Page 64 - From Bombay to Bollywoord The Making of a Global Media Industri

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Staging Bollywood

Industrial Identity in an Era of Reform

In many respects, the filmic exemplar for Bollywood in a phase of transition
is Rommy Rolly, one of the central protagonists in Luck by Chance (2009), a
film that takes an affectionate and at times critical look at the workings of the
film industry in Bombay. Written and directed by Zoya Akhtar, daughter of
established screenwriter Honey Irani and acclaimed lyricist and screenwriter
Javed Akhtar, the film revolves around the struggles of two young actors
who arrive in Bombay with hopes of making it big in the film industry. Tak-
ing us behind the scenes of a film being produced by Rommy Rolly, a well-
established producer-director, Akhtar offers glimpses of various aspects of
Bombay’s film world: stardom and film journalism, disenchanted extras and
choreographers, marginalized screenwriters, erratic production schedules,
and so on. But above all, what the film captures is the way in which kin-
ship and long-standing social relationships structure nearly every aspect of
the film industry in Bombay. In fact, the answer to the question that Akhtar
asks—how this industry of no contracts, no paperwork, inadequate technol-
ogy, and limited equipment produces the largest number of films the world
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over, year after year—would likely be anything but “corporatization.” While
one could point to several instances in the film that speak to the challenges
and limits of corporatizing the Hindi film industry, scenes involving Rommy
Rolly’s attempts to secure financing for himself and for his brother-in-law’s
venture are particularly telling.
Banking on his reputation of having produced a number of hit films,
Rolly approaches a corporation that has recently entered the film business
in Bombay. In a nondescript office, seated across a table from two executives,
Rolly and his brother-in-law Satish Chowdhary make their pitch. Encour-
aged by the positive response from one of the executives, Chowdhary begins
speaking: “That’s fantastic, thank you. And Rollyji must have mentioned that
John and Bipasha have been confirmed and dates. . . .” Cutting him short,
the younger of the two executives responds, tapping his fingers on the script
in front of him: “And we’re happy. But our basic criteria is this property.”
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