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Some tears, some smiles

ZIYA US SALAM

As audiences laughed at vulgar comedies, critics cried foul but producers raked in the moolah. Even when there were sobs in the stalls, the filmmakers shed tears of joy.

MAN FOR ALL SEASONS The lingering images of the year have been of Bachchan, old, frazzled, helpless in "Viruddh", angry and anguished in "Black", silent and simmering in "Sarkar".

In a year of comedies, the standout image is of an aged man sitting on a bench in a park. While his peers round him laugh aloud, the man attempts to join them from his seat. His laughter is forced, the melancholy seeps through. And the man reduces the audiences to tears at the loss of his son, at his attempt to get back to normal. The world laughs, he cries, an orphan in dejection and despair. The man was none other than the timeless magician called Amitabh Bachchan. The film? Mahesh Manjrekar's "Viruddh", a tearjerker that reminded you of "Saaransh". It did not exactly set the cash registers jingling, but those who saw the movie came back with moist eyes.

Incidentally, that was the fate of another beautiful film this year: Jahnu Barua's "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara", that had Anupam Kher in an outstanding performance as a Gandhian reliving a childhood folly in old age. The critics loved it again. The film did not do so well at the box office. Yet again, the chasm between quality and popular fare came to the fore.

For a brief while, earlier this year, that gap was bridged. Thanks to Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Black" and, to a lesser extent, Madhur Bhandarkar's "Page 3". "Black" was a beautiful film. But then you expect it from Bhansali; every frame for him has to be visually perfect. Where it scored was in the treatment of the story of a visually impaired girl who wants to do something more with life than just be blessed with normal eyesight - something countless Hindi films have done in the past. Of course, you could find a fault with Rani's gait, though Bachchan seemed theatrical in the first few frames. Then everything settled down, and Bhansali's film left an indelible impression. One shot which remains in the memory almost a year after the film was released on January 21 is of Rani Mukerji waiting for her results, and failing almost every test. With Bachchan in the shadows, it had a high-emotion content. If the eyes brimmed over, nobody could be faulted.

There was no such problem for another film made with great sensitivity. That was "Page 3" that scored with its subtleties, with its understatements. A fine expose of the life of the high and mighty, it had an underlying current of melancholy that did not go unnoticed. And Bhandarkar, like Bhansali, was amply rewarded. The films notched up the numbers at the box office, and gave the year a fine start it was to maintain throughout.

Moving flicks

Incidentally, midway through, Bachchan having won over the discerning in "Black" added to his fan list with a superb portrayal of an ageing don in Ramgopal Varma's "Sarkar". It was a tailor-made role for him. There were few lines but he depicted all the anxiety, the anguish, the helplessness of a don, increasingly cornered with such subtle relish. Again, the masses were moved by the film. As was the case with Vidhu Vinod Chopra's "Parineeta", a film of another genre. An adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic, the film won over the masses with the chiselled beauty of its heroine, Vidya Balan. Those inclined towards profundity talked of the engaging dialogue, the crisp editing, the beautiful music. For a couple of hours, the heroine's agony was the viewers', her joy was the viewers' too.

Of course, while these films left an imprint on mind and soul with their depiction of anguish and heartburn, the mood of the year was one of joy. The distributors, the exhibitors, the producers were all laughing all the way to the bank. Untouched by sensitivity, riding roughshod over all subtleties, they sold crassness like never before. Worse, they found ready buyers. And films like "Kya Kool Hai Hum" or "No Entry" which in the years gone by would not have had a star of status on their credits, did well. The presence of the likes of Tusshar and Riteish Deshmukh in Sangeet Sivan's "Kya Kool... " helped, as indeed did the star draw of Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor and Bipasha Basu for "No Entry" with which Anees Bazmi made a neat switch from melodrama to a cornball comedy.

Similarly, a film with little claims to seriousness, and all about fun made it big. That was Shaad Ali's "Bunty Aur Babli". Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukerji got a hit with their con game - something which was tried with diminishing returns in films like "Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina" and "Bluffmaster". The film worked, but the credit at least in part has to be laid at the doorstep of Aishwarya Rai who danced with the two Bachchans, for a moment forgetting that she was Aishwarya in the song "Kajra Re Kajra Re". The year is about to draw to a close, but the song is still on every cinemagoer's lips. Quite clearly, a singular, spectacular hit.

Producers' day out

Also capitalising on its music was "Dus" that had thrill and chutzpah to endorse the case. The masses liked what they saw, the film got an initial, and made profits. As did "Waqt", which was from the old school of filmmaking. The actors shared a few jokes, then cried as things got bitter. The masses did likewise. Result? Only the producer was smiling at the end!

But then there were others happy too at the turn of events. Mahesh Bhatt's "Kalyug" did not get a bumper opening but made enough money to stay in the hunt. The song "Tujhe dekh dekh sona" by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan helped the same way as "Kajra Re". Keeping Bhatt company were the likes of David Dhawan and Priyadarshan, past masters at rib-ticklers. Both hit the bull's eye with "Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya" and "Garam Masala", respectively. Again, there was no attempt to win over the discerning, no claim to being logical. Just a single intention of making the viewers laugh, with the laughs translating into a healthy bank balance for the exhibitors.

So, this has been a great year for Bollywood. Comedies have been the flavour of the year. Stars have struck it rich at the box office. Everybody is happy.

Still, the lingering images of the year have been of Bachchan, old, frazzled, helpless in "Viruddh", angry and anguished in "Black", silent and simmering in "Sarkar". If melancholy had better hues, they were kept hidden.

If sadness had a better cloak, the guys did a good job of concealing that too.

So smile!

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