Going Home Bollywood Style

Hello, my blog, did you miss me? I am embarrassed to admit that with all the commotion over the holidays complete with a last minute trip across the Atlantic, I didn't get a chance to miss you. Now that I'm home though (as opposed to "back home"), I realize what an integral part of my life you have become. So a big hug to you!

Going back home always puts me in a contemplative mood, not because of the changes there (which are always many), but because of all the dead time I have on my hands: about 20 hours in total just in flights, and a whole lot of jet lag boredom. So when I'm not filling up this time with Kunal Khemu's movies watched one after the other, I sit and think... How is this Bollywood related, one may ask. Well, it sort of is because... well, because everything about me relates to Bollywood one way or another.

For example, the last couple of times I went home, I found myself having what I call "the Swades feeling": a bit of helplessness, a bit of nostalgia, a bit of impatience, a bit of frustration, but also in the end a strange peace coming from the comfort of old places that used to be mine.

This time around I found myself less nostalgic and more excited to discover every single new thing. So I guess this time I got "the Delhi 6 feeling": always exploring, always intrigued, always enchanted by some little detail that the locals are not even aware of. Still wanting to belong, but at the same time detached enough to be able to see the big picture without that indigenous fear of the future getting in the way.

Who knows, maybe next time I'll get "the Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana feeling": like a hyper kid in the candy store.

Come to think of it, it's amazing how few NRI films actually get all these feelings right. I guess Indian films are usually more preoccupied with the greatness of India and the India-pushing agenda to stop and think about what an NRI, or any immigrant returning home for that matter, would really experience. Most of the times you get little moments here and there, but then the story evolves either towards integrating the character back into the Indian society, or towards showing the great values that clearly the Western world has spoiled in the character, which inevitably leads to more drama, and sadly less authenticity.

But one film that got the whole thing right in my humble opinion, is the over the top and royally plot-holed Aaja Nachle. Successful American choreographer comes back to India with her daughter to pay her respects to her first dance teacher and life mentor. She arrives after his death, but has to fulfill his legacy in keeping the dance school and theatre alive.

How she does that is irrelevant for this discussion (though definitely worth watching, if only for the sumptuous dances), but over the course of the events we witness Diya's struggle with what are now foreign concepts to her: bureaucracy, people's acceptance and resentment, lost friendships.

One excellent scene that always resonates with me is when she goes to meet her childhood friend, and finds a completely different person in her stead. Isn't it ironic how we are always so cognisant of the changes we have gone through over the years and of the new person we have become, but with the same sincerity we expect the people we left behind to have stayed exactly the same as our memory has assembled them? Never fails to take me by surprise. The teenagers you used to hang out with are now grown men, the places you used to hang out in are gone, the party animals are now all about enjoying their quiet evening at home, and so on...

Still thinking about Aaja Nachle, maybe this film flopped precisely because the heroine was unconventional enough to not be reintegrated in the Indian society by the end of it. Maybe the Indian audiences are not interested in seeing an NRI who is genuinely happier on the other side of the world. Maybe they didn't take kindly to the returning Indian who brings her Western values and expectations home and succeeds in implementing some of them without being sucked into the "greatest country in the world" mentality. Maybe a heroine who doesn't give up her jeans and cropped tops in favour of a traditional salwar kameez, who doesn't fall head over heels for the charming Indian MP (though seriously, how does she not??), and who doesn't crumble emotionally in front of potential failure so that she can be rescued, maybe such a heroine is still too far ahead of her time for the Indian audiences. I always wondered why Aaja Nachle flopped, and it just came to me that this might be it. And maybe that's precisely why I loved it and list it as one of my favourite films despite its many shortcomings.

Wow... I didn't know I was going to talk at such length about Aaja Nachle when I started writing this, but it's probably good that I did, as this is one of those movies that I love too much to ever review properly.

And because I started with me, let's also end with me: Bollywood or no Bollywood there's no denying that going back home always teaches me something. About myself... about the others... about change... about differences... about harmony. I just have to be ready to learn. Hopefully I always will be.

