The Comeback

I have been away for so long, that I am really not sure how to reconnect or restart. But I so want to write again. So let me keep it simple for this post. While I was away from the blog, I was never away from the movies. In fact, my passion has only intensified. So, keep watching this space for more...

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Lost Humor

Filmfare awards (The biggest awards in Hindi Film Industry, because of its legacy) did away with few traditional categories of awards this year. ‘Best Actor in a Comic Role’ was one such category. Surprised? I was! Because last year saw release of some big comic capers (Welcome), romantic comedies (Jab We Met) and no brainers (Dhol, Dhamaal) and most of them were fairly successful too.

So what happened? I am trying to unravel the reasons which seem most plausible to me right now. I believe there has been a change in way movies are written these days. In movies of yore, there was always a comic track running parallel to the main plot of the story. This was done because main plot was generally hackneyed and actors were so wooden that they felt comfortable emoting pain and hurt only or doing action sequences using body doubles. (Of course this is not true for miniscule good movies which released in 80’s and 90’s). Also main story line was generally boring, so film makers used to add some entertainment by injecting these comic tracks. The actors in these comic tracks were generally considered non hero material, though some of them have actually become legends. Who can forget Mehmood, whose on screen antics were much more watchable than the movie itself? People would flock to watch his movies and not really the hero. I have read somewhere that he was paid more than heroes too. I think the last famous comedian to be part of such comic tracks was Johnny Lever. His acts in movies like Baazigar are still remembered fondly.

But with better and original stories being written, this genre of comic tracks died its natural death. Also emerged good looking comic actors like Akshay Kumar and even Govinda was liked by masses. And full fledged genre of comedies also became commercially viable. So every hero wanted his share of pie. I sometimes feel that Amol Palekar and Farooque Shaikh were born in a wrong era. If they were to do the roles they did in their times, today, they would have been billionaires. Now these add on comic tracks have become an oddity and audiences generally don’t warm up to them. Few years back Filmfare started giving best actor in comic role awards to heroes of the movies. Govinda won one of those. Instead of accepting it as a sign of appreciation, they thought it was some kind of slur on their career or may be they were scared of being typecast. But I don’t see any comedy’s hero getting a best actor award in near future, which is easily possible in Academy Awards. This is because, we Indians consider emotional and weepy; loud and over the top performances as real acting. We think comedy is for wannabes! Sanjay Leela Bhansali would never make one! But I consider David Dhawan as great a film maker as SLB. What if his movies don’t go to Cannes? They made us laugh….

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IRONMAN is here to Stay

It happens rarely that one goes to a movie and gets surprised. Not necessarily because the movie is extremely good. It can also happen when a movie is better than ones expectations or when a movie tries to make a paradigm shift. Iron Man is one such movie which made me sit up and take notice of it.

Being a Hollywood movie, special effects were definitely of the highest levels. But the good thing in Iron Man was that these effects didn’t look as if something is happening out of the ordinary. They were believable and as audience one can mistake to think that if one gets that exoskeleton suit to wear, one can do all those things by oneself. Also unlike other superhero movies this one is really topical and deals with a serious issue of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, making it an interesting watch. While other superhero movies make caricatures out of their villains, Iron Man’s evil elements are entrenched in the grim realities of the present world. So when we watch a Superman or a Spiderman, we watch it as an outsider as if the events are unfolding in some world which doesn’t exist. But Iron Man is different; it reminds us of the dangerous world we live in.

Three other elements of this superhero flick, which makes it markedly different from other movies of similar ilk, have impressed me big time. And I am already awaiting its sequel.

No Split Personality – Right from Superman to Spiderman to even our desi Krissh, the superheroes depict extremely different personalities with and without costumes. Take Spiderman for example. Without his costume Peter Parker is a simple guy, who behaves like loser at times and when he dons his Spiderman costume, the change in his persona is highly dramatic. In Iron Man, nothing of that sort exists. Tony Stark is as powerful and ingenious as Iron Man himself. He can survive and win without the costume. His costume is the extension of his personality and not the other way around. That element makes Iron Man more endearing than any other superhero.

No Need to Hide – While other superheroes make an effort to hide their real identities, Iron Man is cool with revealing his real self. He is indulgent and seeks pleasure in his accomplishments.

No Freak Show – While Spiderman gets his powers from a freak bite and Krissh gets his magic from equally freak ‘Jaadoo’; Iron Man uses his technological know-how and resources to give himself that edge. He makes us believe that Superheroes are humans after all.

I cherished Iron Man and I am sure he is here to stay.

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