A Puurrffeccct Ten!

It’s been a long time and I thought it won’t be until placements get over that I would get a shot at writing a post. The following post is more out of the kick and excitement of a day well spent and written just to record the fact that I really liked a Hindi movie today after ages and just when I had given up all my hope on Bollywood. : )

During my stay at S.P Jain I have graduated from an elementary education in movies to what I believe right now stands at a post graduate degree. Though this education has been mostly in English movies yet I have been fortunate enough to watch a few decent Hindi Movies on the way. And pretty much like an academic stint, the movie education journey has had both good and bad days. I happened to see “Rang De Basanti” (RDB) today and it’s turned out to be one of those days at the college that couldn’t get any better.

Sometimes I wonder what the objective of making movies really is. Is it for laughs, tears, wows, education, awareness, outlets for creative ideas or just for the personal gratification of the director? Like all good things in life often it’s a combination of more than just one of the above objectives. It’s rather difficult to achieve all of it together. Rather, it’s easier to achieve either of these objectives single-mindedly. Like a rip-roaring Golmaal that would have you in splits from the first scene till the last. Like a grim Ab Tak Chappan that’s replete with merciless killings. Like a tragic Black that made you thank God for the fact that you have eyes to see the things and people around you in the world. Each of these movies would make my top 10 list of best Hindi movies on any given day.

The essence in each of these movies lies in story-telling that's realistic. So much so that you could look at your own life and say : “I could make a movie on what happened to me/him/her/on that incident” or " That's happened to me" or " Shit! It could happen to me" . And often a good story is one that has shades of earnestness, solemnity and cheer. If success and good times are to be felt sweetest it better come post a battle, a loss or an anguish. A laugh that resonates loudest is often from the person who has been through the worst of times. Hence if I liken it to the art of story telling, a good story teller should be able to weave through as many shades of emotions as possible. And hence I think I have fallen in love with RDB. It’s got all the shades of an average 21-year-old’s life. Getting drunk, aimless, a passion for something , that something that one is always searching for but no one knows about, an apathy towards the system, a love for friends, a love lost, a will to win and an attitude to lose.
No songs and no multi billion business deals - there are none in real life.
Loads of mirth, togetherness and absence of parental restrictions- always the case in real life.

There was no protagonist in the story. Everyone was. And on top of replicating to perfection shades of the lives we are going through at this time of our lives, the story mirrored movie- making at its best. Slick cinematography, a stunning cast, undying lyrics, vivacious music and flawless direction. All of this sliced with a message, should you have time and breathing space to absorb it.

A movie with laughs, tears, wows, creative visuals and a treatment by the director that I truly loved and respect. A complete package and all of it in Hindi from the stable of Bollywood. Hard to believe but true!

I saw Aks a long time back and thought it was a poor imitation of Fallen. Now having seen Rakeysh Mehra deliver RDB, I badly want to revisit Aks. : )