Even before a certain Inspector Vijay Khanna roared inn his hitherto unknown and unnoticed baritone in 1973 classic ‘Zanjeer’,the pertinent and raging debate of movies being a true reflection of society was unleashed on movie manadarins.Does cinema reflect the society? Yes and No. Being essentially an art form with a fair amount of commercial stake, movie makers face an uncomfortable dilemma to balance their act. Those who fall too far beyond the point refer to the oft repeated refrain of ‘reflection of society’, whereas the lesser mortals go significantly unnoticed and unquestioned.
A case in point is a movie like ‘Agneepath’.Often considered a cult classic that didn’t do commercially too well (much like ‘Mera Naam Joker’), the movie assumes legendary proportions as it was the first major step to showcase the burgeoning underbelly of Bombay underworld. Then considered ahead of its time ,it had the director sticking to the clichéd refrain all along until ‘Bombay
Like any other art form, cinema no doubt derieves its ideas from society ,but its interpretation, execution and presentation is essentially the reflection of the Director’s vision and not as much of the society’s. It might lead to memorable attempts like ‘Saaransh’,’Ardhasatya’ and ‘Fire’ or downright risqué productions like ‘Julie (2005)’ and ‘Dunno Y..(2011)’.
In between we might have cute candy floss genre of college romance typified by a guitar wielding Aamir Khan (QSQT) or a teary eyed Shah Rukh Khan (KKHH), or a marriage most melodramatic (DDLJ).It would be derogatory to suggest that these super successful productions were alienated from the truths of society.
New age cinema like ‘A Wednesday’ and ‘Aamir’ deserve a mention too.Fast,crisp and short, that’s how we want things to be and that’s what these taut thrillers were. Though its not every Wednesday that some gentleman shakes up the state machinery, the success of ‘A Wednesday’ can be safely attributed to its presentation and its no nonsense, no preacher approach. Bereft of some of the most time tested formulae, it’s successfully tapped the social undertone without making much ado about it. Ditto for Aamir.Ditto for ‘Band Baja Barat’
Yes cinema is certainly inspired from the society, but if it really reflects the society is debatable. Yes cinema has the power to inspire the masses (Sarfarosh, RDB) but if it’s a generic representation of the society is questionable. Sure neither is our society all about Slum dog millionaires nor does it possess the incredulous riches of K3G.Its somewhere in between, innocent (Taare Zameen Par), lively (Jab We Met), gritty (Lagaan), angry (Gangajal), painfully real (Raincoat) and blissfully ignorant (Aisha).
Enjoy the show.
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