There is some ado in Maddy’s place- a neighbour would say!
Yeah, I just saw the 5-year old(that was me) in new clothes- another would inform.
Maddy’s mother was beaming with excitement.- an observant Mrs.Shetty.
Seems like someone’s birthday- deduced Mr.Shetty.
This was the general buzz in our chawl whenever we got ready to go for a film. The year was 1977.
THE SEVENTIES
Yes....it was indeed festival time for us whenever my father announced that we would be going for a film. The preparations would start hours before the show. That whole day, we would behave like the best kids in the world. After all, we did not want to be left behind for being naughty. My mother would dress in some nice saree, after dressing me up in my best dress. My father would come early from his office, and together, a beaming family would leave the house to reach the talkies on time.
At the cinema house, we would spot many other similar families, all excited at the thought of watching the new movie in town. The movie would start with slide advertisements, and some commercials. The censor board certificate on the big screen was greeted with loud applause and whistles. The very first exciting moment in the film had to be the entry of the hero. The directors in those times worked out new ways of establishing the entry of the hero. Sometimes it would be a small kid running, with the camera zooming on his feet. Then suddenly, the theatre would roar with applause when the small feet transformed into big feet. The kid had become big, and there was the hero in person. Invariably, this entry was followed by a police jeep chasing him.
One thing that we kids looked forward to was the samosa that the cinema houses sold in the interval. Almost all the theatres in Bombay had the famous Gurukripa A-1 Samosas. Even today, I sometimes visit the Gurikripa Hotel at Sion to taste those times!
The sex scenes in those times were pretty restrained. The censor board was a big power. It was the time when the hero punched, the heroine danced, the villain leered, the comedian did some stupid acts, and the audience cheered everything that they saw.
Coming to comedy, those were also the times when some fabulous comedies were made! Films like Golmaal and Chupke Chupke had the audience in splits.
THE EIGHTIES
The eighties saw a deep decline in the Indian film scenario. Amitabh’s sudden departure to politics, Vinod Khanna’s sudden sanyaas, everything made the film industry look towards the second Bollywood strata. Jeetendra outshone everyone. The team of Jeetendra, Sridevi, Jaya Prada, Kader Khan and Shakti Kapoor played havoc on the screen.
I was in senior school that time. We used to get to see only two films in a year. The choice was quite plainly- the latest. Most of the time, it was a Jeetendra starrer.
Somewhere between these films, some miracles happened! To begin with, the eighties marked the debut of Smita Patil, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapoor and Naseeruddin Shah.
The cinegoers were given some highly sensitive subjects in films like Masoom, Ijaazat and Utsav.....some highly entertaining topics in films like Namak Halal, Saagar, Hero and Jalwa....some sensations in parallel cinema like Ardhasatya and Aakrosh.
But by and far, the first half of the decade was ruled by a hopping Jeetendra, a jarring Bappi Lahiri, an irritating Kader Khan and a dancing Mithun. Other than these, the eighties also marked the debut of the next star generation. Many starsons made their debuts. Some successful, most failures!
But the cinegoer survived this entire onslaught, and the latter half of the decade gave some good movies.
The cine-enthusiasts saw the rise of the future celluloid in the form of Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Sunny Deol and Aamir Khan. But with the sweet comes the bitter! The late eighties saw the advent of video and cable channels. Now, the films started visiting homes. The cinegoer became lazy!
Though Aamir Khan did a child artist role in Yaadon ki baraat and a short role in Holi, his big break was indeed Qayamat se Qayamat tak. This superhit gave the cinegoer much relief from the disco films and the Jeetendra trash.
Love arrived!
The eighties said adios after giving this boon to lovers. The last couple of years in this decade brought several love stories like Tezaab for the cinegoer.(No pun intended)
The crowd in the talkies had changed from families to couples and collegians.
THE NINETIES
The amorous wave continued. The Khans took charge. The third generation of the Kapoors came forward from the most unexpected quarters...a female! Karishma Kapoor made her debut. Govinda reached the peak of his career.
The cinegoer adjusted himself for this new adventure.
However, the advent of cable channels made the cinegoer much more aware about films in general. He refused to take any trash dished out by the producers. But the producers kept on repeating their stunts. Finally, the cinegoer retired to his living room sofa.
The theatres went in the hands of some hoodlums. People who wanted to see violence, sex, vulgarity! The biggest insult was when a film like The Bandit Queen evoked whistles from mentally imbalanced souls. The producers had to keep a special show for women, who could not attend normal shows because of the vulgar crowd. Thus started a tightrope walk for the producers. They had to satisfy both, the vulgar crowd, and the genuine cinegoer. The mixture of salt and sugar had to be perfect. Most of the times, it was not! The producers then resorted to different methods. Foreign locations, computer graphics, star pull....everything was in vain. Some theatres had to shut down. Some cinema houses were converted to a complex! They did everything to get back the cinegoer!
The cinegoer had vanished!
WHAT WENT WRONG?
This question has a plain and simple answer! Nothing went wrong....except the films! The films in the seventies had that one simple thing which was the plot. A story, that binded the whole film. Even a Manmohan Desai lost-n-found formula never let go of the script. The producers in seventies had to make a good film. He had no extra avenues of income in the form of overseas rights, video rights etc. His main income was the cinegoer, who paid from his pocket for three hours entertainment.
It was indeed sad to hear a jubilant Subhash Ghai beaming with pride while talking about his film Taal- I make films with the overseas audience in mind! Thank you, Mr.Ghai!
IS THERE HOPE?
Most definitely! Aamir Khan’s Lagaan and Ram Gopal Verma’s Satya proved that India still has immensely talented people in the industry. I personally feel that these are the only hopes of reviving the seventies! The true cinegoers have vanished....but not dead!
And he will be back!
I hope that my previous home....my small chawl in Sion again echoes the sounds of curious neighbours....talking about some young 5-year old Maddy and his parents!
I will drink to that! Cheers!