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'Meeting stars was a casual affair'
Author Anupama Chopra talks about the evolved state of film journalism in her latest book, 'First Day First Show'
Having been a film journalist for almost two decades, how do you think the profession has evolved?
When I began, there were few people who took up this profession in newspapers. Film journalism was limited to magazines. Hindi cinema was considered to be something that didn't make it to the mainline dailies. There was no appetite for regular tabloid news on stars in the dailies. 'Stardust' was around to satisfy the desire for scandalous gossip, but that's it. There were few of us and we knew each other. We could just walk into film sets and meet stars; it was a very casual affair. I guess at that time if we would click a picture of a star's new look, it couldn't be transmitted to the world in seconds as Twitter and Facebook didn't exist, so producers weren't worried.
Do you think that since film journalism was less skewed to meeting business goals of producers, it was an era that celebrated the true journalistic spirit?
There was a certain innocence about it but it wasn't one that did the best work. It wasn't really work; it was just hanging out at the Film City having a good time. What concerns me now is that it is either extremely tabloid journalism or just scandalous and not enough about the movies or the talent as such that the industry has.
Since you've had a personal equation with many stars, has it ever influenced your judgment, as a journalist? What are things you have to be careful about, in managing filmy egos?
I am not friends with any star in the industry and there's no personal equation. We don't socialize at all. I have never found a situation where I have had to discount a person on account of friendship. When we're in an interview, the tape-recorder or camera is on and that's just how it will flow. But then again, since I am married to a film maker (Vidhu Vinod Chopra), I have access to information which is not always for public consumption. So one has to be careful and have clarity about what you do as a journalist and what you do as a filmmaker's wife. It's just being professional.
You've given readers an insider into the lives of stars in your latest book, 'First Day First Show'. Where do you think the paparazzi should draw the line?
It's very tricky. There are so many stories that are planted by the film industry. Stars, PR people and producers are pushing stories for various reasons, usually promoting a film. Sometimes the stories are so bizarre, I can't even tell what could've been the purpose behind it. It's tricky but when a film has to be promoted, the star can market a part of his personal life as a bargain for it, since that sells easily. I am interested in film personalities, but there is a line that I am not, as a journalist, comfortable crossing. But it's the machinery that everybody is engaged in. It's not as simplistic as saying that media shouldn't be doing it. You have to just set your own standards and stick to them and not lay down rules for the industry, although it is of concern. Usually, there's just an insatiable appetite of film celebrities and there's such a huge space to fill that it becomes inevitable.
You've written about the underdogs of Bollywood. Elaborate.
There are articles about people behind the camera that I had written around the late 1990's in 'India Today'. At that time, it was only the actors who got the lion's share of attention in every film. Although today things have changed and directors, cinematographers, publicity designers and a range of people who weren't in the limelight before, are getting their due.
You've written a book on SRK before but what prompted a collage of inside stories of Bollywood?
I thought it would be interesting to put all the pieces together and showcase how the industry has changed. Access is something we took for granted back in the day. Now we have to go through five layers of PR to get an interview and hardly any journalist gets to go on the sets of a film shoot. There was a whole concept of outdoors where journalists were taken to the shoot locations to socialize with the stars. I remember going to Goa for an Aamir and Neelam film and I was required to write about the experience. Also, the producers had no say in the piece that went out. I remember interviewing SRK when he was shooting for 'Ram Jaane' and 'Josh'. Film promotion is a far more calculated job today than a journalist clicking a picture and tweeting about it, it's more controlled and while certain gates are open, some are closed
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