Reel worlds, real lives, real stars

To the outsider, tinseltown looks very inviting with all the glamour, night life, money and success.

Designer wear, champagne parties and fashion Gods may be the order of the day. But the picture is not always so rosy offscreen. Sometimes, it is almost as if the onscreen filmi drama transcends into the real world.

Many films are bogged down with controversies and hardships that rarely reflect onscreen. Sanjay Leela Bhansali faced trying times during the shooting of his magnum opus Devdas, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai.

The sets caught fire and another calamity claimed the life of a unit member. Then the film faced financial problems when financier Bharat Shah was dragged to court for his alleged links with the underworld. Many thought Devdas was
jinxed. It took many sleepless nights for Bhansali to rise and deliver a hit.

Many have not been so lucky.

Director Anant Balani succumbed to pressure of filmmaking while shooting for Pritish Nandy Communications's Chameli. His earlier films Gawahi, Patthar Ke Phool and Jazbaat bombed at the box-office. The failure of the last film mattered most to him -- he had invested his life's savings in it.

Penniless, Balani lived on borrowed money for almost eight years of his life.

As fate would have it, the director died just when his life was taking a turn and three of his films (Joggers' Park, Mumbai Matinee and Ek Din 24 Ghante), were ready for release.

But the Hindi film industry nothing if not full of stars -- not merely in terms of box-office success, but who live to entertain the world. Stars who do not get bogged down by flops but put their work before themselves. It is about people who rise above their troubles, only to bring a smile or a tear to thousands of people.

Chalte Chalte is one film Shah Rukh Khan will not forget easily. Suffering from a bad back, the actor shot most of the film with an ambulance parked outside the sets. He even took retakes of an airport scene when he had to fall over a
luggage trolley. The retakes cause severe backaches, but the actor did not let it show in his performance. The film was a hit.

J P Dutta's LoC-Kargil may not have gone well the masses, but it took guts and physical stamina to undertake such an ambitious project. To have a large cast and even larger crew up in the freezing, high altitudes of Ladakh, where there was only 60 per cent oxygen, was no mean feat. In fact, two unit members even died during the Leh schedule. But the
shooting continued and Dutta paid his tribute to Indian soldiers.

Even in their personal lives, actors have not had it easy. Aishwarya Rai went through a much publicised relationship with Salman Khan before she finally called it quits.

Raveena Tandon almost quit her film career after her breakup with Akshay Kumar. Karisma Kapoor, who was happily engaged to Abhishek Bachchan until recently, had a sudden breakup for unknown reasons.

Today, all three women are successful in their respective lives. Ash is on her way to becoming an international star with such films as Bride And Prejudice and Chaos. Raveena is set to marry Anil Thadani, whom she met on the sets of her debut production, Stumped, and Karisma married childhood friend, Sunjay Kapur.

The industry is, indeed, beyond films, controversies and box-office ratings. It is about reel people and relationships. And, sometimes, success stories.