BBC News | ENTERTAINMENT | Bollywood eyes Afghan market

A none-too-successful Bollywood action film, Elaan, was amongst the first films to be screened in Kabul's Bakhtar cinema shortly after Northern Alliance forces assumed control of the Afghan capital.

Bollywood distributor, Chandrakant Mehta, plans to visit Afghanistan in December to explore opportunities and revive his old business contacts.

"I had contacts with several Afghan film distributors who used to buy film rights from us. I have lost all contact with them and the first thing I need to do is to find out whether they are still alive. Then comes the issue of reviewing business ties with them," he said.

Old ties

Bollywood's links with Afghanistan are quite old.

Amongst the first Hindi films to make an impact in Afghanistan was the 1956 release Kabuliwallah or The Man from Kabul which starred Balraj Sahni as a tough Pathan with a kind heart.

Another film to become a big commercial success in Afghanistan was the early 1970s release Zanjeer, or Chain, which incidentally was also the film which created the angry young man or rebel persona in Hindi films.

The film marked the beginning of Amitabh Bachchan's meteoric rise as the biggest superstar of Hindi cinema.

Well known Hindi film actor, Pran, played the role of a big hearted Pathan and Bachchan's best friend in the film.

Afghan 'affair'

Bachchan's love affair with Afghanistan continued until the 1990's when one of his films, Khuda Gawah, was shot extensively in Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif and Kandahar.

Even though the film was a box office disaster back home in India, it ran to packed houses for 10 weeks in Kabul, according to Manoj Desai, producer of the film.

"It was an amazing experience to shoot in Afghanistan," Mr Desai told the BBC.

"There was a civil war raging in the country but because of the then Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi's friendship with Amitabh Bachchan, the Najibullah government took great care of us."

"The film unit used to be escorted by a convoy of five tanks in the front and another five guarding the rear," he said.

Bachchan's popularity

According to Mr Desai, so popular was Amitabh Bachchan amongst all sections of Afghans that the security seemed unnecessary.

"While shooting we once got a message from the then opposition leader and now Afghanistan's President, Burhannuddin Rabbani, who conveyed that he was a big fan of Bachchan and the film unit should not fear about their safety from rebels," Mr Desai said.

Even Feroz Khan, the well-known actor-producer, remembers his days in Afghanistan with great fondness.

He was there in the 1980s to shoot his film, Dharmatma, an action film modelled on The Godfather.

"When I went there to select locations King Zahir Shah was at the helm of affairs. By the time we went there to shoot a coup had taken place."

"But we did not face any problems and everybody treated us with great respect and affection," Mr Khan told the BBC.

Impediments

Dharmatma was shot in Kunduz and also had spectacular shots of the Bamiyan Buddhas which have been bombed out of existence by the Taleban.

However, it might be a while before Bollywood could actually start making money out of the Afghan market and many film distributors would prefer to wait and watch for the moment.

According to Amar Achrani, who distributes Hindi films in overseas markets, there are a number of imponderables about the Afghan market as of now.

"We do not even know how many cinemas are in a condition to screen films right now in Afghanistan. Then there is also the question of business and monetary transactions.

"We would like our money in dollars and it may be sometime before even a proper exchange rate is fixed for the Afghan rupee," he said.

But these procedural wrangles are unlikely to keep old and new Bollywood releases from finding their way into cinemas across Afghanistan.

According to Komal Nahta, editor of Film Information, a Bollywood trade magazine, even in the days of the Taleban there were instances of Hindi film prints being smuggled into Afghanistan.

"There will be some in Bollywood who will wait till things become completely normal in Afghanistan."

"But sensing a good business opportunity some others will go in right now. Like in every other business it's these people who will get the early bird incentive," he told the BBC.