Underworld funding filmworld?
Bollywood filmmakers disagree with Wikileaks that the film industry is awash with black money
Filmmakers and trade experts disagree that there are large amounts of black money floating around in Bollywood. A US diplomatic cable was released by Wikileaks on Tuesday which revealed that "Bollywood welcomed funding from gangsters and politicians, known in India as black money". However, there was no direct mention of any gangster in the diplomatic cable. Bollywood dismissed the revelations, saying it's 'dated'. "There's no room for black money in Bollywood now. The production companies are functioning like studios and are professional now. The time frame that the cable is referring to is at least 15/20 years back," says National Award winning filmmaker, former actor Abhishek Kapoor.
Filmmaker Vipul Shah seconds it saying, "Even individual producers have converted their houses into companies. When you look at building a brand, you don't want to ruin it or risk by allowing black money into the capital base. Why only Bollywood? There was a time when the country was awash with black money. That's not the case now," says Vipul. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai also echoes the same sentiment, "Nobody would risk taking blood money into films. It ultimately brings you bad luck," he adds.
Trade expert Amod Mehra says that the disappearance of unaccounted money from the film industry has resulted in a scarcity. "There's not too much money in Bollywood now — there's actually a paucity of funds in most production houses. That is why the Wikileaks cable refers to everything in the past tense," says Amod.
Bollywood filmmakers disagree with Wikileaks that the film industry is awash with black money
Filmmakers and trade experts disagree that there are large amounts of black money floating around in Bollywood. A US diplomatic cable was released by Wikileaks on Tuesday which revealed that "Bollywood welcomed funding from gangsters and politicians, known in India as black money". However, there was no direct mention of any gangster in the diplomatic cable. Bollywood dismissed the revelations, saying it's 'dated'. "There's no room for black money in Bollywood now. The production companies are functioning like studios and are professional now. The time frame that the cable is referring to is at least 15/20 years back," says National Award winning filmmaker, former actor Abhishek Kapoor.
Filmmaker Vipul Shah seconds it saying, "Even individual producers have converted their houses into companies. When you look at building a brand, you don't want to ruin it or risk by allowing black money into the capital base. Why only Bollywood? There was a time when the country was awash with black money. That's not the case now," says Vipul. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai also echoes the same sentiment, "Nobody would risk taking blood money into films. It ultimately brings you bad luck," he adds.
Trade expert Amod Mehra says that the disappearance of unaccounted money from the film industry has resulted in a scarcity. "There's not too much money in Bollywood now — there's actually a paucity of funds in most production houses. That is why the Wikileaks cable refers to everything in the past tense," says Amod.
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