Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Bollywood director says new age dawning for Indian film industry

BOLLYWOOD box office king Rajkumar Hirani believes a new golden age is dawning for the Indian movie industry as filmmakers look outside the box to tell more varied stories.

"Before there was a belief that you had to have songs," said Hirani, the man behind a string of Bollywood hits including the global sensation 3 Idiots.


"Now people are completely experimenting with the subject matter."

Even those directors who continue to include songs are also exploring "much darker themes" - and still enjoying massive box office success, he said.

A case in point is 55-year-old Hirani's latest offering, Sanju, which the director has brought to this year's 23rd Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, the largest of its kind in Asia.

Sanju is based on the real-life story of the rise and fall of Indian star Sanjay Dutt, who was born into Bollywood royalty but was jailed after being accused of involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks of 1993.

The director admits the project was a risk given the often grim nature of the story, which includes gritty scenes of drug taking and its lead character's descent into depression.

But the strong box office returns have convinced him that audiences want a wider range of options from Hindi language films.

Sanju has so far grossed $80m (£65m), placing it third on Bollywood's all-time global earners' list, according to an Indian newspaper.

"It's very much a human interest story about battling your demons," said Hirani. "It's a very different kind of film than I have done before.

"While I was making it everybody thought it was a mistake."

But Hirani said he was more confident the film might succeed after seeing the reaction of Dutt, who was released from jail in 2016, at a preview screening.

"He saw it three days before its release and I was watching him," said Hirani. "He was crying and after that he sat at home and drank for three days, so I knew it had worked.

As a director and producer Hirani has reaped box office gold with a diverse range of films, from comedies including 3 Idiots (2009) and alien-on-earth hit PK (2014), to the sports drama Final Round (2016) and now on to Sanju.

Experts say the Indian film industry is on track for record earnings in 2018, after surpassing last year's $2.1bn (£1.5bn) mark by the end of the first quarter.

Across all languages, India now produces more than 1,000 movies a year –- several hundred more than come out of Hollywood.

Increasingly these films are finding a global audience.

Hirani's 3 Idiots - the tale of three friends struggling with the pressures of getting an education - was a ground-breaker in terms of international box office success, with around $30 million in international takings.

Hirani said Bollywood filmmakers are expanding their own horizons as their audience grows, both domestically and globally.

But the filmmaker stressed he had found no magic wand for making great cinema.

"I don't think there's ever a formula for success in film," said Hirani. "If there was, everyone would share it. I've been fortunate

"I guess one of the principles I work with is make the film for yourself not an audience. At least then one person will like it."

"You can't judge what the world will like," he added. "If you laugh at the jokes you are writing, if you can cry at the emotional scenes, then hopefully the audience will too."

But for all the guidelines, Hirani says, early on it's hard to predict what the final product will look like.

"Every time you start a new film it's like digging a new well. You are not sure what you might find."

The Busan International Film Festival runs until Saturday (13).

AFP

More For You

british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools
Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in 'Adolescence'
Netflix

Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools

THE NETFLIX drama Adolescence will be shown in UK secondary schools as part of efforts to address harmful online influences on young boys, officials announced on Monday.

The show has sparked debate over the impact of toxic and misogynistic content on the internet. Prime minister Keir Starmer met the show's creators, charities, and young people at Downing Street, calling the initiative an important step in starting discussions about the content teenagers are exposed to online.

Keep ReadingShow less