While the failure of some good films is flabberga-sting, the success of tripe is annoying. The film trade, like the industry in general, is full of anomalies. ‘Reports are bad but collections are good’ is a verdict you often hear from sources in the trade. You hear the opposite more regularly about a film you’ve liked and wished would do well. It’s this groping in the dark, the search for the ever elusive success formula that makes filmmaking fascinating. That’s what draws people from all walks of life to the dream factory, hoping for a slice of luck, a puff of stardust and a shard of the spotlight, however brief.
I don’t know if the superstitious industry, always seeking astrological and numerological solutions rather than a good script has realised this but ‘B’ seems to be the lucky alphabet this season. Two Bs in a title will ensure a record breaker. ‘Bahubali’ and ‘Bhajrangi Bhaijan’ are prime examples. While the former boasted of hard work and superior computer graphics the latter had enough emotional manipulation to leave you misty eyed. I’m convinced that only the two Bs in the title could have ensured the success of a film as revolting and vulgar as ‘Bullet Basya’. It’s an enterprise that would make Kashinath cringe. It’s a film you wouldn’t want to watch with strangers leave alone your kin. Then you turn around and see couples with kids tittering at the visual and verbal double entendre even as you squirm uncomfortably.
Singapura is town populated by people with raging testosterone, male and female. We’re shown a family tree of Zamindars who’ve sown only wild oats. The modern scion is Basya roaming around on his Bullet giving the glad eye to anything in a saree and surprisingly instead of showing outrage they reciprocate. One even loudly suggests her husband will be away for a few days. There’s even a scene where his father warns him that a villager’s wife who’s trying to seduce him that too in the presence of her husband is actually his sister! You want the ground to swallow your seat but hear laughter around! The town seems to be teeming with Basya’s step mothers, step sisters and surreptitiously sired sons with identical tattoos. The strange thing about censoring is that only obscenities are muted not objectionable lines. You wonder how this film escaped without an ‘A’ certificate. I don’t believe in banning a film because viewing a film is an individual’s choice. Films like ‘Bullet Basya’ should not succeed simply because they’ll spawn a slew of similar stuff. In fact a friend, the producer of a recent film that won critical acclaim and awards bemoaned, “What will I do with dusty trophies? I’m going to look for a script like this.”
Producer Jayanna is on a roll. Yash requested him to distribute ‘Rangi Taranga’ which is filling up the multiplexes and their production ‘Bullet Basya’ has collected a share of around four crore rupees in the first week which is phenomenal for a Sharan starrer. The decision for a comedian to turn hero is life changing. There’s no going back if you fail. It’s a predicament faced by the best in the business over the years. Komal told me he was forced to turn hero because some superstars felt he stole the applause and insisted his scenes be cut. The gifted ‘Thai’ Nagesh managed to walk the tightrope and strangely shone in emotional roles when he played the protagonist, occasionally. While Vadivelu’s ‘Eli’ was a disaster, Vivek is still dithering. Villains have had more success transforming into do-gooders. The best examples are Rajnikanth, Shatrughan Sinha and here Prabhaker. Sharan who made his acting debut nearly two decades ago made the transition from sidekick to hero three years ago, probably enthused by Komal’s success. He’s had a chequered tenure as a hero but in tinsel town you’re as good as your last film and ‘Adhyaksha’ was hailed as the biggest hit of 2014. Sharan decided he was good enough to write the story for his next venture and what you get is ‘Bullet Basya’. He plays a double role ensuring he’s in every single frame. You don’t know whether the content reflects his sensibilities or what he thinks is that of the average Kannada filmgoer. Either way he’s succeeded.
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