There were 3 interesting industrial news stories in one day, which I want to use as jumping off point to discuss how money and art intersect in Hindi film. The first two are short and kind of set the stage, the last one is the very interesting one that relates to the whole history of how film finances work. (this was originally posted as a news round-up, but it really makes more sense as a Hindi Film 101)
Woot! Global box office is out! Which is completely unaffected by the demonetization of India. Which means the Rock On 2 producer’s arguments that it is only doing badly because people can’t buy tickets don’t hold up at all.
Kahaani 2 trailer out today! And Rock On 2 trailer out yesterday, but I’m not as interested in that one.
Have you noticed that in Indian film, an overnight success is rare, but an overnight failure is even rarer? It takes the slow accumulation of flop after flop after flop before there are any repercussions. But, finally, Farhan and Katrina are feeling the burn!
Tum Bin 2? Really? Like, the Priyanshu Chatterjee movie? Rock On 2, I can kind of understand, because it’s part of Farhan’s whole play acting self-indulgence thing. But Tum Bin gets a sequel?
At least, that’s what happened for me! Amitabh made me cry, and Farhan made me want to throw something. So, an emotional day for me!
dontcallitbollywood 