Lately, Bollywood movies are increasingly becoming bolder — exploring the new frontiers and experimenting with novel themes and genres. But where is all this experimenting leading Bollywood? Devashish Chakraborty explores.
Of late, Bollywood movies are increasingly becoming bolder and exploring the frontiers where no Indian filmmaker had in the past dared to go. A plethora of themes and genre are being experimented with, some successfully and others with utter failure. The new generation of filmmakers do not mind what impact their films may have on the audience, especially the youngsters, so long as the film is a box-office hit. Many questions arise out of this approach.
Is art merely an imitation of life? Should an artist claim no social responsibility? Are the current trends in Bollywood movies really portraying the reality of the Indians? Do most of these films have an underlying universal message? If yes, what is that message? What are the characteristics of the audience who watch these movies? Above all, are the movies catering to the masses or are they made keeping only a few in mind? Can an ordinary Indian from rural India identify with the themes and characters of the movies?
The questions are many and there are no easy answers. If we take up some of the themes — one by one — that were once used successfully in Hindi cinemas, it will become apparent how things have changed for the worse.
For instance, one of the genres in Hindi movies that have become conspicuous by their absence is comedy. Movies based on unalloyed comedy are totally absent from the Bollywood scene now. All one finds is what is called slapstick comedy, which is not really what one really yearns to see. In the past, we had great comedians like Johnny Walker, Mahmood, and the kind. But the one who could really surpass others was Utpal Dutt. His acting in movies like ‘Golmaal’ (1979) has made the movie one of the all-time classic Hindi movies. ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro’ (1983) is another great Hindi movie in this category.
When it comes to social theme-based movies, one remembers Raj Kapoor, one of the legends of Hindi cinema. ‘Awaara (1951)’, ‘Sree 420’ (1955), and many other movies in which he acted became immensely popular, not only in India but also in some other countries. We don’t find such powerful movies any more. Movies like ‘Do Bigha Zamin’ (1953), ‘Mother India’ (1957) have a universal appeal, which goes beyond the boundaries of society and culture. ‘Devdas’ (1935, 1936, and 2002) is another classic, which has been remade with a lot of success. This shows that good movies are those with strong storyline, characterization, and theme.
In historical movies, ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ (1960) is a classic and will not be surpassed in the years to come. In the recent times, an effort has been made to revive the tradition of making historical movies, though with little success so far. ‘Jodha Akbar’ (2008) tried to conjure up the magic of ‘Mughal-e-Azam’. It did well as a movie but is nowhere near the classic. Dazzling costumes and modern technology in filmmaking alone cannot bring back the golden period of Indian cinema.
More importantly, in modern movies, the regional ethos is missing. Very few movies now are based on a storyline pertaining to any particular region in India. In the past, films like ‘Khatta Meetha’ (1978), ‘Baaton Baaton Mein’ (1979), ‘Pestonjee’ (1988), ‘Percy’ (1990), and ‘1947: Earth’ (1998) put the spotlight on the Parsi community, while movies like ‘Devdas’ and ‘Chokher Bali’ (2003) focused on the Bengali milieu.
Young filmmakers also tried their hands at highlighting regional as well as religious eccentricities of a multi-cultural nation. For instance, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’ drew its inspiration from Catholics. Prakash Jha’s ‘Mrityudand’ (1997) and ‘GangaaJal’ (2003) based their plots on politics in Bihar. Then there was Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘Omkara’ based in the Uttar Pradesh hinterland. Also, Santosh Sivan in ‘Tahaan’ used Kashmir as a backdrop to highlight how conflicts impact the minds and lives of children. Gurinder Chadha dealt with NRI issues in ‘Bend It like Beckham’ and Mira Nair in ‘The Namesake’. While some filmmakers say such films are very few in number, veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal – who has made films like ‘Ankur’ (1973), ‘Manthan’ (1976), and ‘Trikaal’ (1985) on social differences in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and the Portuguese, respectively – does not agree.
Recently, films like ‘Delhi Belly’ (2011), ‘The Dirty Picture’ (2011), and other such movies do not seem to have had a very good impact on the young minds. Movies like ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ (2011) and ‘Delhi Belly’ are difficult to identify with for an ordinary Indian. Then, movies like ‘Ghajini’ (2008) and ‘Force’ (2011) have an overdose of violence to an unhealthy extent.
Besides violence and vulgarity, Bollywood filmmakers have also started experimenting with themes like homosexuality. ‘Memories in March’ (2010) is a gay Bollywood movie made in English that aspires to begin a trend of movies on such themes. In trying to position them in the industry as also aspiring to get more collaboration with Hollywood producers, the Bollywood has begun to make movies on themes that have so far remained alien to an Indian audience that still yearns for movies based on Indian art, culture, and tradition.
The author is a journalist, subeditor, writer, and public speaker. He has edited pages for The Indian Express, and The Tribune. He has written articles for newspapers such as The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, The Tribune, and Daily Post. Currently, he is senior copyeditor at The Franchising world, a niche magazine catering to the business class in India.