Dil chahta hai ki Luck by chance ho jaaye

After Satya and Chandni Bar in the late 1990s, the neo-wave cinema gave way to the new-age films, the ruling factor in the new millennium celluloid. Ram Gopal Varma, Madhur Bhandarkar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Anurag Kashyap and Vishal Bharadwaj are the present crop of gifted directors, who are making socially relevant and significant films with realistic touches. What is this new-age cinema?

The new-age cinema has seen some brilliant films being made like Satya, Chandni Bar, Maqbool and Dil Chahta Hai. But in all honesty these are in no comparison to Ankur, Akrosh or Albert Pinto` of the 1985's. Dev D, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Luck By Chance and Jail are good examples of the new-age cinema. Most of these films have bold themes and subjects that were not experimented with earlier. Technically, too, much has changed with special effects also adding to film’s appeal.

But does one remember a single new-age film after coming out of the auditorium except for a Chandni Bar or a Black Friday? They pale into oblivion soon and have no repeat value. Even a Lagaan or a Taare Zameen Par does not command that sort of respect and following which Garam Hawa, Ankur or Ardh Satya once did.Madhur Bhandarkar, Ashutosh Gowarikar and Anurag Kashyap have, undoubtedly, created their own audience but not in the manner Benegal, Nihalani and Mirza did in the late 1970s and 1980s.

 The new-age cinema may be the talk of the day but it is certainly not what the neo-wave cinema was once, a cult cinema. New directors should understand that form and technical wizardry do not create directors of substance. The Apu trilogy, Komal Gandhar and Bhuvan Shome, the earliest stances of neo-wave cinema, have stood the test of time as they are timeless in theme, treatment and message. After all, cinema is the greatest medium of art that needs the touch of the soul, which the new-age cinema has not yet provided to the fullest extent. Atleast that is what I think!

Neo-wave v/s New age cinema

When M. S. Sathyu’s Garam Hawa was released in 1973, it created history, as it was the start of the neo-wave cult in Hindi films. With a taut screenplay by Ismail Chugtai and a majestic performance by Balraj Sahni, the film set trends, unknown in the history of Bollywood. Shyam Benegal’s Ankur, Nishant and Manthan followed, establishing the neo-wave cinema strongly in the tinsel town, where larger-than-life entertainment and box office-oriented movies ruled.Satyajit Ray welcomed the young Turks like Sathyu and Benegal, describing them as a promising bunch of directors.

The 1980s saw a series of off beat, serious films based on social issues like Akrosh, Chakra and Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Ata Hai. These films were cinematically much richer compared to the stereotypes like Zanjeer, Pratigya, Sholay and Mehbooba, the potboilers of the 1970s. Just as the mainstream cinema saw some of the most forgettable films in the 1980s, the neo- wave cinema prospered with leaps and bounds catering to the esquire and intelligentsia.

The neo-wave cinema also gave birth to some highly talented actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil and Amrish Puri. They filled the vacuum created by the loss of Motilal, Balraj Sahni, Meena Kumari and Nargis.
However, the 1990s also saw almost all stalwarts of the neo-wave cinema losing their magical touch. Benegal could never find his earlier form in Sardari Begum and Zubeidaa. Nihalani, too, showed signs of decline in talent in Drishti, Zazere and Takshak. Though Saeed Akhtar Mirza did show some flashes of brilliance in Naseem but stopped making films after that.

I think the reason behind their downfall is the system that exists in Hindi films.Bollywood has never bothered to create an atmosphere for creative cinema or a thinking audience. The cause for survival and the inner yearnings to carry on working compelled Benagal, Nihalani and Mirza to compromise. Of course, they could have done without it but then it would have made it very difficult for them to survive in the industry.

To be continued...

CHEAT CODE

How fiction turns into reality which in turn turns into inspiration which through functionality turns into plagiarism

God tussi great ho, Kyunki mein jhoot nahin bolta, Aryan, partner, kaante, sarkar, ram gopal varma ki aag, hum tum, agnisakshi.

