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Quoting
from the Bunty character of the movie “Bunty and
Babli” and modifying it a little bit.... "Ye jo
Bollywood ka world hai na, isme do tarah ke
actor hote hain. Ek shohrat milne ke baad apni
legacy banate hain, aur doosre jo paise ke liye
apna sanskaar bhi bech dete hain."
For the benefit of international readers, let me
translate it, "In the world of Bollywood, there
are two types of actors. Some build a legacy
after achieving success while others squander
their own value system for money."
Indian movie industry has grown in all
directions. Yes, even in the negative direction!
Indian movies have become obscene and vulgar. I
don’t want to make a blanket statement here.
Movies like ‘Dor’ are representative of growth
in the positive direction. However, 9 out of 10
movies today are such that it is difficult to
sit through without feeling offended. "Kabhi
alvida na kehna" has reached a new low in Hindi
movie industry.
It has always been trendy to portray the older
generation as dinosaurs who clutch to age old
belief systems and want to impose it on a
rebellious younger generation. Thousands of
stories have been written on slight variations
of this theme. In part this is true. A fresh
look is indeed needed in examining our
traditional value systems. Such movies have set
a climate in which the society has been able to
purge many bad things like, dowry, treatment of
widows, casteism , crime etc. But rebelliousness
has a limit, that has not only been reached, but
is routinely being crossed. Indian society was
built on 'dharm vivah'. There is no 'prenup' or
a written contract. It was based on one’s
conscience. Seems tenuous, doesn’t it? Think
again! Indian society produces the stablest
marriages anywhere. Similarly the "kachcha dhaga"
(string) of the Rakhi makes a brother’s bond
with his sister so strong that the string seems
to have the strength of a steel cable! It all
comes from acceptance and respect of the good
aspects of our social institutions.
Today our movie industry is trying to chip onto
the value system of the whole nation by
portraying the decadence of the lives of the
blasé ultra rich Bombay'ites who live off
Daddy’s money. These sons of the wealthy, have
always lived in Bombay and have never known what
life is like for the average Indian in a small
town. These people leave no relationship
sacrosanct. They portray their own private lives
on the screen. Every existing institution is
attacked with a totally opposite demented
rebelling viewpoint that demolishes the existing
institutions without offering to build something
better in its place. Salaam Namaste, Kabhi
Alvida na kehna, even Fanaa were filthy in the
message they carried. A good movie like
‘Parineeta’ could very well do without the
embarrassing 'nudie scene'. Don’t our filmmakers
know that three generations of a family watch
movies together in Indian homes ? Don’t they
know that respectable women watch movies in the
same theaters as the street goon?! What are they
trying to portray? That we are Hollywood ?! They
better realize that instead of hankering to be
like Hollywood they should build something
original that others may like to imitate.
The other day I was sitting with friends talking
when someone wondered aloud as to why Amitabh
Bachchan was working in crappy movies these
days. “Does he have no shame ? Does he not care
for his legacy ?”. Someone else said that
Amitabh Bachchan has said that he was going to
be focused on the commercial aspects only. He
had to make as much money for his Mickey Mouse
company. He was not Raj Kapoor. He did not care
about his legacy. "Kabhi Alvida na Kehna" was
cited as a glowing example of Mr. Bachchan’s
viewpoint. Yes, he was all about money. But then
when Aishwarya Rai, who the Bachchans are
eyeing to have as a daughter-in-law, kissed
Hrithik Roshan in the typical obscene way of
Bollywood, the Bachchans did not see that she
too was in the game for the money. They went in
a tizzy and it is said that Abhishek Bachchan
make an angry call to Hrithik Roshan to ask him
to quit this “childishness”.
The table seems to have turned. Abhishek should
have told his father instead, "Papa, you are the
symbol of this industry. Have some shame. You
set the tone for the rest to emulate. See what
you have done!"
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Comments: |
Nice to read something new. It was
really getting monotonous reading
all those development and
politics-oriented articles
containing a huge bulk of
statistical data and biased
opinions.
I am in agreement with your view in
asymptotic way. My idea about the
current Bollywood trend is that
earlier it was trying to take
stories from Hollywood commercial
movies, interpret those in Indian
terms and then to portray in such a
manner that would suit the Indian
audience in terms of social
relations, culture and
personalities. Now-a-days the
Bollywood is trying hard to remove
'B' and add 'H' to its name. They
are just copying the entire movies
but just changing the faces. Take an
example of 'DHOOM-II'. It is a
replica of an old Hollywood
blockbuster. These changes send one
positive sign to the world too. To
copy Hollywood, huge amount of money
and efforts are required. It is
heartening to know that more money
is coming in to make Indian movies
big and bigger.
