Thursday, January 08, 2009

Dabbling in Regional Indian Cinema on an Air India Flight

BakulaNamdevGhotale_acass_246x250.jpg People talk trash about Air India, but it has one distinct advantage -- if you're lucky enough to fly to and from India on one of their newer 747s, which are equipped with personal video screens, you have a wealth of Indian TV, movies, and music to entertain yourself with, while eating Chiwda (instead of peanuts) and not-too-bad shrimp curry. (You still have to sit in a cramped little chair for 16-24 hours without losing your mind, but that would be the case on Lufthansa too.)

Our son wasn't too much trouble on this flight (he slept through much of it), so I was able to sample a range of subtitled Indian movies in different languages that I otherwise might not see. In some cases, I didn't watch whole films -- sometimes just an hour or so -- but it was an interesting experiment to compare a group of films that normally are only seen by members of specific linguistic communities. People sometimes talk about Indian cinema as if the only films worth watching are made in Hindi and produced in Mumbai, but perhaps the folks who are saying that only watch those films?

The most entertaining, and highest production value film I watched was the Tamil film, Sivaji, The Boss, starring Rajnikanth (star of several YouTube "superhits," including "Little Superman"). I initially enjoyed the sense of Tamil ethno-linguistic pride in the film (Rajnikant's love interest is named "Tamizhselvi"), though it did start to get old after a little while (I did not see such an obsession with regional identity in the Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, or Punjabi films I sampled on this flight. Is the Tamil-centricness of Sivaji, The Boss unique to this film?).

Rajnikanth's manic physical comedy and dancing, and the film's over-the-top sets and situations, are really why someone who is not a long-term Rajnikanth fan watches a film like this. I couldn't say that the anti-corruption plot made any narrative sense, though there were some powerful "crowd" moments here and there; there's just a whiff of the rough edges of actual Indian politics. More than anything else, it seemed like Rajnikanth's mission in this film is to entertain the audience as fast as possible, and continue doing so until every last bit of amusement is squeezed out of every damn frame of the film. (I wish I knew where he gets the energy.)

Incidentally, Sivaji, The Boss was the most expensive Indian film ever made, in any language, as of 2007. It was a super-hit in the South, and successful even dubbed into Hindi.

After Sivaji, The Boss, I sampled two Malayalam films. I watched most of a wonderful family comedy called Madhu Chandralekha, starring Jayaram and Urvasi. I have to say I definitely enjoyed the story about how the ordinary, unglamorous wife of a successful singer and composer becomes jealous of a glamorous young woman who comes into their lives. It felt very real and honest, and Urvashi (a regional actress who came out of "retirement" for this film) is convincingly unglamorous, if that expression can be permitted. (We have all seen movies television programs where an obviously incredibly beautiful woman tries to "frump" it as someone bookish and unpopular, but the audience knows it is only a matter of time before the Grand Makeover occurs, and Beauty Emerges Triumphant. Not so here.) Incidentally, here is a song from the film.

Also worth checking out is a Malyalam film called Smart City. Set in Cochi, a quick Google search revealed that this "honest man vs. the corrupt business establishment and gangster cronies" film seems to be based on a real, 2004 proposal in Cochi to build an "Internet City," where a multinational corporation based in Dubai would develop a whole region of the city as a kind of high-end Internet/IT/Multinational hub. Though it is by no means an art film or a work of political propaganda, Smart City is quite serious in its opposition to this kind of "think big/get a piece of the action" approach to development, and touches on a sensitive and important issue that is much broader than just Kerala (i.e., the controversies over "Special Economic Zones").

One small observation: both the Tamil film Sivaji and the Malayalam film Madhu Chandralekha had physical comedy about what happens when one eats absurdly spicy food. In Sivaji, Rajnikant coolly eats a plate of hot peppers to impress his love interest and her family, before allowing himself to spazz out in the bathroom. In Madhu Chandralekha, the jealous wife makes wildly spicy food for her husband to try and alienate him, because she doesn't feel worthy of his love. Comedy of course ensues when the wrong person eats some of the food. Just coincidence, or is there a tradition of comedy over spicy food either in South Indian movies, or even Indian movies in general?

The Marathi film Bakula Namdeo Ghotale was much smaller in terms of production values or professionalism than either of the Malayalam films or the Tamil film I watched, but it was still entertaining, if not exactly Cannes Film Festival material. First, Bakula Namdeo Ghotale features actors in starring roles who look convincingly rural (i.e., the male stars all have "bad" teeth, and are not conventionally good-looking; see what I mean in this song from the film). The plot is nothing too exciting (a conniving Sarpanch falls in love with the wife of the village idiot; the wife fends off his advances and protects her witless husband), but, again, the actors held my attention because they seemed "real" to me.

