IT’S RAINING SUPERHEROES IN BOLLYWOOD
While we have a slew of largerthan-life movies coming up, the story will always be the ultimate hero, say experts
Hollywood filmmaker Martin Scorsese may have sparked a debate on the artistic value of superhero movies, but that’s not stopping the Hindi film industry from exploring the genre in a big way. A number of filmmakers are gravitating towards the sci-fi and fantasy adventure zone. Sample this: Ashwathama, Aditya Dhar’s next with Vicky Kaushal, is in the superhero space; the script of Rakesh Roshan’s Krrish 4 is ready; Sanjay Gupta has acquired the rights of Rakshak, a graphic novel about a vigilante superhero; and there’s also Ayan Mukerji’s ambitious trilogy Brahmastra, a fantasy adventure series. There was also a short-lived buzz about actor Ranveer Singh being in talks for the role of iconic Indian superhero Nagraj in a big-screen adaptation of the comicbook series.
What has fuelled this trend? Kanika Dhillon, who co-wrote Shah Rukh Khanstarrer Ra.One (2011), says, “We have a huge audience for superhero characters in India. It’s natural that our industry would want our own indigenous superhero. The market forces are conducive, the technology is great, and the audience is there, then why not? We have such rich mythology that can be built on.”
The idea to explore the
Mahabharata character Ashwathama struck Dhar in 2011. The director is reuniting with his Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) actor Vicky Kaushal for the project, which may start rolling only in 2021. “The effort is to create something as spectacular as Marvel has created, and within a budget conducive to the economics of our industry,” he says.
“People are making Game of Thrones. We have better stories in our mythology. So, we decided to take a character from mythology and then create a world around it, and make it into a story which resonates with the younger audience,” adds Dhar.
As for the Rakshak adaptation, Gupta says his hero doesn’t really have “superhero powers”. “He’s just an ordinary guy but he makes himself extraordinary. He’s somebody on the lines of a Batman, a daredevil. These guys are not born with superpowers, but they create superpowers through technology. That’s how this character is,” he says. The film will go into pre-production towards the end of 2020, and the first film will not be so VFX heavy because it’s the origin story, he explains. This transition is something well illustrated in Bollywood by the Krrish franchise, which began with Koi... Mil Gaya (2003) and then moved into the subsequent high-on-VFX instalments.
Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who helmed the hugely popular Mr. India (1987), says the term “superhero” comes from the West, but what makes such a character strike a chord is “firing the imagination of the people”.
Trade expert Girish Johar says that while OTT content is eating up theatrical business, it’s the larger-thanlife kind of cinema which will pull in the audiences. That notwithstanding, it’s the story that’ll always be hero of all ‘super’heroes. “We can’t match the budget Hollywood has in terms of technology and CGI, so we’ve to ensure we have the emotional aspect and Indian ethos intact,” he says.
People are making Game of Thrones. We have better stories in our mythology.
ADITYA DHAR FILMMAKER
My hero is an ordinary guy who makes himself extraordinary. He’s somebody on the lines of a Batman, a daredevil.
SANJAY GUPTA FILMMAKER