Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood…

It’s amazing. The film industry as a whole has gone through a metamorphosis that has left Indians gasping for more. The fights have become more adventurous, more action packed and perhaps even more unbelievable. The dramatic moments have become more synthetic and are jerking more tears than ever before. The heroines have of course become slimmer, prettier and more daring and in the process have eclipsed many girls who were made for typical vamp roles. The music has become international and draws inspiration from a plethora of cultures. And the heroes whose dance steps have become more and more complicated and demanding have started sporting six packs and designer etched hair styles.

But some states seem to have missed the bus. I saw a Bengali song clip put up by a friend and was dismayed. Kolkata which for years was the resource bank that gave to the country the finest cameramen, the best editors, the most sensitive story tellers and the ultimate in directors suddenly seems to have gone bankrupt.

The song picturisation was amateurish to say the least. The hero had the chocolate boy look which must have been fashionable in the last century and his lady love looked like a housewife who had stepped out of the kitchen while waiting for the pressure cooker to blow its whistle, and having come out, decided to dance for a few minutes – in her dowdy housecoat of a costume, with her stomach flapping out of tune and her footsteps were hip heavy and largely clumsy.

I dare say that I am jumping to conclusions based solely on one clip but I remember fondly when ETV Bangla started production here at Hyderabad, one of the best imports was the talent from Bengal. And we all expected that the exposure to each other would benefit both Bengalis and South Indians. But alas, the Bengal Tigers seem to have become complacent in their own cages or in their nook of the woods.

The fight sequences of the south Indian films have emerged as benchmarks for the movie industry with even Bollywood borrowing from the south’s gymnastics which are peddled as fights. Six pack heroes are the norm and size zero is a been there, done that phenomenon.

But coming to the clip in question, even when they found the budget to shoot song sequences abroad,  this clip showed me that they had yet to come to terms with contemporary shooting techniques and modern day dance moves. And their edit pattern was reminiscent of the old Doordarshan style, pedantic and boringly hard working.

Check it out…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aGTjbQwuTyo

Am I being hasty in writing off a talent pool that I have tremendous respect for? Am I wrong? And is there a Bengali film which can show me how badly off the mark I am. Suggestions are welcome. Nothing would please me more than eating my words.