I watched a little of the Punjabi film Ek Jind Ek Jaan, but quickly got bored and quit. What struck me here, by comparison to the Malayalam and Tamil films in particular, was just how low-budget and uninspired the film looked, even with an "over the hill" Bollywood star as the leading man (Raj Babbar). I should point out that there are some higher-end and more ambitious Punjabi films out there, so this is not a comment on the Punjabi film industry in general, so much as Air India's particular selection. (That said, I have never seen a film that had Raj Babbar in a major role that I found watchable. Shaheed Uddham Singh, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, and LOC Kargil were all nauseatingly bad.)

I also watched a few minutes of a Gujarati film, but neglected to write down the title, and so can't say anything about it. Like the Punjabi films Air India was showing, it looked rather cheap and conventional.

While most of the other regional films being shown by Air India have been released in the past two years, their two Bengali selections were both "classics," from the 1970s and 80s. The one I watched on this flight was Aparna Sen's 1984 art film, Parama, about a housewife who has a flirtation with a young, avant-garde photographer. It was very well done; with the photography theme, it reminded me a little of Antonioni's Blow-Up, but with a nostalgic, Bengali high culture sensibility. The young actor Mukul Sharma, who played the photographer in the film, opposite Rakhee Gulzar, reminded me a little of Dustin Hoffmann in the 1970s.

Needless to say, making even half-assed comparisons between different regional cinemas would have been easier if Air India had been showing films comparable in scale and status. There would really be no point in comparing Aparna Sen's Parama to something like Sivaji, The Boss.

Still, here are some sketchy thoughts: though it makes a big fuss out of adhering to Traditional Tamil Culture, Sivaji, The Boss is as over-the-top and glossy as any big, loud, Bollywood movie. This is not terribly surprising; there is a regular exchange of ideas and talent between the Hindi and Tamil movie industries, and watching this film I felt as if I were watching a Bollywood film that happened to be in the Tamil language. The only major difference might be the presence of Rajnikanth himself, who has an utterly unique style and an iconic status that has no equivalent anywhere else.

The Malayalam films I sampled were smaller and less ambitious, but the trade-off is that they both had an honesty to them that I liked, even with dramatically different themes (married life/relationships on the one hand, and corruption/multi-national development on the other).

The other regional films I sampled were less compelling, though between the Gujarati, Punjabi, and Marathi films on offer, the only one I found watchable was the spirited Marathi film Bakula Namdeo Ghotale. I do not know if the naturalistic appearance of the actors or village settings is common in Marathi films; if so, it would have to be a reaction against the artificial sleekness and hyper-cosmopolitanism of Bollywood cinema -- and ironic, given that Mumbai is actually in the state of Maharashtra. And because not much is written about Marathi films in English (most of the links that turn up in Google are simply various options for illegal downloading), I have no idea whether this film is typical or not.

Are there other recent films in regional languages that readers would recommend? Also, any recommendations for off-beat, "multiplex" oriented Hindi films? (I have had my fill of Bachchans and Khans for now.)

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13 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thirakatha and Kaiyoppu are two Malayalam movies I would like to recommend, serious and well made movies. Also please try Classmates - for its unique way of story telling

12:16 PM  
Blogger Gamesmaster G9 said...

If you want to watch recent good Bengali cinema, you might try Rituparno Ghosh's films. Though some are much better the others (Dahan, Utsab), they are all worth a watch.

1:15 PM  
Blogger Prasun said...

Bengali and Malayalam movies have traditionally been more "intellectual" (for lack of a better word). Tamil (and telugu) movies are for the masses, except that Hindi is not very popular in those states.

I don't know how popular Gujarati and Punjabi movies are - especially because all Hindi movies are made by Gujaratis and Punjabis :)

Marathi movies must be somewhere in between - I think they are popular but Hindi movies are more popular in Maharashtra than, say, in Tamil Nadu.

As far as Air India is concerned, I flew once and I don't think the in-flight entertainment was working (at least for me)

1:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Would like to recommend some commercial Kannada movies for your viewing pleasure (not the well known art movies that were made in the 60s and 70s).

(1) America, America: Starring the very popular Ramesh Arvind. Director Nagethihalli Chandrasekhar takes a sometimes sympathetic, sometimes harsh look at the lives of NRIs in the US. Very different from the Hindi movies like Pardes that have treated the same subject is a romanticized manner. Globalization is an underlying sub theme.

The story revolves around three friends Surya (Sun), Shashank (Moon) and Bhumika (Earth). Shashank and Bhumika get married and migrate to the US while Surya stays in his village.

(2) Beladingala Bale (Dawn Maiden): A charming romantic comedy starring Anant Nag who plays a chess grandmaster who receives anonymous letters from a mysterious woman containing clues to her identity. Anant Nag, of course, cannot rest until he finds her. Based on a novel by the popular Telegu writer Yandamuri Veerendranath.

