35053668-Empire-of-the-Soul-Paul-William-Roberts

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EMPIRE OF THE SOUL
mention of famous writers. Even Hollywood has a couple of those.
Here the actors, directors, or producers – whoever had more clout –
usually claimed that credit, not that anyone cared. Where, I
wondered, did the money come from?
‘Sometimes the black money,’ he said in hushed tones.
‘Sometimes this big shot from place like Gulbarga –’ I gathered this
was a place of no consequence, ‘– he come into town and rents big
suite in suburban hotel. Then lets everyone know he wants to finance
the movie.’
It seemed an improbable explanation, but apparently it wasn’t.
The ‘big shot’ picked a suburban hotel, because the film community
had fled to the suburbs – having first built these suburbs themselves.
The ‘big shot,’ merely wanted to have his photograph taken with
some stars, happily throwing away several million rupees for the
privilege, then return to his no-account village wielding a sheaf of
photographs to show his serfs he was the kind of man they thought
he was. Soon after these serfs would also witness the screening of a
three-hundred-minute epic of fighting-dancing-singing-loving
gibberish with their big-shot baron’s name attached to it in the
local flea pit, where it would probably continue to play thrice daily
for the next decade.
‘Black money’ however, was a different kettle of sharks altogether.
‘Dons from the Gulf ’ were often behind this method of film
financing and ‘dons from the Gulf ’ did not pay for films in order to
lose their money.
‘Only big star guaranteeing that a film become smash hit,’ he told
me, nodding to emphasise this sad truth. ‘So these dons asking the
big star to be in their film. But these stars are having too much ego
often, isn’t it? So they say, ‘No. Fuck off, Don-from-Gulf.’’ He shook
his head, then made a gun from his hand and shot himself through
the ear. ‘So . . . it’s like the offer you can’t refuse?’
‘Just like!’ He brightened at the prospect of The Godfather as a
Glaswegian Showboat again; then his brows darkened. ‘Except you
don’t find the horse’s head in your bed – you are finding your own
head there, isn’t it?’
This went on. It appeared that the fanzines had a somewhat overly
optimistic view of show business.