Japanese go Gaga, when it comes to Indian films
When I watch Indian films, I can laugh, I can cry, I can sing, I can dance and can even do some shadow boxing,' he confesses. In short, a complete experience in an incomplete world.
Hindi films make pretty picture in
Japan
By Nikhat Kazmi
TOKYO: Cinema Pathos, a multiplex in glitzy Ginza. Even
as the curtains go down on Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide
Shut, the screen lights up with guess what? Gharwali
Baharwali - David Dhawan's twisted tale on bigamy with
apna Anil Kapoor two timing with Raveena and Rambha to
the tune of Ek taraf hai gharwali, ek taraf baharwali.
This time however, it's an Indian twist with Japanese sub
titles.
The billboards in Shinjuku, a downtown area famous for its
topless bars and all night soirees. Jostling for space amid
Jackie Chan's Who am I and Clint Eastwood's True Crime
are two familiar faces: Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan staring
out of the larger-than-life poster of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le
Jayenge.
Yamagata, a picturesque hill resort famous for its
documentary film festival. Rubbing shoulders with the
posters of serious shorts like Belfast Maine, Crazy
English and Divorce Iranian Style are colourful cut-outs
of Aishwarya Rai in Taal and Rajnikant in Arunachalam.
The music section in Mitsukoshi, the flashy department
store in Ginza. Toprunners in the audio section, along with
Eric Clapton, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin are
Thillana Thillana, the chartbuster from the Tamil film
Muthu and A.R. Rahman's audio track in Dil Se.
Prime time on NHK, Japan's national television broadcast:
an interview with Rajnikant in
desi-English-dubbed-in-Japanese, along with a
behind-the-scenes of Tamil cinema.
Yes, Japan seems to be caught in a tidal wave of Indian's
mainstream masala and is hip-juggling to Humma Humma,
Thillana Thillana and Chaiyya Chaiyya. After the
unprecedented success of Muthu, the Rajnikant starrer
which had a record run of 200 days in Tokyo and Osaka,
Indin cinema seems to have found a brand new market for
its colourful kitsch. Almost 300 films are scheduled for a
release in the sundry cities of Japan in the coming months.
Interestingly, most of these are unadulterated entertainers
like Sholay, Deewar, Bombay, Biwi No. 1, Padaiyappa,
Jeans, Ejaman, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and several other
Govinda, David Dhawan blockbusters.
What is the secret of their success? According to Iwamoto
Kenji, a film scholar in Waseda University, ``Indian films
are super Hollywood musicals which have the power of
transporting the viewer into strange new wonderlands.' For
Masayaki Suo, director, ``The release of Muthu has
unravelled a whole new world of entertainment for Japan.
There is a certain type of power in Indian films which
cannot be found in Japanese cinema.' Suo, who visited
India recently with his film Shall We Dance, is still raving
about his tryst with stars like Govinda, Shilpa Shetty,
Manisha Koirala. According to him, Indian films strike an
instant rapport with the Japanese because of their ``intense
familyism' and their concentration on ``social issues' which
are fast losing ground in Japanese cinema.
And showcasing the Japanese love for Indian cinema is the
National Film Corporation which has included a section of
Indian films in its archives of almost 20,000 titles.
According to Hisashi Okajima, curator films, other than
Japan and the U.S., the most exciting national cinema can
only be found in India. ``When we talk of films, we
generally refer to Hollywood. But actually, the films coming
out of India are more energetic and vibrant, apart from their
excellent artistic quality. We are always wondering how
Indian films can be so energetic,' he adds.
For Takuji Suzuki, avant garde film-maker, Indian films are
an oriental answer to Spielberg. ``When I watch Indian
films, I can laugh, I can cry, I can sing, I can dance and can
even do some shadow boxing,' he confesses. In short, a
complete experience in an incomplete world.
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