But, with apologies, my sync with
your ideas ends just here. The
examples of 'DOR' and 'KANK' is
really eye-opener. Do you want the
producer to create movies like 'DOR'
and sit outside the theatre waiting
for the audience? He would sit there
from morning to night, but no would
come. Only the so-called, high-class
intellectuals would take pain to
come down to the theatre that too
when lot of request-calls have been
made to them for positive comments.
There would some honest people
definitely there, but they would be
bored by the high-class food,
culture, wine, girls, so they would
come to change the taste. But, the
spine of Indian Cinema, the middle
class and the lower class would
remain aloof of it. The reason is
obvious. They are already buried
under such displeasure, tension,
commitment, poverty, ailments that
they don't want to see the same on
the silver screen. They come to
enjoy the dream set by the
cine-makers.
I doubt the intention of the makers
of the movies like 'DOR'. In my
view, they have one selfish interest
in making these types of movies, to
get awards, to get recognized at the
national level. WO WAHA APNA CHEHRA
DIKHANA CHAHTE HAIN, JAHA AMEER
GARIBI BECH KAR AUR AMEER BANTE HAIN.
Moreover, the comparison between
Amitabh Bachchan and Raj Kapoor over
legacy is not justified. Remember,
Nargis in Awaara or Zeenat Amaan in
Satyam Shivam Sundaram. Those were
the days of 1950's and 1980's where
the youth was unexposed to the
western culture. Just imagine
wearing bikinis in 1950 in an Indian
movie. That is the breakpoint of the
vulgarity, if you consider the age
and the era.
I term our current popular daily
soaps more vulgar that KANK.
Remember SAAS BHI KABHI BAHOO THI
where one single girl becomes wife
of three brothers, one by one. Can
you imagine that stuff in your
families. No, A big No. - Ravish
Kumar, Software Engineer, Hyderabad
- Dec. 19, 2006
Arecee, I agree with everything that
you have written. But probably we
are asking for too much from a lot
who care about money and fame only.
As the old saying goes _ Is Hammam
Me Sabhi Nange Hain – some
actors/producers show obscene
material in the name of
commercialization and some serious
type in the name of Real Cinema. Do
you remember Late Padmini's naked
bath inside a drum in Jis Desh Me
Ganga Bahti Hai, Simi Grewal in Mera
Naam Joker, Smita Patil's taking
bath in open in Chakra, Shabana
Azmi's bed scene in Log Kya Kahenge
– even our so called intellectual
producers like Benegals and Nihlanis
have portrayed the same things. -
Anjum Parwej - Dec. 19, 2006
Good points, Aarceeji. KANK was a
pathetic attempt by this immature,
glycerin covered kiddy director that
India knows as Karan Johar to
introduce wife-swapping in the name
of social awareness. I wouldn't be
surprised if he is already working
on an Indianized version of
Brokeback Mountain. After all
homosexuality is also a social
issue, isn't it?
Johar should realize that sometimes
ignorance is bliss.
Amitabh Bachchan should realize that
you don't have to act different just
for the sake of being different!
The Johars and the Bachchans are
free to make or act in any movie. I
don't have a problem with that but
the kind of movies they are making
or acting in casts serious doubts
about their intellectual abilities.
- Anil Kumar - Dec. 19, 2006
Thank you for the great comments.
Now looking at the article and the
comments in totality, I do stand
corrected that moviemakers have been
doing the 'outrageous' since a long
time. Mr. Anjum Parvez had some very
concrete examples - "Late Padmini's
naked bath inside a drum in Jis Desh
Me Ganga Bahti Hai, Simi Grewal in
Mera Naam Joker, Smita Patil's
taking bath in open in Chakra,
Shabana Azmi's bed scene in Log Kya
Kahenge"
Another point that is well taken is
that most of the damage that is
being done is being inflicted more
by the soap operas than by Hindi
movies. I do subscribe to this
viewpoint and I sure missed it
because my mind was focused on the
films rather than standing back and
looking at the entire media
spectrum.
What can we do about it ? After all
the stage after analyzing a problem
is to find remedies.
I think that the following steps
would be helpful to reduce the
impact of decadence that pours out
of the TV sets and movies.
Restrict Television viewing times to
1.5 hours a weekday and 3 hours on
weekends.
Make it Mandatory for kids to watch
news. Also encourage them to watch
Discovery, National Geographic and
History channels.
Plan a socialization event every
week. Go visit a friend or invite
someone over for a meal.
Once in a while outings and picnics
should be planned.
Kids should be encouraged to take up
reading, music, games etc.
Organize "mehfil" or "bazm" and get
some friends / relatives together.
If you hear that a new movie is
raunchy, then NEVER pay money to
watch it. If you can't resist the
temptation to know what it is all
about, then borrow a copy from
someone who has it.
Be very vocal in your opposition to
such content. Talk about it work.
Write articles denouncing such
shows. Help make them unpopular.
These are some of my suggestions. I
do try to live by most of them. If
any readers have other ideas, please
share them with us. - Aarcee -
Dec. 21, 2006 |
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