
Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai,
Coimbatore, Cochin, Goa, Hyderabad,
Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai and Trichy.
The airline carried about 175,000
passengers from UAE to India during the
year 2000-2001, excluding the traffic
carried on joint venture flights.
Passengers from Dubai are estimated to
form about 50 per cent of Indian Airlines
traffic from UAE to India. In the same
year, Indian Airlines' net revenue from
UAE amounted to about Rs 375 crore.
The
international operations of Indian
Airlines can be traced back to 1953 when
if started operations to Singapore and
Jakarta. Since then the airline has been
making a conscious effort to spread its
wings to cater to the needs of passengers
flying to neighbouring destinations. It
launched its flights to Thailand in 1985,
Singapore in 1987, Sharjah in 1992,
Malaysia in 1994, Qatar in 1996, Oman in
1983, Bahrain in 1996 and Kuwait in 1994.
Today, the
airline has 50 departures a day on its
international network besides 220
take-offs spanning the 68 domestic
stations. It now operates 22 flights a
week from UAE, 7 flights a week from
Doha, Bahrain and Oman and 6 flights per
week from Kuwait. Despite making its
first appearance in the UAE in 1992, it
was only on June 8 that Indian Airlines
got permission to fly to Dubai, one of
the world's top hubs from where over 100
airlines serve 130 destinations world
wide. The Sheikh Rashid terminal at
Dubai, occupying an area of 1,4800 square
meters, operates from five levels with 27
gates and 47 passengers loading bridges,
and houses a 100-room five-star hotel.
Dubai airport handled 12 million
passengers last year.
Indian
Airlines also plans to cash in on the
passenger traffic that goes beyond Dubai
to the US and Europe. ''The airline would
stand to gain from the traffic to and
from UAE which has good connectivity to
Europe and the US, using UAE stations as
hubs. In this direction we plan to look
at alliance with other airlines flying to
Europe and the US'', informed the
spokesman.
With one
of the largest networks in the country,
the airline offers an unparalled
connectivity to the expatriate Indians
flying to their homeland. In fact, the
large network of the airline coupled
withits unique connectivity even to the
remotest corners of the country lends
that extra competitive edge to Indian
Airlines services over other operators.
Dubai had always been high on Indian
Airlines' Gulf agenda. It had recently
launched a special holiday package
''Dubai Flyaways'' to coincide with the
Dubai Marathon 2001 held in January.
Revenues
from international operations are
encouraging, but they have to be used for
cross-subsidising the domestic sector
which is incurring losses. In fact, the
income from the Gulf operations is more
than 10 per cent of the overall revenue
of the airline. The airline's total
revenue in that fiscal year 2000-2001 was
Rs 3,600 crore with the domestic sector
accounting for 70 per cent and the
international sector accounting for 30
per cent. Out of this, the Gulf sector
added Rs 600 crore to the airline's
kitty.
What is
encouraging is that the airline garnered
a share of over 50 per cent in the
domestic market during the first five
months of the curent fiscal year as
compared to 44.3 per cent in August,
2000. The airline also logged a seat
factor of about 67 per cent, which is
three per cent higher than last year. -
CNF
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Will
bollywood come up with meaningful movies?
By Zeenat Zafar
Nothing seems to
have worked for Bollywood in the last
year-and-a-half. Even small budget, meaningful
films like Shyam Benegal’s Zubeida, Kalpana
Lajmi’s Daman and Prakash Jha’s Rahul
have not enthused filmgoers. These are indeed
dark days for Bollywood.
The desperation is
all the more evident in the frenzied pre-release
publicity, which is almost the norm. Nowadays,
every release seems preceded with lavish
publicity – with every available wall space
being covered with graffiti, full page colour ads
in newspapers and magazines, hoardings, the
constant airing of promos, songs, trailers.
Hour-long capsules on the "making" of
the film, on satellite channels, have become de
rigeur. But even these fail to cut any ice. Says
Pahlaj Nihalani, president of the Association of
Motion Picture and Television Producers,
"The exhibitors are the actual sufferers
because of the failure of such a large number of
films. Earlier, they were kings and dictated
terms because more films were being made. But
now, the market favours distributors and
producers, since, given the economics of the
situation, less films are being made. Also,
producers have other avenues of income like
overseas markets, satellite and music rights to
tap into. The number of theatres and multiplexes
have also gone up."
Yet, hope springs
eternal in the hearts of producers and directors
in Mumbai’s tinsel town. The reason for so
many films flopping, says Rakesh Mehra, whose
much hyped Aks – The Reflection which was
released recently, is that producers and
directors tend to take audience tastes for
granted. "We think the audience want to see
love stories or action films ? How will we know
what the viewer wants until we give him some
choice?" Indeed, Bollywood’s main
problem is a herd mentality. Once a
"formula" succeeds, scores of directors
and producers jump onto the bandwagon, making
films which are thinly veiled, and often
inferior, versions of the same thing. Few want to
break out of the beaten path. But it is difficult
to point fingers at the film industry, given how
expensive filmmaking has become nowadays, with
even small budget films costing crores.
Experimenting with audience tastes is an
expensive proposition, rendered all the more
risky after the arrest of Bollywood’s Mr
Moneybags, Bharat Shah.
But with the
failure of established plots, experimentation
with new plots and new techniques is a necessity.
