Posted:
Prelude To A Kiss | 2008-11-17
Is Bollywood ready to come out of the closet?
You guys have seen 'Dostana'. You guys know the drill. We got thinking. You know that in the end Abhishek and John have a smoochie scene.
They are about to kiss and we go, 'oh no, oh no, oh no' and then they eventually do it. But they do it 'Hindi film style'. You know what it's like, the Hindi film kiss, where they tilt their heads and the camera is on the back of one of their heads and they seem to be in a fit to get over with it. So corny!
They could have shown two flowers fumbling with each other instead.
Do it straight up guys. In Hollywood, this would have been done with in a jiffy. No fuss. Here in Bollywood, where everyone gets revved up about how they will do this and they will do that if the scene 'demands' and when it comes to it, they chicken out.
I remember how Mallika Sherawat, for all the bold steps she has taken to get into films isn't such a bold babe after all. For 'Murder', when she had to do some topless shots, she used a body double!
With 'Dostana', if the kiss had been an actual kiss, it might have paved the way for actors who believe it's only 'acting', and not for real. But K-Jo wanted a universal cert so the kiss was covered up. Had this been Hollywood, he'd probably have his actors smother each other, and with 700 re-takes!
Even Madhur Bhandarkar snipped the kiss out of 'Fashion' to play it safe. These guys are pushing the boundaries, but still playing it by the book. When was the last time a film put the censor board in a real fix?
If you guys rewind to the eighties, Raj Kapoor had a problem with the censors telling him not to show a breast feeding scene in 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili Ho Gayi' as it could be titillating. Raj Kapoor gracefully handed the chaps a postage stamp with the same image and said, please censor this. Worse, we lick the stamp, isn't that disregarding?
So what's the fuss about a mother feeding her child? Point noted, film passed. It's another thing that people drove other pleasures from rewinding the scene.
Not here, what will the junta say?
The hero worship of Abhishek and John will be shattered if they kiss. We know that they aren't gay; they're just 'pretending' to be gay in the film.
So technically, they're all good-straight. They cannot do something that goes against their macho men image.
Why 'Dostana' works with the general audience is that it does not have to offend them by targeting a niche audience, its appeal lies in keeping it clean of any risque scenes.
K-Jo says he wanted to push the envelope, but it's still sealed in the male! They don't kiss. For all the hoo-ha about doing something 'hatke' it still remains the same old Bollywood dreaming.
Is Bollywood ready to come out of the closet?
You guys have seen 'Dostana'. You guys know the drill. We got thinking. You know that in the end Abhishek and John have a smoochie scene.
They are about to kiss and we go, 'oh no, oh no, oh no' and then they eventually do it. But they do it 'Hindi film style'. You know what it's like, the Hindi film kiss, where they tilt their heads and the camera is on the back of one of their heads and they seem to be in a fit to get over with it. So corny!
They could have shown two flowers fumbling with each other instead.
Do it straight up guys. In Hollywood, this would have been done with in a jiffy. No fuss. Here in Bollywood, where everyone gets revved up about how they will do this and they will do that if the scene 'demands' and when it comes to it, they chicken out.
I remember how Mallika Sherawat, for all the bold steps she has taken to get into films isn't such a bold babe after all. For 'Murder', when she had to do some topless shots, she used a body double!
With 'Dostana', if the kiss had been an actual kiss, it might have paved the way for actors who believe it's only 'acting', and not for real. But K-Jo wanted a universal cert so the kiss was covered up. Had this been Hollywood, he'd probably have his actors smother each other, and with 700 re-takes!
Even Madhur Bhandarkar snipped the kiss out of 'Fashion' to play it safe. These guys are pushing the boundaries, but still playing it by the book. When was the last time a film put the censor board in a real fix?
If you guys rewind to the eighties, Raj Kapoor had a problem with the censors telling him not to show a breast feeding scene in 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili Ho Gayi' as it could be titillating. Raj Kapoor gracefully handed the chaps a postage stamp with the same image and said, please censor this. Worse, we lick the stamp, isn't that disregarding?
So what's the fuss about a mother feeding her child? Point noted, film passed. It's another thing that people drove other pleasures from rewinding the scene.
Not here, what will the junta say?
The hero worship of Abhishek and John will be shattered if they kiss. We know that they aren't gay; they're just 'pretending' to be gay in the film.
So technically, they're all good-straight. They cannot do something that goes against their macho men image.
Why 'Dostana' works with the general audience is that it does not have to offend them by targeting a niche audience, its appeal lies in keeping it clean of any risque scenes.
K-Jo says he wanted to push the envelope, but it's still sealed in the male! They don't kiss. For all the hoo-ha about doing something 'hatke' it still remains the same old Bollywood dreaming.
Shiv Shakti
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