Between Reviews: Bollywood for Hollywoodians
BOLLYWOOD FOR HOLLYWOODIANS
AUG 24, 2008 – IF YOU LOVE FILMS – good films, great films, even bad films that you’d never admit to liking but find it difficult, nonetheless, to give the channel-flip to – one of the toughest tasks you’ll find is making lists. People ask you all the time, variations on essentially what boots your C-drive: Which are your [desi, foreign, desert island, insert appropriate qualifier] films? And not too long ago, I was presented with a unique spin on this question, from someone – let’s call her S – who wrote in, “There’s a film-related podcast that I listen to regularly. Apart from reviewing a couple of new releases on the show, they also have a segment where they watch a series of five films based on a central theme. Having gotten to know the hosts over the years, I’ve frequently requested them to do a Bollywood marathon and now they’re looking to me to suggest the films that they should be watching for the marathon.”
“I do have a few films in mind. However, I’d really like to hear some recommendations from you,” she concluded, adding that the aim was to suggest a set that would give them an idea of “what a good Bollywood film is like while also spanning multiple directors and time periods in Indian cinema.” I wrote back that I wasn’t quite clear about the theme that was being proposed.
For instance, you could consider NRI-targeted Bollywood films, and that would easily yield a set of five movies from the Johar-Chopra stable. Or you could go with hillside-escapist-romances and pick five films from the Shammi Kapoor factory. And S replied with clarifications. “The podcast hosts are two American guys who have watched a sum total of zero Bollywood films. They’ve watched the Mira Nair and Gurinder Chadha stuff, but nothing that really came out of Bollywood. What they seem to be interested in doing is watching a set of 5-6 films that will serve as a nice introduction to good Bollywood cinema. I realise that this is a ridiculously broad theme but seeing as how these could potentially be the only Bollywood films they ever end up watching, breadth of scope may not be such a bad thing perhaps?”
S continued, “I think what I would like to do is to suggest films that do follow a sufficient number of Bollywood conventions, such that at least a majority of them are more or less mainstream in nature, and yet make sure that they appeal to someone who doesn’t have the benefit of being familiar with Bollywood and therefore having context. Most of my cinephile friends here think of Bollywood as meaningless melodramatic song and dance. I was hoping to introduce a set of films that demonstrate some substance and genuine talent underlying the melodramatic song and dance.” The task, therefore, was to pull up a list keeping in mind that the people who’d be watching this set of films would be non-Indians, whose exposure to Indian cinema (let alone Bollywood) is probably restricted to Ray.
I guess that ruled out Namak Haram – a film I bring up not because it rests at the top of my top-ten list or some such thing, but simply on occasion of having watched it around the time this correspondence was being carried out. This is a film from the days Hindi cinema wasn’t afraid to show us life at the other side of the tracks, where a house would casually have dung patties left to dry on the outside walls. It’s from a time long after Hollywood had entered our filmmaking consciousness – this was, after all, a retooling of Becket – and, in that sense, the conflicts and the themes wouldn’t be difficult, for a foreigner, to get. But with those dung patties and those bhang sessions, the film was also uniquely Indian in ways that might not travel across cultures.
In general, I feel, that era of cinema is something only those who lived through (or grew up in) those times can really appreciate. They were our films – those strange hybrids of songs and declamatory drama and curious acting styles and corny comedy. Only we could understand them, and, in all probability, only we could tolerate them (at least, without consigning them to the category of camp, in which case, everything becomes great).
Another film I watched during the time was Aandhi – again, a very Bollywood film in the sense that you (or, at least, I) don’t usually watch it for its primary purpose, which is the drama. (It’s a tad too overtly symbolic for my taste. When we meet the leads, he’s bent over doing gardening work, while she’s in a helicopter – ergo he’s a simple son-of-the-soil, while she’s the kind of political high-flier whose party’s symbol is… a bird). What I find rewarding in Gulzar’s films is his way with words, as when Sanjeev Kumar keeps telling Suchitra Sen, “Ismail bhai,” and when she looks up, vexed, she finds he has a camera in his hand and is actually asking her to smile.
