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Big
5
Missing Bollywood's good old days
By Aamna
Haider Isani
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Bollywood
has revolutionized the way cinema is perceived in the world and
even the most sobre of Hollywood stars, like Hugh Jackman, can be
seen doing the song and dance routine at the Oscars. And while the
West is happily marinating in Bollywood masala, a little of the
West's savviness has steadily seeped into Bollywood. But to be honest,
one misses the true essence of times when things weren't so slick
and were more black and white. Those were times when the hero had
to be good and the villain totally black, not a shade of grey. That
was way back in the sizzling seventies or the clunky eighties when
siblings got lost at the annual mela and were reunited decades later
thanks to the lockets in the neck or the tattoo on their arm. Here's
Instep's Big 5 on things we miss most in Bollywood films…
1.
When heroes were 'men' not metrosexuals
From chocolate boy heroes to macho men, the heroes of the past epitomized
the male order. Whether they were brooding romantics like Dilip
Kumar, sensitive souls like Sanjeev Kumar or the quintessential
lover boys like Rajesh Khanna or Dev Anand, they never appeared
anything put pure 'man'. Amitabh became known as the angry young
man and Jeetindra the Jumping Jack of Indian cinema but they were
not biological disorders. Today most of Bollywood's action heroes
appear as pygmies on steroids: is there any other way to describe
Salman Khan? Aamir Khan attempted the tragic action hero in Ghajini
but he was more Hulk than Hamlet.
The biggest tragedy of today's Bollywood hero is that he has stepped
in for the heroine, who has in turn been reduced to pure visual
content. Because the hero must dance better (Hrithik Roshan, Shah
Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Shahid Kapur) than his female counterpart
and he must be dressed just as colourfully too, if not more. All
that and more is bringing role reversal to Indian cinema, unfortunately
one might add.
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2.
When a generation swung by as the credits rolled
Didn't we all love it when the hero grew from boy to man as a song
played while the credits rolled? In Vidhaata (1982), for example,
which was one of Sanjay Dutt's earliest movies, he grew up while
riding a horse as the film's opening credits rolled. It was moments
like this that lent a larger-than-life air to Indian cinema, one
that is severely lacking today.
Back then Bollywood films were about families and khaandaans and
their relationships. They were the soap operas of today and made
so much sense. But it is fair to say that changed as the world order
changed. Life in general changed. But it is something we miss
3.
When heroines were Mother India rather than Rakhi Sawant
It's not that heroines were not glamorous: one doesn't think that
the glamour and charm of Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Madhuri Dixit
or even Sridevi has found an ample replacement. But they were monumental
to the story line, not to item numbers. Women were not so much objectified
in Bollywood as much as they are today. It would be hard to find
a heroine centric film these days. They have all become so trivial
now. In fact after Dostana, one wonders how long they'll even be
needed for the romance?
But heroines were something else back then. They were voluptuous
and curvy then; they are a skinny size zero now. They could dance
back then, they can only grind and groove on the disco floor now.
And it's getting worse: we have Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone,
Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee and more to prove that. Madhuri was
perhaps the last of the able dancers. Aishwarya just about gets
by… just about!
Ironically, though sleezy glamour has been turned up greatly in
films, directors have done away with the rain sequence, another
thing we miss a great deal. Those moments of rain, thunder and lightening
accompanied by a heroine getting soaked in a chiffon sari are indeed
missed. Remember Amitabh Bhachchan and Smita Patel in Namak Halal
and you'll get the idea.
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4.
When songs had meaningful lyrics and not gibberish
That was the time when classics were created. Remember the songs
of Pakeezah, Umrao Jaan, Silsila etc and they are soundtracks that
still take space on our iPods. Even soundtracks of films such as
Namak Halal or Amar Akbar Anthony, which weren't so deeply meaningful,
were pure entertainment. If you listen to some of the biggest hits
these days…they are pure gibberish. 'Maa Ka Ladla', 'Love
Mera Hit Hit' and more of these types are delightful as dance numders
but others like 'Shano Shano' and 'Lazy Lamhey' are just duh. There
has to be some lyrical difference in both and that is completely
missing these days.
5.
Random scenes that appear no more
So many films opened with a main character stepping out of the towering
gates of Central Jail. That happens no more. The customary rape
scene, which began with an out of breathe heroine shrieking 'bachao
bachao' and a furious hero crashing through the door yelling, "kuttay
kameenay tera khoon pee jaoonga!" Heroines aren't raped that
way anymore, ironic as in reality rape is on the rise. But then
maybe it is just because the heroes aren't man enough to save them…
they are too busy saving the world instead. Then animals don't feature
anywhere major in Indian films anywhere: there was always a loyal
dog, monkey or even elephant (as in Hathi Mera Sathi) but now there
are only loyal sidekicks. One misses all that and more in Indian
films.
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