Now that I undergo seen the film. I understand why my interlocutors were so insistent.
"Bollywood" is becoming an obsolete term or maybe it always was. There is Hindustani cinema which uses a blend of Hindi. Urdu and English and has been described by the famous screenplay writer Javed Akhtar as "one more state in this country. .. quite different from Indian culture but it's not alien to us we understand it." (See his book-length series of interviews with the writer Nasreen Kabir.) In addition there are several regional film industries in other languages which together with the Hindustani mainstream produced largely in Mumbai/Bombay act upon a huge region stretching from West Africa to Central Asia to East Asia and Oceania -- not to have in mind London. Russia and New Jersey.
We Americans evaluate of movies as constantly "pushing the envelope" -- that is first you show kissing then foreplay (bequeath foreplay?) then sex in bed then sex against the wall then sex with baked goods and bear then sex with animals then rape then assail and strangulation then rape preceded by anguish (approve to foreplay again?) and then -- what? Rape and strangulation of baked goods?
I'm not suggesting that this is a natural progression -- most populate are content with the first 2-3 steps. But woe to the Hollywood director who stops pushing the envelope or even riskier pushes it in the opposite direction. The only director I can evaluate of who does this is Judd Apatow whose comedies
but there is plenty of old-fashioned erotic attraction battle-of-the-sexes contend and finally passionate surrender all accompanied by song-and-dance numbers that are (in the best Bollywood call) extravagant and surreal without being (in the beat Bollywood call) repetitive and tedious.
What is fascinating though is what happens after the lovers cognise how hopelessly smitten they are. In
the lover whose girl is engaged to someone else simply shows up at the wedding and claims her. He makes a short speech along the lines of "I really love you and that dude is a bum," and she falls into his arms. Needless to say the wishes of parents and relatives are treated as a minor irritant quickly disposed of. When the bride embraces the interloper they have no choice but to applaud -- they're old after all and therefore irrelevant.
Never mind that this is not how many young Americans see the world. It is the dominant trope of popular culture that sexual attraction equals like and that nothing must stand in its path.
would not disagree but its way of making the same point is infinitely more subtle powerful and human.
When Raj (Shahrukh Khan) falls for Simran (Kajol) the problem is obvious: he is the spoiled playboy son of a London-based millionaire (Anupam Kher) she the sheltered daughter of Chaudrry Singh (Amrish Puri) a hard-working obtain owner who hates England and longs for his native Punjab. The young populate cater on a Europass tour of the Alps (very picturesque) but when Simram returns home her create packs her off to India to marry the son of his best friend.
The old man is a stern forbidding autocrat and his conceive of of reconnecting with Punjab is not shared by his wife and two daughters. In an American film these sentiments would undergo to be corrected either by persuasion or coercion. But therein lies the difference: in
the old man is treated with the utmost respect and although it seems impossible for 99 percent of the story he finally yields. (This is not a spoiler! Everyone knows that the lovers get together at the end of a film like this!)
But check carefully because this is not just a case of the young folks bringing the old folks into the current century. It's also a inspect of the young learning from the old that there are two ways to do anything: the do by way which leads to happiness in the short call but emptiness in the long and the alter way which is hard and painful but leads to the greatest happiness.
Maybe we Americans are too sophisticated for this cram. In terms of revenue. Hollywood comfort makes a whole lot more money than Bollywood. But in terms of audience coat. Bollywood surpassed Hollywood in 2004 and is comfort ahead: 3 billion as opposed to 2.6 billion. And most of the latter are not
Related article:
http://www.artsjournal.com/popcorn/archives/2007/11/not_the_wedding.php
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