And this aspect of the film, alone, wouldn’t be useful in recommending it, would it? Just as there’s no guarantee that we completely understand all aspects of subtitled foreign films, how can we expect, say, the following exchange to travel across? Husband and wife are deciding what to name their daughter. He suggests Manorama. She disagrees violently because she doesn’t want to be reminded of the overweight actress. (“Moti ki yaad aayegi.”) And then he says the name could be abbreviated to Man, when she counters that it’s too short. He replies that they could call it out twice: Man Man. And she feels that that would be like hearing a bell being rung somewhere. This entire conversation, even if subtitled – how could it be interesting to someone not attuned to the cadences of the spoken language?
And then there are the cadences of the sung language. Even inveterate adorers of Gulzar may find themselves rolling their eyes at the picturisation of Is mod se jaate hain – if only because the hero and the heroine mouth those lyrics. As a background track, it would have been perfectly appropriate (and the lyrics, by themselves, are magnificent), but when two people wrap their lips around these elaborate constructions, you can’t help but wonder, “What frighteningly intellectual lovers they must be!”
But, again, there’s so much more to the song when viewed in its context – in the sense that it occurs just after Suchitra Sen has learnt that her estranged husband, Sanjeev Kumar, is the manager of the hotel she’s staying in, and just before she lands up at his doorstep. So the mod, the metaphorical path, that the song is talking about is, now, the physical route that takes her from where she is, at that moment, to where he is – lyrically, and even musically (Lata Mangeshkar embellishes mod with so many quicksilver microtonal flourishes that this simple path morphs into a treacherously winding mountain road; it isn’t going to be easy, her going to him. Tum tak to pahunchti hai… that’s what it means, and literally, in this case.) When we ourselves – unless we choose to parse the situation and place it under a magnifying glass – are likely to miss these shadings that make even lesser Bollywood movies so worthwhile, how could we expect them to go down easily in another culture?
And therefore, I decided to be a coward and play safe. This was what I told S: “Begin with Dil Chahta Hai (because it’s a very Western Bollywood film), then move to Lakshya (which still has Farhan Akhtar’s sensibilities, but with a greater sense of Bollywood drama), then go to Chak De India (again, a very Western sports flick, but with Indian sensibilities), then move to Saawariya (melodrama and songs, but also Bollywood aesthetics; plus the Blu-Ray presentation is said to be astounding), and end with Main Hoon Na (even if they don’t get the references, the buoyant, infectious silliness should cross over, and maybe they’d get a sense of what the other Bollywood, the real Bollywood, is like).”
S wrote back that her list was identical, except that it had a Vishal Bhardwaj film instead of Lakshya (simply because she wanted to avoid two movies by the same director). And it struck me that I should have, of course, worked in an Omkara or a Maqbool. But then, that’s the other thing about making lists. Films that you know and love keep slipping from your mind all the time, and so the lists you make are actually from the films that, at that time, are swimming inside your head. And if that means, for some scary reason, your brain has chosen to retain Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic and Rama Rama Kya Hai Dramaa, you’re doomed. Did I tell you I’m not a fan of making lists?
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By a coincidence, Baradwaj, I myself have been struggling with similar predicament. For the past two months now, I have been planning a Bollywood night for my colleagues here at the University but I am just not able to zero in on one movie which I think they will understand and enjoy.
I am a bit disappointed with your list I must say, but I can empathise and your explanation seems perfectly valid. But didn’t the brief include “also spanning multiple directors and time periods in Indian cinema”. All the five movies in your list are post-2000.
Hollywood watchers associate our films with songs, colour and dance. And I feel that’s what we should give them. And also the audiences of the podcast are presumably film lovers and would want good stories to watch and would appreciate quality cinema. So just at the top of my mind my list of 5:
1. Mother India (Brilliant storyline, abundance of colour, strong female character – perhaps even the strongest, and they would have watched Gone With The Wind and most importantly talks about India the way it was then and in many ways still is)
2. Guide
3….. I am finding this more difficult than I thought it would be…….
3. Anand (Yeah I know not that colourful)… ok.. Choti Si Baat (The list ought to have a movie from this genre and the comedy here has nothing much to do with the language)
4. Dil Se (Yeah Bollywood went through its worst period in the late 70s-80s).
5. Rang De Basanti (I would prefer this to ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. In the absence of a storyline, I doubt if western audiences will appreciate the movie).
Yeah, so not exactly from the top of my head. But that’s my list. Not that I will be showing any of these to my colleagues (perhaps the last one). But then, they are not movie freaks either.
