Bollywood has mutated since its inception into our world. What started off so promisingly in the earlier half of the twentieth century has now sunk to depths we didnt know existed. We dish out over 500 films a year, and only a good 20 of them are worth watching.
But then again, can you blame the industry? They dish out and we accept.For example, an upcoming script writer approached an industry bigwig with a script he'd painstakingly written for the last two years. The producer gave one look at it and said, 'accha hai. Ek item number aur ek sex scene dalo, picture chalega(the concept is good. Just throw in a sex scene and a dance number and your movie will run).
For the better half of the decade now the industry has adopted the tactic of 'stars and sex sells'. Which is sadly true. There is no disrespect directed to the stars, but it's time they pulled their head out of the water and realize what they're doing.
You've got Akshay Kumar who does 4 movies a year on an average. Out of that one is barely tolerable while the others can only fairly be described as cringe worthy. You've got Salman Khan who's adopted the south Indian hero's role with aplomb and that has set the cash registers ringing and has caused his stock to rise simultaneously. SRK who once was deemed untouchable seems to have lost that air of invincibility that has surrounded him for the better part of two decades. It started long before Ra.One was even conceived (revert back to OSO in 2007, I hated that movie) and Ra.one was just an eye opener to the world to see to what depths that the king has fallen. Aamir Khan does one maybe two films a year, but thanks to a brilliant marketing strategy, you realize you've been duped a good two months after you've viewed whatever body of work he's been in. (Read SMJ. Looked scripted right from the start.) you've got Ranbir Kapoor who with an exception here and there his movies are mainly with debutant actresses. He's a terrific actor no
Doubt and his choice of films are refreshingly different for which i applaud him,but he's also extremely cunning. Majority of his movies are with people who can't act to save their lives(read Fakhri(my word, ducks could've played her role better ), Padmasee, Kapoor!, etc etc) who are so bad that they make him look the Daniel Day-Lewis of Bollywood. Which he isn't, but he's certainly one of the best we have. Thank you, Chintuji.
The problem lies not in the industry but on the public on whom it thrives. In a country like ours the crowd would rather watch a superstar beat up sixty thugs under a hundred and twenty seconds rather than w sit through a film that makes you sit down and think. For example take SLB. I was one of the few who actually thought Saawariya was worth a watch. Heck, I liked it better than OSO. It was horribly paced yes, but the art direction was top notch and the acting wasn't stupendously bad either. Maybe I'm a sucker for tragic movies but I enjoyed what I saw. Guzaarish was SLB showing the world they he was up there with the best when it comes to showcasing opulence on screen. But somewhere along the way he forgot that you need a story for the film to run. He was so obsessed with how beautiful he wanted his film to be, that he ended up dishing a beautiful but an utterly soulless film about a quadriplegic magician. The audience doesn't give two farts about art direction. They'd rather see buxom beauties shake their assets on screen with the hero gawking awkwardly. SLB sold out, produced Rowdy Rathore(another piece of crap from the Haus Of Kumar) and that ran into a 100 Crores worth of collections at the BO. Sad really.
Which brings me to award ceremonies. There was a time when these so called 'award shows' were telecast live. They're meant to be watched live. It's a completely different experience. Good performances were appreciated, good films were appreciated and the humor didn't really involve men dressed as transvestites or poking fun at the gay community. Take the Oscars for example or even the Globes. There isn't a single moment where you feel it's been scripted. For example two years ago, Ricky Gervais took to the stage at the Golden Globes and ripped into the who's who of hollywood without batting an eyelid. When it comes to our industry, we get a sliced, diced,
Coupled with ample sound and visual
Effects end product that we lap up without a care in the world. Honestly, we'd rather not watch Sonam Kapoor dancing pathetically on stage with soft light emitting from her lady parts. It's bad enough watching her act let alone dance. And how a movie like Housefull can win Best Picture is beyond me. I've tried finding a reason to no avail.
Another sad fact is that directors who make good, thought provoking cinema are left in the lurch. Only in an industry like ours can Anees Bazmee be more successful than a Sudhir Mishra or Rituparno Ghosh. The latter isn't exactly Bollywood, but you get my drift. For those of you who don't understand, it's like saying that the Farrelly Brothers are better than Martin Scorcese. (actually, the Farrelly Brothers shouldn't be compared to Bazmee. No one should be compared to Bazmee. The man is in a league of his own. I will never understand his mentality.)
For those of you who feel that I lean a lot more to the Indian Cinema of old, I must correct you. All I mean to say, that back in the day, the movies that were being churned out had a lot more interesting premises than the ones we have to deal with. You had Pyaasa, kaagaz ke phool, Mughal-e-azam and even a comedy like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. These are all part of a wonderful collection of films, an era that we, as things stand will not ever be part of again. But then again, we've been on the decline since the mid eighties so we can't really blame the present crop of directors. It's time people woke up and realized that Bollywood isn't going to change for us. As long as our mentalities remain the same, people like Anees*#&(& Bazmee and Sajid Khan shall continue to rule and plunge our beloved industry further and further into the darkness to its impending doom.
P.S: how did Housefull win Best Picture?? How?? I need to know!
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