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The Plot-Liners

Plagiarising — or retreading — storylines from the original versions is a surefire recipe for disaster. So why does B-town continue the march?

The story’s the thing. Few would disagree that a film’s content can make or destroy its performance at the place where it matters the most — the box-office, or the ticket sale counters. The more-than-disapp-ointing show of the lately-released Himmatwala is a clear pointer that a repackaged, contemptuous-of-the-audience entertainer is no longer acceptable. Extensive publicity and the presence of the popular hero Ajay Devgn failed to make an impact. Neither did the loads of crowd-pleasing gimmicks — like an item number by the current hottie Sonakshi Sinha or crude comedy by the usually likeable Paresh Rawal, and the successful track record of the film’s director Sajid Khan, who keeps shouting out from the rooftops that he cares a hoot for the critics.

A retread of the vintage Jeetendra-Sridevi mind-bender Himmatwala, dating back to 1983, it was thumbed down primarily because its story has become dated and the effort to recreate the retro-atmosphere of the 1980s, was slapdash. Moreover, the negative reviews in the print and electronic media contributed substantially to the film’s rejection.

Expected to be the mega-hit of the year, the rehashed product will be fortunate if it recovers its lavish investment spent on elements like a tiger combat enhanced by special effects, garish sets and kitschy costumes. In fact, the corporate production company which has part-bankrolled the insufferable ‘entertainer’ will have to rethink its market strategy, since it prides itself in maintaining a semblance of quality.

Indeed, remakes, blatant clones and sequels have become shortcuts in a business where originality has always been at a low premium. In the event, story and script writers continue to be marginalised despite protests that they should be accorded due recognition and, of course, remuneration. The Film Writers’ Association has been trying of late to make their voice heard and answered. In fact, legal experts point out that writers can no longer be ghetto-ised.

Lately, writer Kapil Chopra, who complained that his script of Jannat 2 had been lifted, lock, stock and barrel, was paid compensation after a settlement with its producers, the Bhatt Brothers. Hollywood’s 20^th Century Fox studio which had raised objections to the plot of Knockout being snitched from Phone Booth, also emerged triumphant, establishing a precedent in an area where plagiarism and the pilfering of concepts and ideas have been rampant. Ravi Chopra’s Govinda-Tabu comedy Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai was stonewalled. Objections were raised to the “reproduction” of the Joe Pesci-Marisa Tomei chuckle-fest My Cousin Vinny.

Over the last two months, much brouhaha has been sparked by Salim-Javed, the original scriptwriters of the iconic Amitabh Bachchan revenge drama Zanjeer (1973). They have demanded a blockade of its remake, tentatively titled Toofan, although it is being produced by the sons of Prakash Mehra, the creator of the original. Curiously, there were no contentious murmurs vis-à-vis the Salim-Javed authored Don, which was updated by Javed’s son Farhan Akhtar, not once but in a sequel as well.

As for David Dhawan’s jab at Sai Paranjpye’s clean-cut comedy Chashme Buddoor (1981), it has raised the question — can an original, a brand name in its own right, be mangled and trivialised beyond recognition? Paranjpye, the widely respected 75-year-old writer-and-director of the Farooq Sheikh-Deepti Naval sparkler, has been utterly dismayed by the fact that her baby was just handed over by the owner of its rights, without so much as a by-your-leave.

Despite the intense ferment in the writers’ circles, no clear-cut rights for them have emerged so far. Yet, by all 
accounts, writers of some stature intend to fight for their rights. But what about upcoming story and scriptwriters? Can they talk about their exploitation?

Currently, the buzz goes that a first-time writer was roundly congratulated by a producer-director whose daringly different films have given him a safe berth in the trade. Next thing the neophyte knows is that his script has been approved for funding. The catch is that his name won’t feature in the credit titles since he doesn’t have any market equity. “Be glad that you’re script is being made into a film at least,” he was told. Shocked but silent, he hasn’t had the guts to take on the powers-that-be.

Incidentally, script writing workshops have become as fashionable as the fast-multiplying literature festivals all over the nation, from Jaipur to Mumbai. The first lesson imparted to students at the workshops is to think original. Alas, more often than not the speakers themselves have been guilty of gross plagiarism. Truly, it an arbitrary, baffling world for the Bollywood writer. The upside is that there’s hope that they won’t be treated like second-class citizens anymore, thanks to the mounting protests of unfair treatment.

Remakes, sequels and clones don’t always click. For proof, see what happened to Sajid Khan’s Himmatwala. 
The tiger, featured prominently on its posters, just lost its tale.