The continuing competition for becoming the power centre of Tamil Nadu has over-shadowed other issues this week like cricket and films. Supplementing this race was the election clamour in five states. All the leaders, in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere ( whether they deserve to be called leaders is another matter) are shouting at the top of their voices that they are the best !
Such a departure from the leaders of yesteryears, who were so self-effacing. Not only the leaders, the self-aggrandisement was rarely demonstrated in public by even deserving, well to do and skilled people.It was considered arrogance if someone would start beating their drums.
The scenario , however, kept on changing as the years went by and generations succeeded each other.
In the hindi films too, the protagonists underwent changes, gradual at first and then quite rapid, when they expressed themselves.
From the soft spoken, sacrificing and confessional " sach hai duniya walon , ke hum hain anari" to bombastic, chest-thumping " I am the best" is a trail of changing mindset of the protagonists ,, both in reel and real life.
The first self-promotion seems to have appeared in the comedy film Chalti Ka naam gaadi (1957), in which Madhubala declares herself to be the cynosure of all eyes ( she was, actually) but Kishore Kumar was not impressed, wanting his "paanch rupaiyya barah aana" back, irrespective of the charms of the diva.
In the early 60s, the focus of showering praise shifted from the beloved to self.
Ironically , it was " Anari" Raj Kapoor who, in words of Shaharyar , hummed an ode to self in the film Aashiq , not bemoaning any weakness but extolling the virtues !
Despite the wish to be in the limelight, there was no touch of arrogance till now. For the one who loved someone, ego is an anathema. But the times-were-a-changing !
While the older heroes like Dilip Kumar ( the tragedy king), Raj Kapoor ( the common man) and Dev Anand (the city-slicker) kept on wooing the heroines by either praising her looks, dresses and charms or by presenting themselves as martyrs ( called emotional blackmail today ), it was Shammi who kept on his devil-may-care attitude by proclaiming that he is the emperor of all he surveys !
Assisted by Shankar Jaikishan and Shailendrai, Shammi warned all and sundry that he was here to rule
jaane walon zara hoshiyaar, yahaan ke hum hain raaj kumar
aage peechhe hamari sarkar , yahaan ke hum hain raajkumar
And so, we had the first avatar of the alpha male , a rockstar-of-sort and a top-of-the-voice singer who let out a mating call with the not-too-subtle "Aaja aaja, main hoon pyar tera"... in Teesri Manzil.
Shammi Kapoor switched to R.D.Burman for this film, but not after he had put the young composer through a litmus test. Supported by R.D.Burman's orchestration, the song indicated the shape of things to come, lyrically speaking.
Soon there were others on the bandwagon of self-promotion. In 1967 Jeetendra , in his James Bond avatar in Farz proclaimed that he could do as he wished to ( main jo chaahe yaar karoon) and the whole world is just for his sake ( saara jahaan hai mere liye). The journey of the hindi film hero to becoming the centre of universe had begun !
With the action films taking up all space, there was hardly any time for the song and dance to be reflective of the state of the mind of characters, unlike the earlier eras. Mindless violence and
"might is right" affirmed the egoistical imagery of heroes ( and heroines, too) leaving little margin for niceties. Amitabh Bachchan got the pick of author-backed roles of "in and as" variety like Don, Kaalia, Muqaddar ka Sikandar, Shahenshah, Coolie and Mahaan, to name a few. Each of these films had songs which were exercises in self propogation.
The time had come to announce to the world that the "good guys" are not inferior to the "bad guys"., even if it had to be sung in a qawwali format or a dahi handi song.
The trend has continued to this date and the tribe of drum-beaters is increasing. The leaders are reflections of the people and probably this is the reason the saleability ( ability to win the elections) is more when they proclaim to be superior , not subservient to the public they hope to rule.
So, help us God !
Such a departure from the leaders of yesteryears, who were so self-effacing. Not only the leaders, the self-aggrandisement was rarely demonstrated in public by even deserving, well to do and skilled people.It was considered arrogance if someone would start beating their drums.
The scenario , however, kept on changing as the years went by and generations succeeded each other.
In the hindi films too, the protagonists underwent changes, gradual at first and then quite rapid, when they expressed themselves.
From the soft spoken, sacrificing and confessional " sach hai duniya walon , ke hum hain anari" to bombastic, chest-thumping " I am the best" is a trail of changing mindset of the protagonists ,, both in reel and real life.
The first self-promotion seems to have appeared in the comedy film Chalti Ka naam gaadi (1957), in which Madhubala declares herself to be the cynosure of all eyes ( she was, actually) but Kishore Kumar was not impressed, wanting his "paanch rupaiyya barah aana" back, irrespective of the charms of the diva.
In the early 60s, the focus of showering praise shifted from the beloved to self.
Ironically , it was " Anari" Raj Kapoor who, in words of Shaharyar , hummed an ode to self in the film Aashiq , not bemoaning any weakness but extolling the virtues !
Next up was Majrooh Sultanpuri, who penned a song destined to keep his memories alive in all the beautiful ways he expressed in this song. Roshan's composition ( a legacy of the original Sachin Dev Burman's Thandi hawaayein, which has inspired over half a dozen gems down the years) ensured that this song becomes immortal, pun intended !
