An escapist's fixation: cinema post-mortem

Like with all things close to one's heart, I too do not seem to remember the exact moment in my life that I started to get inclined towards films. But yeah, keeping in view my rather strange abstract indulgences, this too did not come as a surprise to those close to me (don't you think my recent articles tend to talk minimally about me, but more of those close and near to me, mentally or physically?). Just like my few other apparently harmless addictions (?) like chocolate, Hide and Seek cookies (no, its not a paid advert), Hitman games, and a bunch of similarly useless and time-killing, pleasure inducing stuff, watching movies has, over a period of 14 years of my fruitful existence, also achieved a somewhat fanatical value for me.

As I have famously stated on my Orkut and Facebook page, movies act as a sort of 'portal' for me to escape into a parallel universe full of stuff that is not affected by this world we dwell, and if used potently, has the potential to affect our present world in a most effective and reformatory manner. As clichéd as it maybe, but films are utterly useless for those who take them seriously. I mean, yes, I agree that some films are serious in their sensitive premise or treatment, but they show only the tip of the iceberg. Let me express myself more soundly with the help of a few examples.

Lets study one of my all-time favourite films, the best psychological thriller of all-time,Memento, to strengthen my view point. Its psychological approach might sound really incredible to a film-junkie or a wannabe like me, even if it takes itself very seriously. And yes, it pitches out some awesome topics that one can debate hours on. But the point is, to a psychology guru, or someone who is an expert in that field, it might sound as a gimmick that is being blown out of proportions. Though to the average person it could garner a hell lot of psychological interest, butif this 'average person' would really have been interested in playing it forward, he would go to a specialist, not the cinema-hall to watch Memento.

In summation, great movies are those which talk of high-fi topics in layman's terms. Which are insightful on film-making as an art in itself, and not specialised technical themes like medical sciences, engineering, psychology, etc. For example, the highlight of Memento, was not the pseudo-psychological babble, but the other film-making technicalities like a taut screenplay, amazing editing, near-perfect direction and a deeply-involved storytelling. Of course, the psychological angle was intiguing, but that did not attribute to the greatness of the film.

Another illuminating example on the subject at hand would be the parallels I have drawn between two very critically-acclaimed films in modern Indian cinema, both on a somewhat (mind the 'somewhat') similar topic: Aamir, starring television starlet Rajeev Khandelwal, and A Wednesday, starring theatre maestro Naseeruddin Shah. Many would prefer watching the latter than the former, largely because of its in-your-face treatment and the no-nonsense direction. But if you ask me, I'd anyday rate Aamir higher than Wednesday in terms of pure film-making (mind the italics, they're there for a reason). Again, you guys would allege me of going with the less popular choice just to be different and make this post 'unique'. That's right guys, there might be some of it that's actually valid to some extent. However, first just hear me out and then judge my ingenuity of thought.

I saw Wednesday and my mind started racing. The message was clear, thought out, and vented out in the simplest way possible (don't replace 'simplest' with 'best'). Nevertheless, I though, heck man, had I seen this film on paper, I mean if I had read the script of the film rather than watching it, it would have created more or less a similar effect on my psyche. It would have moved me just as much as a novel with a same storyline would. It didn't harness the power of cinema, did not redeem the full magnitude and potential of moving images. It failed to create the thump, the goosebumps that only a film can give. It was way too spoon-fed, atleast too much for my liking.

However, on the other side of the table, was this neat little film Aamir, which I felt, was right at all the places Wednesday was wrong, and went awry at those where Wednesday was spot on. Unlike Wednesday, it didn't have that much a clear message, and was much abstract in its solution. Its core was very confused and entangled around a couple of other side-messages that the ambitious director wanted to eke in (actually, that's my kind of storytelling, there's not much attention of discipline as compared to substance). However, the film came out victorious because of its subtlety and its profound and vivid use of 'moving images'. Had I read the film instead of watching it, as I did with Wednesday, it would easily be successful in putting me to sleep. But no, the director had 'vision up his butts' (dialogue copied from School of Rock), and the power of cinema transformed the storyline into an amazingly watchable experience.

Well, that's enough dissecting films for awhile. Its just that anyone in my place would have done the same due to the inherently boring life of mine. Anyway, this post is a tribute to the cinema that I've grown up with (and still am), and my bizarre way of paying homage to the greats of film-making as seen through the eyes of a 21st centurion.