The Hindu Business Line : True Blue?

The results of Hindi cinema’s ventures into the global mart have been mixed. The only real successes in this sphere have been the Chopra-Johar rom-coms which are more about extended large-hearted Punjabi families showing their love than about two individuals getting it together. The rest have come and gone, dreaming of those elusive dollars and pounds. And, doubtless, yen and dirham, as well.

Next week, Bollywood’s passage on the global trail will get hotter. The release of Shree Ashtavinayak’s Blue, starring Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif will be watched closely for several reasons. For the production house majoring so far in low-brow sitcoms, this is a huge shift: at Rs 100 crore, Blue is being hailed as one of the most expensive films made in India. It will also be a crucial film for leading man Akshay, who’s had a rough year, with one hotly-debated hit, Kambakkht Ishq, and a couple of well-publicised misses (Chandni Chowk to China, and 8by10 Tasveer).

But more than anything else, Blue is being seen as the film which will take Bollywood to the next level in foreign markets. Shemaroo Entertainment, which has its overseas rights, is looking to release the film in ever-widening circles in a phased manner: the first will be a theatrical release in the US, the UK, UAE, as well as Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, South Africa, Mauritius, and Pakistan. “These are the so-called traditional markets for Bollywood, with strong NRI pockets,” says Hiren Gada, Director, Shemaroo Entertainment, “but we are also targeting countries which are slightly off the grid, like Fiji, Myanmar, the Benelux countries, Norway, Sweden.” These will have a day/date release (simultaneously, on the same day and date everywhere).

The next phase is still being worked out, but will probably include Japan, and alternative platforms like pay-per-view, direct-to-video, and IPTV (Shemaroo has just signed a deal with a UK-based entity to provide and market content for a Video-on-Demand service, called Bolly and Beyond, and a big-budget product like Blue will serve as an ideal channel driver).

So, what is it about Blue that could make it capable of spreading the new Bollywood gospel in markets hitherto untapped? Gada is unequivocal about his choice, which he says was based on the rushes he’s seen so far. The film is a rare combo of international and domestic appeal — the stars are big, the music and sound design is by Oscar winners A.R. Rahman and Resul Pookutty, and the technical support is by well-known international artists. It’s been shot largely underwater in the Bahamas, and the whole look and feel of the film is very global. The presence in the film of popstar Kylie Minogue is being heavily promoted. “It’s just one of those coincidences that Kylie will be on a tour to the US and Canada just when the film is releasing,” says Gada, “and, oh yes, before I forget, the film’s length is in keeping with what international viewers like, just under two hours.”

So will Akshay, Sanjay and Lara (in fetching bikinis) fighting sharks underwater and other predators overland provide the mainstream Bollywood extravaganza the recognition it’s lacked? “A project like Blue can give audiences a taste of what Bollywood is now capable of, and we hope that it will kick-start more such projects,” says Gada.

Till the early 1990s, the general perception of Bollywood was that it consisted of shrill socials or florid melodramas. And then, in 1995, Aditya Chopra placed teenage heartthrobs Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan in the middle of London, got them to do a Europe-darshan on Eurail, and changed that perception forever: post Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, being Indian was cool, and young people espousing traditional Indian values were even cooler.

Then came Karan Johar and his brand of designer desi cool: his young leads flaunted American brands like DKNY and GAP, but were unafraid to go to the temple, and do an aarti. His lovers lived in New York and New Jersey, were as swish as any ‘foreign’ actor, and as comfortable in the colour of their skins as the cut of their couture.

Between these two directors, and their made-for-NRI movies, the whole outlook of Indians living abroad changed — not only towards their movies but also what those movies told them about themselves. But even these films did not really charm the non-traditional audiences, which continued to be derisive about the costume changes and the songs-and-dances and the high-pitch of the dialogue delivery. A Monsoon Wedding here, and The Namesake there, did manage more of a crossover, but it can be argued that they were not really the real Bollywood thing — the film with songs and dances and heroes and villains and extravagant tale-telling.

And that’s precisely why Blue, and its potential, is so interesting. It’s both completely unlike the traditional Bollywood film, and yet very firmly a traditional Bollywood film with all its trappings. Will it, in the hyperbolic terms used by marketing mavens, really conquer the world?

The answer will start unspooling next Friday, when the film releases worldwide.