A Bollywood Lesson in Saving Face

Kareena Kapoor

The concept of “face”, a central tenet of many Asian cultures, is illustrated in an a story from the Indo-Asian News Service concerning the relationship between a film director eager to work with an actress. When the reporter asks Madhur Bhandarkar, the director, why Kareena Kapoor, the actress, has not yet confirmed she’ll work with Madhur on a new film, he responds by giving face to Kareena, the most culturally appropriate response to a question framed to solicit information on a sensitive matter. Kareena’s payment to collaborate with Madhur was the sensitive detail concerned, and Madhur responded with the following:

It’s not because she was quoting a very high price. It was because our budget of the film was very less. The dates were also clashing.”

Instead of expressing the feeling that Kareena was asking for too much money, Madhur focused on his own budget, thus giving face to Kareena by acknowledging she deserved more than he could afford. Furthermore, Madhur alludes to the history of their strong relationship and mentions they need to take the right amount of time before anyone can make a decision.

We know each other for years. We both admire each other’s work. In Page3 we wanted to work together but there were some economic problems because of which we couldn’t. I met her and we have spoken on it, but we need to sit for couple of times. Once it’s decided we will make the announcement.”

The concept of time in most of India, and in other Asian countries, is far more fluid than in the West. Decision making is slower and relationship-building takes precedence over schedules and deadlines. How do film studios in Hollywood differ? What would a director in Hollywood do in this situation? It may appear that film culture in Los Angeles is not as far from Mumbai as we think.

Click here to jump to the article on the Hindustan Time’s website.

Sean

RW3 CultureWizard