Broken Horses: Why Vidhu Vinod Chopra deserves praise

Even before the film hit the theatres, Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Broken Horses had made its way to coffee table discussions and drawing room debates. And Indians had all the right reasons to cheer for the film. An Indian - for the first time ever - had directed, produced and co-written a Hollywood film. All of the cast members are non-Indians, and Chopra's film got him praises from people like James Cameron in Hollywood, and closer home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. All of his film industry colleagues came out in support of Broken Horses, and Vidhu Vinod Chopra seemed a happy man.

The scene is a tad different, now that Broken Horses is in the movies. Chopra's film has opened to mixed reviews, and many international critics have panned it, too. Broken Horses is the tale of two brothers whose lives take a turn when they need to face some indigestible truths. It explores relationships, loyalty, family ties and the way a brother needs to soil his hands to save the other. The film is set on the US-Mexico border, and has a semi-impressive cast comprising Vincent D'Onofrio, Chris Marquette, Anton Yelchin, Maria Valverde and Sean Patrick Flanery, who pull the film off well. The cinematography is breathtaking at times, and Tom Stern has an eye for details. Several scenes stand out in the film, and despite its slackening of pace and other flaws, Broken Horses manages to sail through.

While for the Indian audience the film is essentially a reworking of Chopra's 1989 Parinda, for his Hollywood viewers, this drama will come across as somewhat impressive. But then, irrespective of the fact that to a person who has already watched Parinda, Broken Horses seems the same, what we need to laud is the sheer heights Chopra has scaled with the film. No other Indian has done what he has, till date - and as he put it aptly, "Bollywood is looked down upon by Hollywood, whether you like it or not. They think we do it over-the-top, with song and dance. They think we can't do what they do. I wanted to show them that we can do something as good as they do, if not better. That is what I was seeking."

The journey of Broken Horses, the director admitted, began with Parinda. And thereafter, he had to wait, and make money, and then attempt a project that could be tagged a "Hollywood film". It took the man five years to reach the release of Broken Horses, and his film has been well-received by the viewers at the places he's screened it. "It is actually unbelievable. It began in New York...I got a standing ovation. I had a screening in LA. Then I went to London. Then I came to India and they took me to Bangalore, where people said it was not a movie, but a revolution. It is all very overwhelming," said the director.

We've had numerous "indie" films till date - those English movies with a cast consisting of a healthy mix of Indians and foreigners, and put together by a largely Indian crew. What we, as Indians, haven't had till date is this proper crossover. Chopra's project, no matter how similar it is to his own work of 1989, deserves the credit where it is due. Making an out-and-out Hollywood film - with a non-Indian crew and cast - is a praiseworthy job. There's just a bit more that Vidhu Vinod Chopra needs to take care of, the next time he is aiming for a Hollywood project - a story that doesn't remind his Indian audience of any other work.