Notorious Bollywood again in the jaws of Copyright infringement claims. This time its Akshay Kumar’s Independence Day release project – Mission Mangal.

Akshay Kumar’s recently announced his next Independence Day release, Mission Mangal. The project has landed in a controversy even before it could go on the floors. According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, a US-based filmmaker Radha Bharadwaj has filed a lawsuit to halt production of the film as she claims it borrows from her script. She has also called out Atul Kasbekar for sharing her screenplay with cast member Vidya Balan without her approval. 

Akshay had earlier announced on his Twitter handle a few days ago, “A powerful true story of ordinary people with extraordinary dreams, on an unheard of mission to achieve the impossible. #MissionMangal will come alive on 15th August, 2019. See you at the theaters.”

Radha Bharadwaj on Wednesday filed a suit seeking a stay on the production and release of the movie, which is about India’s 2014 Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also known as Mangalyaan. 

The film will be directed by Jagan Shakti and its shoot will begin this month. Apart from Kumar and Balan in the lead roles, the movie will also star Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu and others.

Indian viewers are shifting their focus towards original content. They are beginning to appreciate the quality of the script and the direction. Success of ‘Badhaii Ho’ over ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ is a recent example. Though it still managed to earn more than 100 crores, thanks to the hype and over-priced tickets. Cleansing Bollywood would require more time as copying and star-casts are treated as obvious winners and content-rich movies dark-horses. The response that ‘Zero’ will receive would tell if the viewers have matured or not. 

Tanushree Dutta named her alleged harasser after speaking about the sexual harassment cases in Bollywood. In an interview with Zoom TV, the actor spoke about the incident which happened in 2008 on the sets of the film Horn ‘Ok’ Pleassss. She accused Nana Patekar of wanting to touch her inappropriately and of insisting on shooting an intimate song sequence in the film, even though it was off her contract.

After speaking about how the #MeToo moment struck Bollywood several years ago, Tanushree Dutta in an interview with Zoom TV, gave a detailed account of the incident. 

I want to take names – actor Nana Patekar, producer Sami Siddiqui, director Rakesh Sarang and choreographer Ganesh Acharya. When Nana Patekar misbehaved with me, he said out loud that he would do an intimate step with me as well in the song, which wasn’t mentioned in my contract. It was supposed to be a solo sequence of mine. I would feel very uncomfortable when he would come next to me and try to put his arm around me. He’d grab me and push me around and say, ‘You stand here, you stand there’. Whereas, he shouldn’t have been on the set. And he told the choreographer to stand aside and said, ‘I’ll teach her how to dance’. I didn’t know how to deal with this. This had never happened with me before in Bollywood.

Tanushree Dutta

She also expressed that no one did anything when she approached the Director and the Producer. 

When I had complained about the same to the producer director, and told them to ask him (Nana Patekar) to stay away from me, they didn’t pay heed. Just because I was new to the film industry, whether or not it was required, let’s do an intimate scene with her.

Tanushree Dutta 

Tanushree said she also had to deal with people who were shaming her for speaking out in 2008. Besides, being subjected to political intimidation.

“Post the incident on the sets of Horn ‘OK’ Pleassss, Nana Patekar called up this political party who has a reputation of vandalism and causing damages on the sets. And the producers called up the media to gain publicity from the whole situation. On one side we had the media and on the other side we had the political party workers. They vandalised my car completely. So, I got off my vanity van and headed towards our vehicle. They had my car vandalised, which is also first degree assault by a mob,” said Tanushree in the interview.

“And when this incident was happening, someone went and told the producers that people are vandalising my car. Instead of stopping them or helping us, the producers had the guards shut the gate so we wouldn’t be able to leave the premises. The gate was opened only when the police intervened. If the police had come even 5 minutes late, I shudder to think what could’ve happened to me or my parents who were accompanying me in the car,” she elaborated.

This is the culture of our country. The people who should be ashamed are not ashamed of their actions. Instead, people tried to thwart my freedom of speech when I spoke up against him.

Tanushree Dutta

Here is the interview 

Our Opinion

Allegations of sexual assault on Directors, Producers, Casting Directors, etc. are not new in the Bollywood. This is a harsh and dirty reality of the Tinsel Town. The allegation on Nana Patekar is new and shocking. His down-to-earth and a ‘son of a farmer’ image doesn’t make us to believe it. 

Although these are mere allegations which are yet to be proven, but there must be something fishy must have happened, that’s why she gathered courage to speak on the National Television. Only time would tell if these are true or she did just a publicity stunt to revive her career. 

Just half a century ago when people flocked to the theatres and stood in long queues to watch history re-enacted (also fictionalised to a certain degree) by their favourite actors play the character of noble humans, they did so to feel like a part of a story they have only heard or read. Watching a movie on a 35mm screen or “bada parda” (Big Screen) was nothing less than freedom where they saw our rich culture, heritage, nobility, palaces, wars for land and love.

