Dear Bollywood, stop this.

It would not be wrong to say that I have been an ardent and a loyal fan of Hindi films since time immemorial. I have always been into films and the process of filmmaking, in general, like what inspired the writer to write a script, how did they get the idea of making a movie, who composed the background score, how do they do the cinematography, etc. As a kid, I remember watching movies on DD National when we had no cable at our house and whenever my parents used to take us (my brother and me) to watch movies in theatres I used to get so thrilled. Watching a movie on the big screen still excites me except the part where I start questioning everything.      

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Earlier, the audience was not so critical of the movies as they are now because they did not have anything else to compare it to. Films, Television and Radio were the only sources of entertainment in the lives of the people. There was neither high-speed internet nor was there any OTT platform to binge-watch, so people watched whatever was shown on the TV and theatres. Bollywood has always been feeding us the same old crappy cliched love stories where two conventionally good looking people fall in love in one glance and due to family disputes they cannot marry each other but in the end, after some clashes between the hero and the villain, everything is hunky-dory. Moreover, the heroine is just there without any personality whatsoever just to add to the glamor quotient.  

There you go! I just described 95% of the movies made in our industry. 

I believe any entertainment platform can subliminally influence us especially movies or TV serials since they are visual mediums. We watch these movies or television as an escape from reality for a while but that does not mean we will watch whatever they cater. Whether you agree or not, films play a critical role in influencing our minds, our behavior. Films portray today's reality and our culture or do we behave and exhibit ourselves the way things are shown in the films?

They are seriously trying to make us believe the most supremely bizarre things such as love at first sight exists, people dance around trees, roll over the snow, dance on mountains, and sing songs while daydreaming about creepy and weird things. It is high time you show us realistic things and stop sugar coating everything. Stop showing us women drinking alcohol wearing short clothes and abusing men in the name of feminism. Stop portraying vicious men as heroes and rescuers of the damsel in distress. Stop whitewashing images of terrorists and showcasing them in a good light. Stop remaking old classics. Stop making brainless slapstick comedies. Stop downgrading real-life heroes as mere lover boys. Stop showing us over sanskari families because they don't exist. Stop showing us that a 50 y old actor can pull the role of a 22 y old college student. Stop copying regional cinema and stealing scripts from Hollywood. Stop showing us cleavages of actresses and ripped abs of actors for no reason. We don't want to see all this every time they enter the screen. Stop sending films like Gully Boy for the Oscars instead of Tumbbad. In fact, stop obsessing over Oscars altogether and other awards. No wonder we as a society are messed up since movies have normalized and glorified toxic masculinity and machismo, stalking, physical abuse, domestic violence, victim-blaming, patriarchy, pseudo feminism, sexual harassment, molestation, body shaming, slut-shaming, extreme stereotyping, catcalling, infidelity, racism, impossible beauty standards, homophobia, Stockholm syndrome, casting two people with an uncomfortable age gap (unless the script demands), sexism, and Hinduphobia (Yes, you read it right! I can write a separate blog on just the portrayal of Hinduphobia in Hindi movies) and the worst part is these people try and justify all this in their so-called senseless interviews. They project movies such as Kabir Singh and Tere Naam as 'love stories'. Stop selling us all this in the name of entertainment for God's sake.

 

Companies or people producing such content are not acting responsibly at all. Under the pretext of entertainment, they are either making shitty movies, shitty shows on television, or straight-up selling sex or softcore porn on various OTT platforms. And we as an audience have been consuming all this. It is time that we grow up and stop watching such vicious content.  

No wonder Ramadhir Singh said "Hindustan me jab tak cinema hai, log chutiya bante rahenge" 

Another major issue with the industry and its movies is nepotism, favoritism, and groupism. The death of Sushan Singh Rajput added fuel to the already burning issue in the Hindi film industry. His death made us realize how as an audience we have failed miserably. I understand that it is their right to cast whosoever they want since it is their money riding on the movie but that does not give them any right to mock outsiders. I know for a fact that not every star kid is a bad actor and not every outsider is a bundle of talent but learn to accept that talent does not run in the DNA necessarily. 

Bollywood had one good thing which was its music but thanks to certain people and a certain company it has been ruined successfully. 😬  

And just like every coin has two sides certain filmmakers are trying their best to present the audience with original material and certain musicians who are making original music and I appreciate the efforts of such people who genuinely are trying to change these stereotypes. Let your tribe grow. Sadly films like Tumbbad (It took around 6 years for making this film, its making is available on making on Youtube), Iqbal, Panga, Swades, DevD, Rocket Singh, Luck by chance, Omkara, Masaan, Dasvidaniya, Manorama, Hindi Medium, Mithya, Khosla ka Ghosla did not get the appreciation it deserved. 

I can go on and bash the industry and I can also shower praises for all the great filmmakers. But I believe it is all in the hands of the audience to make a person or break a person by showering unconditional love. It is time to get smart and demand original and sensible content with good actors. It is time for us to wake up and put a full stop to the celebrity culture. Do not boycott any movie, be it of a star kid or an outsider just because it is trending on Twitter. Think on your own and don't let anyone soft influence you by showing you brainless movies in the name of entertainment. Use your own rationale. It is we who choose which film becomes a super hit and which films bombs at the box office every Friday. Therefore, choose wisely.