Cinematic Integrity

Is there such a thing as cinematic integrity on the Hindi screen? It's a question worth reflecting on with some seriousness. When did we last watch a film that challenged the boundaries of the medium? A film that blended a crafty yet intellectually honest narrative with depth of character, visual finesse, effective editing and pathbreaking performances? In effect, a film that has the strength to stand the test of time? Something that can at least aspire for visions of greatness?

I happened to watch 'Sophie's Choice' made by Alan J Pakula in 1982 and 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' made by Siddharth Anand in 2008 on the same day for no specific reason. Unfortunately, I watched the former first and was firmly under the spell of Meryl Streep's astonishing turn as Sophie when I started viewing the other film. I forced myself to sit through this piece of trash just to reaffirm my belief that great cinema is not possible in Bollywood until filmmakers start feeling shamed by their collective debauchery. We cannot continue justifying our contemptible mediocrity in the name of commercial pressures and popular demand. Nor can we keep harping on our uniqueness to avoid unfavourable comparison with the rest of the world. 

Cinema is the same medium everywhere and its exponents are all trying to attract audiences to their work. Nobody makes films for themselves and nobody works in isolation. Hence weighing our work against others in the field is not just inevitable but absolutely essential for the healthy growth of our cinema. I pick out 'Bachna Ae Haseeno', but all of Yashraj Films' dozen-odd productions of the last three years (with the possible exception of 'Chak De India', which had some spirit, even though it took jingoism to the extreme and works, at best, as a genre film) are symptomatic of the callousness and blatant disrespect for cinema that's plaguing the entire Hindi film industry, it seems. You run through everything from 'Bunty Aur Babli', 'Dhoom', 'Fanaa', 'Kabul Express', 'Laaga Chunri Mein Daag', 'Aaja Nachle' to 'Bachna Ae Haseeno', and you see a uniform indifference towards plot, character, screenplay, visual texture and direction. Yes, they were all films catering to the masses. They all were meant to be pulp entertainment and hence weren't expected to leave a lasting impact on anyone. But what about integrity within the form of popular entertainment? Many of Yash Chopra's best-known films were true to the mainstream format with a formulaic plot, melodramatic exposition and just about serviceable visual language -- from 'Waqt' to 'Chandni', via 'Deewaar', 'Kabhi Kabhie', 'Trishul' and 'Silsila'. 

Yet, all of these films had characters who've stayed with us down the years, plot devices that kept audiences hooked at every turn, dialogues and music that lent depth to the drama and a sense of cohesiveness to each work that didn't make it seem like a replica of something else, nor like a showcase for some star’s antics or a circus of assorted scenes and songs thrown together haphazardly. Why just the Yashraj Films banner, everything of Hindi cinema I’ve seen in recent years is largely indifferent work (barring notable exceptions like 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' and 'Johnny Gaddaar') either put together as a marketing project or then, presupposing its own grandeur without any justification. 

Even in well-made films, there’s little emphasis on the film form, scripts are routinely unimaginative and worse, plagirised versions of older works or of foreign films, actors are entirely out of tune with the demands of working into a character (‘Dil Chahta Hai’ did improve their attention to physical detail, but there’s no such thing in Bollywood as building the ‘emotional graph’ of a character – I haven’t even seen the so-called ‘thinking’ actor Aamir Khan do it in any film), and directors are first, and above all, merchandisers trying to sell a product at any cost. From Vinod Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ashutosh Gowariker to Karan Johar, Farah Khan, Vipul Shah, Aneez Bazmee, Rakesh Roshan and Subhash Ghai (apart from everyone making films for Yashraj), none have produced a work of any notable measure. 

Filmmakers working with smaller budgets are either too conscious of their limited resources to really try something different or just aren't allowed the freedom to do so. It's shameful to learn that films like 'Bheja Fry' and 'Aamir' which have, in some sense, provided an opening for off-mainstream cinema are themselves derived from foreign sources.  Yet, we march along, scratching each other’s backs for sub-standard work that wouldn’t stand any critical evaluation, slam critics for not understanding cinema and being dismissive without a cause and pay actors salaries and attention they don’t deserve. Neither the Oscars, nor Cannes, Berlin, Venice or any other international film festival of any repute is likely to honour a Hindi film, leave aside finding it award-worthy, anytime in the future. So let’s just continue jumping in our tiny little puddle and pretend we’re splashing around in the ocean. And let others around the world celebrate cinema in all its glory and create works of art that’ll vindicate the medium, over and over again.