Indian
Cinema has come of an age and that’s only an understatement. For a person who
has been bought up on regressive Indian Cinema of the 90s, the new era now is
like a breath of fresh air. This era is that of Imtiaz Ali, Anurag Kashyap,
Vishal Bharadwaj, Vinkramaditya Motwani, S Rajmouli, Anand Rai and many more
associated with them. Its almost a team which is out there to make Cinema the
way it is supposed to be. The depth and the range that never existed is now
there to be seen. From a cricketing
analogy, this seems to be era between 1996 and 2011 when the likes of Sachin,
Saurav, Rahul, VVS, Kumble played who encouraged the Yuvis, Bhajjis, Shewags,
the Dhonis. Indian Cinema has clearly entered the same phase.
I
shall talk about 3 recent releases which are so different from each other and
yet if you have to find something common in them is the excellence with which
these 3 stories were pursued and executed. I discuss them in the order of their
releases in India and not necessarily any other order of preference.
TANU
WEDS MANU RETURNS
“Hum thode Bewafa kya nikale… Aap toh
badchalan ho gaye”. Clearly the movie
was made over the top. Anand Rai who had earlier made Ranjhanaa too understands
the mass sensibilities so well and plays the films for the masses. Yet the
movie is so different from the 200-300 Crore films. The screenplay that allows
the characters to be developed and then they playing over the top would not
have been easy but with the two recent movies, Anand Rai shows how even an
entertaining film can be executed. No item numbers were required because the
film’s characters are itself an item number. Coming from the heart land of
India- Kanpur, Delhi, Punjab, the movie celebrates smart dialogues, the changing
and many times conflicting social
values. Films need not be senseless to be entertaining is what Anand Rai so
effectively portrays in his movies. That he got an actress like Kangana who
herself brings that liberating spirit to the table, exponentially enhanced the effect
of the film.
BAHUBALI
What
more can be said about that has already not said. Films to many, like me, are
not only about substance but is an larger than life spectacle. Irrespective of
the genre of the film being made, I believe the reason that a film is to be
made is because the filmmaker believes that a story is to be told. More often
than not, filmmakers in India try and make a spectacle and then try and base
the story around that spectacle. The spectacle could be a big star or in some
case CGI. CGI does not need a story….. The story telling might need CGI. Bahubali
passes this litmus test. The story was there and it need a scale. S Rajamouli
should be complimented as a story teller and as a project manager. He succeded
not only in the art of story telling but ensure that a project of this scale was
executed to perfection. The result of was a spectale which help its audience to
their seats for more than 150mins and the quest is for more is not done with.
Bahubali, in true sense of the word, is larger than life and yet a story that
connects the sensibilities of human race to core.
MASAAN
“A celebration
of Life and Death and everything in
between” said the poster of Masaan. To my surprise the movie was exactly what
it promised. Unlike, Bahubali and Tanu
weds Manu, this by that definition for a non filmy film. It’s a film with
layers. Christopher Nolan is the film maker that comes to mind when you discuss
about films with layers. “The Drark Knight” was a film which both a child and
an intellect will like for reasons of their own…. Both interpreting the movie
the way they want to. This movie has many layers and much has been left to the
imagination of audience. I like it. I like when a filmmaker respects the intelligence
of its audience. The movie shows life in Benaras, the way it is. It is the
audience which interprets it the way it wants so much life the real life.
I
was particularly hurt by a small scene when they at the Harishchandra Ghat of
Benaras where the bodies were being cremated. Some one in the background shouts
for the skull to be broken. Let me explain this ritual. A few minutes after the body has been consigned to the flames, Kapal
Kriya is performed. In this, one of the longer bamboos used in the Arthi is
used to break the skull of the body. This is done by the person doing the
cremation. Forehead is where the soul of the dead is supposed to be
concentrated. Once broken, the soul is freed from the body and starts the
search for the next body. I performed these rites almost 5 years back. It
is by far the most painful duty that I have performed as a human. It sends
shivers down my spine even now. That highly soul shattering experience, is
shown as a casual shot in the film. I am sure many might have missed it. I am
sure the purpose of the shot was the effect that it left on it. To show how
such soul shattering experiences which a person like me cannot forget for 5
years now, is the life of “Doms” of
Kashi. The lead actor of the movie wants to escape the place and lead a good
life. Those aspirations were more than justified with that one shot. The movie
has many such experiences. It’s a movie that wont leave you for a long time.
In
conclusion, it is clear that the three movie which have been released within
months of each other have raised the bar of Indian Cinema across genres. While
Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Bahubali are over the top, larger than life films,
Masaan is story of life and death. It has substance. Our filmmakers have
delivered them to their audience exactly the way they are meant to be served. Its true that we still do not have a Quentin
Tarintinos , the Christopher Nolans, the Martin Scorsese , the Steven Spillbergs,
the James Cameroons as yet. But the new breed of film makers are not very far
off. They can deliver is proven. This is clearly by far the Golden era of
Indian Cinema. The only question now to
be asked to our film makers is …. Can they dream. The film industry is after all an industry of dreams.
