Musing on Movies

Indian cinema is often classified into two categories. Firstly, there is the so-called commercial type. Films belonging to this category are the most recognizable films made in India and the characteristics of these films, I heard, are now considered to be the hallmarks of a typical bollywood film everywhere. These movies often showcase an escape from the reality - exotic locations, expensive cars that never seem to lose their pearl-glow finish (unless they are doomed to be utterly destroyed in a chase sequence), dance numbers that are a riot of colour and noise, gravity-defying action and a happy ending that leaves everyone feeling good about themselves.

P.G. Wodehouse once remarked that there are two types of comedy - one is the romantic type of the sort he writes ignoring reality in general and just having fun and the other type goes deep into life and doesn't give a damn about anything else (a good example of this is J.K. Jerome's Three Men in A Boat). The same can be said for Indian cinema. If the commercial cinema in India is analogous to the romantic type of comedy, the 'parellel' cinema of India can be considered to be the other type that examines life in detail. Often, this genre goes ignored by the public in general but these are the films that usually win awards at international film festivals. Refusing to be driven by glitz or glamour, they focus on the 'reality' of Indian society and the problems that bog it down.

But what depresses me the most is that there are very few films that can actually take the best of both genres and produce a good film that can actually be watched. A pretty good example of this type is Being Cyrus starring Saif Ali Khan, Boman Irani, Naseeruddin Shah and Dimple Kapadia. I don't really feel that Being Cyrus can be classified as either parellel cinema or commercial cinema. But it has borrowed a lot of elements from both genres. The cinematography and the setting of the film reminded me of movies that are normally classified as parellel cinema but the storyline and the casting were clearly developed with a hopeful eye on the mainstream audience.

There are also a lot of commercially-oriented movies that have a certain aura about them that other films of the same category don't. The year 2001 had four major blockbusters - Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Gadar and Kabhi Khushi Khabie Gham. Six years later, most people have forgotten Gadar and remember K3G only when Karan Johar appears in their lives or when they're required to give an example of a movie with a superstar cast. Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai however are still recalled with fervour. Of course, Lagaan's nomination for the Oscars and the recent DVD release might have helped, but there's no denying that Lagaan had class in spite of a rather incredulous storyline. I still consider DCH to be a turning point in Indian cinema, a film that abandoned tried and tested formulae and yet managed to pull it off.

But what's with the scene nowadays? Every friday, I'm bombarded with atleast a dozen films of various shapes and sizes all vying for my eyeballs. Yet how many of these films have even a remote chance of being remembered a few years from now? How many people would eagerly turn on their televisions in another five years to watch these films again? Yeah sure, a lot of these films are basically money-spinners, not classic hopefuls but still, there has to be a limit on how many of these movies we are confronted with. And so many of these films are so similar that I often find it difficult to distinguish one movie from another.

Well, I just hope the trend changes.