Bollywood pit Dostoevsky against reincarnation

07/11/2007 17:49

By Krittivas Mukherjee

MUMBAI (Reuters) - An exotic tale of murder and reincarnation will battle a romantic musical inspired by Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novella in two of this year’s biggest Bollywood films opening on Friday.

Weeks of publicity have built up huge anticipation for "Om Shanti Om" and "Saawariya" (Beloved), the year’s blockbusters for "Diwali", Bollywood’s most important movie-going season coinciding with the Hindu festival of lights.

The industry, the world’s largest by ticket sales, is waiting eagerly to see if the two films can reduce losses in a year in which most big productions have bitten the dust and only a few low-budget ventures have tasted moderate success.

Though its makers haven’t said so, "Saawariya" is apparently inspired by Dostoevsky’s sentimental novella "White Nights", where a chance meeting of a boy and a girl leads to unrequited love and heartbreak.

"Saawariya is a simple but exotic love story," director Sanjay Leela Bhansali wrote on the film’s Web site (www.saawariyafilm.com). "True love is divine. It has to have yearning, disappointment and agony."

On the other hand, "Om Shanti Om", starring superstar Shah Rukh Khan, is more of an action drama.

Khan plays an aspiring actor of the 1970s .....continued below

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who dies and is immediately reincarnated in the present day. He tries to solve the mystery of his death and find the lady love from his past life.

"The film’s got so hyped it’s scary. But it should do well because all of us have put our hearts into it," said Farah Khan, the choreographer-turned-director of "Om Shanti Om".

"It’s a mad, mad film and is set in a period which was a memorable time for me, for Bollywood."

TEST FOR STAR KIDS

Only four of about 10 big releases this year have made profits, proving that star appeal or swanky locations were not enough to move audiences, trade analysts said.

"Saawariya" has no stars, but two star kids making their debut and attempting to live up to their family names.

Ranbir Kapoor, who belongs to one of Bollywood’s oldest and most powerful dynasties, plays a young lover, much like his father Rishi, whose romantic roles made him an eternal lover-boy.

The Kapoor clan is one of the oldest in Bollywood.

Over seven decades ago, Prithviraj Kapoor -- Ranbir’s great-grandfather -- began acting in silent movies and his sons Raj, Shammi and Shashi made it big and shoehorned their children into successful film careers.

Unrelated to the Kapoors is Sonam Kapoor, who pairs with Ranbir in "Saawariya". Her father, Anil Kapoor, was a successful hero who rarely acts these days.

The female lead of "Om Shanti Om" is also a debutant, Deepika Padukone, a model-turned-actor and the daughter of India’s most famous badminton player.

(Editing by Y.P. Rajesh and Sanjeev Miglani)

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