Veteran screenwriter Javed Akhtar says the Hindi commercial cinema, contrary to what many would believe, is a true reflection of the society and if one maps the stories of each decade, a defining picture emerges of the times we live in. Today, Akhtar observed, movies are dotted with “meaningless violence”, which require deeper inspection.
Speaking during the 9th Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Akhtar, who, along with Salim Khan, birthed the ‘Angry Young Men’ hero of Bollywood and wrote fiercely anti-establishment movies, says current times signal some “frustration” in people which is being channeled through violent films.
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“There is some frustration in people, some tussle, which is coming out in the form of meaningless violence in some films that I am observing. Ek shaant samaj, jo apne aap se itminaan rakhta hai, woh itni violent picture nahi dekhega. Uska catharsis ho raha hai iss violence ko dekh ke. Ye violence tujhme chupa kaha se hai bhai? Kyu hai? Kaunsa gussa hai tere andar, kaunsi baat hai jo tu keh nahi raha hai, ki tujhe aisa violence achcha lagta hai? (A gentle society, at peace with itself, won’t watch such violent films. But it’s getting catharsis watching this violence. From where does this violence come to you? Why? What is this angst in you, what is it that you are not able to convey that violence of this kind appeals to you)?”
The highest grossing films of the last few years have been front-footed action films, from KGF 2, Pathaan, Jawan, Gadar 2 and the recent Sandeep Reddy Vanga blockbuster Animal, which was criticised for its misogyny and violence.
Javed Akhtar said people “underestimate” commercial cinema a lot, but it is “truly” the reflection of the society. The writer said people might wonder how is it even possible because commercial cinema is not even realistic.
“But even dreams are not real. If you tell a psychiatrist what a kid has been seeing in his dream, then the psychiatrist will tell you what is troubling the kid. Similarly, if you look at Hindi cinema closely, it is collective dream of the society. If they are not, the films won’t work, and the films will become a hit only if they are a collective dream. A society which is watching such films, getting these nightmares, we must understand its restlessness, its problems. Hindi commercial cinema is tightly linked with the society,” he added.
Akhtar said if one looks at the history of Hindi cinema, from the 50s till the 70s, irrespective of the quality of films or their intellectual levels, the hero was always working class– a taxi driver, mill worker, doctor, teacher, lawyer. Now, Akhtar noted, the hero of commercial cinema doesn’t come from the working class, he is “usually rich, doesn’t have a job, and when he steps out on the streets, he is in Switzerland.”
“The hero of such films has nothing to do with the problems of the country. He is caught up in personal issues, not social. Forget about political issues, even social issues don’t make way in our stories. There is this isolation, which doesn’t even represent working class in our cinema. How is the cinema getting saved then? Not because of single screen, but multiplex.”
Akhtar recalled how a decade ago there was a tussle between multiplexes and producers, where the former had gone on a strike. Films had stopped releasing because of the fight.
“These multiplexes had 1200 screens, but we had 14,000 single screens, why not release the films there? But no. The way the hotels of rich and poor are different, hospitals for the rich and poor are different, similarly, even films are made distinctly for the rich. The rich buys a ticket of Rs 700, pays Rs 200 for samosa. Now, if films are made for them, usmein gareebo ki ya aam aadmi ki problems dikha ke unka mood kyu kharab kare?”
In the same event, Akhtar had indirectly spoken about Ranbir Kapoor’s blockbuster Animal, which has been called out for its toxic masculinity and had said, “If there’s a film in which a man asks a woman to lick his shoe or if a man says it’s okay to slap a woman… and the film is a super hit, that’s dangerous.” He referred to the scene between Ranbir and Triptii Dimri’s characters in the film.
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Javed Akhtar says ‘meaningless violence’ in films alarming, shows frustration among people: ‘Kaunsa gussa hai tere andar ki itni violent film dekhna hai?’ – The Indian Express
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