Despite the wish to be in the limelight, there was no touch of arrogance till now. For the one who loved someone, ego is an anathema. But the times-were-a-changing !
While the older heroes like Dilip Kumar ( the tragedy king), Raj Kapoor ( the common man) and Dev Anand (the city-slicker) kept on wooing the heroines by either praising her looks, dresses and charms or by presenting themselves as martyrs ( called emotional blackmail today ), it was Shammi who kept on his devil-may-care attitude by proclaiming that he is the emperor of all he surveys !
Assisted by Shankar Jaikishan and Shailendrai, Shammi warned all and sundry that he was here to rule
jaane walon zara hoshiyaar, yahaan ke hum hain raaj kumar
aage peechhe hamari sarkar , yahaan ke hum hain raajkumar
And so, we had the first avatar of the alpha male , a rockstar-of-sort and a top-of-the-voice singer who let out a mating call with the not-too-subtle "Aaja aaja, main hoon pyar tera"... in Teesri Manzil.
Shammi Kapoor switched to R.D.Burman for this film, but not after he had put the young composer through a litmus test. Supported by R.D.Burman's orchestration, the song indicated the shape of things to come, lyrically speaking.
Soon there were others on the bandwagon of self-promotion. In 1967 Jeetendra , in his James Bond avatar in Farz proclaimed that he could do as he wished to ( main jo chaahe yaar karoon) and the whole world is just for his sake ( saara jahaan hai mere liye). The journey of the hindi film hero to becoming the centre of universe had begun !
This is not to profess that the heroes were not singing love songs or had stopped playing the "sacrifical goat" roles, but a new kind of brashness was evident. The films were also being named after the character of protagonists, highlighting the "in and as" phrase.
The advent of the first Superstar Rajesh Khanna accentuated this ( both on and off-screen), despite his mushy romantic image. In the film Shehzada in which the hero literally claimed that he cared two hoots for the "zamana" , despite being a truck driver.
The advent of the first Superstar Rajesh Khanna accentuated this ( both on and off-screen), despite his mushy romantic image. In the film Shehzada in which the hero literally claimed that he cared two hoots for the "zamana" , despite being a truck driver.
With the action films taking up all space, there was hardly any time for the song and dance to be reflective of the state of the mind of characters, unlike the earlier eras. Mindless violence and
"might is right" affirmed the egoistical imagery of heroes ( and heroines, too) leaving little margin for niceties. Amitabh Bachchan got the pick of author-backed roles of "in and as" variety like Don, Kaalia, Muqaddar ka Sikandar, Shahenshah, Coolie and Mahaan, to name a few. Each of these films had songs which were exercises in self propogation.
The time had come to announce to the world that the "good guys" are not inferior to the "bad guys"., even if it had to be sung in a qawwali format or a dahi handi song.
Films also had titles such as Hum kisi se kam nahin, Humse badh kar kaun, main khiladi tu anadi and the No.1 series ( Hero No.1 , Jodi No.1 etc.) . It was not entirely unexpected that someone could come up with the ultimate expression of supremacy.
King Khan and Juhi Chawla were spot on when they delivered the verdict in the film Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. The young generation was not apologetic about being the best and was rather proud of it.
Ironically, the title of the film is a snatch from a Raj Kapoor song from Sri 420, in which he says
छोटे से घर में ग़रीब का बेटा
मैं भी हूँ माँ के नसीब का बेटा
रंजो ग़म बचपन के साथी
आँधियों में जाली जीवन बाती
भूख ने है बड़े प्यार से पाला
Compare this with the lyrics of "The Best" and you get the contrast , in your face.कोई हीरो यहांकोई ज़ीरो यहांकोई स्टार हैकोई बेकार हैमैं कौन हूँ, कहूँहै सच तो ये दोस्तोंI'm the best, I'm the bestI am the best
The trend has continued to this date and the tribe of drum-beaters is increasing. The leaders are reflections of the people and probably this is the reason the saleability ( ability to win the elections) is more when they proclaim to be superior , not subservient to the public they hope to rule.
So, help us God !
4 comments:
You have covered a gamut of songs and the progression or is it regression of the alpha male, over the years. Wonder what got you to start with the political shenanigans and the politicians. Let them come- Amitabh- more the merrier
The series is intended to be a chronology of events /songs of bollywood which has an association with a current event. If you go through the blogs , starting from the first, it will be noticed.
Under the guise of quotations from filmi lyrics, you have given vent to your inner lament at falling standards all over. Sensitivity carefully hiding behind bluster or even crudity.
Sir, your choice of film songs, lyrics as well as tunes, as the vehicle for conveying your thoughts, is the master stroke because, they rouse interest easily about an otherwise un-cheering topic, they are catchy, go to the heart of the matter direct and most importantly, there is a vast pool of material for use. I congratulate you, not to praise you or placate you, nor even to exhibit my intellectual pretentions, but out of genuine admiration.
Incidentally, I may mention, that our film songs, which were compelled to fit in a 78-r p m, 3-1/2 minute format, brought the best out of our wordsmiths as well as the baton-wielders.
To quote a muse
Safely hogi Teri aradhana.
Thanks Adishankar ji for your encouraging words and apologies for reacting so late.In fact, I was going through the blog material, after posting the latest edition today and saw your comments.
Post a Comment