In Praise of All Filmi Women Who Have My Respect

It's entirely possible that my DNA slept in when the feminism gene got distributed because I can't bring myself to ever be much of a feminist. In fact I often find myself siding with the guy, even when he's a jerk (granted, only if he ends up redeeming himself somehow), so women tend to get overlooked by me.

In light of a few recent conversations about female roles in cinema - and not necessarily in Indian cinema - I started thinking about what can be said in defense of the depiction of women in Indian cinema. (I will unfortunately have to talk exclusively about Bollywood, because given the nature of the action packed, hero-heavy Southie movies I have watched so far, the women in the South have not yet managed to impress me.) And I reached the somewhat surprising conclusion that I like certain Indian ladies much more than their American counterparts. While in North American movies (and TV shows) being an independent, powerful woman has become synonymous with being a bitch, or hating men, or at least with being a cheeky brat (can you tell the latest HW movie I've seen was Prince of Persia?), the few characters that did impress me in Bollywood in the strong woman avatar achieved that without hitting any of the above pre-requisites. I have more respect for those few Women in Indian cinema than for the million females in Western cinema because for me being an attractive woman implies managing to balance smarts with sensitivity and sweetness.

Zooni (played by Kajol) in Fanaa and Dia (played by Madhuri Dixit) in Aaja Nachle are the first women who come to mind that strike that fine balance.

Zooni knows how to put relentless Rehan in his place but without once becoming snarky or cheeky. She manages to rebuff him (with poetry too!) while still remaining accessible and interesting. And she does wonderfully as a capable single mother in the second half of the movie. This is a woman who will not let destiny tell her what to do and where to be, and it's almost ironic that Rehan teases her in the beginning about only doing what her parents advised her to. Boy does she prove him wrong! Regardless of how many ways to interpret the ending of the movie there are out there, one thing is for sure: Zooni sticks to her principles throughout the entire journey, all while living life to the fullest, and I for one respect that.

I have very similar feelings for Madhuri's character, Dia, in Aaja Nachle because despite being just a little bit on the snarky side, she graciously dances her way through being a single mother and a successful professional in the US while not losing that feminine side of her personality. Even if she sometimes manages her own interactions with men "the American way", her Indian feminine side comes through when she coaches Anokhi to get the attention of the man she loves. I suppose it also helps that this is the sexiest Madhuri has ever looked too!

There are other great examples of women being dealt a bad hand and proving that giving up is not an option, but that neither is turning bitter and resentful. However, not all women become strong because fate doesn't give them a choice. Some Indian ladies are wonderful, cool, uncompromising women from the very beginning. In this category I have also picked two favourites: Aisha in Wake Up Sid! and Jodhaa in Jodhaa Akbar.

Aisha lives by herself, makes it on her own terms and despite not having many friends in a new city, she doesn't rely on anyone to rescue her. Most importantly she's capable of seeing and appreciating the change in Sid when other women would have probably walked away. She can be playful and sexy as needed, and when she makes a mistake in evaluating a potential relationship with a man, she is confident enough to call it. I liked that even when she is upset or displeased with Sid (and there's a lot of that, let me tell you) she still communicates without excessive bitterness or unnecessary spite. What is there not to love? One of my favourite Konkona Sen Sharma roles.

Jodhaa is my last entry on this short list that is just the tip of the iceberg. The Rajput princess won me over with her determination and valour, spiced by a little bit of mischief and just a sprinkle of flirt to complement her majestic beauty. She stands her ground in front of the most powerful man on the continent and wins every battle without having to become a man or behave like one.

I realized after giving this some thought that as much as we always point out that Bollywood is eons behind when it comes to empowering the fair sex, they have a knack for getting it exactly right when they do put their minds to it. The last female character that charmed me so completely in Hollywood was Baz Luhrman's Juliet, and guess what: neither Baz nor Shakespeare hail from Hollywood!