There is this lot of
Halla Gulla going about this year’s ‘Filmfare’ awards. A gang like ‘Award Wapasi
Gang’ [ maybe Award selection process rejecting gang/boycott the Filmfare gang]
making its ugly face apparent almost clandestinely scarring the history of
Filmfare for the first time since the inception of the awards. Everybody being
anybody’s somebody it was like always homely affair on the turf of inner court!
An outsider disrupting the ‘Family’ function? Not done! And why not the ire
from the ‘Big Family’s Inner circle’! It was almost the rule that they would be
given to somebody from the inner circles and strong bonds with the coterie! None
from the outside
Mala Sinha did never
get it in her life despite giving superlative performances one after the other,
and those too under the umbrage of Sakshat Yash Chopra. She did not get
‘Oscar' any time, I mean its poor Indian cousin, the ‘Filmfare’ for 1. Darmaputra, 2.
Jahan Ara’ 3.Dhool ka Phool 4.and last but not the least ‘Gumraah!’ A middle-class housewife married to much older gent, her sister’s husband due to circumstances, slowly breaking due to nefarious advances of the blackmailer
Shashikala. The highly nuanced performance went kaput due to a hole in her hierarchy, she was not Meena Kumari nor Nutan!
So it’s not new. "Filmfare" thrived on the crusts thrown at it by the big wigs, right from its
halcyon days. Otherwise for want of juicy gossip and tailored interviews how
could have they survived? They used Filmfare to get their own goose roasted! To
top it, the Hindi film industry in itself is a big family, absolutely in a literal sense. Everybody is related to everybody by BLOOD in some way or the
other. Owners of today’s two biggest houses, ‘Yash Chopra films’ headed by
Aditya Chopra and ‘Dharma Productions’ with Karan Johar at the helm of its
affairs are 1st cousins. Karan’s mother being Yash Chopra’s REAL
sister! And if you get in through the back door, Aditya’s wife Rani Mukharjee, she brings all the Mukharjees to all the
Gangulies on the platter, right from Ashok Kumar with his 2 brothers, brother
in law Shashadhar Mukharjee and thus all his khandan up to Kajol. Kajol’s
pedigree from her mother’s side too is not less than illustrious, 5
generations, no joke!
Even if you go for
the class, Dilip Kumar had it or so said his Chamchas, bestowing it upon
him for Azaad, Kohinoor and the nadir of mediocrity the Leader, how low can one
stoop? Sorry, there is another one ‘Manojkumar’ for ‘Be Imaan’! No words!!!! Sanjeev Kumar, Hathoda [the hammer of the topmost order in his later films] getting
it for Aandhi was absolutely reasonable but for Arjun Pandit? When Amol Plaekar
was a tough competitor in ‘Chhotisi Baat’ a hero who changed the typical
face of Hindi Hero beyond recognition!
But the cake of
nepotism was taken away by Ranbeer Kapoor last year for his role In ‘Sanju’, a
filmy try to whitewash the umpteen heinous deeds of Sanjay Dutt! It started
from the subject itself. After getting convicted, serving a jail sentence why
the director/producer duo was TRYING to project him as the Criminal but with
heart of Gold, [and what’s it?]. Crocodile tears did not stop at that?! We were told that It was a conspiracy woven by some evil-minded [?] journo/politicians
to malign him. And this was against performance by Ayushmaan Khurana in Andha
Dhun!!!!!
And it does not stop
at any category? Right from the ‘Best Picture’ to the Best Director’ to every aspect
of film making! Only exceptions being Heroines, mostly 2 or 3. Nutan, Smita Patil
and to some extent Shabana Azami. They got when they deserved. But Urmila Matondkar
had to contend with Critics’ award for ‘Bhoot’ which she rightly deserved
in Popular category. And whom did she lose it to, Preity Zinta in Kal Ho Na Ho
plastic moulded out of Karan Johar’s
glossy factory!
Deterioration started
as infiltrators, those who did not have the passion for movies, but were interested
in the mullah it could collect, Himalayki Godemein was first because it had ‘Manojkumar’ a master manipulator of the commerce of movies because he won it against the
opponents like ‘Haqueeqat’ first war movie of India, and 1st commercially
successful 'lost and found formula', ‘Waqt’ with its larger than life mega mega star cast! The gloss of Yash Chopra paled in front of monies of Manojkumar! Barring
few it was quite good on this front.
But this year it was
like, ‘Nangese Khuda Bhi Darta Hai’. A mediocre rejected duplicate of
Hollywood flick, sweeps 13 awards! Huh!!
Shahid Kapur, though
you may not like the theme[ Like ‘Sanju’] had excelled in showing all the
nuances of the character, the screen actually sizzled and it was highest grosser with
Single hero carrying the entire burden on his shoulders. What more credentials do
you require for a POPULAR award?
Alia Bhatt was there
in the movie? Hardly noticed, was carrying crutches maybe!
Chhichhore had much
better acting, plot and on top of very good message encapsulated so nicely, though apparent, it was not grotesque! Much better than Gulley Boy!
And how can you forget
‘Uri: the surgical strike!’ The epitome of how a well balanced nicely made movie
should be!! Gully Boy??? Huh!
It seems that when
your child is dejected/rejected on an international platform all the grannies,
nannies, papas, grandpas, uncles and aunts of the “BOLLYWOOD” have come
together to pacify the child whose cookie has been snatched away by the big
bullies of Hollywood! And have showered entire ‘Halloween’ bag on the children
of the industry, Zoya Akhtar, 3rd generation, Ranveer Singh, 2nd
generation, Alia Bhatt 3rd Generation and so many others. Nepotism
Zindabad!
