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MUMBAI:
There is an increasing trend to lift films frame
by frame from International cinema in Bollywood.
For some filmmakers, it is only a de-risk module
that keeps them hopeful on their ROIs. But does
this suggest that India's creative pool lacks
originality?
While
addressing the audience at the 2009 Ficci-Frames
convention Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali said, "Oiginality
is more about adaptations. If you conceive your
sources correctly and infuse originality into
them, there surely is an underlying promise of
high returns on your investments."
According
to Ali, lifted international ideas can still instill
originality in Indian films if they come with
good content that can evoke response amongst audiences;
and to generate that response from Indian viewers,
the content has to go through a localized treatment.
"Bollywood
audiences understand local content. Therefore,
lifting of international films entirely will never
draw mass eyeballs to theatres. They have to have
an Indian taste," Ali added.
Ali
believes that the Indian vernaculars can definitely
serve as huge reservoirs for creating original
and local content for Bollywood film viewers.
Not only will they help in expanding base with
consumers but also facilitate marketing the commodity
better.
"Indian
vernacular literatures have huge untapped content
that can be realized into films for profitability.
Since, the Indian flesh and blood remains intact
with the stories, thereby carrying a personal
touch, marketing the films as commodities amongst
audiences also become an easy task," Ali
opined.
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