Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Bollywood Gossip - It’s Bachchans vs. Kapoors vs. SRK

Submitted by Bollywood Gossip on Friday, 28 November 2008

Right from the times of the patriarch Raj Kapoor, the Kapoor khandaan has always had a stronghold on the Filmfare awards ceremony. This time it was no different.

This year the Best Actress Award, Filmfare 2008 went to Kareena Kapoor; the Best Debutant’s Award to Ranbir Kapoor and the Lifetime Achievement Award to Rishi Kapoor. Quite evidently, it was a complete Kapoor sweep once again.

Similar to the Kapoor Khandaan, another khandaan’s hoping to make a sweep. Not at the Filmfare, but at IIFA - the rival awards show that has Amitabh Bachchan as the brand Ambassador.

The Abhishek-Aishwarya starrer Guru is nominated here in almost every category. The other award staples include Yash Raj and Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.

These families represent Bollywood’s traditional film families that have ruled the award ceremonies for years.

From Amitabh to Abhishek, Yash Johar to Karan Johar and Rishi to Ranbir, the stars may have changed, the filmmakers may have changed but the awards keep coming.

Critics of the system say, if you’re part of the family, the trophy’s yours. If not better luck next time.

According to Madhur Bhandarkar: ”I have got national Award for Chandi Bar and Page Three. But I was a little disappointed in the popular awards here. After getting a national award, Page 3 was sidelined when it came to the popular awards. I didn’t know why.”

As Madhur Bhandarkar puts it, the lines are clearly drawn - between who’s in which camp and who’s on who’s side.

So if you’re a Shah Rukh Khan, you host Filmfare but don’t attend IIFA. And if you’re a Bachchan that’s the one award you don’t miss.

All your friends and those you work with walk the red carpet with you, even hand out and receive awards. And sometimes even if you’ve got a great film lineage, you may at best get the critics award.

”The cliquism and the incestuousness stops talent. It’s again quite the Arjun-Eklavya story, thousands of years after the Mahabharata. Only Arjun can”, says Sudhir Mishra.

According to film producer, Vipul Shah, ”Why is not a film actor or film producer allowed to promote his own family? Because that happens in every business. So why should an actor or director be restricted or be criticised for doing so. Because when a businessman hands over his multicrore empire to a son over a much more learned CEO, nobody makes an issue out of that.”

But of course there are exceptions to the rule. Powerful performers like Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan, who came from the outside and built their own families - giving hope to the majority of this industry that has no family backing them.

”See people tell me that you are from Shah Rukh Khan camp, you are from this camp…we all belong to one camp. That is cinema. I am groomed in Mahesh Bhatt’s so-called camp. Then I joined Shah Rukh Khan. And I have worked with Shah Rukh Khan for almost 12 years. He is like my local guardian. During these last 12 years I never felt I belong to Shah Rukh Khan’s camp. I am friendly with everybody”, says Vivek Sharma, director of Bhoothnath.

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