India's love with Bollywood

Indian cinema is celebrating 100 years, but what legacy does it leave on its society?

When I was growing up in 90s, my parents didn’t approve of me watching Bollywood films. They thought most films were distasteful and could have a negative influence on me. They, however, handpicked some films for me that they considered good.  I remember watching my first Hindi movie, Sholay. My parents sat around me trying to explain things I couldn’t comprehend, but I loved it.

Later on, I was sent to an Anglo- India boarding school where Hindi seemed to be a foreign language. Bollywood was strictly banned.   When I graduated from school at the age of sixteen, I had very little knowledge about Bollywood, but by then, my parents allowed me to make my own choices.

It was only when I came to Delhi, I realized the popularity and craze for Hindi songs and films.  I was still very selective and started watching popular films of the day. I loved the songs, was always thrilled by the dances and enjoyed the new themes that Bollywood was experimenting with.

One of the unique aspects about Bollywood cinemas -and this is something I find fascinating- is that despite its huge popularity and being in social domain for 100 years, Bollywood hasn’t been that effective in influencing India’s social consciousness.

From the very beginning, majority of Bollywood films revolved around the theme of romance: stunning actresses, charming actors, outstanding music and brilliant cinematography excited the country. It became a trendsetter for fashion, eras were defined by it and actors became demi – Gods. But, unlike Hollywood, which forms an integral part of societal norms and expression, Bollywood’s narrative portrayed a world of fantasy. For ordinary Indians, it served as a break from the daily grind. Bollywood never really became a potent tool for counter –culture.

 A vast majority of Indians have never allowed cinema to influence their social notions and customs. Love remains a vexed issue in society, and traditional values and formulaic ideas overshadow the liberal messages of love as espoused by popular Indian cinema. Caste based marriages, honour killings, forced marriages, dowry and other social problems didn’t mitigate because of Bollywood.

As an industry, Bollywood served as an important tool for India’s soft power and public diplomacy over the last few decades. The popularity of Bollywood in the Middle East, parts of Africa, Central Asia, Russia and countries with huge Indian diaspora like the UK has been huge.

I was surprised when my friends in Ghana and Rwanda told me how their parents loved watching Bollywood.  In the UK, Bollywood has almost become a part of mainstream culture owing to mixed marriages – bhangra and other forms of Bollywood dances are popular with the new generation of Brits. Growing popularity of Indian cinema at Cannes and periodic interviews of Bollywood starts abroad bears testimony that Indian cinema has come-off an age.

India today makes the most number of movies in the world. Its film industry growing, and many Western production houses like Warner Brothers have entered into the Indian market. 

 One only hopes that in the years to come, Bollywood will be more experimental with its narrative and will cease to live less in the make- believe world. As a powerhouse of entertainment,  it has a public obligation to support regional cinema and actors. We hope the Bollywood will represent different aspects of Indian culture and values as well as be in sync with new technology and popular culture.

  

OH MY GOD! - my freedom of speech is safe

Bollywood’s  Oh My God! shows that satire on religions can be constructive, educative and can help balance freedom of speech with religious sentiments.

It is true that all major religions of the world have been around for centuries and millennia. They have certain values, ethos and have contributed to the global culture and development of societies around the world.  Any mockery of these epic establishments cannot really undermine them.

It is also true that religion is for people; it plays a dominant role in our societies and it is governed by the people. In many ways it is for the people, by the people (though the leaders are not always democratically elected) and is for the people. And given these virtues, religions in democratic societies should be subjected to scrutiny, criticism and satire.

However, the recent global events that saw a large scale violence across Middle East and south-Asia including a heinous murder of an American ambassador in Libya, following the release of an amateur provocative film Innocence of Muslims, has once again brought into question the legal and ethical standing of the freedom of expression particularly in relation to respect of religious beliefs.

Freedom of speech is supremely important. It is an empowerment right that allows people to demand other rights – the right to health, to food, to a clean environment to religion etc. It is a vital right and any means to curtail it is not acceptable.

Also, in a democracy (as observed by the Venice committee, instituted in 2007 by Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) religious groups must tolerate criticisms in public statements and debates related to their activities and beliefs as long as the criticism do not constitute deliberate and gratuitous insults or hate speech, an incitement to disturb public order, violence or discrimination towards people who adhere to specific religion.

Innocence of Muslims might have been extremely distasteful and provocative but it was made by some unknown person who probably has little comprehension about the greatness of any religion for that matter. The reaction that followed in the Middle- East and in Pakistan was therefore completely uncalled for.

