The rave reviews of the latest Akshay Kumar-starrer ‘Special
26’ are all saying how Neeraj Pandey’s film is clearly the best one that they
have seen this year so far. So, after the failure of Kamal Hassan’s much
awaited ‘Vishwaroop’ to draw audiences and after a hard-core blockbuster sequel
called ‘Race 2’ struggled to make it to the 100 crore club, finally audiences
are cheering for a film that has an intelligent premise but enough entertainment
value.
Trade analysts will predict that this will be
another sleeper hit; critics will smile at the fact that hard-core superstars
like Akshay Kumar are actually willing to go simple and deliver on actual
acting in films with ideas rather than just loud action scenes.
Indeed, but how would one define today’s intelligent
Bollywood product? Some say that films are getting bolder, breaking the
boundaries of sexuality and violence. Others hold that comedies are getting
smarter with today’s generation of directors and writers harkening back to the
style of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee, Gulzar, Sai Paranjpe and so on.
But if one was to sum up the scene of today’s film-making, one can say that it
is a mix of arty and mainstream- intelligent, path-breaking ideas presented
uniquely yet sticking to mainstream trademarks like chart-busting soundtracks and
ambitious promotional campaigns.
But new as it sounds, this is precisely something
that some of our yesteryear filmmakers have done throughout the years. Most of
the cinema of notable names like Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Mukherjee,
Gulzar and so on has been exactly that- a blend of mainstream elements with
sharp, intelligent scripts endowed with good ideas. This is the way it has
always worked. We remember movies like ‘Shree 420’, ‘Pyaasa’, ‘Bandini’, ‘Anand’
and ‘Aandhi’ are noted for their plots and performances as much as for their
memorable melodious songs.
As in the present, this intelligent form of cinema
co-existed with those big-budget crowd-pleasers and entertainers. The big and
boisterous entertainers of Yash Chopra, Prakash Mehra, Nasir Hussain and Shakti
Samanta competed for the audience’s attention with the afore-mentioned films
coming from the unique crowd that struck a balance of creativities and
priorities. It continues to happen even today. The Salman Khan blockbusters
make big bucks but everyone also pays attention when a small-budget film like ‘Vicky
Donor’ grosses nearly half a hundred crores.
The problem lies with those elitists who question
rather scathingly whether those new-age films are really substantial. They
claim that the new films don’t quite deal with the real issues that India
faces. Their argument is that the new spate of films is more mainstream than
being concerned with real issues and problems. They hold that the new directors
cannot be compared with the caliber of Shyam Benegal, Mani Kaul, Govind
Nihalani and the rest who are known for making sensitive films on sensitive
issues.
It is an unfair comparison. Benegal, Nihalani et al
have been masters of their craft.
However, it would be wrong to compare new
talents like Anurag Kashyap, Shoojit Sircar, Dibakar Banerjee, Rajkumar Hirani
and the flashier Farhan Akhthar and others with such auteurs. What today’s
filmmakers are doing is what is suitable- making instantly accessible films for
the growing segment of smart multiplex audiences. These are films which are
entertaining, presented in unique and unconventional style and yet reflect our
concerns and attitudes without being too serious. This means that we are handed
cinema that is fairly realistic and relevant without actually losing the
connection with the audiences.
And the surprising thing is that some of our veteran
filmmakers are also turning to the tide. Shyam Benegal made ‘Welcome To
Sajjanpur’ a film which was marked by his astute style of rural
characterization but was enlivened by a sharp sense of humor and it also had a
perfectly balanced mainstream flavor as well.
Pretty much everyone is vouching for the current
style of film-making. Biggies like Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar, normally known
for their blockbuster formula films, are also warming up to talented filmmakers
and writers with fresh ideas. Karan Johar has roped in dynamic talents like
Rensil D’Silva and Ayan Mukerji, while Chopra has brought in equally creative
people like Habib Faisal, Shimit Amin, Jaideep Sahni, and if reports are to be
believed, Dibakar Banerjee has also been signed up.
This obviously means that today’s intelligent
film-making is all about presenting real issues and concerns in an accessible
and presentable manner. Isn’t that really great? More and more people can relate
to films about our current scenario and they also find it entertaining.
Clearly, then, there is no room for complaint. On
one hand, there are those big-budget multi-starrers with loads of action and
melodrama. On the other hand, there is a wave of intelligent films which have
something for everyone. Each one of them has their own unique voice- the masses
flock to the former while the multiplex audiences vote for the latter.
Bollywood has become democratic in nature.
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