(3) Gowri Ganesh: If you say "Anant Nag" most people would think of this movie and it's successors, such as "Ganeshina Maduve" (Ganesh's Marriage) and "Rowdy Ramakrishna". Gowri Ganesh is a black (or at least grey) comedy. Anant Nag plays a deadbeat who gets himself admitted to government hospitals so he can get food and shelter. While in hospital, he comes across a fellow patient, a pregnant woman, who dies immediately after giving birth to a child. Anant Nag also discovers letters written by her to her ex-husband and various lovers. It takes no time for Anant Nag to name the kid Ganesh and work out a scam where he gets child support from all the ex-lovers, who are in different cities. the fun starts when they all come to Bangalore on the same day and want to see Ganesh.

2:07 AM  
Blogger Pinku said...

Bangla Movies: Try Ballygunge Court and Shuno eyi bukee . The first is about the lives of middle class people groping with the realities of today's changing world.

The second is about the difficulties a woman faces when her Painter husband realises on their wedding night that his beautiful wife wears falsies since she has not been naturally endowed by nature.

Hindi: check out Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye and Wednesday...hopefully you will like it...and both dont feature the bachans and the Khans.


Will hope to hear what you think about them.

2:07 AM  
Anonymous Eye for India said...

I hope that you will continue to watch movies from all parts of India once you settle down at home. I'm sure you will get them wherever you are. :)

7:44 AM  
Anonymous Lekhni said...

Jet Airways has a pretty good collection of Bollywood and regional movies too. When I flew them in March, they had Sivaji, and also Khosla ka Ghosla and so on. And a collection of oldies like Arth and Guide too. I am told that Cathay Pacific has a good Bollywood/ regional movie collection too.

So no, Air India does not have that advantage either - not anymore :)

12:21 PM  
Anonymous Uma said...

Both those Malayalam movies you saw are classified commercial ones and I personally found Urvashi's acting a bit over the top in Madhuchandralekha. Smart City again would seem like a stereotype to those who've seen that genre overdone in Malayalam cinema. That only 43 films were released in Kerala last year would show the state of the Malayalam film industry and how ugly screenplays have affected it. But as someone has commented above, Kaiyyoppu and Thirakatha are among those worth watching and if ever you need more suggestions drop a word on your blog, though I'm pretty much sure you won't be watching any more regional cinema until your next Air India flight :)

Your observation about incorporating 'spicy' scenes (pun unintended) is interesting and I'd never particularly noted it before, though the first one that comes to mind is the green chilly episode of Aishwarya's in Hum Dil Chuke Sanam which serves more of a purpose of a tragi-comedy :)But yes, when you think about it, throwing of chilly powder at people and wives/girlfriends/ in-laws, /others or their 'foes' adding extra chilly into food, seems to be a running elelment through our cinema.

And on Sivaji, the lesser said the better :)

12:06 AM  
Blogger sudin said...

Emirates rivals Air India in their Desi movie offerings (along with a better flying experience).

And Pinku, "Shuno eyi bukee" about falsies? You got to be kidding me. The title sounds as horrible as the premise. Sorry to admit this as a bit of a Bengali chauvinist myself, but the post-Ray Bengali film world is a disaster. The ones with artsy aspirations are poorly-scripted and uniformly mediocre, and as for "commercial" stuff - the less said the better.

Interestingly, there didn't seem to be such an art/commerical divide in Bengali cinema of the '60s and '70s. Take films like the Uttam Kumar-Suchitra Sen starrer "Saptapadi" or "Saat Paak-e bNadha", or even Mrinal Sen's "Akash Kusum". Solid works of art, but also wonderfully entertaining.

I will take them over Rituparno Ghosh any day.

1:48 PM  
Anonymous Pawan said...

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi also has a 'spicy' scene where Shahrukh and Anushka have a gol-gappa eating competition. So yeah, it might be a recurrent gimmick.

2:42 AM  
Blogger Jammy Badger said...

Hey Amardeep,

could you recommend any watchable Punjabi films please? I'd be very interested in checking them out. my childhood memories are filled with movies about land, death, misery and women being harassed by dirty old men...

thanks!

2:12 AM  
Anonymous barbara said...

I have only just started viewing Indian films, most recently "The Namesake," and three others which I enjoyed tremendously. I am glad to have found your blog site as a great resource of Indian film reviews. My Villanova-graduate niece, who recently celebrated a Maui wedding, introduced me to this wonderful genre.

8:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amardeep, I'd highly recommend the Marathi films "Maati Maay" (subtitled in English as "A Grave-Keeper's Tale") and "Akriet" ("Misbegotten"). They've won numerous international awards, are technically and aesthetically pleasing, have strong performances and interesting social-justice imperatives (without ponderousness). I enjoy your blog, BTW.

2:38 AM  

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