Love it or Kick it

We have seen uber-romantic movies from the past in black and white. In all Indian languages...be it Devdas in Hindi or in Tamil or Telugu or be it Missiamma in any of the languages. But the director could not show scenes of love making or even lip locking for that matter. Yet we knew exactly what emotions were springing up between the actors. The actors were good and the directors were even better. No kissing of skin show was necessary to show that someone was in love or going through lusty love feelings. It was obvious.

But with the onset of Western influence each and every Indian director in his own way has been trying to push the envelope. In the very recent past on-screen romance in Hindi and Tamil movies has taken a sharp leap. the past few years we have seen the so called "item numbers" increase very rapidly. It became mandatory for every commercial and sometimes even non-commercial movie to incorporate an item number into the script. In most cases they were just interjected to appeal to the front benchers and the mass in general.

A lot of item numbers of course are very raunchy and do get very explicit in the lyrics as well as bodily gyrations. Most of us ignored the video and hummed the songs like "beedi Jalai..." (Omkara 2007) just because the tune is catchy. Of course Sunidhi Chauhan has made a fortune on these very songs and a few actress gained popularity off these things.

But now the directors want to incorporate lip locking and love making scenes in every movie so that they can get the attention of the mass and use it as a lure instead of using the story or the script or other movie-making talents to attract audience.

If you were to ask a director or an actor why there is a love making in the scene, the director will say, the script demands it and the actor or actress will say, "I only did it because the script demanded it."

I am writing this because I saw the hindi movie "New York" (2009) last night and there is a scene showing John A and Katrina K love making in a song sequence. Now I want to ask the director, please sir, elucidate me, how on earth did that scene do any good to the movie?

How did that scene help the story? Is this a heist story where the actor sleeps with the leading lady, steals the secret code while she is snoozing away? Or is he going to kill her afterward? Why do we need to see them making love? So that we understand how they land up with a kid afterward? Would'nt her saying excitedly, "I am pregnant" not give us the watchers clue that they had to have had sex to have a kid? We are certainly not stupid you know and as far as I am concerned about kids, that peice of information is unecessary to them.

I was so mad. I can understand a movie titled "Kama Sutra" showing love making scenes. I am not going to take my kid to that movie period, but a movie on terrorism? why? If he was trying to attarct girls by showing John half naked and the men with Katrina then director failed on more counts than just bad direction and casting. If a movie sucks, no matter how many love making scenes you include it is going to flop. But if a movie is good then you cannot stop it now, can you? I do not remember seeing any love making scene in Rang De Basanti...hmm...wonder how the people saw it!

In a hurry to attract the masses directors seem to be forgeting to make the script and story the leader instead they are trying out short cuts and short cuts only last for a short time...so go on and make GOOD movie and not shoddy B graders.

Love

ART