The action has moved from Delhi to Mumbai again." Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani releases today ".That is the most happening thing , as we speak , in a country of mere 1.2 billion! People of this country, are more interested in movies than politics or the fact that pollution may kill them eventually. That should be true for the almighty "USA" too, only that they live the movie themselves ! There is no saying ,when which one of them would go suddenly overboard , grab a gun , and shoot down a couple of kids , all in the name of "being liberated" or some such mis-stated sense of belief.
Delhi has been witnessing high drama (that's why it does not qualify as a movie) between the ruling party and opposition (Really! who is that exactly) , ruling party and local Delhi govt (we unfortunately know who this exactly is , but we shot ourselves in the arm, just to get an megalomaniac elected),ruling party and DCCA ( this one is like the triple twists in a Imitiaz Ali movie ),ruling party and the ruling party itself ! No wonder coporate houses like Aditya Birla have put their money in "drama" and "theatre" not in movies! Big bucks trending in the former. But we meander... Getting back to movies , one thing even a kid off the street would want to emulate would be a "Salman" khan or a "Shahrukh" khan. They may not be eating two meals, may not ever want to get schooling, may not ever aspire to get off the streets (where they are forced to beg) but will definitely know all about their celluloid heroes, the heroines , and the glitz ridden lives these sods live.
Both these movies have a common theme .Intolerance. One, the main actor (he would prefer to address himself so, else he is just a aging hero) spouted how "intolerance" has risen in our country against his brethren . Must have done it when he was high (pun un -intended) . The low being , made to eat crow, go all gag and say he was "misquoted" , "misunderstood" blah blah . Appeal to his all brothers and sisters , how wonderful India is , how sweet we all are . This after the social network , overtly protective of India ,went on a overdrive, appealing to ban his movies ,(he and the other Khan who like is character in PK wants to relocate to outer space,probably). Over zealous and devout "true" Indians ,largely belonging to hindu community , appealed to fellow hindus ,to show these people there correct places (hence "show time"). All this while conveniently forgetting the third Khan who walked away free after getting drunk and killing a few people ,who was Bajrangi (please do not miss the overt connect here ). We show that we can be "forgiving" to people who colour themselves with our colours, no matter what they do.
The second movie is now directed by another hindu director ,who somehow is more obsessed with the sets rather than storyline , actors or even direction (mere trifles these). He went on record to return his award as he too believed we all are getting "intolerant" .To his credit , he was correct , because we all as a community , were extremely intolerant of his last such movie attempt , (flopped miserably), although it showed some butt of another actor , very teasingly . Poor sod (the director , not the actor) did not understand , we still are not interested in the "behind" , we are confrontational , and like to deal with things "upfront" ! So again a social media spiel about how incorrect his period drama is , how much of skin he should have not made his actors show etc went viral. This time it was like he was the enemy in our own fold ! So the attitude being let us show him , what returning an award means ,the silly fool , was the hidden angst.
For once , the power of Indian majority shines through, in a misdirected sense , where "its showtime" means a different thing altogether. But dear fellow Indians, we are the country which made silly movies super hits (let us not even get to south , else fans will wage a war on us), made actors out of aspiring heroes/heroines , wept when soldiers onscreen got killed and did not bother to salute a real life one who saved our lives ! Hypocrisy , is inherent in our blood. So what are we getting so hetted up about ? Do movies replace our grey cells ? Going by the current turn of events , they apparently do ! Not for one moment is one advocating people to go and watch tripe onscreen , but is in not about choice ? What if I like to watch tripe ? (one doesn't thankfully) But is it okay , to instigate a million others who revel on tripe ? They live their lives around these celluloid dreams .
On a personal note , it is unfair to make a hit of a nonsensical idiotic movies of any kind . But lest we forget , we are Indians. Sensible movies for us have no masala . So we do not like them. We guffaw at slap stick comedy (ask Kapil the secret to his success) , like homosexual jokes (elsewhere it would be discrimination and frowned upon), our idea of a comedy is cross dressing , or people caught with pants down (Govinda), and lastly our idea of a superhero is larger than life ,old heroes(ancient actually) who still appear on celluloid , wearing a face of charm , trying to appeal to our consumerism by selling everything from gold, to agarbattis to charity ! Our movies, these so called actors , the audience are all swayed by a consumerist culture , including movie opinions or banning the same.
How did one miss out any Robert Downey Junior or Brad Pitt ads selling gold or agarbatti ? Or an Angelina Jolie or a Scarlett Johannesen selling dish washing liquid or tooth paste ? Maybe that is because they are "actors" not some heroes or heroines randomly appearing in movies because they have been produced. Not that, hollywood or any other cinema in the world does not produce duds! They do. Only difference being people are objective in their choices. Whereas the Indian audience is subjective ! We get swayed by what people tell or show us . That is "movie time " or "show time " for us ! Where else in the world would you have a Madhuri Dixit washing vessels or a Karishma Kapoor frying Mcain for guests !
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