Movies. Now and Then !

Due, maybe to my demanding profession or maybe self-imposed exile[ from the films], I remained away from the nearest multiplex, that’s just across the road from where I stay, for more than 3 months. Then there was as if the deluge of movies. Thanks to my Australia returned daughter who was longing for ethnic fare and my about to be a mother, daughter in law, who wanted to bide away time enjoying to the last moment, I ended up viewing 5 movies in course of 3 to 4 weeks. Practically movie a week. It was sort of ‘Déjà vu’

Indians are fanatic about mostly 3 things. 1. Politics 2. Cricket. 3. Bollywood. The order may differ but that’s LCD for every Indian. For me, movies are number one!

This gene of frequenting cinema halls probably came from my mother’s side. My grandmother was an avid cinemagoer, so was my mother. And I remember seeing more than 40 movies in one of the summer vacations lasting for 45 to 50 days. But the difference in now and then, I realized now, is drastic.

The movies Bollywood churned out in those days when I was in teens, were absolute trash, crude and to a point damn vulgar. I feel now ashamed that how could I sit through movies like, ‘Waaris, Amar Akbar Anthony, Dharmveer, Dreamgirl, oh so many others, for more than 3 hours at a stretch! Blockbusters no doubt, but real contents, absolutely zero, some downright crude with a headache as an after effect!  It’s not that it was an absolute drought of good movies then but they were very few and hit the screens far apart. Khamoshi by Hemantkumar being one of them. Do Aakhen Barah Haath by V. Shantaram, another rare one! Unfortunately, they fared invariably very badly at the box office. The fans could easily digest blood flowing through three tubes against gravity, getting mixed up on the way and being transfused to the recipient without having any adverse effect but did not like anything that was even a quarter of an inch closer to the reality.

In contrast, the movies in today’s’ times not only vary vastly in contents but the treatment given too changes accordingly, suiting the script and the plot. Again, they are definitely not masterpieces but the storyline is plausible, acting restrained and narration acceptable, all in all, good cinematic experiences.

‘Andhadhun’ is one of them. To see Ayushman Khurrana pretending to be blind with all the shades of real and fake blindness, was a treat to the eyes. No doubt he is an actor par excellence and also knows his job very well, which reflects in his selection of movies, and shows that he is intelligent too. Quality that squarely lacked in the heroes of yesteryears. It was pathetic to see Rajesh Khanna masquerading as blind in Mere Jeevan Saathi and an army Doctor trying every bit to keep him blind so that he gets the heroine in the end!

It was equally  absurd to watch Rajendrakumar in every alternate movie, going in the arms of an actress obviously younger than him and shouting,” Maaaaa, Today I cleared B.A. in first class.” In front of morose father, hanging on the wall, in the garlanded photo frame! And then in film after film Maa used to reply, ‘I have made Gajar ka Halwa for you my dear!’ And surprisingly patrons lapped it up in dollops after dollops!

‘Stree’ totally a new genre. Horror comedy! So unknown to Bollywood so far that nobody even had tried it in the past. They made horror movies no doubt but in the end, they turned out to be comical unwittingly! Utterly Laughable stock!

Though it went on the oft-repeated path, even ‘Manmarjia’ was much watchable than such triangular love stories of the yore. It had a freshness and it depicted today’s youth in all grey shades and not like goodie, goodie chocolate boys of mid-eighties or nineties! For a change, even Abhishek Bachchan carved a niche, for himself in the acting department!

'Batti Gul Meter Chalu', though not anywhere near the classics of the genre, PadMan or Toilet Ek love story, it did strike the sore thumb out. It did have a good message with nicely woven yarn and very good performance by Shahid.

‘Tummbad’ is way beyond all these so about it, later!.

All the movies those are hitting the screen now and coming from the young blood are much much better than the ones churned out by the so-called stalwarts of the yesteryears who could not muster the courage to break the path and set out for the unknown. While running after the safe bets(read Switzerland) they lost the very soul of the art form. And what was presented, was plastic without any essence of life!

Today’s films vary in contents tremendously, no oft-beaten tract for them; they are earthier so smell fresh. They are script bound and do not waver according to the so-called whims of the market. So no unnecessary songs or gaudy item number by a vamp or similarly looking heroine where you cannot differentiate one from the other.

Today we can safely say, 'Indian cinema has really come of age!'