Since a long time I hadn't been able to catch up with the latest movies in Bollywood And when I did, I could not help but take note of the growth in the quality! The number of 'period' movies are increasing and the performances in them have been simply outstanding.
Only last week, I watched:
1. Hazaar Khwahishen Aisi
2. Page 3
3. Khamosh Pani
All of them were great performances - the acting outstanding and the direction superb. The music score of Khamosh Pani (with the Sufi/Persian/Punjabi influence) was a treat. Finally, it felt that in the highly commercialized Bollywood, Indian cinema as an art form is coming along! Actually, there have been many others in the last 5 years which I'd like to mention - 1947 Earth, Monsoon Wedding, Chandni Bar, Shwaas.. although some are not purely period-like in character but the maturity is noteworthy. There is space for genuine artists to perform and inspire even in ordinary themes.
Around the regular love triangles, sex scandals, and dancing-around-trees-sequences there have been movies which have raised the bar despite losing the common touch. Mai Meri Biwi aur Wo, Parineeta, Hyderabad Blues, Mitr - My Friend, Black are some examples that I can think off-hand.
I do not want to question the appropriateness of the commercial bent of Indian movie industry - afterall, its the biggest, producing 800 movies a year and generates wealth for people across income lines - from the rich distributors, to the poorer snacks wala at the theatre and later on for the peddler who sells pirated CDs! Infact, the industry does the most basic thing in business - produce to delight the majority consumer by giving what (s)he wants.
What has changed is that the industry is developing a new segment - that amongst educated people, who appreciate art-cinema. And with increasing number of creative directors, recent successes of their endeavors, and a slow but steady increase in appreciation - Indian cinema is looking beyond existing horizons.
Its a long way to go to take the average quality up - but we can see it coming, can't we?
2 comments:
don't be so ruthless to indian cinema which has produced gems like gunda, dalaal and jaani-dushman. maybe it's the coming-of-age for you, that you don't appreciate all that now.
-panju
:))
Panju, tumahre, varun singh, maate, jkc, saras ke saath hi movies dekhne ka asli mazaa ata hai
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