So, there are two interesting news stories making the rounds.  One is an important sign of shifting industrial desires and policies.  And the other is a sign that I WAS RIGHT!  Ha-HA!  HahahahahahaHA!

So, first, Sunny Deol has bumped Ghayal Once Again, again.  Poor Sunny Doel.  As this article points out, he (and really all the Deols) are super super popular in northern India.  However, he hasn’t had a hit in years.  And he can’t get a heroine to work with him anymore, which makes it harder to get a hit.  And he hates to promote films and looks obviously uncomfortable in interviews.  All of which are signs of the new industrial realities.

Back in the day, the 80s when Sunny ruled, all you needed for a hit was a bunch of loyal young working class male fans.  Which Sunny has, and had, in droves.  No promotion, no heroine to work opposite you, just a bunch of awesome action scenes.

But now, the multiplex upper middle class urban market is where it’s at.  Thanks to the huge variance in ticket prices, millions of lower class fans in the north are meaningless, because one of their tickets is only worth a 20th of one urban multiplex ticket.  And the urban multiplex market is fickle, they need to be woo’d for every release.  And they need more than just Sunny, they want a co-star they can relate to, someone educated and literate.  So poor Sunny is going from pillar to post trying to get an actress who will balance his appeal (but none of the actresses who can do that are willing to be in a Sunny Doel movie), and being awkward and unhappy in TV interviews.  I feel bad for him, having his massive hit history (Gadar, biggest hit in India for like 5 years) ignored, and his massive fan following ignored.  And I feel really bad about what this says about the film industry, that they no longer care about millions and millions of loyal lowerclass fans, they just want the people with money.

In other news, I was right!  I was right I was right I was right right RIGHT!!!  Interview with Abhishek Kapoor, totally prevaricated on why he included the Kashmir line in Fitoor, and if it is going to be like Haider where there is a Kashmir political message mixed in with the love story and all.  HA!  I said there was a hidden political message in the trailer!  I said it I said it I said it!

(I think I may have figured out why no one in real life wants to have these conversations with me any more.  I may, possibly, be a little irritating about it)