Indeed is imperative. The new breed of filmmakers
realise this more than the ones already
entrenched in Bollywood’s ways – people
like Rakesh Mehra and Farhan Akhtar, whose Dil
Chahta Hai has already raised interest, thanks to
its promos. The success of debut ventures like
John Matthew Matthan’s Sarfarosh, Rajiv
Menon’s Sapnay and, more recently, Rajat
Mukherjee’s Pyar Tune Kya Kiya bear
testimony to this. Of course, old timers like the
Chopras, the Subhash Ghais, the Karan Johars, the
Rajiv Rais have enough brand equity in the market
to go their own way. But it is to the brat pack
– led by people like Akhtar, Mehra, Menon
– that Bollywood seems to be looking up to,
to lead the way out of the present impasse.
Mehra, the veteran of several award winning
advertising films, was recently hailed by no less
than the Big B as very bright and immensely
talented. Farhan Akhtar’s film has his genes
to recommend him – he is the son of Javed
Akhtar and acclaimed script-writer Honey Irani.
What distinguishes
this generation of filmmakers is their technical
competence, their intensity and more important,
their attention to the basics – the story
and script, rather than on exotic locations,
expensive sets and saleable star. Mehra worked on
the script for Aks for a good year and a half
before he started shooting. Farhan Akhtar
finished shooting in a single schedule which
began on August 1,200 and finished on December
24. The feat seems all the more stupendous
considering that his film has an entire galaxy of
much-in-demand stars like Aamir Khan, Saif Ali
Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Dimple Kapadis, Sonali
Kularni and Preity Zinta, with all their
attendant date problems.
Then there is
Anubhav Sinha, whose Tum Bin, a T-Series
production, is sandwiched between big releases
like Lagaan and Gadar on the one side, and Aks on
the other. With a thigh budget of about Rs 5
crore, Tum Bin was shot in a single schedule of
60 days in Canada, with a new set of actors.
"A filmmaker might be involved with his film
for two years, but it takes only half an hour for
the audience to decide whether it is any good.
That’s the sad truth," says Sinha.
For this very
reason, the new generation of filmmakers is more
in tune with the corporate culture currently
sweeping Bollywood. It is a culture which demands
financial discipline, accountability and good
work ethics. In concrete terms, this translates
into a fixed script – even a story board, a
time bound shooting schedule, contracts, For
example, Akhtar had little trouble getting Dil
Chahta Hai insured for a sum of Rs 15 crore.
The reason the
Hindi film industry is so receptive to new ideas,
is that the realsiation seems to have percolated
down the ranks that the audience is ready for a
change. Which is why, despite the spate of
unsuccessful films, producers are ready to put
their money behind their dreams. Aamir
Khan’s Lagaan , which has an offbeat setting
in an obscure little village in British India and
deals with the villagers’ struggle against
the English landlord, over the lagaan or tax to
be paid, has cost him a whopping Rs 25 crore. The
there is Dr Chandraprakesh Chanakya
Dwivedi’s film on Krishna which will be
produced by Lucky Star entertainment, reportedly
on a budget of Rs 100 crore. Also, Sanjay Khan is
making Maryada Purushottan, on Lord Rama, for a
huge Rs 55 crore.
In fact, Dr
Dwivedi sees a shift towards big budget films,
financed by corporates and made in a systematic
manner. "Cinema is crying out for new ideas,
big films. And these can only come through
corporations because they have deep pockets and
are more willing to take risks." Dr Dewivedi
has a poster in his office which says: "If
Shah Jahan had asked for the estimate and decided
on the lowest budget, he would never have built
the Taj Mahal so beautiful and everlasting."
One genre which
does seems to have caught the imagination of
filmmakers is that of the historical. And indeed,
with both Lagaan and Gadar releasing on the same
day, to be followed later this year by ace
cameraman Santosh Sivan’s Ashoka – The
Great, there does seem to be quite a sudden glut
of costume dramas. According to Nitin Keni, the
executive producer of Gadar, historical, as a
genre, are ideally suited to the big screen.
"The
television has taken over the small scale,
intimate dramas of the Hrishikesh Mukherjee
variety. So, people will only go to a theatre to
see big movies, made on a large canvas,"
says he. However, Mahesh Bhatt, the outspoken
director of films like Saraansh and Aashiqi and
has now rediscovered himself as the film
industry’s elder statesman, disagrees.
"All said and done, films like Lagan and
Gadar are nothing new. They are the same old
Handi films, but with a new face. The idiom is
the same, only the time frame has been changed.
Because historical require big budgets, they
can’t be made on a small scale. And if you
have big budgets, the risks are that much greater
– so you can’t flirt too much with
ideas and new experiments. There is the
temptation to appeal to the lowest common
denominator, which is a step towards mediocrity.
It is only films made on a small scale that can
be truly experimental."
Bhatt may be right
in his own way, and might even have proved it
with the success of his low budget films. But the
films business has changed a lot since the days
of Saraansh. Of course, a big budget can take a
film only so far. As Mehra says, "The
problem is primarily the lack of good writers.
Filmmakers need to invest in writers, not exotic
locales and big stars. India has a wealth of
talent, but we need to bring them to Mumbai and
pay them well – instead of the pittance they
get nowadays."
Nihalani is of the
firm opinion that small budget films have very
little chance of succeeding in today’s
market. "Viewers, nowadays, are crying out
for quality. They will not settle for run of the
mill, shoddy stuff." It doesn’t matter
if the film is made with newcomers. If it is made
well and, more importantly, publicised well, it
will at least recover its costs. But will they
get it ? That is the moot question. INAV
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