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Kabir Bedi began his career in Indian theatre and moved to Hindi films. He remains one of the first international actors from India who has worked in Hindi films, South Indian cinema and Hollywood films and became a star in Europe. As a stage actor, Bedi has performed Shakespeare’s Othello and portrayed a historical Indian king in Tughlaq, and a self-destructive alcoholic in The Vultures. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Bubble, Kabir Bedi describes the filmmaking process in Bollywood and Hollywood and shares how different South Indian cinema is from Hindi cinema.
Kabir Bedi notes the difference between Bollywood & Hollywood
Talking about the casting process for Hollywood films, Kabir Bedi says, “There are agents – without them nothing is possible. Then there’s the process of audition. Agents recommend you and the filmmakers take your audition – and everyone has to audition.” Talking about the differences he has noticed between Bollywood and the other film industries he has worked in – such as Hollywood, Telugu, Tamil and more, Kabir Bedi said in Hindi, “Nowadays whatever happens in the West, like America or Europe, we are equally professional. Our technology is also strong. We aren’t behind anyone to be honest. Yes, we haven’t reached the stage of what Pixar Animations is but talking about set, acting, and choreography – we aren’t behind anyone. We are as modern as any cinema.”
The ‘Khoon Bhari Maang’ actor continued, “However, our process of filmmaking is slightly unprofessional. Say a writer has a script, they take it to the producer then it’s shown to the director, if the script is good it is consulted between 3-4 people maximum. But in Hollywood, there are 5- 6-level executives who read and review it before finalizing it. And if you know filmmakers and producers in the olden days, they risked anything for their films. But executives now don’t risk anything for the films, they are concerned more about their jobs and finances, not the films. They intend to avoid any mistakes. And when talking about films, it’s a creative process, there’s no scientific formula or hard and fast rule to make it a success.”
Kabir: Indian cinema has more flexibility compared to Hollywood
Kabir Bedi added, “There are not many levels of reviewing here, and the processing in Hollywood is bureaucratic, it’s not limited to 3-4 people’s decision to make the film. Directors don’t have permission to make changes in the film, because it’s written already. I don’t remember the name of the film, but a (Hollywood) director didn’t agree on certain lines of the film. However, he was compelled to shoot because it was mentioned in the contract. Writers have a final say on the scripts and only executives can approve changes.”
The ‘Dilwale’ actor continued, “Indian cinema has more flexibility. Directors have more freedom here to make changes to the script. Human instinct and emotions play a strong role here. In Hollywood, pre-production of films is for 2 years while production is for 2 months. But it tends to be the reverse here in India. But to be fair, our people are modern too and they do film efficiently. I congratulate our industry on adapting and working this hard.”
Kabir on Bollywood vs South Indian Cinemas
When asked about the differences he’s noticed in Indian cinemas – namely Bollywood and South Indian cinemas, Kabir Bedi said, “I have done about 8-10 films in South cinema. South films have more efficiency, and they withhold professionalism before anything. Everything is on time, there are no payment issues. They have great respect for actors. It’s not like the same doesn’t happen in the North (Bollywood), but South cinema is more efficient.”
Bedi further noted, “Films like Bahubali, Kantara, and RRR are proof that South Indian films invest a lot into making their projects big. That is probably why they are successful but when they fail, they suffer big losses too. They believe in making films that are meant to be nothing short of a blockbuster. I think they are bigger than Bollywood in some ways. But Bollywood is nothing less. When Bollywood was suffering from a dry spell and South Indian films were doing wonders at the box office, Shah Rukh Khan came and delivered three hit films and changed the whole game. These things will keep happening.”
He concluded the topic by saying, “Both industries have had their good and bad times. There could be a time when Bollywood makes only hit films or vice versa. It’s the art of storytelling that would touch the hearts of the audience, and give you goosebumps. I feel such films will succeed.”
Watch the full interview
