Cinema should sometimes give us an insight into reality, but not always lead us into a dreamy trance. Life is not always as colorful as it seems to be or rather not about rich people living in mansions with happy endings. It is equally about people whose life is an amalgam of varied emotions and harsh realities.
I have always had sincere appreciation and inclination towards reality based cinema compared to mainstream cinema. Cinema should be a medium to showcase talent along with reality about life and society. I do watch mainstream bollywood movies sometimes but reality cinema is something I am inclined towards.
Off late I have been watching a lot of "meaningful Indian cinema"(I prefer calling it this way! ;) ). The enormous talent some artists have is worth applause. Film stars these days are enchanted with the glamour associated with movies and are engrossed in portraying themselves off screen
( interviews and magazines ). Without straight away denying the talented "stars" of today, I would say they lack in the way they showcase it, though I have respect for their immense untapped talent. I would say not all stars are talented artists and not all talented artists would end up as superstars. The big stars today should indulge in reality based movies along with the commercial ones which would give them a chance to showcase their talent and connect with the different masses. Artists like Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Tabu, Om Puri, Naseeruddin shah, Amol Palekar, Anant Nag, Kirron Kher etc have powerful acting abilities and have lived upto their roles with naturality. Each reality movie watched has touched me, changed my mindset and helped me in understanding the different people living in our society. I agree, not all movie goers want to be moved or affected by the movie! I end my argument with people who watch movies solely to pass their time or to just chill out at the theatre. Sometimes we ought to face the reality!
Movies like Chandni Bar, Mandi, Arth, Hazaron Khwahishein Aisi, Ankur, Bhumika, 1947 Earth, Bandit Queen, Manthan, Khamosh Pani(Silent Waters), Parzania, Black friday and many more like these have won awards at various International film festivals and also National Film festival. These movies were a hit with film critics because the directors selected sensitive social and political issues and handled it with grace.
Unfortunately, these movies did not do well (say went unnoticed) at the box office. Most of these movies have simple yet deep story lines.
I am completely in awe of Smita Patil after watching few movies made by Shyam Benegal. The dusky beauty has lived up to her powerful roles with perfection. It is sad that she died during child birth at a young age of 31. FYI: Her son Prateek starred in Jaane tu ya jaane na as Genelia's brother. She acted in 70 movies in 14 years of her film career. She could have contributed more to Indian cinema if alive.
Khamosh Pani(Silent Waters) has been a personal favourite of mine. Kirron Kher potrayed the role of a punjabi woman living in Pakistan post Indo-Pak independence. The movie is in punjabi and has been dubbed in more than 10 languages and has won 7 awards at various film festivals.
Another actress who has been in the Indian film industry since the past 4 decades is Shabana Azmi. I have no words for her acting abilities and her selection of art movies.
Even yesteryear commercial actors were brilliant and the movies are still a pleasure to watch( or pass time ;) ).
In the new age cinema, directors like Madhur Bhandarkar have tried new subjects and made movies like Chandni Bar, Traffic Signal and Fashion. I really appreciate his courage to make movies which are deviating from the typical blockbuster's.
Looking forward to watch a lot of meaningful cinema and also some non-meaningful one’s. Talent in any form has to be praised! :)
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