By Priyanka Khanna
New Delhi, (IANS) — She has played a supergirl, a supermodel, a superstar and is now back on the silver screen tickling the funny bone as a sassy desi girl.
Priyanka Chopra or Piggy Chops as she is fondly called may be seven years old in the Hindi film industry, but this year has been particularly busy and diverse for her. She is perhaps the only leading star who has had as many as six releases in one year. And most importantly she has played a central role in nearly all of them.
Beginning the year with a special appearance in a medium-budget "My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves", she was then seen as a stylish superstar in "Love Story 2050". Touted as India's first film set in the future, Priyanka looked the part as a red-head.
The film, marking the launch of Harman Baweja, had some serious money riding on it, but bombed for no fault of the actors. Then came Salman Khan-starrer "God Tussi Great Ho", which also did not make a dent at the box-office. She was then seen in off-beat filmmaker Kabeer Koushik's "Chamku", co-starring Bobby Deol.
She got the rare feast of being called a supergirl with "Drona", yet another very high-budget film. Some of her action sequences were as hard as that of Abhishek's itself and built on her previous action-packed experience in Farhan Akhtar's "Don".
Priyanka's central role in Madhur Bhandarkar's "Fashion", that has done exceedingly well, has brought in both critical acclaim and proved her clout to pull in crowds. It is perhaps the only recent female-centric film that has done good business.
It seems there is no looking back for her now with the hype generated around latest-release "Dostana" ensuring bumper opening of the film. And Priyanka's toned and shapely appearance in a golden bikini has established her as a top contender for the most hottie title.
The rise to the top has been fast but not completely smooth for the former Miss World. Last year saw Priyanka's popularity slipping after the multi-starrer of the year - "Salaam-E-Ishq" - had critics questioning her acting. But she took it as a challenge and worked on her acting as well as sweated it out in the gym.
Diversity within the fold of commercial film format has been the guiding force of Priyanka's career from the very start. She caught people's attention with her unconventional role of a seductress indulging in male harassment in "Aitraaz". She also got nominated for the best supporting female actor for "The Hero: Love Story of a Spy".
She followed it up by excelling in a comic role in "Mujhse Shaadi Karoge". In fact, she bagged three Filmfare Awards in just two years. And with no godfather in the industry propping her up, Priyanka has surely come a long way.
"Priyanka has done what few would dare to, in 'Fashion' and 'Dostana'," author and critic Bhawana Somaaya said in an interview.
With heroine-oriented films tasting success today, the road ahead seems to be full of opportunities for these leading ladies.
"In every era, one heroine has always dominated the scene in the film industry. Things are more fluid now. Today, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are all sharing this space," said Siddharth Anand, director of the hit "Bachna Ae Haseeno".
Bhawana said: "They are all confident women of this generation who all have their own distinct personalities."
Perhaps that would explain why "Fashion" released with more than 700 prints around the country, and Kareena Kapoor dominated publicity material of "Golmaal Returns" though she has a small role in it.
As product placement and corporate funding of films increases, female characters are bound to be in the forefront today. After all, women make most purchasing decisions and corporates want them to see and relate to the films that feature their products.
"I couldn't have entered the industry at a better time," Katrina Kaif is quoted as saying in an interview. "Today, perceptions have changed. How else would you explain the audience accepting me in different roles so wholeheartedly? I don't think that was possible, say, 10 years ago," said Katrina, who will be seen in "Yuvvraaj" in a different avatar.

