Power league

Commenting on why the genre hasn’t been popular in Bollywood so far,Rakesh Roshan—who made one of Bollywood’s most successful superhero films,Krissh—says that any formula needs a strong backing to succeed. “Most superhero films in Hollywood are adaptations of popular Western comics. So they gain instant popularity. I was fortunate that Koi…Mil Gaya was a success and I could just take off from where I had left. Jadoo had already given Rohit (Hrithik Roshan) the powers. I only had to exploit those in the sequel,Krissh,” says Roshan who now plans to make Krissh 2 once he gets a good script. “We definitely want to make the film. Let’s see how things work out.”

Since the time Krissh was released four years ago,special effects in India have witnessed massive improvement. This is one of the reasons why superhero films are finding takers now,believes Bhatkal,director of Darsheel Safary-starrer Zokkomon. “It is the post VFX phenomenon that has made this genre most sought after. Today,technology has become widely available,” he says,stressing on the fact that it is still extremely expensive. “Sometimes VFX is even charged by each frame. And this hinders many filmmakers from taking the plunge.” But Jain,a debutant filmmaker,begs to differ. “It isn’t the cost factor,but the lack of imagination. In Indian mythology,we already have Gods and monsters with extraordinary powers. So nobody wants to compete with them,” states Jain,who has created Ashoka The Hero,who can fight military powers,fly and bash up enemies.

In Hollywood,both comic books and the silver screen have romanced the superhero successfully,without either luring him away from the other. And this has resulted in films like Hancock,The Incredible Hulk,Hellboy,Spiderman and The Dark Knight. But for Indians,there have only been a couple of homegrown superheroes like the animated Hanuman,Shaktimaan on TV and Chacha Chaudhary in comic strips. But with Raj Comics’ Doga making it to the silver screen,Indian comics do have something to cheer about. “During their growing up years,most boys want to be a superhero and most girls want to be a doll. I am happy I am getting a chance to live my dream,” says Kunal Kapoor,who will be playing the title role of Doga.

A genre that was once considered a domain of children,has today found an adult audience in India. “Thanks to the legacy of comic books,adults have shown tremendous response when it comes to Hollywood superhero films. This could also benefit Bollywood,” says Bhatkal. Arjun Rampal,who plays the villain in Ra.One believes that superhero is the only genre that cannot be targeted at a particular section of audience. “They are a favourite with children and women too. All they need to have is that visual impact.” Apart from the audience,distributors too are keen on superhero films,including the animated ones. “When I spoke to distributors about Ashoka the Hero they were apprehensive. After I showed them my film,they were quite impressed,” says Jain.