Anupama Chopra is a film critic and book author. She has written about the Hindi film industry since 1993. Her work has been published extensively in India Today, India’s largest English language magazine. She has also written about Bollywood for various international publications such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Variety and Sight & Sound. Currently, Anupama presents and scripts a weekly film review show called Picture This on NDTV, a leading Indian news channel.

Anupama’s last book, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (“The Bravehearted Will Take the Bride”), was published by the British Film Institute in 2002, as part of their Modern Classics Series. Anupama’s first book, Sholay: The Making of a Classic, was published by Penguin-India in 2000. It won the prestigious National Award (given by the President of India) for the Best Book on Cinema.

Anupama has an insider’s knowledge of Bollywood. Her husband Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a leading filmmaker. In 1979, he won an Oscar nomination for his documentary, An Encounter with Faces. Her sister Tanuja Chandra, is one of the few women directors in Bollywood. Her mother, Kamna Chandra, is a scriptwriter and her brother, Vikram Chandra, is an award-winning novelist who has also written Hindi film scripts.

Anupama received an MA in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She received top honors at Medill, winning the Harrington Award for “academic excellence and promise for success in the field of magazine journalism.” She has a BA in English literature from Bombay University. She was awarded the Dwarkanath Purshotham Gold Medal for academic excellence by the university.

Anupama lives in Mumbai and Michigan.

Text and pictures: Anupama Chopra
www.anupamachopra.com

by Evelyn Garski - July 2007

I know how busy you are with all the interviews in India and USA about your new book "King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema" which will be released in some days. So I´m very glad that you took the time to answer some questions.

EG: Apart from Lagaan, why do you think Indian cinema has not fared too well in the Oscars? Do you think Hollywood looks upon Hindi cinema as too frivolous, and not to be taken seriously, when after all Hindi cinema enjoys a far greater world-wide audience, and as Shahrukh Khan put it, they sell dreams. Do you think this is snobbery on behalf of Hollywood, and a lack of understanding what audiences actually enjoy?

AC: Hindi cinema form is still very alien for Western, especially US viewers. I think audiences in the US are still reluctant to sit through three hours with subtitles and songs. The whole narrative and story-telling style is too different for them, which is why popular Hindi cinema has not done so well at the Oscars. It's like if a great American film such as The Godfather was submitted at the Filmfare Awards, it would probably fare equally badly. Because it doesn't conform to Indian style of narration. Basically these are two different styles of story-telling, much like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Jane Austen.

EG: Do you think the present format of Bollywood movies will ever change to accommodate a wider global audience, to compete with Hollywood and if yes in which way? In fact, do you think they even feel it necessary to compete with
Hollywood at all?

AC: I don't believe that any of the major directors in Mumbai are going to dilute their art to accommodate a wider global audience. They already connect with billions of people around the globe.

EG: The south Indian actor Rajnikanth is reported to be the highest paid actor in India and arguably a bigger superstar than Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan. To those of us who are not of Indian origin, or familiar with south Indian cinema, is this true, and as he seems to command a loyal, almost God like hero worship among his fans, is South Indian cinema a bigger industry than the Mumbai or Bollywood industry at home? And what are the most important differences between South Indian Cinema and Bollywood/Hindi Cinema?

AC: Rajnikath is an object of God like worship but it would be difficult to state that he is a bigger star. Tamil cinema is a huge industry -- I'm not aware of the economics so I cannot state whether it is bigger in terms of finances or number of films produced. I'm not very familiar with Tamil cinema so I cannot authoritatively comment on differences. But several
directors from the South have made successful Hindi cinema such as Maniratnam, Ram Gopal Varma and Priyadarshan.

EG: How important has Shahrukh Khan been in popularising Hindi cinema around the world, and how influential has his presence been in modern Hindi cinema? And why do you think that just Shahrukh Khan became the "Face of Hindi
Cinema worldwide"and not another actor?

AG: Shah Rukh Khan has been critical in popularising Hindi cinema around the world. If you look at the chapter in my book titled A Global Icon, it will answer your question. There is an interesting EDI Nielsen study in there about how most of the top 10 Hindi films in the UK star SRK. It will also tell you why he became the face of Hindi cinema -- because his films connect with both first and second generation Indians everywhere.

EG: Shahrukh Khan has played various roles and characters during his 19 years of career. You have interviewed him many times. Is there a role/character you think he should play in the future? Is there a dream role he wants to act or you want to see him?

AG: No, I have no such dream role for him. I think he continues to beguile and surprise us with his performances. I thought what he did in Chak De India, especially in the scene when his team wins the World Cup, was exceptional.

EG: As you know Shahrukh Khan is besides his acting involved in various projects as for example with his production companies Red Chillies, Dreamz Unlimited and Arclightz. One of his dreams/visions is to make Hindi movies
(his own and others) with a higher technical and visual standard which can be compared with Hollywood movies. Only a dream or is Hindi Cinema really ready to make this big and expensive step?

AG: Hindi cinema is already making this big and expensive step. Shah Rukh has already set up a studio for special effects and is doing an expensive film with Shankar, the director of Shivaji. Abhishek Bachchan is doing Drona, which will have special effects and of course Rakesh Roshan is working on Krrish 3. So this is already happening.

EG: Once again, thank you very much. I wish you all the best for your book and your upcoming projects. Take care and have a good time.


copyright: Evelyn Garski
bollywood-worldwide.com