ABSTRACT
Javed Akhtar, the co-writer of Sholay and Deewar (see chapter 4) reflects on the differences in narrative structure between Indian and Western films:
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Sutanu Gupta, a screenwriter since the late 1980s, discusses the challenges of writing a Hindi film given the narrative and generic structure:
Vikram Bhatt, a director since the early 1990s who has literally grown up in the film industry with a director grandfather and a cinematographer father, defines the term “story:”
Rakesh Roshan, a producer/director since the 1980s, elaborates upon the dramatic arc of a Hindi film’s narrative structure and relates it to screen time, pacing, background sound, and audience reaction:
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Rumi Jaffrey, a screenwriter since the late 1980s who has worked a great deal with director David Dhawan (see chapter 3), reflects on why nearly all Hindi films contain songs:
Rakesh Roshan, whose father was a music director and whose younger brother is a music director, discusses the reason he is particular about music and the importance of creating just the right song situations in his films:
Anjum Rajabali, a screenwriter since the early 1990s, explains the narrative functions of songs in a screenplay and how he conceptualized
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written starring Aamir Khan (see chapter 3):
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of Aradhana (see chapter 4), explains the structural placement of songs in a film’s screenplay:
Sharmishta Roy, an art director since the early 1990s who helped to redefine the visual style of Hindi cinema, describes the role of art direction and her method of designing the sets for a film:
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Anjum Rajabali discusses the difference between Hollywood films and Hindi films and explains what is necessary to “Indianize” or adapt a Hollywood film:
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Madhuri Dixit (see chapter 3) discusses the main change that has come about in filmmaking as a result of satellite television:
Ravi Gupta, the CEO of B4U (Bollywood For You) a global satellite channel devoted to popular Hindi cinema, discusses the media scenario within India and the place of Hollywood and multinational media companies within it:
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Shammi Kapoor, a successful star of the 1960s and the younger brother of Raj Kapoor (see chapter 3) reflects on the polyglot nature of Bombay and the Hindi film industry and attributes the global popularity of Hindi films to the cosmopolitan environment which produces them:
Ayesha Jhulka, an actress who made her debut in 1991, talks about the place of women within the industry and within Hindi cinema:
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Punkej Kharabanda, who started off in the industry as an assistant director but then became a secretary or manager of a few stars, explains the difference between managing male and female stars and the importance of an actress’s image for her fan following:
Ritha Bhaduri who has played character roles such as mothers and sisters in a countless number of Hindi films asserts why character roles are preferable to the female lead:
Shabana Azmi, who has acted in mainstream Hindi cinema, art-house Indian cinema, and international English-language productions and has won numerous awards, discusses the portrayal of women within popular Hindi cinema:
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by her father, Mahesh Bhatt (see chapter 3) and turned producer in 1996, discusses why she decided to start her own production company and the kind of films she hopes to produce:
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HINDI CINEMA AND SOCIETY
Actor/producer Aamir Khan (see chapter 3) describes the cultural significance of Hindi cinema and relates his own relationship to Hindi cinema, specifically film music:
Aditya Chopra, the director of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (see chapter 4) and Yash Chopra’s (see chapter 3) son, discusses the significance of Hindi cinema as entertainment within India:
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Producer/director Subhash Ghai (see chapter 3) asserts the necessity for censorship in India:
Director Ramesh Sippy (see chapter 3) expresses his ambivalence about film censorship:
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Actor/producer Shashi Kapoor, a leading star of the 1970s and 1980s and Raj Kapoor’s younger brother, relates an anecdote about a particularly fervent viewer of Bobby (see chapter 4) directed by his elder brother:
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Aamir Khan discusses the relationship between an actor and the audience:
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Madhuri Dixit talks about the relationship between stars and their fans and relays some anecdotes about her encounters with fans:
Actor/producer Shahrukh Khan (see chapter 3) discusses how audiences are generally perceived by the film industry and then explains his views about film audiences:
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