KICKASS

I probably would not be writing this post if I was not a film student. I would be another drop of the ocean of fans our Bollywood 'superstars' command over. I would be whistling &, going a little ol' fashion, throwing money on the screen when Mr. Salman Khan or SRK or Aamir Khan came on screen for the first time or when the heroine is first seen sending her 'zulfe' whirling in the air in slow motion,  or 'accidentally' colliding with the hero . I would have been all this, but I am not. I am a film student. I have seen & known better.

As the first earnings rolled in, I decided to give my parents a treat by taking them for a movie, the movie being an only choice- Salman's KICK. Honestly, I was not too keen on it but with no other eye catching release, I thought my dad, who relishes Salman's antics would have a great time and I too would sail through it (although I realised my mistake later, there indeed was Ritiesh Deshmukh's first Marathi venture which I should have gone for), after all the trailer did promise some great cinematography and stunts that did actually look commendable. And it delivered too, but as with all Salman Khan movies of late, KICK seems to be promoting the 'don't dare to reason' philosophy that has currently gripped our industry of late, with a vengeance. Yes, I know what you'd think. What a hypocrite! First he goes and sees all his movies and then he complains about it's philosophy. When a nation of billions relishes it, what is this guy's problem? I felt it myself too. Am I a hypocrite? Should I be questioning the film's & Salman's logic ( it must have SOME logic to work on this gigantic scale) but I should as I feel I am not alone in what & how I think. Yes, they unabashedly promote it as hardcore masala, they say it's purely commercial & you know what you are in for when you step into the theater but is it the be all & end all of it? My argument goes not against films like KICK  but against the trend of ONLY movies like KICK circulating off late. Look around you, it's all the same!! Everyone suddenly wants to go macho, everyone wants the heroine to sing & dance and that's about it. Apart from Salman's repertoire of films that have struck gold at the box office, look at ROWDY RATHORE, R....RAJKUMAR, BULLET RAJA & HOLIDAY, THE SINGHAM FRANCHISE, even GUNDAY. It's all the same, an infallible hero bashing up the baddies like making his bed. and eventually getting the girl. Yes, this IS a genre of films and it has it's space, it should have it's space but then so should a HAIDER, which I am guessing in all probability will never have the kind of audience a KICK has. So should a LUNCH BOX & a MAQBOOL. Why are we hesitant to actually use brains in a film? Why don't we want a film to make us think? To question? As we returned home from the movie, I questioned my parents about this. They said which audience would like to think for a movie? They just want to have a good time! They are stressed & just want fun? Come on, it can't get that bad!

Read one of Bhai's interviews recently. The journalist happened to ask a very interesting question to him that I have also pondered upon for quite some time, " Will you never do a villain's role in a film? Why is it that your character always does the 'right' thing on screen?" to which he replied, "It is important for me to do the right thing on screen". Like really? That's like saying Heath Ledger was a criminal because he played Joker in The Dark Knight!! Are a SHATTERED GLASS, an IF ONLY or a SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION never going to be an option for Indian cinema lovers? I could really go on about this & we can have a great debate on it, but let me just rest the case with that question I just asked? What do you think people?