Of Om Shanti Om, Saawariya and Anurag Kashyap

"Indian Cinema is immature", said Anurag Kashyap.
"So True", was the only way in which I could possibly react, when I read his particularly angered interview.

Anurag has been one of my favorite Bollywood writers. Right from the hard hitting Satya to the shocking Kaun, from the solid dialogue in Yuva to the dark, gritty portrayal of the "Real" blast story in Black Friday, he's left an indelible impact on my boomed by Bollywood psyche. Growing up on films like DDLJ and Ghayal, I am a part of a generation of Filmmakers, who haven't really made many films. For me, Anurag Kashyap is a fantastic filmmaker, an artist I look upto and a person who is a tad too reckless for the otherwise politically correct lot of filmwalas. No Smoking, is his latest film, which has drawn more than a considerable amount of flak from critics and audiences alike. I haven't seen the film, so I choose not to comment. The sleekly edited and highly stylized trailor did make me feel curious. Atleast more curious than the more plastic than a dustbin trailor of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's much hyped "Saawariya"

"Saawariya" to me is nothing more than a bland film which revels in the director's obsession with huge sets and actresses running in unusually long sarees, painfully precise art direction, unrealistic backdrops, and a new pair of star kids. It will work miracles at the box office and I wont be even one bit surprised if Saawariya garners Bhansali another string of awards. But then, there's a tails to every coin, and the tail of this tale is that its pitted against another equally mighty film, Om Shanti Om.

"Om Shanti Om" stars Shahrukh, is directed by the fanatically bollywoodish Farah Khan and is more than a sureshot commercial "formula" film. Chances of it being more illogical than Main Hoon Na and more entertaining than Saawariya are more than just little. But then, what I admire about Farah Khan's work is that she is honest about what she is doing. They know they are making a 40 crore film. They know they have to make the double of it back. They love their formulas and audiences. They know what they are doing and they are more than sure that they are going to hit bulls eye with their films, unlike the Sony Pictures' "Saawariya"

In almost all their interviews, Ranbir and Sonam have been going on and on and on about how Sanjay Sir is a perfectionist and how Saawariya is "the" film. Just having picture perfect and well composed frames isn't filmmaking. There has to a story, there should be genuine emotion and not over-the-top and excessively hammed performances (in reference to Bhansali's (so called) masterpieces, BLACK and DEVDAS). Black was so over the top that it failed to tug heartstrings and Devdas was so opulent that it contradicted the basic theme of Devdas, tragedy. The tragedy in Devdas' case is that its remembered more for the grand sets than it is for the storyline and performances. Black had Amitabh Bachchan hamming his way home and Bhansali picturing snow and a blind girl sitting under it.

If you have seen the Saawariya promos, its got a shot of a boat going under a bridge. They say the film is a contemporary love story. By the looks of it it looks like a stage drama shot by a great cinematographer, Mr. Ravi Chandran. What's the deal with Bhansali being a perfectionist? I mean, isnt being perfect one of the basic necessities of being a filmmaker? And why are we so hung up with Mr. Bhansali's frames? Why dont we ever talk about Sudhir Mishra? Why dont we sing praises for the delightful KHOYA KHOYA CHAND promo? I am sure half of the people reading this article must be switching the channels the moment a KKC promo comes on.

The problem is not with the people who make films in India. Its with the people who watch them. We arent ready for films like Khoya Khoya Chand or MANORAMA, which according to me was a very well adapted version of CHINATOWN. We arent ready to watch films like Black Friday, Paanch, HKA and Eklavya.

We like our filmmakers have chosen to be happy in our own mediocrity. Looking at films like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Ta Ra Rum Pum being made at amazing regularity, with the same stars, the same kind of music, the same foriegn locales and the same stories, we dont ever get bored. We still flock to theatres every friday a Yashraj popcorn film releases. We still buy DVD's of the making of Veer Zaara. We still do the things we have been doing for ages now. Why is it that Independant films are a nightmare to make in our country? Why does a film like Sudhish Kamath's TFLW not even get a decent audience in Mumbai when it deserved it? Because in Mumbai or anywhere else in India people want to watch Ranbir and Sonam's antics on screen as explained to them by their, Sanjay Sir.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, according to me is one of the most overrated filmmakers in India. His films, barring the exceptionally good Khamoshi, have never really worked for me. This again is a personal opinion. I am not seeking sensationalism by saying that I dont like the so called masterpieces, but I am definitely saying that none of Bhansali's films are masterpieces like they are made out to be.

Its sad that Shahrukh's 6 pack abs take more news space than Jaideep Sahni's amazing screenwriting sense. Its painful that Ranbir Kapoor's debut gets more publicity than Irrfan Khan's awe-inspiring acting skills in Metro and most other films.

What is bollywood all about? Is it only restricted to the Khans, Chopras, and Kapoors, and their combined work on films which are made only with an intention of filling coffers. Why is it that a person like Anurag Kashyap who talks sense, no matter how crude he makes it sound, has his first film "Paanch" still in the cans? Why is that the whole film industry goes all over the media saying that banning Fanaa in Gujarat is a bad thing and none of the same industry says nothing about Kashyap's Paanch and black Friday being banned for ages?

Anurag's anger is justified. But we wouldn't notice. We are way too involved in Shahrukh's 6 pack and Bhansali's "PERFECT" Cinema.

I have nothing against Yashraj Films. All I am saying is that they can make more Chak De s than Jhoom Barabar Jhooms. It would be great for both them and the audiences. For starters, Jhoom Barabar Dooms and Chak De, does Chak.

Talk about going global. Half of India hasn't even heard of Sudhir Mishra's HAZAARON KHWAHISHEIN AISI which had gone global in the true sense of the word.

I agree with Anurag. We are immature.
I would just add one more thing to what he said. We are immature, and we'll remain like that.


-NM