Hindi cinema's long song-and-dance to now

This is an update of a post I wrote in 2004. It still holds.
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Indian cinema is going through several evolutions. While glitter and glam will likely always figure in Hindi films (and the world is a more beautiful place for it), the art is moving towards bringing formerly "arthouse" films into the mainstream and younger directors are making films that reflect their truth.

One landmark for my generation was Dil Chahta Hai: a plot that was less linear, but that went deeper in character development while still catering to the 'commercial' crowd, a film made by then 26-year old Farhan Akhtar.

Many stereotype Hindi cinema for its actors running around trees. Yes, of course! There's room for that. But there's more to the industry or to the art. Here's my take on it.

The 50s and 60s saw some of the best cinema: black and white studies of the common man (at that time Awaara or Shree 420), the naïvety of love through graceful, subtle looks and sobre sarees and dhotis or suits. Raj Kapoor being one of those I watched, his films had messages about human nature, corruption, temptation, some of the less cheery shades of humanity. There was the one and only Satyajit Ray.

The 70s witnessed Raj Kapoor at films again, but directing other actors, and going for choli-less chokris in white sarees, the precursors to today's vixens! Colour everywhere, and candy-flavoured stories. The full-blown tree-scampering, the puffed-up hair and some very quirky music. Some of R.D. Burman's best music, and rarer but successful incursions into deep stories. The 70s also gave us Sholay, a must-see of Indian cinema, along with scores of films featuring the lanky, handsome Amitabh Bachchan. Films where the working-class hero fought for his people against the oppressor: full-swing Socialism. The fights were absurd, the heroines mere decoration and the hero's mother tearful. The Feminists hated it, the Leftists loved it. Adorno would have at least liked it more than what followed.

The 80s, decade of disco, crimped hair and just plain dismay, except for the music. Saree-clad heroines finding more creative ways of running around trees, minus the social issues. The hair was bad, the clothes were bad, the make-up quite quite horrible, the hero's mother blind and tearful, the mother-in-law wicked. The music sometimes came above the lot, and some of the best songs we hum today come from then.

The 90s offered a mixed lot. The first half probably still reeked quite strongly of the nasty 80s things, but more of the American 80s (which is no great relief). And the middle and end of the decade gave us Chandni, Lamhe, films which, if not political, were at least less caricaturing. The hero's mother could now smile, she could even be cool.

Leaping to the 2000s, the early years of the decade moved the industry through fast paces. The quality of film-making went up, in part due to swelling budgets, and in part due to talent and competition. But gone were the days of out and out socialist recriminations. If the blue-collar worker used to go to the theatre to watch his hero fight his cause and come out of it still facing his real world, now he went to watch the hero fight another class' cause: he saw Devdas in opera-like proportions, and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham where people own private helicopters. The mothers rivalled with their heroine-daughters in looks, style and even dance!

Of course India's (upper) middle class had grown, so much so apparently that the whole Yash Chopra school of film-making condemned heroes to have at least five Ferraris and heroines to only wear designer creations. The gawkiness had gone out of most films, and so had the sense. I love a corny Hindi film as much as the next person. But there was no intelligent meaning to be extracted: just put your brains on "luxury pause" for three hours.

Since the late 2000s, I feel the industry has evolved for the better. Mani Ratnam's incisive (Tamil-dubbed-in-Hindi) cinema is a saving grace. Aamir Khan has made interesting choices for the films he produces. Younger film-makers are showing that you don't always need to shoot the NRIs: Indians have a life worth recounting too. Yes, always against the backdrop of Indian music and songs. It does actually make sense to me that actors and actresses should suddenly break into a ditty (or an elaborate production) in the middle of nowhere. Ever heard of "suspension of disbelief"? But music is also being used in more creative ways.

To me, modernising Hindi films means going back to some of the original essence while reflecting today's diverse reality. It does not mean getting rid of the song and dance, drama or strong emotions. Sometimes, too sleek is just too dead. The next few years should bring more ideas and techniques forward, including new stories. Lots to look forward to...

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PS: I speak here of the films that make it to the multiplexes and some of the smaller budget well-known ones. Parallel to those, Hindi films are produced in thousands each year, with their share of low-end duds, as in all other film industries.