Bollywood is Dead

                                                           Bollywood is Dead

Yes!!! That’s right. Bollywood is Dead. The Industry that has gone on for more than a century is finally losing its power. Despite all the money, all the glamour, and all the big talks of distribution and franchise and worldwide domination of markets, the industry has run its course.

   It is losing its hold on the people. People are now getting led away by internet series and reality shows on television. The reality of the movie industry is that it has lost its charm. Going to see movies these days, is like spending a ton from your pocket and not getting the value of it. The people go for the mall experience more than the movie. Even the food is three times the normal cost, though and the movies are bland. There seems to be an atmosphere of emptiness which is going to bring about the end of this industry.

 Gone are the days when Bollywood was an industry that had stars. When I grew up watching the industry of Bollywood . Amitabh, Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Jackie and Anil Kapoor just to name a few. Every event that we saw in those days that associated with Bollywood was a glittering necklace of diamonds because there were stars who showed up , and they had their glory. Though I never watched Bollywood too much, I saw what was a hero or heroine, a Star. You could see a Sanjay Dutt walking and your head would turn up, or Sunny Deol for that matter who left an impression on you.

Then there was Nasserrudin Shah whose baritone voice would just make you stand up . Om Puri and Smita Patil were great actors and had wonderful screen presence. Paresh Rawal, through his delivery of obscene and wonderful dialogue deliver made my day all the time. The mischievous Amol Palekar, and the Philosophical Girish Karnad who brought their personality into the character which was so unique, like the melancholy Rajesh Khanna and Dilip Kumar who portrayed tragedy so well. The evergreen Dev Anand , who through his unique style and gesture, crated an amazing personality of a star. Johnny Lever never required fake laughing audiences to express comedy. Raaj Kumar maintained a firm grip with his style of narration and dialogue delivery.

The three Khans _ Shahrukh, Salman and Aamir Khan are the last dinosaurs who walk on the spotlights of Bollywood. The magic will leave with them, as the current generation does not show much promise. The torch was handed over to Ranbir and he did some good cinema. Ranveer also is making some ripples.But for most films today, there is no script as usual – the script is the backbone of the film, and the script is made while the movie is being made. Will you study the recipe while you are cooking?

Recently Ranveer said that he was a star on an award show. Does an actor need to say he’s a star. People need to accept you as a star, and that’s when you are a star. Not by rigged statistics and whimsical tactics, but by the presence you create in front of your audience. Today we have everything- the acting classes, the gyms, the public relations and the money – but we do not have one thing – the Star.

There is no star in Bollywood , not a single one just a big black sky with no moon in it. Today, the stars look like the man next door, an ordinary citizen. He puffs himself up like a baboon and flexes and bulges his muscles, and you feel like you have come to a zoo. Whenever all the requirements for the film industry are fulfilled, only then acting is considered. Bollywood, once the industry of dreams is now digging the graves of all its stars. The Industry makes, but so does a general store or a corporate. Where is the lightning that cracks before the thunder?

 The actors should move to the libraries where they need to go ahead and discover thee personalities and try to add them in their acts. The brain is also a muscle that needs to be developed to portray emotions. Right now, it’s a dead scene where twenty years down the line, I’ll still remember Amitabh and Jackie shroff because there will be no one to remember from today. Bollywood had better step up , or there will be nobodys acheivements to remember down the line. I hated that Friedrich Nietzche said “ God is Dead” but I definitely will say “ Bollywood is Dead”.