Bat and stumps. Ball and glove. Tea and veranda – all items that marry together in blissful matrimony and flow like words from a song sheet when playing word association games with a cricket theme (what do you mean no one plays that?). However, throw the words Cricket and Bollywood into the mix and what happens? Is it a test century? Or is it out for six? One would think that due to the way both entities manage to capture the hearts and heads of many would mean a cricket film would be the jewel in the crown so to speak.
Bollywood Mega-star Aamir Khan shows off a useful stance.
It has to be said the relationship between two of the most popular past times amongst the Sub Continent is not a clear cut one. While some films have delivered a no ball at the box office, others have danced for joy like Kajol dancing in K3G on learning India have won the match (“Jeet gaya! Kya batting shatting ki Sachin ne – sau runs not out!!!”)
That cricket has a profound effect on Bollywood on screen and off screen is no surprise to anyone. Whilst films like K3G and Hum Aapke Hain Koun use cricket as way of promoting family values (the family that plays together stays together – anyone?), from a business point of view, everyone in Bollywood knows the worse time to release a film is during the cricket season – quite simply, the drama of a test series match easily outdoes the melodrama of a film.
Furthermore, an interest in cricket has always been seen as an acceptable past time for actors to indulge in on those rare days off. There were even charity matches with stars old and new queuing up to participate. As recently as 2006, for Sport Relief UK, a team compromising of heroes like Aftab and Ritesh Deshmukh played against a team of British celebs and won, showing how Bollywood can multitask with elaan (OK, maybe it didn’t).
Keeping it in the family.
But in recent years, a new phenomenon has developed – the cricket film. Though we have had cricket films in the past (Awaal Number anyone? To be fair, this film is probably more remembered for its cringe worthy take on the infamous kiss in the sea scene From Here To Eternity, where Aamir’s character buys matching his and hers swimwear for his girlfriend and the couple lie on a filthy beach and get splashed by even dirtier water – only to later wear Daz whites as they play cricket later. Clearly, cricket is not a sport for sinners) not only do films now integrate cricket as a pivotal part of the story but also, the promotion of the films is done on a much more considered level meaning cricket is now a promotional tool rather than a threat to a film’s box office prospects.
Lagaan, the mother of all cricket films is a good example of this. With its themes of secularity and finding strength in unity (and add any other epithets you see fit to) this four hour film about cricket not only enthralled Bollywood and cricket buffs alike but even international audiences got in on the game, with a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination that sadly fell at the last hurdle.
Interestingly, the team in the film (known as the Lagaan XI) played against real players and even against fans to promote the film and the DVD release, plugging the film long after it had finished its cinematic run.
Bollywood's Oscar-nominated cricket-themed offerring.
Iqbal, produced by Subash Ghai is another example of how Bollywood has tapped into the obsession with cricket whilst maintaining creative integrity. Shreyas Talpade had his big break as the aspiring batsman facing obstacles in achieving his cricketing dreams and the idea of using the sport to overcome real life obstacles was one that resonated with audiences and critics alike.
One the biggest hits of last year, Jannat exposed a different side to cricket. Supposedly “inspired” by the death of the Australian cricket coach Bob Woolmer, the film managed to generate curiosity amongst filmgoers but what was truly exceptional about this was the film was released at the time of the Cricket World Cup and despite India being knocked out early on, the film went from strength to strength, giving Bollywood audiences their cricket fix on screen (seeing as they didn’t get it off screen!) Hattrick was another film that tried to cash in on the WCC but did not get as successful response, despite coming being the most high profile cricket film that year.
The most recent cricket themed release, Victory has crashed badly at the box office, despite arriving having cameos from stars from the world of cricket such as Brett Lee, Mike Hussey, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Jayasurya, Ajantha Mendis, Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma and RP Singh. Even though the film got some critical acclaim, it does not seem to have gelled with audiences.
Brett Lee gets in on the action.
Whilst the debacle of Victory cannot be explained so easily, it does make one wonder what the future holds for the relationship between cricket and Bollywood. With sports like basketball, football and of course hockey gaining more screen time in recent years, Bollywood will have to become far more innovative in its use of cricket and certainly, marketing cricket themed films to cricket fans has already become a pre-requisite to any film being made in the genre. But I’m confident the next time one plays the word association game, Bollywood and Cricket will qualify as a valid suggestion. You read it here first.
©Bhushan Kumar 2009
You can read more of Bhushan’s work at his Blog on www.bogeyno2.wordpress.com.
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