Bollywood matures and makes money too
Noreen Aslam

BOMBAY—For years together, mid-year and annual reviews of Bollywood movies have been a laundry list of the hits and the flops that adorned cinema. Refreshingly, for once, we have had such a great year in terms on content in Indian cinema, that we can afford to claim that Bollywood has matured in the true sense of the word. Finally, we have come to a situation where films with offbeat subjects earn not just critical acclaim but some money too for the distributors. For once, critics are willing to judge remakes of Hollywood movies for their treatment without dismissing them for being cheap copies of the original.
Black, Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi, Iqbal, Dansh, Parineeta, Page 3 are all movies that cannot be classified under the tag of commercial cinema as we define it. They are all movies that may not possess a national appeal. But they are all extremely well made movies. And at least four of them (Black, Page 3, Iqbal, and Parineeta) can safely be branded as hits. Hopefully, the success of these movies will prompt more producers to back filmmakers willing to make a difference. Bollywood as a medium to unite, inform and teach has been severely under utilised and it’s high time the governing bodies realise their responsibility.
It hurts to know that movies like Black Friday, an honest testimony on the Mumbai riots, never made it to the theatres. The censors must learn to differentiate between unnecessary violence versus reality that may pain, but must be shown. Also, critics have learnt to laud films that are inspired by Hollywood. Black (The Miracle Worker), Sarkar (The Godfather), Salaam Namaste (Nine Months), Dansh (Death & The Maiden), Chocolate (The Usual Suspects) are all remakes. It was refreshing to notice that critics reviewed these movies in an unbiased manner. They now realise that ‘remakes’ do not mean ‘cheap copies’; they can be excellent products.
The fact that Black is touted as the most critically acclaimed movie of the year tells us that our critics have broadened their horizons. Hopefully, this trend will continue. For sure, we can say that our audiences have matured and look for more than just entertainment in our cinema. Hopefully, the industry will continue to deliver that on a consistent basis. The day we send movies to the Oscars on the basis of their “cinematic value”, and not on the merit that it is a “true representation” of India to the world, is when we can safely proclaim that Indian cinema has made the transition completely. Till then, let’s thank Bollywood for a refreshing 2005 and sit back and enjoy the ride for the rest of the year.