What’s All The Song and Dance About?

By Urmila Gupta

The poster for Indian cinema at the Cannes Festival, 2001, made by the artist and Illustrator Subhash Awchat

Picture this: on one side, a dazzling strip of beach, an azure Mediterranean sea, fluttering silk pennants of classy beachfront cafes and coloured umbrellas. On the other, stretch limousines and luxury sedans on a glistening tarmac with bumper-to-bumper traffic. In between, the crowded Croisette, with huge four-sided film posters interspersed with translates, assorted vendors and aspiring performers, and an occasional camera crew, all bathed in the balmy May sun on the Riviera.

As the annual International Festival unfolds, it’s silly season at Cannes once again. The local Cannoisie leave the city to the invasion of the film frat from all over the world and tourists come to gape at their dream gods and goddesses. Amidst the beautiful people in their beach shorts and thong bikinis, outsized dark glasses and beach bags, is a sedate group led by a determ

ined sari-clad figure with a large red dot, walking briskly. As Madame Minister tries to avoid gazing at the topless bathers, her entourage glances surreptitiously sideways.

If Sushma Swaraj had a problem with FTV, what would she have to say, now that she has been to the country of its origin? The official briefing had two interesting points to make: one, that business worth Rs one crore (around $20,000) had been transacted. But it was silent about the details. Since the mainstream movie industry grosses far more than US$1 million each at the international box office, one assumes it was on behalf of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) again. The second point was a piece of advice from the worthy Festival President, Monsieur Gilles Jacob.

Cannes may come and Cannes may go but the figure of Rs one crore has a familiar ring. In the ’80s, whenever Malati Tambay Vaidya, a long-time former MD, used to return after closing the little NFDC stall in the market, she would announce that business worth Rs one crore or thereabouts had been transacted. Everyone who was anyone knew that most of the films ostensibly sold at the Film Market were sold to the same fixed set of buyers who would have been happy doing the deal anywhere, anytime. But then, how could the Corporation justify spending public funds for its annual trip?

At least Rs one crore in the ’80s was worth substantially more than it is today. The same level of business has been conducted, but on whose behalf? The NFDC, in any case, could have concluded the same deals without the extended official delegation.

The Little India Pavilion

THE official delegation from the I&B Ministry was the usual gang from the NFDC, sundry film importers and exporters, possibly a representative from our Embassy in Paris and, as reported, the bhangra troupe from the Song and Dance Division (later learnt that they were a no go, no show, this year at least).
The setting: the India Pavilion deep within the Festival Palais where, for many years, the NFDC used to have a tiny 6X8 stall right next to the cafe. Everyone passed by this stall on their way to grabbing a quick cafe au lait and croissant (please note the key word, passing by).

Some fringe film enthusiasts and dilettantes may have convinced the I&B Minister that the India Pavilion would change the way Cannes and the world’s film press viewed us. (A la, the late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s Festivals of India jamborees, organised by a small coterie of bum chums, which managed to generate expensive coffee table books and some business for the bhaloo wallahs and performing artistes.)

Bhangra And The Baywatch Babes

ENTER the bhangra troupe — inspired by, and I have it straight from the horse’s mouth, no less a personage than that public relations and advertising guru, Alyque Padamsee — ‘‘to create a sort of Brazilian carnival atmosphere on the streets’’.
Here we are at Cannes, where hundreds of Baywatch wannabes flock the Croisette and limousines unload lens-shattering celebrities in designer wear before flashing paparazzi and hordes of fans, straining behind the barricades — a sort of mini Oscar night occurs daily before the gala screenings of the films in competition in the main Salle. And what do we have on display — the bhangra team, may be.

If they did get there, with their sweeping moustaches and beards, colourful scarves and turbans, sexy lungis, flashing teeth, rhythmic shoulder shrugs and leg lifts, et al, to throbbing drum beats and cymbals, our sturdy bhangra team from the Song and Drama Division tried their best. But alas, what does that have to do with cinema. (At least the Song & Drama Division can hope for a reprieve from the Geethakrishnan Report recommendation that it be axed. If they did not get to Cannes this year, surely they can hope to be there next year or the next, enough to justify their existence.)
But I am sure the glaring contrast between the public impact of an official delegation (and the bhangra team) and the interest generated by film personalities, more particularly actual participation by films and filmmakers in the Cannes festival, must have become apparent to the Minister. The Cannes Film Festival may have the support of the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs but at the end of the day its success can be attributed to the presence of the world’s mainstream film personalities.

Old hands commented upon the wooing of Hollywood by the new festival director who actually crossed the Atlantic for this purpose. Monsieur Gilles Jacob, the Delegate General or Director of the Festival from 1978 up to 2000 (now stepped up to become the President, while Pierre Viot, President from 1985, is now the honorary President) would never have gone to Hollywood personally to select and invite movies and delegates. But Hollywood was always invited and is an all-pervasive presence. No one can ignore the fact that all the most visible hype, gala and glitz at Cannes is driven by Hollywood and other European, and now Chinese, stars.

Where Is Our ‘A’ Team?

BIG movie launches and galas at Cannes are hosted by film producers and movie distributors. Nobody bothers about official delegations. I sympathise with Swaraj, who descended upon Cannes with her entire Ministry in tow to grace the first-ever Indian (not NFDC only) pavilion. But last fortnight, I met Subhash Ghai and Mahesh Bhatt in Mumbai, and heard that film mogul Yash Chopra, as also all the major stars, were in town or shooting or doing something else — but definitely not attending Cannes.

Our entire promotional effort would have certainly been helped by a generous display of brawn, beauty and sex appeal, which our stars have in plenty. The world press is just looking for the glam shot, much the same as the movie mags in India and now the Page Three of the national dailies. The world loves the Page Three sort of pictures, which official delegations sadly do not generate. I am sure major studios and distributors would show more interest in our blockbuster entertainers if only they saw the response to them in the Olympics of the Movie world. But are we ready?

Unless our Ministry, and those who have taken it upon themselves to promote the film industry at international forums, can take the mainstream industry along with them, an India Film Pavilion at Cannes will not have much meaning. The industry, on its part, should also break out of its luxurious ghetto and show up where it matters.

In 1987, there were murmurs of discontent at the IFFI when we introduced the Mainstream Cinema section. Nevertheless, it gave our commercial film industry legitimacy in what had hitherto been seen as a ‘parallel cinema’ event. The late Raj Kapoor inaugurated the first Mainstream Section and some film stars from Bollywood did attend. But the schizophrenia persists. So much so that when a Raveena Tandon gets the national best actress award, it becomes a controversy.

But surely it’s about time that this reverse ghettoisation of Indian mainstream movies and film festivals is eliminated. If we are to get more than a passing mention at Cannes, this is what Swaraj, so overwhelmed with her first Cannes experience that she enthusiastically announced that the Ministry would commence preparations for the next Cannes Festival immediately, needs to do. But how do you get a film selected for the main festival? That, my dear friends, is another story altogether.