Ramu Kaka, the family Physician, Kheer, Silk Gown et al...

 

Cinema is a medium to convey a message; message which are verbal or visual based. It has the power to alter narrative or perhaps the discourse too. In the 50's 60's and even more pronounced in the 70's and 80's film stars commanded a huge influence on the audience. Hair style, clothes and accessories were copied by audience blindly. The Sadhana Cut became a famous hairstyle or the bouffant of Asha Parekh or the Sharmila Tagore style eye liners; even the men folk were not left behind. The ear hiding hairstyle of Amitabh Bachchan or the bell bottom or the unbuttoned shirt (only the first 2-3 buttons) went on to be cult classics. But, this rage was/is actually a global phenomena. It happened across the world and it still continues to create a sense of dystopian world which audience are more than happy to lap up. 

In more recent times, two Hindi films, Dil Chahta Hai and later Zindagi Na Mile Dobara went on to change the way how youth looked at lifestyle and travel. Infact, a lot of me-too films that came in were on the same lines. Cinema still continues to influence audience and lifestyle. And the film makers make succinct efforts in building those images, which cut through the clutter and the maze. The culture of fandom is based on this perhaps. When Salman Khan donned a new haircut for his sleeper hit, Tere Naam, it simply set the barbers cash registers ringing. And till today, the Salman Khan fandom swears by the Bhai school of style. He was the one who brought in the beef cake culture to the Hero in films. Before him, hero could not afford to be muscular and yet we had to believe that a hero could bash up 10 guys in a no-fuss attitude.  

But cinema lost out on some important characters and props in the process of evolution. As times changed, social context changed, more money brought in more prosperity and more insecurity. In the process stories evolved. Imagine a film, Naam (a Mahesh Bhatt gem) which featured two brothers. Much on the lines of the cult classic Deewar. One the wayward and the other never toes the line. Both had similar plots and similar ending. Yet, Naam is a very 90's film and Deewar, 70's. What set them apart are socio-cultural setting that has happened over time. In Deewar, the antagonist tries to make his way through within the city he lives and in Naam the guy moves to the middle east to try out his luck. One meets a sympathetic and kind mafia head and the other a ruthless one, who will go to any extent. The plot remained the same, the sub context changed.

Hindi cinema, over the years may have added in more such subtle sub context while the plot remains the same. Take for instance a very recent 2021 release Mimi and compare that to Aradhana. Both have the mother with a child out of wedlock. Having to deal with the same (Zalim) society and the admonishments. Or take another recent release, Ludo which showcases four parallel plots and you shall find the non-linearity very similar to the 1957 release Musafir. In Musafir all converge to the house where they are on rent and in Ludo the house is Sattu the underworld character, where all characters converge. So, in effect premise remains the same but the sub context changes. 

When cinema is a medium of communication, the environment in which the message is being relayed is critical. If there are changes in the environment, the medium has to integrate those changes. Take for instance how fathers have evolved in Hindi cinema. The 50's father was unforgiving, yet was concerned; the 60's father still continued to be unforgiving and gave a lot of weightage to family values at any cost; the 70's father by then had developed a complete disdain for the child and had given up on him; and the 80's father seemed suddenly lost in the plot and looked a more lost version of himself; The big movies from the 80's where fathers remained integral to the plot were Masoom, Shakti, Khoobsurat, Saaransh, QSQT (remember Papa Kahte Hai?), Aakhri Raasta, to name some. But by the 90's the father had gone completely missing except for the one in DDLJ but he too carried the baggage of the past few decades. 

It was only in the new millennium that fathers started changing their avatar and became a more acceptable figure. The father from the recent releases like Bareilly Ki Barfi or Thappad or Badhai Ho or Dum Laga ke Haisha are not the usual rebel without a cause father but have more purpose and driven.

However, the biggest loss to Hindi cinema have been some iconic mnemonics like the Ramu Kaka the proverbial keeper of the house or the family physician who was more than a physician or the Ma ke haath ka Kheer or Gajar ka Halwa or Aloo ke parathe or the silk gown donning father. They have all gone out of the frames gradually and we truly miss them. They brought in nostalgia and perhaps brought in the much needed normalization. When the dying patient is being left to fend for with DUA and not DAWA, those scenes remain iconic or when the mother has blood transfusion being done by on real time through her three sons, whom she does not know due to selective amnesia are truly stuff which made Hindi cinema so watchable. Amar Akbar Anthony broke every single imaginable or unimaginable dream and made what a dream sequence should be all about. 

Those mnemonics got lost, because of the lack of purpose. Either, new homes cannot afford a Ramu Kaka or a home does not have a Ramu Kaka or put it simply Ramu Kaka does not fit in the frame. The last remembered Ramu Kaka was Daija in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam (of course it was a female version, played out by Farida Jalaal). A lot of cinema is moving out from the big city (read metros and min-metros) to smaller cities. These cities have replaced Ramu Kaka with the Hero's friends. Tere Naam, Ranjhaana, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Dum Laga ke Haisha, Shubh Mangal Jyada Savdhaan, to a slew of releases will find the setting, smaller towns of India. These are places from where new stories are emerging. Be it a biopic or a plot and smaller cities are the nerve centers today. And here, Ramu Kaka does not fit in; neither does the Dad's silk gown. The narrative has altered and the new discourse is all about bringing out the reality.     

I would still continue to hope that those moments and frames from the past continue to inspire a generation of new age filmmakers since the foundations of what we see today are laid in those silk gowns or the Ramu Kaka or the family physician and Ma ke Haath ka kheer or Ma ki kasam.

I shall be watching a rerun of Amar Akbar Anthony again, tonight; what about you?