As I sat watching the very somber moments in the movie Paa, I could hear a couple of sobs around me in the theatre. The atmosphere was generally muted, fraught with sympathy with the protagonist in the movie (namely AB). And then, out of the blue, a chuckle escaped me…attracting a few angry glances. I said a sheepish ‘sorry’ and sank into my seat.
Right then! Granted there has been a massive improvement in the quality of movies doled out by bollywood in the last few years. But one thing that has remained consistent is the misplaced ideology surrounding how medical problems should be depicted. Giving rise to several very humorous moments. The precise scene in Paa that caused me to lose the emotional flow of the movie is when Auro is in a hospital and suddenly becomes quite agitated. The doctor rushes in, puts a stethoscope to his chest and exclaims- he’s had a stroke! As to how he reached that conclusion is completely beyond me….no one else has ever been able to do it, even after spending a lifetime in stroke research!
On the way back, another scene came to mind, from the recent release, Kurbaan. Now, I did enjoy the movie and in many ways, the subject treatment was above average. But remember the bit where Saif comes back after being hit by a bullet in a major police encounter? So, here’s the diminutive Ms Kapoor, at his side with a first aid box, hands trembling. Which is all very well. But then, she has a go…. and….hold your breath…gouges the bullet out with eyebrow tweezers! Which of course was very considerately, floating just beneath the skin. She then stitches the impeccable wound with hand held suture (which I presume must be part of every first aid kit in the US just for such an event). And post surgery, everything is instantly well..and the macho Khan goes back to doing his fight sequences..come on guys! I don’t expect you to put in hours researching trauma management, but at least something believable would be good. You don’t have to be remotely connected to medicine to appreciate that you’re being taken for a ride here…a little bit of common sense will do.
Anyway, I’m sure nothing in these movies will ever compare to our classic gems of yesteryears. One scene that instantly comes to mind, and I’m sure every bollywood fanatic will remember this, is from that mother of all blockbusters, Amar Akbar Anthony. Fabulous movie, bollywood drama at its epitome, immensely enjoyable. But then Nirupa Roy gets hit by a car, lands in a hospital where the gorgeous Nitu Singh is sitting at a desk pondering over cosmic events, while her bleeding patient lies in a bed next doors. The even more gorgeous (I always thought that, looking at this pair) Rishi Kapoor comes in for a casual chat, and she says ‘arrey, tumhara blood bhi to wo negative wala hai na?’ and straps him to a charpoy with a needle stuck to his arm. And then the wonder of all wonders happens……three people simultaneously strapped to giving sets, a common line leading to a bottle, and the collective blood being transfused into a, growing pinker every minute, NR. Of course, the other two people happen to be the other two lost sons…hilarious stuff. I can picture some poor hematologist throwing a major convulsion watching this….But then bollywood wouldn’t be the same without some melodrama, tears, lost and found and major medical mishaps.
We’ve seen countless number of movies with identical twins, making you wonder if some extra-terrestrial intervention had caused the rate of identical twinning to suddenly jump up in India by a thousand percent? And then there are scores of movies with the sequence – hit his head, got amnesia, hit it again, got his memory back….Lovely! Or what about the ones where the old woman would lose her eyesight at some point in the movie, and in the climax squeal with delight – ‘beta, mujhe sab kuchh nazar aa raha hai…’ super lovely!
But, do you know which is the unanimous winner, and by a wide margin too? Its got to be Clerk….now I’d forgive you all for a collective case of amnesia on this….it happens to be the most eminently forgettable movie of the last few decades…but a real gem if you consider the entertainment value.
And you’ve got to watch this clip I found on youtube (where else!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HrNLkZx7Gg
Pitaji having a heart attack, greedy doctor refuses to come. So what do we do? Play patriotic songs of course. And lo and behold, Pitaji starts to stomp around throwing his arms around for special effect. Priceless! It defies not only medical science but common sense, sanity and all those tiny slivers of art and aesthetics that may have escaped unharmed in the rest of the movie.
All said and done, I remain a devout fan of bollywood. There is something quite endearing, even in the most naively shot sequences, something that appeals to the heart, provides an outlet for emotional outburst, lets us all cry and laugh at the same time and brings a touch of hilarity in otherwise glum surroundings. Long live bollywood.
(BTW, you are all welcome to add your own favourite to the list.)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment