Bolly's wood..

I think one can safely say that the face of Indian Cinema is changing and it is transitioning from the phase of being called ‘Phillums’ to ‘Picture’ to ‘movies’ to Cinema! If we look at the last few years, the Indian audience (in India and worldwide) have been more receptive. With movies like Rang de Basanti, Being Cyrus and Black doing good business, it would help India present a global face on the world platform and not just restrict themselves to a bunch of people dancing around trees.

As I was browsing through the list of good films that have been released this year, personally I had a tough time deciding ( I am not on the panel but hey, I can voice my opinion/frustration) which actor, director, actress, cinematographer etc should be awarded the Manikchand’s statue! But lo, behold..thats exactly when my eyes fell on something which suddenly just forced me to accept that perception can never be reality. Not least in Bollywood! If you didn’t guess what I was talking about, I was hinting at the mega piece of repetitive crap that is going to come out soon from our very own 'Mr.Panzy' Karan Johar! i was referring to kabhi alvida naa kehna. I really doubt if there is any corner of NYC which ahs been left unturned to shoot for a Karan Johar production.This I do say with complete hatred not for the filmmaker but the bundle of crap he churns out under different titles. It really surprises me that an audience which appreciates sensible stuff on one side can suddenly turn equally senile and go bonkers over the same melodrama of Rahul-Raj-Anjali.

I understand that Filmmakers have their niche areas where they excel and some prefer sticking to that. Personally, I feel that’s justified as long as you do justice to your area of expertise and explore all dimensions associated with it. But though it frustrates me, I have to live with it because eventually it’s the cinema goers who still want this stuff. From an analytical perspective, there has to be some amount of creativity and imagination in cinema but keeping in mind the intellectual capability of Indians today, I think one should be careful not to pull the thread a bit too far! I still remember a few scenes of Kuch Kuch hota hai, they show an eight year old girl udnerstand complex human emotions when in school she would barely be comfortble with elementary math! I seem a bit too frustated because it pains me to see a powerhouse like Naseer or Om Puri with barely any films in hand while Shah Rukh a.k.a Rahul walks away wearing the same GAP/Gucci/Armani with the same women in either NYC, London or Switzerland...I still can't believe he agreed to do Swades and am not surprised that it didn't do good busines...obviously, the movie made sense and had a message! I jsut realized no use writing further coz you can sell nonsense only if people buy it...

As it is rightly said..with Mr. Panzy..expect same shit in a new movie!