Lokhandwala mein Cheeni KUM !!!!!!!!!!!

“Hello”
“Manish… Kya karra??”
“Kuch bhi nahi re… aise hi TV dekh raha tha…”
“Arey… SHOOTOUT AT LOKHANDWALA dekhne chalenge kya??”
“Haan re chal jaayenge… bahut achha movie hai bolke suna main… Chal phir.. Will meet you in the theatre at 5…..”

This was a conversation between my friend and me a few days back. Everything was planned for a perfect Saturday evening. But what followed after this conversation was something unplanned.

I started getting ready to go to the movie. I went to the bathroom to wash my face. Suddenly, something hit me out of the blue. Why am I going to this movie? Is it really worth it to go to this movie? Why do people make such movies? Why do movies like this become box-office hits? Why do people like such movies? There was a plethora of questions that bombarded my pensive mind. It was moribund a moment ago and now it was springing in questions and thoughts which defied the usual.

As I wiped my face with the towel, I thought – We have had innumerable films made on gangsters, underworld dons et al. Particularly for the past 3-4 years, after every quarter we see a movie on a gangster made. People making that movie say that it is inspired by the life of so-and-so don. This is something which doesn’t seem to be a grave problem at first-thought. But this might have serious repercussions as we move ahead. This reminds me of some of the hit movies in not-so-distant past… Company, Gangster, Vaastav, Shoot Out At Lokhandwala.. to name a few. These kind of movies tend to give undue publicity to these people. Added to this is the media frenzy even on a small news from the underworld. I just can’t understand why there is such a race to convert these anti-socials into demi-gods. But the point of my topic here is not the media but the movie industry in particular. Young school going children would not know about someone like an Ambani but would definitely know about an underworld don.

Combing my hair, I thought – Movie industry as such does not try to make movies based on some true heroes. If recent history is anything to go by then I can remember only Guru and “the Bhagat Singh movies” which are based on the real life of visionary leaders. It doesn’t surprise me to see that it took a great thinking director like Mani Ratnam to make a film on the business legend Dhirubhai Ambani. There are lots of things which we can learn from the life of an Ambani, a Tata, a Birla or a Murthy. But then no one cares to make a movie on their ideals as it would not be commercially viable. People wont be interested to go to such movies.

Although I pulled up my socks and laced my shoes, I was still thinking about this. Is there something fundamentally wrong in the way we Indians perceive things. Or is there something wrong with how I think. It doesn’t make sense about how much crime the gangsters have done. It doesn’t make sense to know as to how they kidnap someone or kill someone. It really amazes me as to why people like such movies. But then , I too am part of this public. I need to practice what I preach. Thinking this I started towards the theatre…..

At the theatre, my friend had not yet arrived. So, I went to the ticket counter and bought two tickets for the film but the only difference being that the film was “CHEENI KUM” !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!