Bollywoood filmmakers take 3D head on

Mumbai, April 7 (IANS) Hollywood-made 3D films do roaring business, and now Hindi films too have taken the plunge. Though there are not too many success stories yet, Bollywood has lined up a slew of releases in the format.

"Dangerous Ishhq", "Joker", "ABCD", "Raaz 3" and "Sher Khan" are among those being made with 3D technology.

Director Remo D'Souza, who is making "ABCD", feels using the technology in the right manner is important and cites the instance of "Haunted" last year.

"'Haunted' has worked because it was shot in 3D. 'Don 2' and 'RA.One' did not work because it was converted from 2D to 3D. These are two different things. If you shoot the entire film in 3D, it stands out," Remo told IANS.

Another problem is 3D films don't just cost more money to produce but also demand more time.

"It is not easy to shoot in 3D. It takes a lot of time. We can't block such long dates from established stars," said director Shirish Kunder, who is making "Joker" with Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha.

"So, for a big star cast, it is better to convert the film in 3D from 2D," Kunder, who is also converting "Joker" from 2D to 3D, told IANS.

"You will never see a Tom Cruise or a Brad Pitt in a 3D film as it's time consuming. You will see 3D with non-stars like 'Avtaar', which had newcomers," he added.

"It is so time-consuming that stars might lose their patience. If I want to shoot the film in 3D, I would try it with newcomers," said Kunder.

Remo agreed. "It is difficult to shoot in 3D as we can shoot only a scene a day. Acting in 3D is also difficult because it requires patience."

But Vikram Bhatt, who is working with some established stars in "Dangerous Ishhq" and "Raaz 3" and had made "Haunted", begs to differ.

"It is great directing 3D films. I have Emraan Hashmi, Karisma Kapoor and Bipasha Basu working in 3D films. I don't think that established stars don't want to work in 3D films. It depends on your output," he said.

The budget is crucial.

"The new technology will take time to pick up. Besides, it's a very expensive genre to try," said Kunder.

Bhatt agrees. "As far as the budget of the film is concerned, a 40 percent extra amount has to be put into small films."

Remo said the initial budget for "ABCD" was Rs.14 crore, but now "the budget has reached about 20.crore. For the first time a production house has spent that much money on a non-star cast film because they believed in the script."

Even though there have not been too many success stories so far, filmmakers claim 3D has a bright future in India.

"It's altogether a different experience wearing glasses and feeling the effects. Currently, we need people from Hollywood for help in 3D, but soon we will start making independent films. It's just a matter of time, "Remo said.

Bhatt said: "3D is here to stay. What is now an exception may well be the norm in times to come. 3D is an adornment. It enhances the subject. 3D has come as evolved. The time of throwing things at you in the name of 3D has gone, it's become more of an immersing experience now."

As far as facilities at the theatres to screen 3D films are concerned, Ranjip Thakur, CEO of Scrabble Entertainment, said: "Currently all multiplexes have two screens to show 3D films. On single screens, only those 3D films that were dubbed from English to Hindi have clicked.

"Hindi films in 3D are not doing a great business. 'Titanic 3D' will change the fate, but again that's an English film."

Pramod Arora, CEO of PVR, said: "If we have 3D films despite increased ticket rates, we see a 20 percent increase in revenue. So the profit margin goes a little higher. Compared to Bollywood films, Hollywood films are crowd-pullers in the 3D genre because the content from the West is of superior quality."

(Uma Ramasubramaniam can be contacted at uma.sagit@gmail.com)