Wednesday, December 12, 2007

indian cinema is on a new plane, a stage of metamorphosis. sweeping long ranging changes seem to be seeping into the fabric of the worlds largest movie guzzling industry. everything form technicalitites of making selling promoting and exhibiting films, to re emergance of studios and 3-4 film deals for lead actors are becoming hte order of the day. mind u , here , as is the wont, by the term indian cinema , i presumably am talking of hindi filmhood or the quintessential bollywood!(pardon me rest of india , but then non - hindi films in india have always been better than the hindi ones!).
multiplexes are changing th eway we see films , and forcing or rather allowing filmmakers to experiment , usually wid disastrous consequences , with the stories they roll out from mumbai. newer stars are on the horizon, those who dont mind doing part bit roles in an ensemble production , yet stand out on the sheer power of their simmering performances in those blink and miss parts. and then there is the grand old man of indian ( hindi ) cinema , the big b , who has redifened the parameters within which conventional hero has always been defined since time immorial. but has everything changed in reality ?
many things still remain the same . hackneyed scripts. style glitz but no content . sleaze in the name of modern films! and most importantly , younger and younger heroines! the roles of the typical hindi film heorine hasnt kept pace with the changing societal roles of women in india.
films today dont potray women as free indipendent married career women. career or family is still the all-consuming dillema on screen for the leading lady. waiting for her knight in shining armour, and always dependent on a male support . few exceptions are there , as in corporate , satta, but then these are more flashes in the pan . a heroine who is married and abpove thirty is anathema to the BO. add kids to her profile and she bounces off the producers radar before u can say bounce! will indian audiences mature ever to accept a married family woman in the role of the leaidng lady ? will we have na indian meryl streep?
history has shown that with the exception of sharmila tagore and waheeda rehman , married actresses had saddening post-nuptial cinematic forays. mumtaz made a comeback that sank and took her down along with it . hema malini lost the place she occupied in the dremas of indian cinefans. sridevi chose to quit the day she tied the knot. many a talent has been sacrificed at the alter. meenakshi sheshadri, madhu , and down south simran , khushboo,and more recently jyothika, all were forced into oblivion post marriage.
fact is an actor ripens with age. the age of 30 - 40 is internationall the golden age, wen an actress and an actor get to rid themselves of college romances and experiment with mature adult topics and delve deep into their reportoire of histrionics. sadly in india , a heroine dies a silent death as soon as she is nearing the 30 mark. old , haggard , unsexy , she is deemed to get married and settle down. but why ? look at the talent that goes wasted! what magic couldve been created with ladies who now don have to run around trees, but do more meatier meaningfull roles .
things have started to change on this count ! kajol renetered films with fanaa to show that she still is a force to reckon with. and 2007 saw the last superstar on hindi movies , madhuri make a dazzling ocme back with aaja nachle. both the stars have a thing in common, both are married, both are star moms, and both chose to opt out of the rat race only to resurface as divas today .
this signals exciting times ofr bollywood. will it rise to the occassion ? kajol and madhuri have proven that the oomph., the talent, the star power and screen presence hasnt diminished a bit, and the response to their films have yet again shown that they rule the hearts of the audiences , and that none has been able to fill the vaccum they left back at tinsel town. they have indicated that they are here for the asking. now its bollywoods turn. to write roles for them , suiting their age. give them scripts that demand more than just dance and frolic, make films tat use these fabulous powerhouses of talents to the fullest. !
its time to change bollywood . its time india had a judi dench or a merryl streep!

Friday, December 07, 2007

and finally the movie is out ! aaja nachle hit theatres all over and in style! complete with controversy and hype!! is the film worth your moolah ?? the most anticipated comeback of the decade , does madhuri live up to the expectations ??
well she sure does. but not the movie!
tat doesnt mean to say tat the films bad. but yes it shud ve been much much better.
dia , a choreagrapher returns to the village she ran away from breaking all bonds , to see her dying dance guru. he dies but leaves her with thetask of saving her old theatre from being raised down into a glittering new age mall. and thus dia take son th etask of making her town folk dance to her tunes to save ajanta thetre.
the film no doubt has its heart in the right place. a sweet and endearing feel , where nothing goes awry for too long, where no problem exists widout a quickfix solution is where the story unfolds.and added to this is the premise of dance.
and dance is wat madhuri does like no one else!!! her form her grace her agility has to be seen to be believed. all these years of mumhood havent diminished an ounce of that now legendary smile and charm. half an hour into the movie and u realise that she is the last female superstar india will have!!
the movie also has an ensemble cast ! each character is brought alive by the actors who plunge deep into the roles. konkana specially shines in the role a village rustic. so do the others.
but what fails aaja nachle is the inept direction . anil mehta seems to have thot that having madhuri alone is enuf to make a film.
the screenplay is failed by the lack of directorial support. madhuri , the actors, and music make aaja nachle engaging!
and the film conclusively prooves that she is the only indian heroine who can carry a full film on her own shoulders without a hero to supprot. the film is completely centred on her , and she breezes thru her role!
watch aaja nachle to see magic unspool on celluloid. they don make like her anyomre up there!!