The Hindu Business Line : Let's not overreact!

Anyone who buys into a masala movie knows what one is going to get, and Jo Bole... is a prime example of a film whose silliness quotient outweighs all else.

The simmering protests against Bollywood potboiler Jo Bole So Nihaal resulted in blasts in two New Delhi theatres last weekend. At the time of writing, over 40 people have been injured, and one dead. Pictures of panicking and bleeding people on television, and the don't-blame-us-it's-not-our-fault reactions of the agencies involved in exhibiting and distributing the movie, only serve to highlight the disturbing fact that for every movie made, there is a spoiler waiting to put a spanner in the works.

Jo Bole So Nihaal, directed by Rahul Rawail, belongs to the hardcore commercial school, which firmly believes that a script should not owe too much to sense, the characters should be loud and colourful, and that the good guys should win. The film features Sunny Deol as a Sikh constable, who goes off to New York to capture a dreaded terrorist, and there falls for the charms of a scantily clad female FBI agent.

Sikh authorities had started up the protests as soon as the movie hit the theatres. According to them, Jo Bole So Nihaal is a phrase that should only be used either in gurdwaras or in the battlefield. The choice of a non-Sikh was wrong too (and never mind that Sunny Deol has played a Sikh in two of the biggest hits in Hindi cinema, Gadar and Border) — only Sikhs should play Sikhs on screen. Worse, the non-Sikh who plays a Sikh is shown surrounded by women with very few clothes on.

Anyone who buys into a masala movie knows what one is going to get, and Jo Bole... is a prime example of a film whose silliness quotient outweighs all else. Such movies are meant to be strictly `time-pass'. Is the recent spate of public interest litigations (PILs) against `objectionable' portrayal of this and that, an indicator that we are becoming more intolerant?

It's not just the Sikhs who are ultra-sensitive to the way they are shown in the movies. A couple of months ago, Christian bodies objected to Sins, a Vinod Pande film which showed a lusty Roman Catholic priest repeatedly molesting a young girl. Sometime ago, Hindu priests had upbraided Yash Chopra when he showed Amitabh Bachchan wearing slippers in a `mandir' in Mohabbatein (sure, that was a problem, and Chopra apologised, but you would never know from the size of the furore, that the transgression was minor). And no doubt, the Parsis will have something to say when Being Cyrus, starring Saif Ali Khan (a Muslim playing a Parsi!) in the lead role, is released soon, forgetting that a Muslim Naseerudin Shah and a Brahmin Anupam Kher, among many others, have played Parsis to perfection in previous movies.

Sometimes, the objections seem mere nitpicking. Take a look at the objections some members of the Mukherjee Commission (the body which has been investigating the `mysterious death' of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, even 65 years after his disappearance) raised during the shooting of Shyam Benegal's film. They had problems with Benegal calling him the `forgotten hero', and for showing his `marriage' to Emilie Schenkl. When Benegal released the film, with the two inclusions, they went in for a PIL, which was rightly quashed by the Calcutta High Court.

Given the level of non-serious thinking that goes into the majority of movies (with well-researched bio-pictures like Benegal's being honourable exceptions), such objections are clear cases of over-reaction. For our movies to be issue-driven, and not mere stupid fluff, audiences need to learn to laugh at themselves. Or at least, stop taking themselves so seriously.

A complete no-show!

It is in this backdrop that the non-inclusion of any Indian film at the recently concluded Cannes film festival becomes even more relevant.

Yes, the usual suspects were there. Aishwarya Rai, who has been summering at Cannes for the last three years, was there as a L'oreal ambassador. Nandita Das, as a member of the jury, salvaged the situation a bit, but could not hide the fact that there was not a single official Indian entry in the competition section. Another pretty Indian actress was present too, but by virtue of the fact that she had a role in an international production. Mallika Sherawat, latest Indian male fantasy, partnered co-star Jackie Chan in several photo-ops, all legs and cleavage and megawatt smile.

There were Indians, or NRIs, doing business. Ashok Amritraj, who is now more American film producer than Indian tennis-star, was doing the rounds of the market section. So was Jagmohan Mundhra, NRI filmmaker, who has been trying to switch from sleaze to serious for some time now. Gurinder Chaddha, of Indian origin, was there to promote her new movie, The Mistress Of Spices. Subhash Ghai also went to market, looking for buyers for the abridged, English version of his Kisna, which was a resounding flop in India.

Also present was Farrukh Dhondy, UK-based writer who has done the screenplay for five new movies, including Aamir Khan's much-awaited The Rising. Producer Bobby Bedi was there too, to sew up international markets, but did not hold press previews for the movie.

That left Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali as the only Indian movie to be screened at Cannes, because the busiest, glitziest film festival in the world decided graciously to mark the film's 50th year.

The question why we are not visible at global film jamborees is a complex one, and involves a deep assessment of the way we make and market our movies. But there is no getting away from the one unassailable fact. Till we make our movies universally accessible, we are not going to reach a worldwide audience, the way other Asian cinema giants like Iran, China, Japan, and late entrants like Korea and Philippines, have.

Otherwise we'll just have to see our neighbours, late entrants to movie-making compared to India's hundred years, waltz away with both prize and prestige. A Sri Lankan film, The Forsaken Land, by Vimukhthi Jayasundara, shared the Cannes d' Or for the best first film.

Response can be sent to life@thehindu.co.in

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