An Affair with Bollywood – Commas but No Full Stops

It started as a beauty, still is but now it has become like the moon – a beauty with a little more than required marks on her face. 2012 marks its 100 years – the Cinema of India, better known as Bollywood. 

When I was asked to do an assignment on it (the joys of journalism!), I realized that it was impossible to capture all the aspects of this hundred-year-old huge, majestic empire ruled by the actors, the singers, the versatile and these days, the skin-showers. The first movie I watched in a theater was Hum Aapke Hain Kaun at the age of 5. And since then, I’ve been in an on and off relationship with it. I was never a huge, die-hard fan of Bollywood. I just liked movies in theaters, something to pass time and an exclusive luxury because my parents were never great fans.  I lost faith in Bollywood when I switched to Star Movies, HBO and the likes. Each movie, however big a hit, disappointed me. It was only Lage Raho Munnabhai, Bheja Fry, Khosla Ka Ghosla (comedies all of them, I now realize) that kept a bit of hope alive. Now, when I came to college, I started understanding a bit more. And thanks to Shreya Katuri, a friend and an AC (quite a cliché, but that’s what she is!) of Bollywood, I was back in tune with Bolly again.

The history made me realize that this nation has had ample supply of great cinema. I’m not in any position to review any of Dada Sahib Phalke’s or Save Dada’s works but they gave the shape to Indian cinema, as it is now. The evergreens have given it an augmented definition. And the new comers are, well, distorting and making and distorting again and re-making.

Sadly, no movie can recreate the history of Raj Kapoor’s magnificence or Guru Dutt’s delineation of the tragic mood in his films. There can’t be something as grand as Mughal-e-Azam or something as simplistic as Shree 420. These movies were carved with perfection. Even a comedy like Choti Si Baat or Golmaal displayed excellence. They were not movies which were built around one-liners or funny dialogues like Ready, Damadamm or Bheja Fry-II.

Today, Bollywood is more about who is the highest paid or who has had more relationships etcetera, things which should be of least importance. A bit of fault here is of the audience too who cannot appreciate Sahib, Biwi aur Gangster, Dev D or That Girl in Yellow Boots. They want movies like Bodyguard and Wanted, a supply of which is uninterrupted thanks to Salman Khan. With Ra.One, Shahrukh seems to have disappointed many, but that doesn’t dent the popularity of action movies with really animated fight scenes.

Another audience accepted, at least most of them, formula is sleaze. Saw the hype around The Dirty Picture or Love, Sex aur Dhoka? I watched just the former one and it gave me a headache. Sleaze makes the movie sparkling, no doubt and I’m not a conservative bitch, but right amounts and right portrayal is quite important. And also, the new trend of whorish names with a slutty adjective/activity which you know is here to stay, for bad, when Karan Johar has “Chikni Chameli’.

There is so much more I want to say about Bollywood. But this post can cover only this much or you’ll stop reading. I wish Bollywood has a better class. Nonetheless, I love it. For the music, the colors and entertainment, entertainment and entertainment.