Freedom In Bollywood Movie Making - Right From Pre-Independence Era

“Fashion should be a form of Escapism, not a form of imprisonment”. - Alexander McQueen

Escapism is the trend to seek distraction from the everyday chores and fantasizing and dreaming about the impossibilities. In this imaginative situations and activities capture our mind which leads to avoidance of reality. Bollywood, following the theory of escapism in its plot, results in negativity of Indian masses and this experiment also could not able to appeal to the society. The reason could be that the reality of the regular person and his sufferings are been withheld.

These only happen due to the trend of commercialization in Hindi films but these things are essentially profit earning ways of the producers which ultimately leads to the cause of disgust and disdain for artists. Initially, Bollywood’s movies were really enlightening, though they were silent movie house, but they applied to be educative and bestow us with knowledge as well as wisdom. There was a time when movies like Achhut Kanya on class distinction and V. Shantaram’s ‘Dahej’ on dowry problem, made people like Mahatma Gandhi himself cry, and reflected the society and its ways. These movies were eye openers to the evils prevalent among people and made them reflect upon themselves. But nowadays movies are only about mindless entertainment. With the advent of the 60s the audience wanted to see more romance set in the backdrop of Kashmir. The shootings, romances, and love took the place of serious issues.

The earnestness with which the film makers did work had vanished and so had vanished the art of using logic and thinking, and making movies with genuine emotions and creative storytelling. The universe of fantasy, artists’ life and their showy culture became more predominant that their real informative roles. With the arrival of the 70s and 80s era, the typical movie formulas got challenged. Working down the song-dance mode, these filmmakers made ‘statement’ films. The pictures of many directors serve the purposelessness of Bollywood and ‘mirch masala’ started to commemorate the culmination of movies. A number of the directors who made art films and had graduated from the FTII, where they had seen movies from around the world, were abashed by the frivolity of their own, and wanted to develop a fresh manner that spoke of the events of the time, of rural oppression and urban dread. Then came the television and so it brought a change in the audiences. Films ultimately targeted to the lower class were still being made. The quality of the movies being made went from bad to worse, and by the end of this period, the movies focused on just sex, violence and the degradation of women.

By the end of the 90s, television severely cut into theatre audiences. The satellite and cable boom made the matter worse. Suddenly there was abundance of entertainment choices. Films like ‘ Baazigar Click to look into! >> Read More... ’, ‘Ghayal’, ‘Ghatak’, ‘Andaz Apna Apna’, etc. served no intentions and purposes. They were only meant for love, revenge and comedy. They were just a bunch of pointless movies that needed to be banned, but, since they were commercially attractive they were still made and sold. The 90s showed the underworld and the politicians as the evils of the society. Films that were made soon after India’s independence served as a platform to bring people together and spread the importance of unity and education among all. They were a platform for social work. This might seem as irrelevant and stupid to the current audience but at the time it was important for the society. The recent big hits such as ‘ Singham Click to look into! >> Read More... ’, ‘ Ghajini Click to look into! >> Read More... ’ and ‘ Dabangg Click to look into! >> Read More... ’ though have done business of a few crores yet they failed to serve a purpose to the society.

Films like Dil Chahta Hain to Munna Bhai MBBS or Taare Zameen Par Click to look into! >> Read More... has successfully being revolutionary and made people sit up and think but such instances have been too rare. ‘ 3 Idiots Click to look into! >> Read More... ’ was again an eye opener for the society and our education system. These movies entertained as well as highlighted the important problems facing our society in today’s day and age. The 1980s are often rebuked for having made the worst ever films in Bollywood but it was also the era when parallel or art cinema came into the limelight. During this period, each film was treated equally by the critics and audience, no matter the budget. At this era, a parallel cinema actor such as Om Puri Om Rajesh Puri is one of the widely noted senior a >> Read More... could win an award against a commercial cinema actor like Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan was born on October 11, 1942 in A >> Read More... , in the popular awards categories. This is quite unthinkable today and that is actually really sad. The art films made then were a masterpiece that really made the effort to make the audience think.

The growth of Hindi cinema is directly linked to the purpose it serves. The films are supposed to be a reflection of the society, and in that case we can surely do better than say, ‘ Ek Tha Tiger Click to look into! >> Read More... ’ or ‘ Rascals Click to look into! >> Read More... ’. Film makers today have freedom like none before and can talk about whatever they wish to openly. The feeling or faith of pre-independence need to be coming back with all new forms and proves the escape of escapism in Hindi cinema.