Hi you,
Its ironic that I, of all people, should start blogging with a post on a bollywood film, owing largely to my ignorance and lack of interest on the subject. But then, one has to start somewhere, so here goes.
For the past couple of weeks or so, my television set has been bombarded with snippets of the latest bollywood movie - DOSTANA. Switch from channel to channel, and all you get is in-your-face promotion of this 'big banner' movie. Dostana was much touted as a movie with a difference, for its progressive message and social responsibility. Considering all the hoopla surrounding it, i decided that i had to see this as a part of my social responsibility! Of course, it wouldn't be fair if i don't attribute this decision partly to a bunch of over-enthusiastic college buddies of mine, who coaxed me into it!
To cut the long story short, primarily because this isn't a movie review, the film disappointed me. It was akin to a b-grade skin show flick, from start to finish, be it the raunchy Shilpa-John intro, or the compulsive skinny dipping in the case of the lead actress - Priyanka Chopra. The plot is somewhat believable initially, but loses all realism towards the end. The acting was mediocre, but i wouldnt blame the actors considering the same people signed up for this film!
A word on our very own Bollywood making it globally. Though i havent seen too many movies to be a qualified critic, to my understanding, a film maker must improve with every film, and his latest work would have to be his best. Now, if anybody is going to moot the notion that Bollywood has come of age and is at par internationally, on the premise of 'great' film makers like Mr KJo,
then he needs to be strapped to a chair and tortured, albeit with special screenings of these movies!
Heres a brilliant scene from Dostana:
Priyanka gets overlooked for a promotion and gets mighty distressed. Kiron Kher (mother of abhishek) lectures her and midway through this, the roles reverse and now its Priyanka lecturing Kiron on the intricacies of life! And all of a sudden, a woman of 60 odd comes round, dumping a lifetime of dogma!
KJo and Tarun Mansukhani - what were you thinking??
Of course, if you havent seen the film. all of this wont make any sense to you, but then again, i wouldnt suggest you alter the status quo.
Now coming to the moral fiber of the movie. Quite bluntly, it is highly deficient of that! It shows a couple of grown men messing with the mind of a 5 year old, recking his dads love-life, and then setting everything straight, merely by locking lips in public! The depiction of homosexuals is stereotypical, with the effeminate, limp-wristed, wierdly dressed men who for some apparent reason seem to talk only with their fingers planted on their cheeks. Infact, every second guy you see on screen is gay or acting gay!
The taboo around being gay is not dispelled either, as the lead actors are shown to ACT gay as a means to an end, and are shown to cringe at the very thought of being it in public. Gay men are shown to be horny creeps who try to spank the posteriors of any non female in a 100m radius! The absurdity doesnt end there. It is taken for granted that being gay is a prerequisite for a male to become a fashion designer. The same gay jokes are prolonged through the entirety of the film. The argument that, the movie addresses sensitive issues such as this, through the medium of humour, is also ill founded, as the humour in the film revolves only around the ridicule of the 'gay' protagonists.
The only positive in this respect, would be the coverage given to homosexuality, in all forms of the media. Of course, the most potent message being, get yourself into shape courtesy John,Priyanka and Shilpa, along with a statutory warning of what if you dont courtesy Bachan junior. Jokes apart, if the film makers wanted to increase social awareness and stir the publics belief, then they'd better hope that people at large try to read up on this issue now that its fresh in their minds and consider it not as a problem but as a way of life.
Its been awfully long, and i might have bored the crap out of. But thank you for getting here, dunno how many readers i might have lost on the way!! (thats me being overly optimistic)
Anyways...I shall try to be more concise in future posts!!
Signing out,
Joe Jack
Its ironic that I, of all people, should start blogging with a post on a bollywood film, owing largely to my ignorance and lack of interest on the subject. But then, one has to start somewhere, so here goes.
For the past couple of weeks or so, my television set has been bombarded with snippets of the latest bollywood movie - DOSTANA. Switch from channel to channel, and all you get is in-your-face promotion of this 'big banner' movie. Dostana was much touted as a movie with a difference, for its progressive message and social responsibility. Considering all the hoopla surrounding it, i decided that i had to see this as a part of my social responsibility! Of course, it wouldn't be fair if i don't attribute this decision partly to a bunch of over-enthusiastic college buddies of mine, who coaxed me into it!
To cut the long story short, primarily because this isn't a movie review, the film disappointed me. It was akin to a b-grade skin show flick, from start to finish, be it the raunchy Shilpa-John intro, or the compulsive skinny dipping in the case of the lead actress - Priyanka Chopra. The plot is somewhat believable initially, but loses all realism towards the end. The acting was mediocre, but i wouldnt blame the actors considering the same people signed up for this film!
A word on our very own Bollywood making it globally. Though i havent seen too many movies to be a qualified critic, to my understanding, a film maker must improve with every film, and his latest work would have to be his best. Now, if anybody is going to moot the notion that Bollywood has come of age and is at par internationally, on the premise of 'great' film makers like Mr KJo,
then he needs to be strapped to a chair and tortured, albeit with special screenings of these movies!
Heres a brilliant scene from Dostana:
Priyanka gets overlooked for a promotion and gets mighty distressed. Kiron Kher (mother of abhishek) lectures her and midway through this, the roles reverse and now its Priyanka lecturing Kiron on the intricacies of life! And all of a sudden, a woman of 60 odd comes round, dumping a lifetime of dogma!
KJo and Tarun Mansukhani - what were you thinking??
Of course, if you havent seen the film. all of this wont make any sense to you, but then again, i wouldnt suggest you alter the status quo.
Now coming to the moral fiber of the movie. Quite bluntly, it is highly deficient of that! It shows a couple of grown men messing with the mind of a 5 year old, recking his dads love-life, and then setting everything straight, merely by locking lips in public! The depiction of homosexuals is stereotypical, with the effeminate, limp-wristed, wierdly dressed men who for some apparent reason seem to talk only with their fingers planted on their cheeks. Infact, every second guy you see on screen is gay or acting gay!
The taboo around being gay is not dispelled either, as the lead actors are shown to ACT gay as a means to an end, and are shown to cringe at the very thought of being it in public. Gay men are shown to be horny creeps who try to spank the posteriors of any non female in a 100m radius! The absurdity doesnt end there. It is taken for granted that being gay is a prerequisite for a male to become a fashion designer. The same gay jokes are prolonged through the entirety of the film. The argument that, the movie addresses sensitive issues such as this, through the medium of humour, is also ill founded, as the humour in the film revolves only around the ridicule of the 'gay' protagonists.
The only positive in this respect, would be the coverage given to homosexuality, in all forms of the media. Of course, the most potent message being, get yourself into shape courtesy John,Priyanka and Shilpa, along with a statutory warning of what if you dont courtesy Bachan junior. Jokes apart, if the film makers wanted to increase social awareness and stir the publics belief, then they'd better hope that people at large try to read up on this issue now that its fresh in their minds and consider it not as a problem but as a way of life.
Its been awfully long, and i might have bored the crap out of. But thank you for getting here, dunno how many readers i might have lost on the way!! (thats me being overly optimistic)
Anyways...I shall try to be more concise in future posts!!
Signing out,
Joe Jack