Even today after 50 years of his first debut cellulolid experience, the enigma of the great Guru dutt and his masterpieces fill the memories of all those people seeking the magic which was created by the golden years of Indian cinema. Surprisingly even my classmate in college who swears by the mention of the coppolas and scorseses is awed by the classics created by the Master Guru Dutt himself. What is it which people admire so much, how is it that a director whose movie has not hit the stands since the Vietnam war is still remembered with such grandiose. Some say it was the emotions he created in his movies, some beg to differ and try to shift all the greatness to the writing and the well- scripted dialogues, the actors in the movie is resonated by few and some just try to end the argument by saying it was his flawless direction. But it was this one reason which stuck by me since the day I saw this montage being presented on as news channel about the man himself, ORIGINALITY.

Classics of the yesteryears such as Do Bigha Zameen, Guide, Teesri Manzil, Waqt, Anand, Trishul, Deewar truly represented the above stated concept. From the scene of Balraj Sahni persistently pulling the manual rickshaw in Do Bigha Zameen to Rajesh Khanna teaches his doctor how eternal optimism fills life in Anand to finally the magnum showdown of Deewar when the two brothers face each other for the last time. These were scenes which the audiences had never seen before and subsequently became legends.

Now, coming to the anti-thesis of this whole concept. For many years producers and directors in Bollywood (the Indian counterpart of Hollywood) would feel that filmmaking in India was primarily based on a concept called the FORMULA. Now don’t confuse this with some high level algorithm but just think of it as this 3 part storyline which was emulated by all the directors in the industry. The producers would advocate their position by citing that this is what the Indian audiences demand and especially from the producer’s perspective, the parameter of success only constituted a movie being a box office hit. So what happened when the formula started wearing out, the audiences started demanding something new, fresh, a concept which was not explored before.

That very time after constant brainstorming sessions of various directors with their respective writers, a potential idea was developed. The concept of taking inspiration from a Hollywood movie, indianinzing it and localizing it to suit the needs of the audience and finally churning it out as an original storyline became the new mantra. This first began in the 70’s when the classic Godfather released in the west. The huge success of the movie led many Indian directors, including Feroz Khan, make Indian versions of the great masterpiece. To give it a better understandable context, there were some Indian movies which atleast attempted to do some justice to their original creators but some were just outright incomprehensible for even the lenient Indian audiences. Some of the next movies to get inspired in Bollywood were the 90’s Agnisakshi, Yaarana and Dararr which were all a copy of the Julia Roberts starrer Sleeping with the enemy with the main male protagonist playing the role of the psychotic husband. The millennium saw the Sanjay gupta multi starrer Kaante hitting the screen, which was clearly based on the Tarantino crime thriller Reservoir Dogs. Another movie to be part of the cut copy race was Kyun Ki main jhoot nahi bolta which was taken from the Jin carrey starrer Liar Liar.

Hum tum though a well made movie and even won Saif Ali Khan his first national award for acting, was primarily adopted from the 1989 Meg ryan and Billy crystal starrer When harry met sally. Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar is a Indian version of 1972 classic Godfather. John Abraham and Tara Sharma starrer Saaya is a copy of Dragon Sky.

And the list is never ending...

The question that arises is-When, India gave Art to the world, then why is originality so dead today???

An unusual pairing

While skimming through the Delhi Times, I came across a story about Mallika Sherawat being paired opposite Amitabh Bachchan in a LOVE story - http://indiascanner.com/mallika-sherawat-amitabh-bachchan-in-a-love-story-paired-opposite-to-each-other-9834.

Nothing wrong with that. Only it made me think about the transition that our film industry has taken since its inception.

It made me realise that the constant evolution of our society has had a big role to play towards progressive cinema. Coming back to the story I was talking about, it set about a flurrying activity in my brain cells. This LOVE story, I thought, would again be promoted as an unusual story because of the difference in the age groups of the protagonists.Did it ring a familiar bell? Yes, it did. It reminded me of Amitabh Bachchan-Tabu starrer Cheeni Kum- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheeni_Kum .

You would be thinking why am I so bothered with the whole concept of wide differences in ages of actors. Well, my concern lies in the changing trends and the acceptability factor in our society. A movie like Cheeni- kum wouldn't have had worked some 20 years back. It did now. Why? Because Bollywood is following a new trend. A trend of unusual pairing. Movies like Nishabd, Boom, Aks, Dil Chahta Hai, Jogger's Park are just a few examples

And I am strictly talking about LOVE stories.

