Thursday, February 13, 2014

A comment on Bollywood's masala remakes...

Responding on this thread at Satyamshot (the first trailer of Murugadoss' Holiday is out):

I’d add that the almost reflexive nature of these Bollywood remakes points to an ideological crisis where the Hindi film industry is concerned. It is almost as if these masala movies are being re-made because they’re the only way that the Hindi film industry today can imagine the idea of an Indian popular cinema, of a popular cinema that isn’t about representing a consumerist lifestyle, or a translation of a Hollywood genre. It is that idea, that possibility, that seems to have excited so many Bombay filmmakers (the Hindi industry’s own masala past is so irretrievable now that recovering it is akin to an archaeological enterprise), to the point where the latter have become like the Caucasian guy we all know, the one who thinks all Asian women are attractive. The mediocrity of the films re-made is almost beside the point; what is truly startling is the inability of Bollywood to tell the difference! The genuine remake here is the endless representation of this bankruptcy, this inability to think through the problem of popular cinema in India.

The wretched trailer itself can be viewed here.

Satyam's response is essential (both mine and his comments will seem in medias res if you haven't been following Satyamshot discussions on Hindi cinema over the years).

1 comment:

Mohit Patil said...

What did you think of the Agneepath remake? Curious to know...