Raj Kundra Under Scanner - Does That Make Bollywood A Big Bad Industry?

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By Joginder Tuteja

Barely had Bollywood recovered from the Sushant Singh Rajput unfortunate death followed by the drugs scandal that the Raj Kundra case has put the spotlight back on the misgivings around the industry. Though the voices are not as hardened as they were till about a year back, the whispers are definitely being heard amongst the 'aam junta'. Of course, the media is having a field day all over again in highlighting all the wrongdoings around the business that the man-in-the-spotlight is alleged to be involved in. However, the question is, is that all fair after all?

Let's bring one thing into perspective right away and that's that the business of Bollywood can't be equated to that of the erotica or the soft-porn industry which is in the focus currently. Bollywood, the term that has come to replace the Hindi film industry in only the last few decades, is about the authentic feature films that are made in the country, and primarily originating from the city of Mumbai. In fact, even though it is said that 200-250 Hindi films are made every year, even that's far from true as the ones which are notable are just about 70-80 every year.

That's right; it's a fallacy when it's claimed that over 200 films are made and then the statistics are thrown around that over 90% of these are flops. No, that's wrong since here we are talking about only those films as true Bollywood affairs which have some bit of credibility to it, either in terms of production houses, filmmakers, actors, distributors or exhibitors. Rest 100-150 odd films are generally from either fly-by-night operators or the kind that may release on just 10-20 screens in select cities or towns and then disappear.

Why this argument? Well, to establish the fact that when even quintessential Hindi films that are termed Bollywood offerings are actually not Bollywood in true terms then how can the erotica or soft porn offerings get equated with Bollywood? That's laughable, to say the least. In fact, that's a different industry altogether, and it has been around in varied forms for many decades now. Of course, it's far more prominent today due to smartphones, apps and internet connectivity, due to which access to such material is easy. However, it is not new at all.

Nonetheless, coming back to the case which is making headlines then yes, the law will of course takes its own course. It's not of concern about whether this industry existed in the past as well or it's something new. It's about what truly are the charges against Raj Kundra, what is permissible as per law and what gets proven eventually. However, to take that as an example and begin to slay Bollywood all over again doesn't sound fair at all since that's not what the industry stands for.

As an industry, Bollywood has always survived and the Hindi film industry, in particular, has been around for 100 years now. With the second wave of pandemic easing and biggies of each of the top superstars like Akshay Kumar [Bachchan Pandey], Salman Khan [Tiger 3], Shah Rukh Khan [Pathan], Aamir Khan [Laal Singh Chaddha], Ajay Devgn [Mayday], Hrithik Roshan [Fighter], John Abraham [Attack], Kartik Aaryan [Shehzaada] and Varun Dhawan [Bhediya] back on the floors, there is a lot that Bollywood has to offer in years to come.

In fact, soon enough even OTT would be graced by the arrival of biggies like Ajay Devgn's Bhuj - The Pride of India and Sidharth Malhotra's Shershaah while Manoj Bajpayee would be back with yet another thrilling outing Dial 100 after The Family Man. Amongst actresses, Kriti Sanon would be spearheading Mimi in just a few days from now. Farhan Akhtar's Toofaan is already doing quite well post its OTT release.

Let's talk about these films which are truly Bollywood.

Let's acknowledge the makers of true filmy offerings which are gearing up to grace the big screen.

Let's stay positive about what families at large truly adore Bollywood for, and are waiting for the cinematic outings to be back where they truly belong, the big screen.

The kind of small-screen escapades that are in news for their content isn't really Bollywood. Let's not bring them into the equation and tag those with Bollywood to term it as a 'Big Bad industry'.

No, it's not!

[Joginder Tuteja is a trade expert and film critic, who writes extensively about films and content streaming on OTT platforms.]

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