Why don't historical/mythological movies work?

Barring a few, most do not do well... why is that?, we have a rich history, and our mythology would beat any Lord or The Pants or Harry Potty.. yet, Indians don't give a damn about it... contrast this with our neigbours across the eastern border, Chinese historical films do great business, they take pride in their history/myths/folklore, we on the other hand seem to make fun of them.

Don't they? Last I remember, Jodha-Akbar raked in good money.

On television, mythology and history does swell--que the overwhelming popularity of ye olde Mahabharat and the more recent Chandragupta Maurya.

i think they are better suited for the TV...

Even Tamil historical/mythological movies work.
I'd love to see the Mahabharatha adapted in Bollywood one day.

Good historicals and mythos dont get made due to the budget. The ones which get made are really trite so they dont work. But despite that JA worked. Animation historicals and mythos are very successful too.

Historical/Mythological movies will work when the producer has the budget to invest in a quality product...the decades old special effects used for Ramayan and Mahabharat on TV will not work in today's world. There is a huge market for this genre in India...just needs somebody with vision to deliver the goods.

Originally posted by: BheegiBasanti

Historical/Mythological movies will work when the producer has the budget to invest in a quality product...the decades old special effects used for Ramayan and Mahabharat on TV will not work in today's world. There is a huge market for this genre in India...just needs somebody with vision to deliver the goods.

I agree...and the proof is the serial Mahadev. The computer graphics are decent for TV which is attracting viewers in droves. Maybe Immortals of Melula will be a game changer?

@ksh...true...Mahadev is getting good buzz. Meluha will be the guinea pig for the future of this genre but goddammit, it's KJo with the rights for it man...sucks! On the bright side, he would be able to pull in the budget needed to do a kick ass job!

Originally posted by: Heisenberg

Barring a few, most do not do well... why is that?, we have a rich history, and our mythology would beat any Lord or The Pants or Harry Potty.. yet, Indians don't give a damn about it... contrast this with our neigbours across the eastern border, Chinese historical films do great business, they take pride in their history/myths/folklore, we on the other hand seem to make fun of them.

Poor production value. Lack of dedication and discipline. Poor casting. More focus on kitsch and histrionics rather than content.

Take Ra.One for example. On the surface it had the potential to be a good sci-fi movie. SRK had a massive budget to play with. Unfortunately, he casts himself as a superhero rather than someone more suited for action. He focused on stupid jokes and gags. The plot lines were beyond cheesy. A great opportunity wasted.

On the other hand I really enjoyed SRK's Askoka. I thought it was a well made historical movie. It was a very accurate portrayal of the warrior Asoka before he became pacifist and captured what drove him very well. Jodhaa Akbar and Legend of Bhagat Singh were also good films IMO and even Sikandar was a decent attempt for its time. So there is the potential, but very few filmmakers willing to take the risk.

I would really love to see someone with the dedication and determination of Peter Jackson make Mahabharata on that grand of a scale.

^ Those are the key words...dedication & determination...and vision! I agree with you about Ra.One!