Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
Bollywood

Romance, the '2 States' way!

Arpana Darpan, 01 May, 2014 01:19 PM
  • Romance, the '2 States' way!
It goes without saying that a well-made romantic film can make your day.
 
"2 States" made mine! The movie came as a respite!
 
Long, long ago, I remember my grandfather grumbling: "Today's movies are meaningless, they only show ‘dhishum dhishum'." A die-hard fan of Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Pradeep Kumar's style of romance, he used to find the emerging film culture of the 1980s, led by the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha, distasteful.
 
His disparagement of those action thrillers, stemming from the then political unrest with several actors playing the victimised working-class hero fighting corruption were not good enough to impress an old hat like him who used to savour social dramas and serene love stories like "Andaaz", Tarana", "Madhumati", "Patita" and "Munimji" made me cringe.
 
He felt those films offered a rather myopic view of contemporary youth and would discourage us from watching them.
 
At that time I had somewhat different views on the movies, but I could relate to his views when I went to catch "2 States", the big screen adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's novel of the same name, a delightful depiction of how cultural differences pose a threat to a Punjabi boy and a Tamilian girl's love life and marriage plans and how skillfully and maturely the duo handle the situation.
 
Despite being familiar with the story, which I read when Bhagat's literary work hit the shelves in 2009, and enjoyed the book not for its romantic escapades, but for the way the problems were treated and meted in the book, I was pleased with its celluloid presentation too.
 
It's heartening!
 
 
Even though plots and sub-plots, characters and obstacles were the same, the slightly sluggish drama was thoroughly entertaining.
 
Refreshing content with a feel good factor was a much-needed break from the appalling love sagas that telly is serving day in and day out.
 
Not that I'm a big fan of the genre, but enjoyed the watch more so because romance has been criminlaised, brutalised, scandalised and demoralised on the tube, one's staple source of entertainment, so much so that it has lost its quintessence.
 
In the last few years, there has been a deluge of crime-based shows on the telly and the so-called outrageous real-life stories showing the revolting and repulsive side of romance, in which most often lovers are abused, murdered, tortured, or blackmailed for various reasons – be it to avenge hurt egos, cheating lovers or spouses etc, are being shoved down viewers' throat. And to my surprise, they are grabbing maximum eyeballs.
 
Not denying the existence of such crimes in real life, but too much of anything is bad.
 
Mind you, "2 States" is also a real life story of the author, but unlike the shows, here the lovers do not kill anyone for their union or have any hidden agenda behind falling in love or getting married.
 
In most of the crime shows, falling in love or getting intimate lead to MMS scandals or YouTube videos followed by heinous crime, thus making romance a forbidden thing.
 
 
In fact, similar plots recently dominated the celluloid with stories like "Love Sex Aur Dhokha" and "Ragini MMS" hitting the screens.
 
In the current scenario, technology is a boon and bane. Bane, because it is being misused, and abused!
 
Yes, international shows are there, but they are for the classes, not the masses.
 
In a quest for de-stressing light drama, viewers end up watching the shows.
 
In the 1980s and 1990s, telly treated viewers with shows like "Kashish", "Farmaan" and Lekh Tandon's "Phir Wohi Talaash", which had beautiful ghazals like "Mere humsafar mere saath tum", "Kabhi haadson ki dagar mile kabhi muskilon ka safar mile" and "Na jee bher ke dekha na kuch baat ki badi aarjo thi mulakat ki".
 
It's time television producers do the needful!

MORE Bollywood ARTICLES

Vivek Oberoi supports Narendra Modi, calls him karma yogi

Vivek Oberoi supports Narendra Modi, calls him karma yogi
Actor Vivek Oberoi has come out in support of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and says he is a karma yogi and the country needs him.

Vivek Oberoi supports Narendra Modi, calls him karma yogi

Evelyn bags lead role in 'Dannk'

Evelyn bags lead role in 'Dannk'
Actress Evelyn Sharma, who has so far been part of ensemble cast films, has now bagged a lead role in crime thriller "Dannk". She says the movie couldn't have come to her at a better time as she's ready to experiment.

Evelyn bags lead role in 'Dannk'

Sonam Kapoor supports underprivileged children's cause

Sonam Kapoor supports underprivileged children's cause
Actress Sonam Kapoor has lent her support to Rouble Nagi Art Foundation, which runs art camps for underprivileged kids in India.

Sonam Kapoor supports underprivileged children's cause

Deepika's retro bun - only six steps away

Deepika's retro bun - only six steps away
Actress Deepika Padukone is a sure shot winner when it comes to fashion and beauty, and most women want to ape her style. Grab a comb, clips and serum to achieve her retro bun hairdo, says an expert.

Deepika's retro bun - only six steps away

E-voting must be introduced for travellers: Rakeysh Mehra

E-voting must be introduced for travellers: Rakeysh Mehra
Reacting to the ongoing hullabaloo about the feasibility of having a Bollywood awards extravaganza during elections, acclaimed filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra says the need of the hour is a system of e-voting.

E-voting must be introduced for travellers: Rakeysh Mehra

'Revolver Rani' to battle it out with 'Kaanchi', 'Samrat..' for top slot

'Revolver Rani' to battle it out with 'Kaanchi', 'Samrat..' for top slot
After “Queen”, Kangana Ranaut is back at the box office as “Revolver Rani” and she would battle it out with musical “Kaanchi” and thriller “Samrat & Co.” for the top honours when the threesome hit the screens Friday.

'Revolver Rani' to battle it out with 'Kaanchi', 'Samrat..' for top slot