Innovative and parallel cinema, movies for children and adults, or divided between rural and urban... the lines had been blurred for many years, but the Hindi film industry is now clearly divided into segments, tells actor Imran Khan who also believes that Bollywood is now in its 'best phase'.
'Cinema is no more a wholesome family entertainer. Just like television has always had different segments according to their feel and storyline, now segmentation is happening in the movie industry,' Imran said.
He might be just five movies old but Imran, nephew of actor Aamir Khan and producer-director Mansoor Khan, has had a long association with Bollywood.
'The segmentation may be on the basis of adult or children, rural or urban, commercial or offbeat cinema. All these segments have been overlapping for years but have never never been defined as clearly as they are now,' told Imran, whose latest movie 'Delhi Belly' releases Friday.
The 28-year-old had a stint with showbiz as a child star in movies like 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak' and 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander' before stepping into Bollywood as a leading man in the 2008 romcom 'Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na', directed by Abbas Tyrewala and produced by Aamir.
He later went on to do movies like 'Kidnap' with Sanjay Dutt and Minissha Lamba, 'Luck' with Shruti Haasan, 'I Hate Luv Storys' with Sonam Kapoor and 'Break Ke Baad' with Deepika Padukone.
Other than his debut movie, the others were miserable failures. But the actor, set for his latest release, feels the industry is in its best phase.
'In my opinion, we are in the best time that Hindi film industry has ever had... because, as the way it has opened up, there has been nothing like this in the past. It is growing by leaps and bounds,' told Imran.
'In the last couple of years we have set a new set of record for box-office; collected more money than anybody could have ever thought an Indian film could. Our market is growing, our cash turnover is growing. It is exploding,' he further included.
Interestingly, Imran is of the view that the collaboration with corporate houses has been a bane.
'In the last few years there has been a massive boom with corporate film houses - and now they are starting to learn their lesson. In a couple of months, they kind of destroyed the market.
'They were so desperate to have a star that they were just throwing money without asking about the script, the budget... anything. They were happily signing on pay cheques of Rs.20-40 crore without having any knowledge about it. It took the industry time to understand that it was not helping but degrading the standards,' he told in a firm voice.
Imran, who is amongst the most sought after actors in Bollywood, admits he is very particular about the kind of business his movie does.
'I am very particular about the recovery of my business. I charge less money than most of my contemporaries. I don't like to burden my movie upfront. I tend to take a share in the profit of the movie. It's a risk - you are gambling on the success of your movie.’
'I am basically investing in the future because by keeping my budget low I am ensuring a better opportunity for my movie to perform. If it does well, I will earn more money, but if it doesn't I will lose money along with it.’
'But my prime worry is that along with the movie everybody who works on the project should make money. I want people in the industry to tell, 'if I work with Imran it's a good investment'.'
When asked how difficult it is for a newcomer to break into an industry dominated by the Khans and Kapoors, he told, 'Salman, Shah Rukh, Aamir - they are like legends now, they have been here for more than 20 years. It takes that much time to build up that kind of fan following. It can't happen in two years. You have to always build an audience.'
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