Mar 9, 2007

I applaud the Bollywood Lolita

Mass protests have greeted Amitabh Bachchan's latest film, Nishabd, which has been compared to Lolita. But it shows Bollywood can make mainstream films about difficult subjects - and that's a good thing.

Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan: the poster-boy of Indian cinema. Photograph: Gregory Bull/AP

Amitabh Bachchan, that icon of Indian cinema, memorably crowned Superstar of the Millennium by BBC News Online, faces a scandal with his latest project. Mass protests in his home town of Allahabad have broken out in response to the actor's controversial movie Nishabd. The film, which has been compared to Lolita, but is a remake of an eponymous Bengali film, centres on a 60-year-old photographer and his infatuation with his daughter's .

To those of us who still consider the actor the erotic poster-boy of Indian cinema, this sensual drama is an exciting prospect. The man who, in his later years, only played fairly interesting roles - a possessed cop, a neglected father abused by his children, and that Bollywood stalwart, a strict patriarch - finally has a chance to do one of the two things he has always done with panache: romance and righteousness.

While his stint in politics was short-lived, Bachchan's screen life is a different story. Famously encountering difficulties entering the industry because of his unconventional looks, the actor became the darling of the Indian public in the 1970s. His angry young man, fighting rather than working within the system, struck a chord with a society racked by unemployment, corruption and poverty. And even though he occasionally died, he always got the girl.

But the outrage over this new role - one that would stretch any actor - says more about the changing face of Bollywood than it does about Bachchan. Carrying anti-Bachchan placards, the protestors are calling for his retirement and a ban on the film. Aspects of today's Indian cinema shamelessly parrot American pop culture (aerobicised girls in R'n'B dance routines, alongside new, alarmingly muscled heroes) so the Allahabad protestors' claim that Nishabd is bringing a corrupt Western sensibility to Indian soil - a claim repeatedly made since India began making movies in the 1930s - is a conveniently forgetful one. The gap between the Indian intelligensia and the populace, between realist and Bollywood cinema, is significant. The former is thoughtful, socially conscious and working with an aesthetic not that far removed from the independent cinema of the west; the latter, loud and a little trashy, offering all-singing, all-dancing potboilers.

But perhaps it is no longer, if it ever was, so clear cut. Nishabd shows it is still possible to make mainstream movies about difficult subjects, despite the intellectual snobbery over Bollywood. This same industry has recently delivered films about pornography, child widows, domestic abuse and Hindu-Muslim riots, featuring the customary high production values, big musical numbers and sleek stars. Maybe it's possible to be loud and still say something.

Related Posts




1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Download mp3 songs, Video songs, Wallpapers or Full Movie

(Bollywood, Hollywood, Telugu and Tamil Movies)

Download mp3 songs


Download or Watch Online Video


Download Full Movie


Download Wallpapers of Actress


Download Movie Wallpapers


Download mp3 songs, Video songs, Wallpapers or Full Movie


Latest Tpoics of this site :


Download Bhoothnath Video Songs


Download Meet Bill Hollywood Movie(2008)


Download Baby Mama movie(2008)


Download Love Songs Bollywood movie (2008)


Download Pandi Songs (2008)


Watch or Download Akku movie (2008)


Download What Happens In Vegas movie(2008)


Download War, Inc. movie(2008)


Download my mom's new boyfriend movie (2008)


Download chennai superkings songs


Download Aayutham Seivom songs (2008)


Download Speed Racer Movie (2008)


Download Khushboo songs (2008)


Download Bhootnath movie (2008)


Download sonal chauhan Actress Wallpapers


Download Katherine Heigl Wallpapers


Download ileana Wallpapers


Download Anamika Video songs (2008)


Download Anamika movie(2008)


Watch Sirf Video songs (2008)


Watch Jalsa Video Songs (2008)


Download Jalsa wallpapers (2008)


Watch Kantri Video Songs (2008)


Download Rang Rasiya Wallpapers (2008)


Download Ankit, Pallavi & Friends Songs


Download Anamika Songs (2008)


Download Ghatothkach songs (2008)


Download Jalsa (2008) telugu movie


Download Kantri Wallpapers (2008)


Download Raat Gayi Baat Gayi wallpapers (2008)


Download Don Muthuswami video songs (2008)


Download Don Muthuswami Songs (2008)


Download Dhoom Dadakka Video Songs (2008)


Download Hastey Hastey (2008) Wallpapers


Download Dhoom Dadakka (2008) songs


Download The Awakening (2008) Songs


Download Hastey Hastey Video Songs


Download Anushka Shetty Wallpapers


Download Kalidasu Telugu Movie (2008)


Download Too Hot Too Cool (2008) Songs, IPL POP


Download Mr White Mr Black movie (2008)


Download Hastey Hastey Songs (2008)


Download Shamur Shardana Songs - Pop Album


Download Sirf (2008) Movie


Kuruvi Video Songs Download


Download Tashan movie (2008)


Download Katrina kaif Wallpapers


Download Aashayein Wallpapers


Download The Number 23 (2007) movie


Download Vaana Telugu songs

Post a Comment

Google