He is an intellectual, but a dishonest one and certainly a petty one. He is really a self glorified mediocrity. I am surprised many are slow to see thru him.

I was fortunate enough to be born in such a filmy atmosphere that i was introduced, exposed and nurtured around Hindi cinema at a very early age. The credit goes to my father’s yesteryears video library which dished out Hindi (more) and English (less) titles with uneasy regularity. A lot has changed over the past few decades, when film marketing, in-film branding and product placements are a habitual practice.
I’ve grown up in the lap both Hindi and English movies and as I started understanding finer and not so finer nuances of a movie, my inclination towards English movies increased manifold. When on a given day Hindi movies still long for that International attention, Hollywood movies eat a substantial chunk of revenue generated from movie screenings, not just in India but around the world.
When it seems that nothing much has changed in Hindi Cinemascape, when we are still bombarded with low class stuff every other day, Hollywood keeps coming up with N number of new concepts and ideas. Well exceptions like the more recent Kaminey and a not so recent Welcome to Sajjanpur are so far and few in between that we could hardly name a new movie as one’s all time great movie. But then we have a dedicated and passionate audience who after living a mundane or at times routine weekly life looks to spend some good time with their loved ones in a theatre get the same stale stuff time and again.
My point here is instead of going International or even before thinking about it we should make movies that are nationally accepted. A lot can be done if big production houses and banners come up with meaningful and quality driven cinema and look beyond stars and starlets.

ALL OF YOYU ARE GOOD AT….YOU KNOW WHAT
THAND RAKHO….

Of course, the primary audience is Indians - in our country or abroad, but…why are we getting so stuck-up with - to hell with phirangs?!

This is the same problem that a lot of Americans have - their country is their world.

Cinema has an amazing power to touch people across the world, be what ever language or whatever form. Eventually it’s all about emotional experience. And ’solid’ cinema from across the globe delivers on that.

How?

Well…by telling a powerful story with compelling characters in a touching way.

Raj Kapoor ‘was’ international with success he had in Russia. Ray is a staggering figure acclaimed by many - he sure was international and…foremost a Bengali / Indian. (And please don’t perceive him as maker who showed poverty. You got to be kidding if you have seen his films and have that impression.)

Saif may not go international as yet. But if he delivers a powerful film (with or without songs / dance), chances are that he would go ‘international’. And…he may be getting too patriotic, but in Omkara he gave a performance that is truly ‘international’.

Just forget Oscars, forget America. If you have witnessed cinema from countries like France, Germany, Spain…well, forget Europe, go Iran - buy, pirate, steal or what ever - go and watch Children of Heaven with your kids (and do them the favor) and..if you do - you would see the power of cinema that has gone ‘international’.

Salaam Bombay was a terrific film - a ‘touching’ story and so is Namesake. Mira Nair is international too.

Point - tell an effective story, in what ever form, if it has emotional ‘dum’, it would reach all sorts of audience - Indians and phirangs.

The Big Point - for all our brouhaha, we are quite weak in story-telling; reason…even the big productions come out with such duds and…i am not talking money.

And…it’s a pity that we are in such a state, when we had some great story-tellers a few decades back.

Yes, there is new blood on the horizon - Bhardwaj, Kashyap & others…who touch Indians and phirangs too. Why? As they attempt to convey the (indian) world they know and…deal in effective emotions-delivery.

Whether you have dance, songs, or not…eventually it’s a story about characters and good entertainment.

We may jump at Govinda songs/dances, in fact, Jeetu Ji too (like ‘naino mein sapna’; i bet when you check it out on youTube, it would make you smile and laugh) and many, many more….have fun in those moments, but….eventually does the story work.

The primary difference between Guru Dutt, Vijay Anand, Raj Kapoor, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Gulzar etc….and (masala) lackeys is the difference in the ability to tell a story.

A very important thing we are missing - going International today requires excellent marketing and economic muscle. It’s another game.

Had Chandni Chowk…been a good telling, Akshay would have become ‘international’; that film was reviewed (and tanned) by lot of american reviewers. Why - because it was a film by a phirang company who saw the merit, of course…not in the story presumably.

So…tell the story well - dance or no dance - let it emote and don’t even thing about going indian or international.

The good film will find its way. (Of course, with some good marketing in today’s messy world

As it is, producers tailor movies for the NRI audiences. Those movies do well amongst some of the urban population too.

There are Hindi movies that will get international recognition. Good cinema, like good wine, will always be universally appreciated.

I am all for Hindi cinema evolving, catering to Hindi speaking audiences, and the good ones being enjoyed by International audiences the world over