As a viewer, I don't mind this trend as long as it provides some kind of freshness to the movie. I appreciate the fact that our Industry is experimenting with new trends and is constantly in a hoard to out-do itself because today's viewers demand more than just song and dance in a movie. They like substance, be it in any form.

But the bigger question that arises here is- are our industry people out of creative ideas or stories that they are now turning to cast unusual pairs to sell their movie to the audiences? Is this the new marketing strategy? or Is it an unconscious move?

The bling swing

MONICA...OHHH MY DARLING!!!!

This is the new tune that has gripped our Industry. I am not talking about the song per se but also the era that it originally belongs to. Bollywood sure has a thing against originality. I am saying so because after modelling many of their movies on the bling and swing famous seventies, one can see the filmmakers getting inspired by tracks from the  retro period.

A still from DON

Farhan Akhtar's Don had Kareena dancing to the number- Yeh mera dil and I feel this started the trend. The impact of Gauhar Khan's- Duniya mein logon ko dhoka number from Once Upon A Time in Mumbai in its remixed avataar is, probably, the reason why filmmakers are now looking to add a foot-tapping retro number in their films. In another just released movie, Hello Darling, we have Celina Jaitley grooving to another popular Helen song- Aa jaane jaa. Also the recently released movie, Housefull, had a chartbuster number in the form of remixed version of - Apni toh jaise taise.

A still from Housefull

Infact, one can see almost every film carrying a retro-item number which is, by the way, marketed as a 'homage' to the original song. What one needs to understand is that there is a very fine line between paying a tribute to a song and incorporating it in the movie to increase the USP of the movie.

Using retro numbers has become a popular marketting gimmick for fimmakers who are looking out to only make profits. Remember the famous Kareena Kapoor item song- Its Rocking. I am sure you do. But do you remember the movie that it belonged to? I bet not many of you would have even heard of the movie. Well the movie was such that it went unnoticed but not this song. This song was the only saving grace of the entire film and many went only to see this song on the big screen.

As a passionate cinemagoer, I prefer the original songs anyday. I don't like the conceptof remixing and twisting the old retro hits. There was something about them that made them so popular. By reconstructing them, one snatches away the simplicity and originality of the song. How would you feel if some stranger comes to your house and renovates it entirely according to his/her tastes? Would you like it? Won't you feel, however simple your house looked like, it was done up according to your taste and you liked it the way it was, minus the gloss and the frills.

Don't you think that should go for our popular retro hits as well...???? Think about it!!!

Birth of Indian Cinema

My last blog introduced you to my fascination towards Indian Cinema. Henceforth, we shall embark on a journey, my journey, wherein we'll be discussing different aspects of cinema, both new and old.

The mesmerizing black and white screen with an everlasting undertone of classical music imbibed the infancy of Indian Cinema. The science of frames moving on a reel in a pre-defined speed really fascinated the creative minds of the pre-independence period. I have always been amazed by the various transformations that have been taking place eversince. Like the progression from the first full length silent motion picture, Raja Harishchandra, produced by legendary filmmaker Dadasaheb Phalke to Alam Ara, India's first talking picture that set the movement of talkies in motion,the transition was significant. In Raja Harishchandra, the odds were totally different. Interestingly, the female roles were played by male actors as females working out of the four walls of their house was considered a taboo at that time.

What was more intriguing was the pace at which Indian Cinema gained popularity across India's population as well as its economic sectors. Tickets were made available to the common man and audiences thronged the cinema halls. The content was increasingly tailored to appeal to the masses. The young producers began to incorporate social life and culture and thus this formed the foundation of Indian Cinema.

Indian Cinema

CINEMA !CINEMA! CINEMA!

We all love cinema, be it watching it with your friends for fun or criticising it just for the heck of it. Somewhere it forms an undefined and unidentified yet important part of our life. Some of us can't live without it while many of us swear by it.

For me, It all started in 1994, when I first saw 'HUM AAPKE HAIN KAUN' at the age of 4 . This movie was my first brush with Indian Cinema and it opened a whole new world for me. I was immediately hooked and I have been a movie-buff ever since. I thoroughly enjoy popcorn-entertainment. So when we were asked to write and maintain a blog, I thought why not try my hand at Indian Cinema since I feel it is my calling. I am someone who is in love with it and what I'll always pen down in this space will be 'MY INDIAN CINEMA'.

BEAR WITH ME....!!!!

P.S- Your views and comments are always welcome!