Monday, December 19, 2005

Sasura, Kya Phillum Industry Hai!

I don't quite understand why this is news in 2005 (link to BBC). But it is.

Remember the early-80s quasi-Bhojpuri blockbuster"Nadiya Ke Paar"? Well, I do. I lived in those neck of the woods back then. People were lining up, some for the 4th or the 5th time, outside that little tin-shed of a movie-hall. Let me tell you, this film was more important to the sugarcane-chewing citizen than "Citizen Kane" to a bunch of film-schoolers.

The success of "Nadiya Ke Paar" should have been an obvious sign of a serious paucity of regionally-relevant entertainment, but it was almost completely ignored by the film industry. It is understandable. If you didn't live in the heartland, you just wouldn't know or care about the fuss over this film.

Theoretically, two hundred million viewers represent 20% of Bollywood's potential market. That's a Kong-sized market. (And if you've worked in the IT industry long enough, I know you are doing the "200 million times 2 dollars a seat" calculation. Shameless old farts.) But it is a market that the present p.o.s. producers in Bombay CANNOT entertain well enough.

Well, supply, say hello to demand.

1 comment:

DhiRAj SinGh said...

But bro the Bhojpuri film industry is thriving, and now there's an add-on called Bhojpuri music video industry. Dunno the figures but it is doing pretty well.
Wholeheartedly agree with the 'why this news' bit.