Mumbai, (IANS) — The current financial crisis that has hit the world is considered as the worst since the Great Depression of 1929 and the Indian film industry too is feeling the heat. However, most of the Bollywood moneybags - Suneel Darshan, Hansal Mehta and Vashu Bhagnani, among others - blame corporatisation of filmdom for the crisis.
A sampling of what they had to say to IANS: Suneel Darshan: Bollywood is not isolated from the crisis. But it isn't as severe for us as it is for the rest of the world. A few corporate houses were rash enough to up the prices for stars and film budgets. They're now panic-stricken. I took a sabbatical in 2008 to re-assess the situation. But now I look forward to a busy 2009.
Madhur Bhandarkar: There's a serious meltdown going on everywhere. And stars have already been forced to reduce their prices. Even the ones who command no fan following had begun to charge Rs.20 million (Rs.2 crores). The bubble was bound to burst, better it happened sooner than later. Would I make more budget-friendly films? My budgets are entirely dictated by the theme. I've made "Traffic Signal" at Rs.40 million, but "Fashion" at Rs.400 million.
Vikram Bhatt: The cash crunch has created a panic in the market. Lots of banks have frozen their credit lines, which means the big corporate production houses will have less banking support. To make matters worse, the film industry has lost close to Rs.600 million in the month of October alone.
It's a two-pronged attack with the corporate houses ceasing to acquire films. It remains to be seen whether "Golmaal Returns" will recover its cost of Rs.450 million. We're in a mess. Stars never reduce their prices. One will have to look at films' budgets to economise. More importantly the entertainment tax will have to come down. In some states, it's as high as 50 percent. That's killing the film business.
Mahesh Bhatt: We Bhatts have never been a victim of our own hype. Our core values have insulated us from the bogus "Bollywood Shining" myth. We continue doing what we've done for years. Low cost high quality is the mantra we need to embrace. This mantra made China a superpower.
Hansal Mehta: In times of recession, it is usually high risk markets like films that feel the crunch almost immediately. Bollywood in particular is going to feel the impact of the crisis as the current scenario though what is called 'corporatisation' is actually an example of poor corporate governance and total fiscal indiscipline. Recession or no recession, Bollywood was and is bound to go through a massive correction.
Bunty Walia: There's a definite financial crisis, and it's not just about star prices, but everything associated with the film business must be restructured and we need to face the stark reality. We need to control the budget and sales of films. They're way above the top. We need to rethink and reassess the situation. Otherwise it's curtains for film industry.
Harry Baweja: It's more of a wait-and-watch situation now. But, yes, market correction will happen. Budgets will be restructured affecting star prices. Selling films will be difficult now. Production houses which produce and distribute their own films will be better placed. On the plus side the Diwali releases have a bumper collection. So the belief that the entertainment industry will rock in any given situation stays true.
Vashu Bhagnani: Ironically it's the culture of corporatisation that has both organised and spoilt the film industry. While it made everyone more professional and we no longer shook hands over deals and actually put everything on paper, the corporate culture also brought arbitrary money from the outside.
These corporate houses were willing to pay stars anything just to get them on board. The crazy star-buying spree has had a snowballing effect. Prices have hit the roof. Stars will definitely have to bring down their price.

 

Kolkata, (IANS) — Life in India is a real-life cinema, says Bulgarian film producer Stefan Kitanov.
"Everything (in India) is so ordinary, yet larger-than-life. Everything here can be framed into celluloid," Kitanov told reporters after the screening of his film "The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner" at the 14th Kolkata Film Festival here.
"This is my first visit to India and a completely new world has opened to me. I will definitely try to portray my experiences in India in one of my future films."
Not only the real life, Kitanov also feels fascinated by Indian films.
"I watch a lot of Indian films, especially Hindi. The Raj Kapoor era and films made in the 1950s and '60s are simply awesome. Very recently, I have been inclined to Bengali films made by Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen," he said.
But, he said, Bulgaria is being deprived of Indian films due to lack of proper distribution.
"In the past, say the 1950s-70s Indian films were very popular in Bulgaria. But we get to see a very few Indian films in our country due to lack of proper distribution. Only one Indian film is distributed in every two years."
According to Kitanov, the last film that was a box-office hit in Bulgaria was Mira Nair's "Monsoon Wedding".
"The World...", which the producer said is the most expensive film in the last 25 years in Bulgaria, is a co-production of four countries - Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary and Slovenia.
"The budget of the film was two million euros and it took eight years to complete the film," Kitanov said.