We have discovered an aspect of India that is often not explored by Westerners, due to the language barrier. It is Bollywood - Hindi language movies. So far we have only watched "Dus", which means "Ten". This is an action film, the kind I like - terrorists, plot twists, defusing bombs, etc. It was ok. I would say that it is hard to connect with an Indian film that depicts a little a*s kicking. It was fun, though.
But the real core of Hindi cinema are love films. Not the kind we have in the US, at least not the kind we have now. They are very beautiful. The only one we have watched thus far is "Salaam e Ishq", which means "Peace to Love", I think. It is a play on Salaam e Alaiykum, an Islamic greeting. It was absolutely fantastic.
First thing you need to know about Hindi movies is that they are really, really long. Salaam e Ishq was almost four hours, and this is normal. They have intermission where you go get popcorn, discuss the cliff hanger that is going on, and refresh yourself. We watched ours on DVD, of course (subtitles are needed), but you could clearly see where the movie had the intermission - the first half ended with a guy getting slapped.
Next thing about these movies is that they are notoriously modest - there is no kissing. Many couples in the movie look like they are about to kiss, but they then fall into each others arms, or the man kisses the woman's forehead, or kisses a tear off of her cheek. It happens many times, but there are no actual kisses. Interestingly, despite this absence of physical intimacy, the movies are infused with love. The kind of love about which we are perhaps becoming a bit more cynical of in the US.
Here's what I mean.....
We have all seen "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". We have all seen "The Sound of Music". They are almost exactly like Hindi movies, except they depict us, not Indians. In those movies we have innocent pictures of people who are sad due to the loss of a "someone", yet they are doing the best they can to raise the children they and this "someone" created. They have flaws and foibles, yet they love their children and are good people underneath it all. Then love intervenes and renders these fragile people vulnerable - in ways that tug at the heart and in ways that we can all relate to. In the end, the guy gets the girl, or the girl gets the guy - the poor inventor marries the heiress and kisses her in a mucky pond where they are standing, or the nun marries the affluent socialite and gives a shining mother to a wonderful group of forlorn children........ in both cases - a family is born. And it is all wonderfully interspersed with song and dance. Yes, life does not often look like that. Yes, the term "girl" in "the guy gets the girl" has been rendered offensive by the feminist movement, and yes, they are not inclusive movies because everyone is heterosexu..... you see what I mean? We have a series of thoughts that come in when we look at these older movies, yet - who really wants to see the world as it is for eight dollars? Escapism is not a flawed practice! As I get older, I think it is actually somewhat noble. Our hearts look for an elevated reality, for a different and better world - and as a believer in a different and better worls, I think it is actually entirely normal and healthy to seek a glimpse of that place.
I ask you - could such movies be made today? God forbid we have a remake of either.
Hindi films seem to acknowledge this same reality where love is the highest attainment of a human being. The characters are all beautiful, yet they are all flawed and in need of love. They are chasing the wrong things when the right things are doing everything they can to capture them. They are looking for ways to keep love at bay, yet love employs intent to get their attention. In Hindi cinema, love does not take "nahi" for an answer.
Salaam e Ishq is about six couples, all of whom are preventing love from taking ownership of their hearts. Their lives intertwine in ways that you don't see until the end, and everything gets set right. Love has conquered infidelity, self-absorption, racial and religious divisions, even amnesia. It was great!!
Another aspect of the Bollywood films are the dance and song scenes. These are a central feature of every movie - even Dus had songs and dances. Imagine Bruce Willis in "Die Harder" singing a song and dancing around between explosions. That was a bit odd, and that is best left to the love movies. But most Hindi movies are love movies, so it is congruous most of the time.
In response to the appaetite for this type of movie, films with a sad ending do not do well in India. "Casino Royale", where the heroine drowns to death, killed that film here. Despite all its merits, that's what people in India remember about that movie. Remember, this nation loves James Bond almost as much as I do.
If you came from another planet and saw a Hindi movie, you would think India was a nation of beige and white people. Only the lightest of the light become superstars here in India. An incredibly color conscious society, its aesthetics revolves around light skin. In this way, you get an incomplete picture of this brown and black nation of a billion.
It also helps one's Hindi to watch movies in Hindi, so I enjoyed that.
Overall, on this day of love, I declare that the world has two more Hindi movie fans - mai aur mera dil, Tara. Meri beevi bhi mera dil hai, wo mera tara hai, ek khoobsurat star.......
Happy Valentines Day to my love and beauty - Tara!! Aap mera pyaar hain......
