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The death of 'substance' in Main Stream Hindi Cinema

posted 15 years ago by minzie-31
18 replies | jump to latest

Movies like Dostana, and Kambakkht Ishq have started a dangerous trend in Main Stream Hindi Cinema. These movies are totally devoid of any logic and I prefer to call it the brutal murder of substance in films. What they consist of are promiscuous and stinking rich men, scantily clad women, bawdy jokes on sex, virginity, the female anatomy, offensive puns on homosexuality, cheap romance, fantastic foreign locations ...end of story. The Chopras, and the Johars have long forgotten there is a place called India where most of the Indians live, and have shifted their focus from intensely romantic family melodramas to this pathetic of a genre. Why is this happening in Bollywood?

a) The makers of main stream Hindi cinema are total eejits.

b) The makers of main stream Hindi cinema think the movie goers are total eejits.

c) The makers of main stream Hindi cinema rightfully think that we, the movie goers are total eejits and give us what we want, & we readily feed on their poop.

d) All of the above.

I need an answer guys...help me.

[–] jax1492 15 years ago

i agree some what, dostana wasn't that bad but could have done with out many scenes. i do think they are going for the quick laugh these days and a quick buck. for some reason people go see these type of movies and then they make more ... is it what people want? maybe?

not sure what is happening to bollywood but i don't like the trend it taking lately.

[–] surfboardt 15 years ago

I'm noticing that actors are showing a lot more skin than they did five years ago. If you want substance in an Indian film, you're going to want to watch for Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta. Their stuff is just fantastic.

[–] minzie-31 15 years ago

Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta movies may have substance, but why should big budget movies be totally devoid of logic and/or substance. Unfortunately, main stream movies like taare zameen par that had a lot of substance in it, failed to start a trend. Movies like Neel N Nikki, Dostana, K Ishq however did.

I really don't have a problem with the skin show or dirty jokes. There is more nudity in Hollywood. My point is, it is really difficult for me to comprehend why the skin show was required by the movie in the first place. As for the dirty jokes, they are just dirty and not at all funny. It looks very silly.

[–] thewhiterose85 15 years ago

Minzie-31, whoever you r... Couldnt agree with you more. Spot on. I think we should start a campaign against such movies coz as intelligent audiences we deserve better.

[–] Inmateshardstyle 15 years ago

Hangover, Scary Movie, American Pie, Mama Mia, what logic and sensibility do they have? Movies are also meant for entertainment, theres no problem making movies like KI or Dostana, they are there to entertain people and get more financial capacity increased.

[–] vhavnal 15 years ago

b) The makers of main stream Hindi cinema think the movie goers are total eejits.

uhm they are.!!!.. they only create movies for the Indian people in India, they really don't care about what people outside of india think of the movie. They are small minded people making movies for small minded people and because more than half (about 75% infact) of the indian people are illiterate, they wouldn't complain if the movie sucked or would think it has been copied from another hollywood movie cause they probably have never seen any hollywood movie and would think its original. KI wasn't bad but it was a waste of talent and cast. If directors feel that they want to make a movie in US or UK or any other developed country, then they should THINK about making an "english spoken" movie which will appeal to the masses. Infact most bollywood movie make more money in overseas than in india but still...As the saying goes, its not the movies that are bad, its the directors and writers who are too dumb to come with their own ideas so they keep stealing it from everyone else. I wish a hollywood movie company sues the Indian film industry for plagiarism and they would definitely make billions and this would probably knock some sense into the bollycrap directors to come with original source

You make your own destiny(well if you want to or steal someone else's)

[–] Enlightened_Idiot 15 years ago

I couldn’t agree with you more. Are we really this stupid or is our taste in movies so poor that we make movies like Kambakkht Ishq and Aap Ka Suroor hits? A few years back when formulaic films were flopping left and right there was hope that new movies, content and talent will take over main stream hindi cinema but sadly that has not happend and *beep* like Kambakkht Ishq become big hits today. Sad really.

[–] Inmateshardstyle 15 years ago

aap ka Saroor was a big diaster, lol. KI However is BO hit thanks to akshay kumar who carried the film on his shoulder.

[–] Enlightened_Idiot 15 years ago

The only thing that carried Kambakkht Ishq is people's stupidity. And Aap ka Suroor is not a box office disaster, its a success.

[–] Inmateshardstyle 15 years ago

Its a BO of flop you idiot, check the BO verdict of that film before saying something misleading, the lead actor was hopeless, in KI akshay's talent carried a medicore film forward to BO success due to his fan following.

[–] Enlightened_Idiot 15 years ago

Here are the collections of Aap Ka Suroor http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/boxoffice/13368/index.html

I wouldn’t call that a Box-office flop. As far as Kambakkht Ishq is concerned the same idiots who made Welcome and Singh is King hits were responsible for this movie's success also. Yes, I am talking about people like you.

[–] Inmateshardstyle 15 years ago

The movie was a low budget, hence why it did well, its a hit with 12 crore net, shows the film got good release but the low budget did well for the film, Kambakkht ishq is had to do somewhere near 50 to 60 crore net to be a hit atleast. But the actor of AKS is a famous singer.

[–] minzie-31 15 years ago

@ACMilan2

Scary Movie, American Pie: I agree they don't have much logic and sensibility. These movies are meant for teenage kids. More focused on the 13-19 age group. Moreover, they are not among the big budget movies. KI is among the largest budgeted movies in India. It is possible that 13-15 year olds may like the humor in KI , but it is no way a teen-movie.

Mama Mia: Haven't seen this.

Hangover: It is R-rated and has bawdier jokes, and more nudity than KI. But dude, it is hilarious. There is something practical about the movie, and does not exaggerate life in Vegas. KI is not practical and too wannabe (A stuntman with a luxurious apartment and a lady who is feminist, model, soon-to-be surgeon). The jokes in KI are just dirty and may be funny only to kids who have just got to know why they were born. The nudity seems to be forcefully squeezed in.

[–] m_arvellous 15 years ago

minzie-31
Hi,

I just bounced over from the link you sent me on the thread I started which is unerringly similar to this one. If I'd bothered reading through I probably would have just contributed here rather than starting my own thread. Sorry to make you repeat yourself!

I think the Bollywood industry lacks dynamic and there are too few people who want to take the risk to deliver a film that scores on all counts, especially if they fear it means reverting to the masala movie formula.
But only last year Imitiaz Ali proved you could write a super-hit without sacrificing entertainment for cheap thrills and retaining some good old-fashioned charm to boot.
I'm not saying I want a hundred versions of Jab We Met, but that's what the industry will do now... they will make Ali's original a formula of their own.
I think industry players need to be braver and credit audiences with something more; but they won't do that until audiences make it clear that the industry is failing to provide the service we pay for.

We all need to be a bit more vocal and critical about the substandard crap they're dressing up and passing off to us as "hits".

[–] minzie-31 15 years ago

Thank you so much for your support whiterose. Great minds think alike ;-)

[–] Inmateshardstyle 15 years ago

But after Aap Ka Suror which did well because of lb and good opening, the same actors next film became a BO disaster.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Derek_A 14 years ago

Good post. I agree. It is a result of the americanisation of India (it is in the ads, the porn for the poor, the tearing down of the elders, everything), and Bollywood film-makers and the sellers of things have only dollar signs in their eyes.

Even the actors (male and female) not have to have an american look to "famous". Whether they can act of dance is irrelevant, they just need the look.
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Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
Derek_A