Today I happened to be on a road crossing coming back from getting milk.I had taken barely two steps when I saw a car racing towards me.It was speeding in a way I stood my ground & watched it approaching closer.To my utter astonishment I saw it come to a halt only a Hundred steps away from me.I looked & crossed the road.I didn’t think of a wave,bow or just a nod.It continued again with the same speed.But I have not stopped thinking about it.Was it someone who knew me?or a person recently been to Dubai?Someone who cares for pedestrians?The list is endless.
Why do we have closed minds?Something better can happen always.Once I got scared of the speed of the driver taking us to mumbai.I wondered if …at once a thought came to mind,no I cannot die in a freak accident,there is lot of work to be done! Then again I thought of a biker who had managed to ride between me & my husband when we were crossing a road. I actually had my foot forward,he passed within an inch of my foot.I was transfixed.My husband had crossed the road & was looking at me puzzled.
The accidents in films & tV shows spoil you forever.The cliches are worse.The overdose makes us to over imagine.It is an accident & never happens always but our conditioning is wrong.Looking at a pregnant woman why not imagine a healthy baby? why think of traffic or slippery roads? There was a radio shop in our neighbourhood which had a poster of Murphy baby,very similar to the baby shown on the wrapper for Parle -G biscuits.And the story went that the baby died.Once my uncle heard this & said ‘why can’t you think of the baby as a grown up?’ Why should it die? It has grown so is no longer a baby!
There was a usual story of a girl dying in a popular advertisement.If you actually found out,she had married & settled abroad.Why do have a fetish for the unknown? Can’t we think positively?Make others think wisely?Depiction in films we say is very real,then when we have a beautiful,powerful medium to impress,why is it that violence & bad things take precedence? It’s said often that audience dictates,so what is popular finds a place.If that is so the audience is clever enough to choose what’s right & what’s not.
Most popular stars face flops due to lack of proper projects.An actor like Rajkumar Rao or a Vicky Kaushal stand out due to their choices,so does Ayushman Khorana! How many lead actors have the courage to sign an offbeat film & turn it into a hit? Wrong choices is what Ranbir Kapoor could not fathom,his earlier films have a promise but then in spite of looking almost like Sanju–in the film,it didn’t help his flagging career.A miss or a hit! People are pretty considerate,they don’t reject an actor just because he gave a flop but if mistakes are repeated again & again,there is no mercy.
Rarely an actor like Amitabh rise above the rest.A string of flops,rejected by All India radio for his voice(?)–the same baritone that can be recognised miles away & by generations!He was also advised to follow his father’s footsteps & become a poet.(We really missed out on that! only solace is his recitation of -‘Main aur meri tanhai—” in Silsila)His height was criticised.It was an era of soft,romantic heros– an era of superstar(first of its kind!) Rajesh Khanna.Watch” Anand”& feel the difference in their styles.He was also known as “Guddi’s husband”—Jaya Bhaduri being the bigger star at that time.What worked for him is a stable relationship & peace at home.The link-ups in his life fizzled out .His dabbling in ABC & in politics was a disaster. But with KBC he rose like a phoenix & became a forerunner in the entertainment business.Today he is worth millions & has been on the jacket of most of the magazines.
Every film has a hidden message.Many tend to over do it.But if the thought is refreshing it remains with you forever.Some classic gems are such you can watch anytime.More than Amitabh starrer “Bombay to Goa”,the Marathi film ,”Navra maza navsacha” is better.Or more than “Baghban” another Amitabh starrer,Marathi film”Tu tithe mi” is better.Those films are low budget & show true feelings,one can easily relate,multistarrer tend to focus on the stars rather than the story.
I like to watch a movie for it’s substance & not for timepass.Rather than a glossy film like “Rangella” I would definitely prefer a film like Ankur or Damini.Look out for Mahesh Bhatt or Hrishikesh Mukherjee.Mrinal Sen or –any Bengali director will give a feast for the eyes.So, happy watching!
Asian Entertainment 