Bollywood under increasing pressure

Newcomer actors with no filmi connections aren’t the only ones bearing the brunt of star-kids and star nieces and nephews storming the film scene riding on the shoulders of their more famous surnames. Others too crib about having to pander to  filmi kids when it comes to working in Bollywood. Insiders feel that it could hold true in the case of new directors, small-time producers or even distributors, and not established ones.

One such film-maker, on conditions of anonymity, complains about having had to cater to the whims of a star-kid. “I had to either agree to what the star son wanted or face the risk of earning the wrath of the influential father,” rued the first-timer. Calling his first film a nightmare to shoot, he adds, “Had it been an actor from a non-film background throwing tantrums, he would have been out of the film right away.”

Another film-maker who  faced similar trouble while directing an actress, who was in the good books of an influential star agrees. “We didn’t want to irk the star friend who could’ve made the producers drop the project too,” he revealed.  A distributor too reveals his dilemma of having to pick up a film with star-kids that was not a viable project at the box office. “Still we picked it up, as we didn’t want to miss out on the chance of picking up the star uncle’s big film,” he rued.

Some trade pundits however feel that in the long run, it’s only the commercial viability that matters. “That may have been the norm, but it’s decreasing now. Bollywood is an economics driven industry. People only see the profit they can make on a project and no one bucks under pressure to accommodate star-kids anymore,” says trade analyst Amod Mehra. Trade analyst Komal Nahta too vouches for the same. “With corporates coming in, it’s become rather transparent,” feels Nahta.

However what the two cannot deny is the fact that while the non-filmi actors are written off completely if their first films fail to make a mark, star kids often have the luxury of multiple chances.

An actor, who was signed for a big banner film and trained for the role for over six months, was unceremoniously dropped, when a star girlfriend refused to do the producer’s next film until her boyfriend was given that particular role. “Money may matter most, but in Bollywood it’s really all about loving your family,” he says.