Review of "The Making of a Bollywood Blockbuster", a Mavericks Session at the Toronto International Film Festival 2006
BY AMREEN OMAR

Along with the latest and greatest cinematic offerings from around the globe, the Toronto International Film Festival also now brings us the Mavericks program, which is a series of sessions hosted by leaders and innovators in the world of cinema. Filmmakers and actors share their personal stories with a small audience, discussing their most recent upcoming projects in an intimate setting. This year, Mavericks presented "The Making of a Bollywood Blockbuster", where Suketu Mehta (the Pulitzer Prize-nominated author of Maximum City, a non-fiction book about Mumbai) interviewed Amitabh Bachchan, Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan onstage at the Isabel Bader Theatre.

Needless to say, this was a unique opportunity for any fan of Hindi cinema to see and hear some of the industry's most high-profile personalities. Mehta, who's written extensively about Bollywood for his book and other articles, was an excellent choice of interviewer as he did not hesitate to challenge his subjects with questions that were challenging and sometimes controversial.

Mehta asked the legendary Bachchan about his controversial role in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna where he played an oversexed senior. He referred to his role as "Sexy Sam" being a departure from the angry young man Bachchan played in the seventies and eighties, and the patriarchal roles with which he is now commonly associated. Bachchan, ever eloquent, responded that it is "an actor's prerogative to accept what is given to him…my duty is to do it to the best of my ability".

In his first question to Khan, Mehta described, to the audience, his experience with the intensity with which Khan's fans express their devotion. He described a doctor in Chicago who has Khan's film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge playing on every floor of her three-storey home, constantly. Another story described a remote village in Malaysia which houses a shrine to Khan. When Mehta asked Khan how he felt about being the object of such adulation, Khan told him that "this is just a job for me…my family and friends keep me grounded", adding humorously that "I wear make-up like every other nine-to-five guy".

Johar was asked to comment on the term "Bollywood" and its negative connotations. Johar spoke with passion and confidence about his industry, noting that though the term "has been sanctioned by the Oxford English Dictionary", he "hates it". It was a term "coined in the eighties as a result of garish colours and hundreds of dancers" in elaborate song sequences. But, he clarifies, "we have evolved….now, there is a wide variety of films: intense, passionate Black, brave Lagaan, so many films we can be proud of". He went on to comment on the festival, saying "We're here in Toronto at the film festival. People are accepting us for who we are - long films and songs included."

Bachchan went on to speak about his experience in politics, alluding that he will not go in that direction again as it is not fair for his fans to choose between Amitabh the actor and Amitabh the politician. He further spoke critically about the decline of Hindi language skills in the India's younger generation, attributing this to the reduced quality of Hindi scripts available right now.

Khan was especially articulate when responding to Mehta's questions about religion and film, stating proudly that the film industry has remained somewhat immune to religious tensions because "creativity is secular". He went on to say that people in India's film industry "respect each other because of their talent" and not because they espouse any particular religion

My favourite moment in the event occurred during Khan's response to Mehta's questions about his love scene with Rani Mukherjee in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. Khan was telling the audience about his real-life awkwardness with women and how this was the same for the onscreen love scene. When he said "I am basically very shy with women," Bachchan asked politely if he may interrupt; when he did so, he said, with a sly smile, "I'd just like to make the point that I am not at all shy with women". In doing so, Bachchan, perhaps knowingly, endeared himself even more to an adoring audience (including myself) by making us party to an inside joke - we all know of Bachchan's popularity with the ladies.

Mehta asked Johar if he thought Indian films would ever achieve mainstream success in North America. Johar emphatically stated that they "never will, just like North American films won't achieve that in India. We should strive for a presence - acceptance. Europe is accepting. North America needs awareness and information."

And that is what we got - information and a glimpse into the inner worlds of some our favourite Hindi film personalities. Khan, Bachchan, and Johar did not disappoint. In the ninety minute interview, they revealed themselves to be highly intelligent and articulate professionals at the top of their game.