Re: Is India a model Democracy?

[Re: Is.India.a.model.Democracy?]

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The Hindu

Editorial


More shocks in the script


BOLLYWOOD'S CRISIS IS deepening, much to the shame of a fraternity which
is
already in the throes of a virtual nightmare. The arrest of one of the
biggest film financiers in Mumbai, Bharat Shah, the other day has
stirred
the script beyond the wildest imagination of an industry well known for
and
often accused of weaving incredibly unbelievable yarns. Shah - whose
``Chori
Chori, Chupke Chupke'' ran into a problem last month when its producer,
Nazim Rizvi, was jailed for his alleged connection with gangster Chhota
Shakeel - has reportedly invested about Rs. 100 crores in several
movies.
Also a distributor, Shah has not only been in the business for a long
time
now, but has also enjoyed a ``clean reputation'' vouched for by
stalwarts of
the Hindi cinema. Even when Rizvi accused Shah of being an accomplice in

this crime, there was a sense of disbelief, even mockery, in Bollywood.
At
least one respectable figure, Mr. Sunil Dutt, is said to have defended
him
in an open forum.

Assuming that the Mumbai police has done its homework well, the Shah
episode
confirms how widely the malaise has spread, how well entrenched the
nexus is
between the underworld and the Mumbai cinema. But the drama must have
had
its first scenes enacted long before the murders and extortions began
most
significantly with the daring daylight killing of the music baron,
Gulshan
Kumar. It is well known that criminals had a huge stake in Mumbai's real

estate dealings, and when the prices here crashed (they had to, for they
had
touched a ridiculously artificial high) the likes of Dawood Ibrahim and
Shakeel focussed their cameras on cinema, whose glamour and appeal came
as a
bonus to these dons. In a way, the industry played along: some stars
accepted underworld hospitality without any qualms, and some producers
were
more than merely happy when the gangsters put a knife to the throat of
an
artist forcing him or her to play along. In a place legendary for its
unscrupulous indiscipline - stars reporting hours late for a shot or
misusing production money - some directors and producers chuckled at
this
turn of fortune, and, became virtual abettors.

But hopefully, Bollywood will now go through a thorough cleansing. In
any
case, the stage is set for happier times. The Government recognition of
cinema as an industry can certainly pave the way for institutional
funding,
provided, of course, the men and women in this trade are willing to
bring
about the much- needed transparency in their monetary dealings, and pay
their taxes too. Also, the recent trend among some banners to go public
is a
welcome sign in a metropolis that has long forgotten the studio system,
whose acumen kept the industry afloat. Admittedly, there is always the
danger of the small fish being eaten up by the large one, and a degree
of
volatility is only to be expected with some large corporate houses being

tempted to step inside the entertainment arena. Can one then visualise a

situation where India would have the likes of a Warner Brothers or a
Miramax? Difficult to predict at this juncture, but if that were to
happen
the Ibrahims and Shakeels would have to pack up. However, for Bollywood
the
end of a particularly dark tunnel cannot be very far, now that there
appears
to be a more concerted bid - among the police and the film folks - to
put an
end to this scare and suffering. After all, no art can live and breathe
with
a gun pointed at it.





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