But other actions like the repetitive publication of the images of the Prophet Mohammed by mainstream French and other European newspapers are equally needless and nasty in taste.

In this regard, the latest Bollywood film can be seen as an example to the world where a mainstream medium was used to ridicule the absurd beliefs and practices of major religions – mainly Hinduism in this context.

The film is a comedy but it critically lampoons gurus, clerics and priests for their manipulative ways to mislead and exploit people in the society. It questions the logic of religious rituals (some of which are extremist in nature) and the existence of God itself. In the film, God is taken to the court after the protagonist is denied claims by his insurance company when an earthquake damaged his property. The reason being: it was an act of God!

What was impressive about the film is that though it was very critical of the absurd religious practices, it also highlights the greatness of each religion, and quotes text from the holy books to substantiate its arguments.

Making a film on religious theme, or expressing controversial religious views in a religiously charged society like India is never easy.  Right wing groups of major religions are very active and easily resort to violence including acts of vandalism and burning of cinema halls. Oh My God! had to tread a very thin rope to drive its point and has been hugely appreciated by the Indian audience.

Most democratic societies particularly in the West have enormous cultural resources and massive pool of highly talented creative pool who are freely allowed to express their views through theatres, plays, movies, music, drama, art, sports and beyond.  Their work have greatly inspired people all over the world; it is about time that the Western intellectuals take up projects that talks about religion tolerance and liberal ideals that characterize their societies like the freedom of speech and multiculturalism. If a cartoon can sully the image of the West amongst an identifiable group of people, greater work of art can do the job of crisis management and strengthen the liberal values.

By doing so, we will be safeguarding the majority of moderate voices who were not party to the violence in the Middle-East or the American citizens who didn't approve the provocative movie on Islam.

Oh My God! does show  a middle path- the international community must learn and emulate.




   

There is something sweet about Barfi

 

I am not really a movie buff. I haven’t watched a lot of Bollywood movies, and never really keep a track of what’s going on in world of Indian cinema.

Last week I went to see Barfi- a latest Bollywood blockbuster. I was excited to watch the movie. It's filmed in Darjeeling, a majestic hill station on the foot hills of Himalayas. I went to an Anglo- Indian boarding school there, and when I saw the trailer on the TV, the memories of the place came rolling back.   

Barfi is a celebration of love and life. The characters and the story blend with the idyllic beauty, innocence and the simple life of the people in the hills. It shows silence can be golden, and happiness is nothing but a state of mind. Humour is the essence of the movie though there is an undercurrent of something nastier in the plot.  Like the Big Ben in Virginia Wolf’s Mrs Dalloway, the chugging toy train meanders through the time reminding that whilst something in life remain constant and static, life itself has to go through some sharp curves and turns in its journey.  Life can be cruel at times but it our positive spirit that helps us to be triumphant at the end.

The movie has a message. The two central characters are physically challenged. The protagonist can’t hear or speak and the girl he eventually marries is autistic.  In a very romantic but in a subtle way the movie touches on the rights of disabled people in India. The fact that they have the right to live with dignity and they are just one of us is brilliantly illustrated in the movie.

India has 96 million people who are disabled and a vast number of them particularly in Northern India face severe discrimination and abuse. India also doesn’t really have the infrastructure that is disabled –friendly. Whilst steps are been taken to change this, Amir Khan, one of Bollywood’s super star who recently did a popular television  show aimed at making people aware of some of the serious  social problems in India says : “there are two kinds of reaction to the disabled people in India: one, that they must have done something wrong in their previous birth and therefore deserve what they got; two, let us use them as a ticket to heaven — make a donation to an organisation working for the disabled, or give money to a disabled person asking for alms, and score some brownie points with God.”

Mr Khan insisted that education is the only way out to prepare people with disabilities to be productive, look after themselves, and their families.  For this to happen people in India must change their attitudes and the mainstream educational institutes should make provisions to educate people with disabilities.

Coming back to Barfi, it is admirable that it deals with a social issue is a very creative manner. It reveals class tensions, but above all what it shows is that status, money and power cannot buy love and happiness. Simplicity has a priceless appeal and we don’t have to look far to experience the small pleasures of life. The actors convey this without any speech. Sounds unrealistic, but not when you leave the cinema with a hearty glee - this is possibly the sweetest thing about Barfi.


* Barfi is a name of an Indian sweet