Once upon a time, we lived in simpler times when it was almost a given that all movies would subscribe to the concept of “Satyamev Jayate”. Audiences flocked to cinema theatres…certain…that they would be witnessing a magnum opus where the protagonist (aka the “hero” or the “good guy”) would beat the s**t out of the antagonist (aka the “villain” or the “bad guy”)…i.e. ‘Good’ would always triumph over ‘Evil’. Hence, irrespective of how badly the odds were staked against the hero, the hero would always win…the villain would always lose…and the hero and heroine would go on to live happily ever after. In short, the narrative of the yesteryear movies was simple: Good trumped Evil!
Things today, however, are not so simple. For the movies no longer adheres to this basic principle…and the result — you’re left with movies that glorify the antagonist…the gangsters…the dons…and the villains. In other words, the formula of Bollywood has undergone a strange transformation, where the antagonist has now turned into our protagonists…and the cine-goers are expected to feel “for” them instead of “against” them.
There is, however, a flip side to this that we all seem to be missing…When you glorify gangsters, dons or bad guys on the silver screen, you do not just glamourise or glorify these criminals…you actually glamourise and glorify their crimes. The result: you end up brainwashing impressionable young minds – and sadly! – not for the better…for they start believing in the premise — “Crime as Art”.
Thus, when Bollywood portrays these criminals as larger-than-life “glamorous” protagonists, they are invariably telling these impressionable young minds that “crimes matter”…”criminals matter”…and that these low-life criminals are worthy of our attention. In fact, it is scary how powerful the message then becomes — that is, “the more horrific or extreme the crime, the more infamy and glamorization the character gets.”
Take the Shahrukh Khan-starrer Raees, for example. What do you have? A bootlegger / smuggler, embroiled in the illegal trade of spurious liquor in the dry state of Gujarat. In the common course of law, ordinary citizens would be demanding for his immediate arrest and prosecution. Yet, when the Shahrukh Khans of the world, embody such roles, they are invariably telling the people that it’s not only okay to indulge in illegal activities, it actually comes with a ‘Cool quotient’.
In fact, I remember watching a movie where the police was chasing the bad guy (Amitabh Bachchan in this case). Even as the audiences watched the action unfold — transfixed! — I realised that they were not rooting for the police…in fact, they were rooting for the bad guy, who would be so lucky so as to outsmart the chasing cops. Thus, when impressionable people watch these movies, they may be tempted to test fate…and walk over to the dark side…simply in order to feel larger-than-life…without realising that crime in the real world is neither glamorous or glorious.
After all, what possible fun can you have when you are trapped inside a cage (aka the jail) like an animal…when your dignity has been stripped and you’re at the mercy of a police baton. But sadly, none of these movies will ever show you the real picture. Thus, it is upto us to realise that a movie — and no matter how beautifully or aesthetically it portrays a crime or criminals — is a mirage. It is not real! But what is real…and scary…is that violence begets violence!!
