THE WRITTEN WORD
As an increasing number of Bollywood film-makers take inspiration from fiction, short stories and classics, we take a look at the trend and the challenges that come with it
What’s common to Bareilly Ki Barfi (BKB), Alia Bhattstarrer Raazi and Akshay Kumar’s new film, Padman? Well, on the face of it, there’s nothing common except that all three films are mainstream Bollywood ventures. But the three films have a big common point — the literature connect.
THE BIG CHALLENGE
So, if BKB is inspired by a French book, The Ingredients Of Love, Raazi is based on Harinder S Sikka’s novel, Calling Sehmat and the Akshay Kumar-starrer Padman is a film adaptation of a story from Twinkle Khanna’s book, The Legend Of Lakshmi Prasad.
The number of literary inspirations might be on an upswing today but film-makers insist that it’s “always a challenging proposition”. “Writers pen a book in detail and with lots of explanations. And unlike films, there may not be many plot points or ‘turning points’ in it. But when a literary piece of work is picked up for a film, all the cinematic elements have to be weaved in,” says BKB director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari.
A GREAT IDEA
Clearly, that hasn’t stopped an increasing number of filmmakers to turn towards literature. So, while Shraddha Kapoor-Arjun Kapoor-starrer Half Girlfriend (based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel of the same name) released a few weeks back, Deepika Padukone will soon be seen playing Rahima Khan aka Sapna Didi in Vishal Bhardwaj’s next production venture. The film is based on one of the chapters from S Hussain Zaidi’s Mafia Queens Of Mumbai.
Experts feel it’s a “great idea” to get inspired by literature. “The charm and appeal of a literary work isn’t going anywhere. If people have lapped up a certain piece of literature, and film-makers can capitalisee on that, and make a quality film, that particular movie — in all likelihood — will do well at the box office,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
PICK AND CHOOSE
So, what’s the biggest challenge in taking up a piece of literature for a film? “The first and foremost challenge is how do you turn the entire book into a two-hour film? So, there is a lot that has to be edited but you have to still keep all the important points intact. You have to pick and choose,” says Half Girlfriend director Mohit Suri. Ashwiny concurs: “It’s indeed a challenge to decide what to retain from a book in a film, and what to leave out.”
Film-makers, however, seem to be hardly bothered about such challenges. So, while Nitesh Tiwari is working on an adaptation of Varun Agarwal’s How I Braved Anu Aunty And Co-founded A Million Dollar Company, Sriram Raghavan is believed to be working on Vikas Swarup’s The Accidental Apprentice. Likewise, Ashutosh Gowariker will be working on a film version of Vikram Sampath’s My Name Is Gauhar Jaan and Sajid Khan is also adapting Jeet Gian’s The Three Wise Monkeys. Additionally, R Balki is busy with Padman.
Trade expert Amod Mehra says there’s a “simple reason” why film-makers are turning towards literature. He says, “These days, there aren’t many writers and good original stories available, so makers have no option but to turn to literature for stories.”
A BLAST FROM THE PAST
In the past, too, Hindi films have looked to literature for inspiration — right from the ’40s and ’50s, in fact. The list includes Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Devdas (adapted from the Bengali book of the same name in 1935, 1955 and in 2002 by PC Barua, Bimal Roy and Sanjay Leela Bhansali respectively), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (based on the novel Shaheb Bibi Golam), Guide (based on RK Narayan’s The Guide), Parineeta (two films directed by Roy and Pradeep Sarkar), Shyam Benegal-directed Junoon, Maqbool (2003; an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth directed by Vishal Bhardwaj), and Omkara (adapted from Othello by Bhardwaj).
Ashwiny calls it a “welcome trend”, but feels the “cultural context” is the biggest challenge. “In fact, Hollywood film-makers pick up literary pieces for their films regularly, because most of their books are written keeping their cultural ethos in mind. Therefore, such books are easier to adapt for the big screen,” she says.