BEHINDWOODS CELEBRITY COLUMN

We weren’t around when the first Indian feature film ‘Raja Harishchandra’ was made a hundred years ago and neither will we be there when the industry hits yet another century of Indian cinema. But we all have our share of experiencing Indian cinema in some way or the other and we are part of the first centenary year.  We belong to the present as much as the hundredth year of Indian cinema belongs to us to cherish. While Google and Wikipedia are resourceful enough to give you a peek of the hundred-year journey giving all kinds of information be it the landmark films, key inventions, evolution of technologies, the artists, technicians, budgets and awards, I felt the need to reminisce an intrinsic medium that has been there all along and given us so much at every stage of our lives.

As children, our monitoring parents always decided the movies that we could watch. As early teenagers, we found enough excuses for sleepovers to watch the forbidden films with our schoolmates only to know why we weren’t allowed to watch. As young adults, we had our gang of friends to make movie plans, pool in money for popcorn and pastries and have been synonymous to a chaotic clan when our hero/heroine got introduced in the film. Out of college and in a job, we probably picked those movies that would virtually be empty to go with the special someone we were seeing. Just married couples have always had movie outings as part of their weekly plans or making up with the spouse for joining late for dinner from work. New borns and young kids in the house come with the parents share of skipping an entire bunch of movies released at that time. And when those kids grow up, the same cycle of monitoring and meandering continues. As we age, our choice of films also gets picky and only the most important films get our time amidst a busy schedule.

Much as our Hollywood productions are far superior in terms of content and production values, there’s nothing like relating to our regional cinema and connecting to the local parlance, culture, language and the next-door neighbor characters. Take any celebrations, catching up a festival release on TV or at a theatre, treating your friends for that new job or bonding over a bon-fire in an alumni gathering or unwinding at a wedding party, movies and songs invariably find a place on such occasions. Big releases, bad releases, budget releases all have their share of being discussed in water-cooler conversations. As opinion churners, we feel the need to recommend well-made films, reject trash films and become evangelists of cinema with the power to spread information through word-of-mouth publicity.

A badly made movie can bore you beyond the first 20 minutes but you can never get bored of watching movies per se with the sheer choice that we are spoilt with every Friday. Probably why I didn’t mind catching up with three films consecutively on three days over the weekend with the same excitement, as I would have when I watch a movie after a long time. Even after discounting movie buffs that revel in catching most releases, the contribution of Indian cinema in general and Tamil cinema in specific is much beyond just entertainment for those two and a half hours.

Those cinema halls have seen all kinds of people visiting, dancing, cheering, hooting, laughing, crying and leaving with different kinds of emotions depending on the genre and subject of the movie. Indian cinema is full of emotions (probably with an extra dosage) and has embraced us to be a part of it too. It’s probably the only place where everyone can laugh their loudest, whistle their wackiest or where everyone (including men) have the social license to cry their crankiest. We are more likely to be influenced by the advice that our favorite heroes advocate on screen than listening to our family member’s advice. Our fashion trends get mirrored onto our wardrobe from the latest outfits to hairstyles to accessories. Our Indian films have been all-pervasive and continue to be as diverse as the country and people it caters to. But in all that diversity, it brings people and their emotions together that no other medium enjoys to this extent. So here’s raising a toast to more such entertaining films in the years to come. For more memories! For more melodrama! For more moments! For more movies! Happy hundredth birthday dear Indian cinema!