When Bollywood has business lessons to teach

A stock market thriller — how many times have people heard that in Bollywood? This little-known and nearly unexplored genre is making way to the big screen with Saif Ali Khan-starrer Baazaar that is all about the stock market, trading and money.

Be it the National Stock Exchange or the Bombay Stock Exchange, both indices have stories to tell. Then there is insider trading, scams, frauds that can be brought to the fore and explained on the big screen to viewers who may not have enough knowledge about them. Hollywood has its share of such movies but Bollywood is lagging behind.

But there have been attempts. In 2006, director Sameer Hachate took to celluloid to tell movie-goers about the 1992 scam involving Harshad Mehta through his film Gafla.

Mehta was the poster boy for many investors in the 1990s. It was alleged that he was involved in stock manipulation that led to a financial scandal valued at Rs 4,999 crore.

The rise and fall of Mehta, who was also called ‘The Big Bull’ at the time, is a business lesson to those who are either new to capital markets or new to investing.

Until now, Gafla was the only film that was primarily based on the stock market.

While books are one way to expand knowledge on business, films too can be an effective medium. Take the example of Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Rocket Singh: Salesman Of The Year. A guide for a budding entrepreneur, the film not only encourages to start a business, but also teaches business ethics.

Mani Ratnam’s Guru, Badmaash Company starring Shahid Kapoor and Anushka Sharma are also films that inspires anybody to become "somebody". In addition, these films also clarify business concepts in layman’s terms.

However, these films inspired but only a few as their box office performance was not strong enough. While Gafla is an underrated gem of the film industry, movies like Rocket Singh and Badmaash Company also could not rake in big numbers. Guru, however, managed to get a high score.

While the success rate of movies under this genre is not high, not many filmmakers have tried their hand at it too.

As for Baazaar, reports suggest that the film is likely to open at Rs 2 crore on the first day. The hype around the film has been low. However, trade experts are of the opinion that as the film is content-driven, it will gradually pick up. After all, that is what the audience is welcoming these days. Also, if Baazaar is successful, it can be a breakthrough for this genre.

The same can be said for actor Saif Ali Khan who has been unable to give a hit film in the last few years. His earlier ventures Chef, Kaalakandi, Rangoon were all dull at the box office. Baazaar's success could be a turning point for Khan, who is making waves in the digital world with his show Sacred Games.