Cinema, music of the spheres, the india foundation

LET'S SEE A HINDI MOVIE !

Just how do you see a movie? Go along to the theatre, get some
popcorn, find a nice comfortable seat- seats if you're with some
one and relax. The movie starts an action film, romance, or
whatever, and you're immersed in the world of the film. It finishes,
and you come out, relaxed and satisfied. Depends on the film.

		That's what happens in most parts of
		the world. But not in India. In India
		watching a film is something entirely
		different. But let's start at the beginning.
		Let me give you an image: a little boy -
		me listening to one of my father's old
		aides telling me the story of Rama, the
		god-hero of the epic the Ramayana.
		Listening open-mouthed, as the old man
		half recited, half sang the legend; drawn
		into the magic world of chariots, warriors,
		saints and magic spells, of great battles
		and of gods and goddesses helping the
		good people overcome the bad.

It wasn't just listening. It was participation. I was living in the world of the epic, totally a part

of the world the old man wove with his words and his song. It wasn't just the willing suspension

of disbelief; it was a willing entrance into a magic, enchanted world, just as Alice entered

Wonderland.

To generations of movie-goers in India that's what seeing a film
means. Not just sitting back in a seat and watching from the
outside, so to speak. But being part of the action they see. If one
grasps this, one will then understand the nature of Hindi Films
very easily. Here's what one of the most talented young actors
in Hindi films, Manoj Bajpai says about this “if you really want to
enjoy a Hindi Film, you should go to some small town in Bihar.
Small town people tear their shirts when thy are feeling very
excited. They do that when a hit song is on the screen; when
some titillating dance is going on, you see coins being thrown
at screens. They don't hold back any emotion, they don't care
a damn what people think. If they want to cry, they cry or howl
in the theater.”

An average Hindi Film will not be less than two or two and a half hours long. The audience demands

that. They want their money's worth. But even though there's a bit of everything in a Hindi film

there are very definite kind of films; there are what are called family dramas. One of the all time

greats in this category is Hum Aapke Hain Koun! (What Am I To You i.e., more loosely translated,

Am I really a Relation of Yours?) This is a film about a grand wedding, of the antics of the

bridegroom's younger brother and the bride's younger sister. It's about all the hilarious things that

happen to uncles, aunts and cousins - the nice and not so nice. There's tradition, there's romance,

there's sadness, but above all there's fun, song and dance. This film has grossed the highest

amount any film has ever grossed in India about $16 million, which is pretty high by Indian

standards. Why? Simply because it gave the audience exactly what they wanted. They came out of

the hall feeling good, happy. In fact there are many who've seen this film over sixty times! It has

in the lead two top stars of the Hindi film world, Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan, but as one viewer

said, mopping her tears, 'every time she watched it she cried at exactly the same moments because

she lived in a joint family and could relate to what was happening' (Quoted by Patricia Uberoi in

“Imagining The Family” an essay in Pleasure and the Nation, edited by Rachel Dwyer and

Christopher Pinney.)


		There is then the action movie, which reached
		its peak with the superstar Amitabh Bachchan,
		right from his first action film Zanjeer. Action
		films mean just that, but again it isn't only
		action: there's romance, sacrifice, and
		patriotism side by side with evil villains. And
		unlike films from the west, it isn't enough for
		the hero to have a brief fight and bring down
		the baddie. The action has to go on and on.
		That's what the audience has paid to see.

A new genre has begun to gain popularity; it was there before, but now it seems to be pulling in the

crowds in greater numbers. It's almost certainly because of the increased tension between India

and Pakistan, but that doesn't detract from the very well depicted action sequences, the poignancy

of sacrifice, of valour in battle. Films like Border and Sarfarosh and Roja have become household

words. And the audience weeps, laughs and cheers just as if they were where the action is.

Just how much an audience relates to characters can be gauged from this wry story from Sanjay

Leela Bhansali, one of the most intelligent film directors working today, and one whose film Hum

Dil De Chuke Sanam, a tear-jerking poignant romance was a tremendous hit: “I'll tell you what I

went through with my first film, Khamoshi (Silence). The main character is a deaf mute who was

played by Nana Patekar. Anna is known for his fiery dialogue delivery and violent outbursts and

speeches. First day, first show. I am in the Liberty cinema. The film starts and Nana is seen

communicating through sign language. The audience in the lower stalls start shouting: 'Nana! Talk!

Please Speak!' I just sank in the Liberty theatre. I just sank. I said ' Gone. My film is gone!' a few

days later, a distributor from Delhi came to me saying,' Sir, in Delhi they are hooting away. In the

last scene please let Nana speak.' He touched my feet and said,' Please, go to a recording studio

and add Nana's dialogue.' I told him I cannot go against my convictions. But why did the

distributor tell me this? Because the audience demands it.”

(From Nasreen Munni Kabir's book, Bollywood.)

home

prologue

And why does the audience demand it? Because that's the world the want to live in, the world where

welcome

Nana Patekar (who has a rich, fine voice) would deliver passionate speeches, destroy the villains

contents

with the contempt in his voice, and the audience would cheer, and weep with joy. This is the total

subject moderators

identification that makes film going in India so different, so wonderful. It really is like entering

history

Wonderland- you leave behind your troubles and live for two hours in a world which is not make-

sexuality

believe, but real, for that time. It is this magic that makes Hindi Films what they are; and so very

social landscapes

worth watching. As one commentator dryly observed,' Half the fun is watching the film; the other

art

half is watching the audience.’

dance

literature

music

cinema

But Wonderland is enchanting ; to those of us who have grown up with these films they can still

weave their magic spell, and draw us into that world again and again. And now, please excuse me-

I'm going with my sister to see the latest hit, Lagaan.

Love,

Bhaskar

TOP