Baradwaj, even accounting for the fact that it was just off the top of your head, I am still surprised by the chance that 2 movies of the same director could make it to your list, especially the strictly above-average Lakshya. I am not so sure why Farhan would be swimming so much on the top of your head
Gasp! No DDLJ?
But then the problem with making such a list is that there is no generic definition of “good” cinema and even, these days, no generic definition of what is strictly “Bollywood”.
I happen to be a fan of lists so just for the heck of it, were someone to actually be interested in my opinion, I would include – DDLJ (it’s my fave of all time so it has to be on practically any list), Dil Chahta Hai (agree with you on that), Sarkar (instead of Omkara, easier to digest a Bollywood ode to Godfather than Othello, also Big B at his best), Devdas (instead of Saawariya, for the sheer beauty of it and an easier story),and… yeah, Main Hoo Na (why not, a dose of good Bollywood cheese, but thoroughly enjoyable because of its sheer joie de vivre…).
Wow, that was harder than I thought. Anyway, couldn’t resist making my own list….
What? No Sholay, Deewaar, Lagaan, Hera-Pheri or Munnabhai MBBS.
Agree. You can’t recommend a Gulzar film to people who are not well-versed in the language. The beauty of his films lies in the dialogue – subtle wit alternating with deep philosophy. The interspresing of songs with dialogue in Aandhi reminds me of the another Gulzar movie, which unfortunately never got released but I was fortunate enough to watch it at a film festival (I feel blessed to be one of a few 100 people who have watched it.) I’m talking of Libaas. There’s a song in the film – Phir kisi shaakh ne phenki chhaon. The lyrics of the song are typically Gulzar. Those who have heard the song would know that in the mukhda, Lata Mangeshkar sings half a line (”phir kisi mod pe uljhe paon”), stops, and then starts singing from the beginning. This “break point” is crucial to the film and is interspersed with a line of dialogue between Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi that actually determines the direction the film would take. What would have taken a few scenes for many other writers/directors to convey, Gulzar achieves in one line of dialogue within a song. People unfamiliar with the language would not be able to appreciate that.
Arif Attar / Vijay: “All the five movies in your list are post-2000.” I know – and that’s I said I took the cowardly way out. But the way I saw it, it was better to ease them into our films with sensibilities that match their own — and the first name that sprang to mind was Farhan Akhtar. And very frankly, I don’t think something like Mother India would play well over there at all. Though speaking of the film, it’s one of the rare oldies that I’ve seen in a theatre, in Dadar’s Sharda cinema in the early nineties. It was a brand new print, and flat-out gorgeous. And a housefull show too
SB / HM: No, DDLJ, Sholay, etc. didn’t come to mind. Sorry
And I wasn’t really going for “good” cinema — because, frankly, that’s so subjective. I was going for a list that would function as some sort of This Is Bollywood. It was more representational in that sense.
Aditya Pant: You’ve seen Libaas, that Holy Grail of Gulzar films? I’m officially jealous
I’ve hunted for the DVD for so long, and still no luck. So I make do with the songs. In general, when we rant about the badness of eighties cinema, we overlook the fact that there were so many “other” films to choose from. I owe a lot to much-maligned Doordarshan for shaping my taste for art cinema.
Main hoon na ??!!
I would vote for these instead..
Lagaan
DDLJ
Omkara
Anand/Mili/Guddi
Jab we met
Jaane tu ya jaane na
TZP
Andaz apna apna..
Baradwaj,
Surprised that you don’t have a Mani Ratnam film in your list.
My list of 5 Bollywood films for western audience would be: Guru, Dil Chahta Hai, Rang De Basanti, Omkara and Company. Yeah, but it is difficult to make a list of five. There are quite a few other bollywood films which might appeal to western audiences: Lagaan, Chak De India, Dil Se, Satya, Lakshya and the Munnabhai series.
The five hindi films I will recommend to my foreign mates or friends who appreciate quality films and don’t mind reading subtitles:
Masoom
Chupke Chupke
Dil Chahta Hai
Sarkar
Musquruhat
(i love omkara, Johnny gaddar, Company..but i think the viewer needs some background infos before watching these classics.
Well my choices too in no particular order –
1) Lakshya
2) Lage Raho Munnabhai
3) Rang De Basanti
4) Kaun
5) Johnny Gaddar
As you may notice these include recent films that may be floating in one’s mind or may be remembered but don’t include trivialities in my opinion like Main Hoon Na whose selection by you I take an issue with
Rk/Ard: If the point was to give a sample of a “type” of Bollywood movie, why not MHN? It’s easier to sit through for a newbie audience than AAA (if only for the production values and so on). I wasn’t trying to do a “great films” list so much as something that would give people an introduction to Bollywood, and I don’t see that Kaun and Johhny Gaddar fit in here.