Specially now, in this post 2000 era the confluence of arts and technology has made us experiencing the past in 3D. There sure is a price for everything and since the audience today is global and don’t mind spending an extra buck or two on a good movie, moviemakers don’t mind either!

Asoka (2001)

A Santosh Sivan movie starring Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor, Asoka is the story of the Mauryan Emperor who started following Buddhism after he realises that in his lust for power and authority he razed cities and killed millions. It was a commercial success which earned about 19 Cr and was produced at a comparatively lower production budget (12.5 Cr) in the sense that The Legend of Bhagat Singh (Starring Ajay Devgan) which released just 6 months later had a budget of 20 Cr and despite being well received by the audience, tanked at box office.

Image source: http://www.angelfire.com/film/filmreviews1/asoka.html

Mughal-e-azam (1960 and 2004)

Staring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, and Madhubala, it is one of the most iconic films ever created in India. Before the release, movie houses were pre-booked for over three weeks and people had been waiting in queues for hours and days to get a ticket which was priced at Rs. 100 in black when at the time the normal movie ticket sold at Rs. 1.5 balcony and Rs. 3 for stall.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd25VcCtE1Q

Image Source: https://www.cinestaan.com/listicles/2016/aug/5/1626/mughal-e-azam-anniversary-21-things-you-didn-t-know-about-the-epic

Originally a B/W film made at budget of 1.5 Cr in 1960, the movie was restored and released in 2004 in color. Sterling Investment Corporation spent 5 Cr on colorisation. Globally the movie has collected over 11 Cr (gross) and earned in revenue about 5.5 Cr only in India. If we were to adjust the gross earnings for inflation, the figures for Mughal-e-Azam stand at 2000 Cr, making it the highest ever grossing Bollywood movie!

Jodhaa Akbar (2008)

However disappointed we might be with Hrithik Roshan in the last couple of years due to his controversies, his portrayal of Emperor Akbar in Ashustosh Gowariker’s Jodhaa Akbar was just how one would imagine the great emperor. Jodhaa Akbar was created at a production budget of 55 Cr and released in over 1000 screens globally with a gross box office collection of little over 115 Cr. It earned 77.8 Cr in revenue.

Image source: http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/photos/movie-wallpapers/jodhaa-akbar/hrithik-roshan-172/

Bajirao Mastani (2015)

One of Bollywood most ambitious filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali always weaves magic with his choice of characters, story, actors, sets, music, etc. Ranveer Singh’s energy, Deepika Padukone’s poise, SLB’s music combined with the melodious voice of Arijit Singh made the movie a must watch. SLB spent about 145 Cr to produce the movie and it generated a revenue of 255 Cr. The movie was released globally in 2700 screens.

Image source: http://metrovaartha.com/en/2015/12/18/theatre-cancels-shows-of-bajirao-mastani-after-bjps-protest/

Padmaavat (2018)

SLB tried his two time successful duo of Ranveer and Deepika once again for this period drama on Rani Padmaavati of Chittor. Set in the 13^th century, the movie revolves around Padmaavati, Maharawal Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor) and the tyrant sultan Allaudin Khilji. Like always SLB created a larger than life image of ancient India with Padmaavat. The release was anticipated all over owing to the controversies surrounding the plot which as per some religious sects portrayed the Queen in a bad light the movie and hence was released in less screens compared to Bajirao Mastani. Controversies or not, audiences applaud the genius of SLB in creating a visual treat though the movie has been critiqued by audiences and experts for a loose script. Produced with a whopping 200 Cr budget, the revenue till date has been over 265 Cr.

Image source: https://www.thestatesman.com/entertainment/bollywood/padmaavat-release-selected-cinemas-january-24-imax-3d-1502570030.html

In terms of interest of audiences who want to watch a period drama based on ancient India, there has been a steep increase. Today realistic and artsy movies do get a lot of attention and it’s definitely good for the industry which has been dominated by the stars. But once in a while when a story portrays the Kings, Queens, their palaces and the battles, even an occasional movie goer likes to indulge himself and buys a ticket. For though TV or smartphones have made it easy for one to access cinema where one desires, it’s not the same as watching a feature film on a big screen with dolby surround sound and recently in IMAX & 3D.

Filmmakers don’t shy away when it comes to spending extra to give their story the right amount of detailing that distinguishes it from other such films. From Asoka to Padmaavat the budgets for producing stories that radiate greatness of Kings and Queens who have ruled this land has increased nearly twenty times.

Bollywood has always delivered venerating pieces of stories that are part of larger narrative of the Indian culture and ethos. The best Bollywood movies have always been the ones that come as package where the audiences realize their love for beauty, character, music, drama, and magnanimity!

Links:

https://www.cinestaan.com

https://bestoftheyear.in/movie/mughal-e-azam/

http://www.rediff.com/money/2004/nov/29film.htm

http://www.imdb.com

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com