We need to get closer to the gut if we desire a deeper impact

Rizwan Khan was beautiful; gentle, non-confrontational yet straightforward and truthful, and always wanting to do the right thing without making much ado. It’s not surprising that the world has a medical term for his condition. Even if it’s shocking what we will accept within the parameters of normalcy. But why get into these philosophical existential debates of what’s normal and what’s not, considering the film doesn’t.

Rancho of 3 IDIOTS was more audacious, always smarter and better than his immediate neighbour and a bit too worldly-wise and smug for his age perhaps, but a hero all the same. He had all the answers. Wish it was so easy and breezy in real life.

Both movies gathered millions and made a huge impact. Both heroes caught the fancy of the audience. But have we really broken new cinematic ground?

Even though we are tackling more challenging themes, our narratives continue to be dripping with kitsch. Both films unabashedly played to the galleries. 3 IDIOTS even more than MY NAME IS KHAN. As long as we continue to maintain this huge gap between cinema and life, these messages, however noble, will have little more than speculation value. The worlds we create on celluloid will remain to be unattainable in our minds, a faraway fantasy. We need to get closer to the gut if we desire a deeper impact – provided, we do and if at all we need to. For argument’s sake, why should a filmmaker be doing an educationist’s or a leader’s job? His primary job is to entertain and ensure his financers a profit. And finally, even a gutsy film may end up doing nothing. Writers, filmmakers, poets, artists, Sufis, gurus have been advocating love, peace and compassion for over hundreds of years now, but we continue to plant explosives under the tables of unsuspecting 20-year-olds. We continue to vandalise each other’s homes and cities.

Any significant change cannot be brought about in isolation or overnight. It requires amalgamation of all available forces. A nation that honours and revels in mediocrity needs to break many domestic grounds before it breaks any other. And cinema is just a small part. We have criminals and murderers looking upon us as our elected leaders but we are not even going there. I’m talking about the recent National Award and Padmashree announcements.

I wonder if receiving these honours has indeed been as honourable as it was meant to be for both Arjun Rampal, recipient, National Award and Saif Ali Khan, recipient, Padmashree. An honour that needs to be justified is not an honour. It is an embarrassment. And, true honour is in knowing that you are remarkable, not in being told so. But these are only lofty words, like our films. Arjun Rampal not only had a party to celebrate his award but is also said to have called up some of his colleagues and bragged, ‘Are you a National Award winner? No, isn’t it? But I am.’ Saif tried to justify his Padmashree on the front page of a daily, saying maybe he was given the honour because of LOVE AAJ KAL! A little hesitance from them would have probably made them a little more deserving.

That’s honour for you in the times of bomb blasts! It’s a futile battle. So let us not fool ourselves and accord ourselves some undue significance. Let us revel in our mediocrity and kitchy-ness.

Where’s the party tonite?!