Evolving Bollywood
One of the typical impressions people have of Bollywood is of cheesy love stories, bad action sequences, and lots of embarrassing dancing and music. Like English-speaking cinema, Bollywood is composed of various strands. There is the nineteen percent of casual entertainment (fluff and cheese), eighty percent of “that’s-two-hours-of-my-life- I’ll-never-get-back”, then there is that one percent of thought-provoking, life-changing magic.
Times are changing: Bollywood is becoming cosmopolitan and international. Indian cinema is now aimed at those willing to pay more. Screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar once quoted the director Subhash Ghai: “Why make a movie for a resident Indian who will pay thirty rupees, when you have non-resident Indians in the US willing to pay ten dollars?” This can be reflected in upcoming movies such as Kabhie Alvida Nahin Kehna (Never Say Goodbye), and Happy New Year.
Both of these movies will be cheerful romantic comedies reflecting life of upperclass Indians, movies designed for commercial success.
The question is raised: “Where are the movies reflecting the troubles really facing India?” There are the issues of corruption (only covered in Hindi movies because of the violence it brings); problems of childbirth (at least one woman has died in the time it has taken me to write this article); poverty and unemployment (a degree is not even enough to get a job at Pizza Hut).
Then again, how many movies are there about major social issues in Hollywood? This does not mean that Bollywood is without grit, if anything the controversial movies are bursting out the seams. Aamir Khan (of Lagaan fame), has gone out of his way to educate as well as entertain. Mangal Pandey is a stirring history lesson in India’s fight for independence.
Rang De Basanti (Make it Colourful), came as an attempt to make middle-class India think about the future of the country as a great being, rather than a faulty machine churning out bad versions of anything and everything. Soon, Fanaa, another blockbuster, will be released.
So how does Bollywood compare to other film markets such as French or Japanese cinema? Why is it that movies like Memoirs of a Geisha are more accessible than the controversial Hindi ones such as Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (I Didn’t Kill Gandhi), Anupam Kher’s masterpiece? Whilst India’s fluff is quite lovely, seeing its grit is awe-inspiring.
18th May 2006