Bollywood, give us something new!

Please Bollywood make a movie that is not all about singing, dancing, love and clothes - make a movie worth watching.

Tahreem Yousuf November 19, 2011
The Indian film industry just copies ideas from wherever it can. Be it from China, Arab countries, Pakistan or the USA, Bollywood has turned in to mere replica. This is why I had to stop watching Indian movies.

What happened to the good old days, when a movie was just based on a good story line and didn't have fancy animations?

Recently I saw low-budget movies like 'Dou Dunni Char' and 'Love Express.' Now these films really have substance. They don't rely solely on dance and songs. Even high-cost comedies do not have any content these days. It is the low-budget Indian movies that really have something interesting and different to offer. This growing trend of shooting movies abroad and spending huge sums of money on promotion lead to growing excitement from the anxiously awaiting viewers. However, these films are unfortunately, most of the time, a let down. Plots have come to resemble movies previously seen, characters are one dimensional and the story-line is completely un-original.

I recently saw 'Love Aaj Kal' and in the interval, I felt like fleeing the theatre. The movie repeated a love story that I have seen countless times. The only new things I saw were the songs, dances and the clothes. Correct me if I am wrong, but are music, choreography and the styling the reasons one goes to watch a movie? Why not watch a musical instead?

I often wonder why these films generate so much money and why people even bother to watch them. High-budget films only work due to the advertising. Just because the audience knows its a Shahrukh Khan movie or that Salman is the hero, they flock to the theatres. Let me ask you this though; when was the last time you saw a movie as brilliant as Shahrukh Khan's "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' or Salman Khan's 'Andaz Apna Apna?'

If you look at recent Shahrukh Khan releases they are just so repetitive. The super-star has fallen in to the trap of arrogance and simply stars in films for the money now. Salman's 'Dabangg' was good, but then again, it was copied.

Indian movies that boast high costs do not teach us anything. Amir Khan is somehow an exception, but I can't say that the same holds true for other actors.

Hollywood also makes high budget movies, but they still have a storyline and a concept that has not been seen a million times before. Just a few examples are 'Babel', 'My Sister's Keeper' and 'The Blind Side'. All three movies have completely different plots, they are all original, and a pleasure to watch. Can the same be said for Bodyguard?

Indian media does not teach anything to our society. There are no lessons to be learnt from a Bollywood movie except that if you throw a man and a woman together, they will dance, sing, and fall in love. I am disappointed to say that Indian movies were nothing like this before.

Sadly, these films are making a large impact on our youth, who are now going through every possible measure to be "dramatic" and fall in love. Did you hear about the boy who shot a girl and then himself because she refused to marry him? Does this sound like an Indian movie to you? Girls in Pakistan now just want to get married or engaged after graduating from high-school; they think that its a very big achievement.

My plea to Bollywood is to make films that encourage our youth to achieve great things, to motivate them to be honest citizens, to light a fire in them to succeed. Did you watch the movie 'The Pursuit of Happyness?' Did it not inspire you and make you believe that anything is possible?

Please Bollywood, make a movie like this - a movie worth watching.
WRITTEN BY:
Tahreem Yousuf A student studying Accounting and Finance from the Virtual University of Pakistan in Kuwait.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (102)

Varun | 12 years ago | Reply First of all bollywood is not synonymous with indian cinema. Most of the bollywood movies are crap but so are the hollywood movies. Marathi(shwaas , natarang) , bengali , tamil , telugu etc film industries make some very quality movies. Bollywood has also made some quality films recently. Take ZNMD for example or 3 idiots or udaan or wednesday etc. Even DIRTY PICTURE was a well made movie especially the acting by VIDYA BALAN .what an actress she is!! Last of all and most importantly let the audience decide what the like!!
gp65 | 12 years ago | Reply Give me something new implies that most indian movies are copies of each other. Let's just review some of he movies this year: Band Baaja Baraat, Singham, Ra.One, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Delhi Belly, Buddha Hoga Tera Baap, Mere Brother ki dulhan, Rockstar, Bodyguard, No-one killed Jessica, Tanu weds Manu, Desi Boyz, Dirty picture. These movies are very distinct from each other. . Some have exceptional visuals, some have exceptional music, some are slice of life, some are action movies, some are serious, some masala. You may like one style and not another. but by no means can you say that all these movies are just like each other.
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