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Ekta Kapoor of television and Ekta Kapoor the movie producer are like Times Now and Mirror Now. Even though the person is the same, the kind of content that she backs in both the medium are as different as chalk and cheese. If her shows on the small screen are about saas, bahus, naagins, paramparas and ghar ka aangan, the movies she backed through her banner, Balaji Motion Pictures, are mostly about pushing boundaries when it comes to conventions. Ekta Kapoor Is Miffed With the Indian Audience For Liking Game Of Thrones And Mocking Naagin!
Interestingly, Ekta Kapoor, the movie producer didn't get the same kind of success she found on the small screen at the beginning of her big screen innings. Her first few productions, except for Kyaa Kool Hai Hum, failed to work at the box office even though many of them adhered to her initial 'K' fixation. Realising that the audience for the big screen doesn't ask for the same content as the telly audiences, Ekta changed her strategy and started backing movies that stand apart from each other. Till 2019, she has produced a horrex movies, a couple of gangster dramas, black comedies, sublime love stories and supernatural sagas. And yeah, a superhero movie too (A Flying Jatt)!
Not every movie hits the bulls-eye, but at least from Ekta's banner, you can expect content that doesn't easily identify itself as conventional cinema.
On the occasion of her birthday, we look at seven movies that had the backing of Ekta Kapoor which broke the diktats of conventions in Bollywood cinema.
Kyaa Kool Hai Hum
Eyebrows raised, I am sure! Sex Comedies have always been looked down upon by the conservative audience, and that's exactly why Ekta Kapoor, known popularly for her sanskaari shows then, producing a sex comedy was big news in 2005. Sure, it was Masti, that came a year before, paved the way for sex comedies at the box office. Kyaa Kool Hai Hum just took the genre ahead, and was quite unapologetic about it!
Love Sex aur Dhokha
Who thought that a movie that was shot through CCTV cameras, digital camcorders and cellphones would make it through mainstream Bollywood! Dibakar Banerjee's anthology might have an experimental tone overall, but it also dealt with relevant burning issues like sex scandals, honour killings and casting couches. Kudos to Ekta Kapoor for backing such a movie!
Shor in the City
Ekta Kapoor's trend of backing different cinema continued with this black comedy, directed by Go Goa Gone fame Raj & DK. Exploring facets of Mumbai life rarely explored in Bollywood - bootleggers, sleazy broker mafia - the film dealt with morally bending characters, darkly comic twists and smart writing. All these leading to for an unexpected conclusion that played with existential themes.
Ragini MMS
Sex and Horror is not a novel combination when it comes to Bollywood, just check the Ramsay filmography. But what Ragini MMS did was give the combo an LSD twist, by making the audience be a creepy voyeur and later, a helpless onlooker. Starring a pre-stardom Rajkummar Rao, Ragini MMS was bold, scary and a helluva lot of unconventional.
The Dirty Picture
This so-called biopic on the late South siren Silk Smitha may not stand the test of time, what with its problematic narrative. But The Dirty Picture deserved to be lauded for having a female protagonist who was unabashed about her sexuality, with a National award-winning performance from Vidya Balan.
Udta Punjab
Unfortunately, more in the news for its clash with the Censor Board, Udta Punjab is an engrossing piece of cinema. No other Bollywood film had the guts to show the realistic, scary side of Punjab where the youth is swayed by the usage of drugs. By making its protagonists victims of their own deeds, Udta Punjab creates a gripping saga that takes on a dark social crime without making anything look unnatural or OTT.
Veere Di Wedding
You can scoff and belittle it as a Sex and the City rip-off or a feminist Dil Chahta Hai. But Veere Di Wedding is boundary-breaking and it is not just for that famous-for-wrong-reasons masturbation scene of Swara Bhasker. Just how many movies do you have in Bollywood where girls have fun just like the boys? Where they indulge in unlimited booze sessions, deal with commitment issues, have one-night stands and make raunchy jokes? If boys can have fun, so do girls, and Veere Di Wedding just showed us how!
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 07, 2019 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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