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Bollywood films rooted in reality have fared better this year, says Farhan Akhtar

Bollywood films rooted in reality have fared better this year, says Farhan Akhtar

The actor's upcoming Lucknow Central is inspired by the true story of prison inmates who escape to start a music band.
10 Sep, 2017

Bollywood films chronicling small town lives and real issues are scoring big at the box office and actor Farhan Akhtar's noticed the pattern too.

As reported by Indian Express, the Karthik Calling Karthik leading man says, “It has been a very different kind of a year (for Bollywood). The films that have performed well and even been appreciated seem to be talking about our issues, dwelling less in fantasy and more in reality."

“I feel like it's a very good thing that those films have worked but I don’t think that it is the death of escapist cinema at all.” He says the shift suggests that the audience want their “time and money should be respected”.

“I feel these are phases which happen. Even within escapist cinema, if you find a good story to tell, it will do well. What is working right now, most importantly, is that there is a hunger to go to the cinema to be entertained but also engaged in a way that is not frivolous."

“People want a certain amount of respect when they watch a film, it should be worth of their time.”

Farhan’s next, Lucknow Central is set against the backdrop of a prison, where five convicts who have been given life imprisonment form a music band.

“When I heard the story, I was amazed by it! The fact that these guys go out and perform, have a proper booking counter now, blew me away. They leave the jail, go out, perform and come back. It's amazing," he reveals. He also said that he watched a documentary made on the inmates to understand their life and also watched them play live.

This sounds like the kind of cinema right up his alley but he shares that his audience still identifies more with his urban characters.

“Everything I do is gauged under the shadow of Dil Chahta Hai. Even Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Rock On which are very urban films. So I'm always seen through that lens. Films like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag or even Wazir had me playing different characters, so I've played small town characters too.”

Directed by debutante Ranjit Tiwari, Lucknow Central is slated for release on 15 September.

Comments

Someone Sep 10, 2017 04:35pm
Bahubali was neither about small town lives nor about real issues. It was just pure story telling with out any pretentious mega stars in it.
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Truth Sep 10, 2017 11:51pm
That would explain all the stink being raised about Bollywood's 'Toilet' in the West??
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kerala Sep 11, 2017 12:03am
This boy and his dad made hindifilm industry to urdu film industry.
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protonut Sep 11, 2017 09:00am
Opinions of bollyfools matter less than the reality on the ground. Unsure why actors are given undue importance more than directors or script writters. Who cares what one actor thinks.
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N abidi Sep 12, 2017 09:21am
Reality based film,will happen,when there is no dancing ,singing,and item numbers. This is not happening ,there is no big budget movies, made in BW that will not have these elements in it! Faran,is planning to make Don 3, yet he is talking about reality based film!
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