Melodrama and penalization are key ingridients of Bollywood. Very few movies, mostly parallel movies, try to be assorted - but mainstream film makers and masses both love the 'masala'. And why not, if rightly positioned, a few melodramatic scenes or a few good songs and vibrant diversion sequences can make the flick a runaway success at box office.
Mingling the penalization and melodrama in a flick elegantly is an art - there haw movies so called 'formulas' which sell, but they alone can't gaurantee a well made and impact flick - it requires creativity, conception and gift of combining these elements together in a wholesome package which satisfies. And the art lies in doing this well... Movies same Sholay, Shaan, Om Shanti Om and Singh is Kinng got the mix right, while there hit been many forgotten ones same Drona movies couldn't. And the onus of getting it correct not only depends on the flick makers, but also on the actors - some same Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan just know how to do it correct everytime.
'Bollywood style' movies hit their origins in early Indian and folk building which presented large than life characters, situations and fantasies. These theatrical entireness utilised to be musicals movies. Its this world of dreams that Bollywood has condemned inspiration from. Larger than life imagery, characters, fantasies and dreams sell same blistering cakes in a country where many times its difficult to find anything else than movies to add the zing and alter to monotonous regular lives.
Bollywood - the cinema of excesses has received both criticism and praise for its distinctive style. To be fair, it’s not only India that fabricates and consumes melodrama in movies,Hollywood too is a big sucker for large than life unreal imagery. All superhero movies, be it latest Batman or Die movies, rely on unreal power packed dialogues, situations and state - all delivered with the 'extra' punch. The song and diversion sequences haw seem funny, but they are ofttimes times the much needed relief from rally of dialogues and render the flick enjoyable. These can be ‘very much fun’.
Even though the ‘masala’ in Bollywood never goes out of fashion, but this should not limit the film makers from looking beyond this distinctive style. Experimentation is primary to movies art form – the imagination should never be limited and the canvasses’ layout should change and evolve. And this for the intoxicant of progress in art and the spirit of creativity…