Raj Balakrishnan / sohan salek: See, this is the other not-so-great thing about lists. When you get “surprised” reactions that such and such film was left out
Forget hollywood types, Main hoon na fails to even travel south in India with success. I mean, unless you are the beasant nagar types in chennai, who else would have got anything in that movie? It wouldnt really travel well. You might as well recommend the 70’s ‘originals’, which it spuriously claimed to spoof – like emperor’s clothers, nobody can see them(the spoof elements), including the tailor, but some ‘nobles’ keep insisting that the clothes are there without specifying where or how
(No, Kirron ‘permanently Punjabi Cleavage-showing maa’ Kher hamming it up doesnt qualify as spoof!)
Hum Tum had the western sensibility and bollywoodisms as well. Hey Ram will figure in my list, as it shows what we are capable of in terms of content and technique(Sabu Cyril and Sarika’s work was outstanding).
I agree with the choices of Chak De and DCH.
Company is another gem I wouldn’t want to miss.
Yeah Brangan, Sharda Cinema. Is it still around? I doubt it. I wonder what happened to the Hindmatas and Bharatmatas at the stretch of road between Dadar and Parel.
Don’t want to argue with you on the merits of ‘Mother India’ as an introduction to Bollywood for western audiences. May be some other time?
And since you hate lists, here is a request from me. If you had to suggest ONE Bollywood film for an audience of PhD students from China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, Syria, Jordan, UK and Mexico which one would it be?
What a good sport you are, BR! I’d never be able to do an assignment like this. Coming up with lists requires a level of analytical introspection of one’s tastes that’s beyond my abilities or interests.
That said, I *completely* disagree with your list!:-)
raj: If you ever retreated into the woodworks, I know what will bring you out for a comment. A reference to MHN…
Anand: Come on, man. Hum Tum had a Western sensibiilty because it was essentially When Harry Met Sally
And again, Hey Ram may be great for showing “what we are capable of in terms of content and technique,” but if this is about two Americans who’ve never seen our films and who are likely to never see them again and are just looking for a 101-level intro, I don’t think Hey Ram cuts it. Of course, if they were also cinephiles…
Arif Attar: Dude, I have problems coming up with lists — and you want me to narrow down to ONE movie?
I’ve never been able to answer the question, “What’s your all-time favourite film?” There’s just too many apples and oranges to choose from…
Shalini: When S sent me that email request, I didn’t think I’d be able to do it either. And of course, you don’t agree. Join the fast-expanding club. A friend of mine told me that I should have gone for Sohrab Modi and Shantaram — in the sense that that’s the *real* Hindi cinema. And I can’t say I disagree…
Talking of woodwork, it does seem like your #1 fan has retreated exactly into that – Sagarika, where are you?:-)
Or, is S above none other than the famed fan of fantastic film-critic BR
raj: S is someone who doesn’t comment here. Didn’t know if she’d be comfortable revealing her name, so…
I would have recommended Bagh Bahadur, though I’m sure not many people have seen it. It wasn’t colorful, didn’t have any songs, wasn’t even Bollywood, but the theme was pretty universal. It would make sense to anyone who has lived long enough to see things become redundant that were once popular/useful/essential.
Anonymous: Bagh Bahadur, though a good film and thematically universal, is too esoteric and (in my opinion) a bit self-indulgent, to be recommended “what a good Bollywood film is like”. As you mention, it is not even “Bollywood”. Pawan Malhotra was awesome in it. God bless good old Doordarshan…how else would one have got exposed to such “art” films from the 80s.
GET HOLLYWOOD RULES AND BOLLYWOOD SUCKS.
Aditya: Thanks for replying. I think my bar for self-indulgent films was set really low by something like Khayal Gatha. Even a staunch fan of Hindustani classical like myself could not tolerate it for more than 15 minutes.
But yes, DD was great and my exposure to non-Bollywood stuff is totally due to them. And to borrow a phrase from the blog author — in a parallel universe, Pawan Malhotra would not be cast in two-bit roles as the stereotyped uncle of the heroine (JWM!).