Often I am asked the question: "do you like Bollywood movies?"
My answer to this question is usually, 'No, not really.' Why?
First of all the title 'Bollywood.' Wikipedia quote: "Bollywood s the informal term popularly used for the Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry in India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema".
This Bombay/Hollywood mix title has been created and populated by the media, and to be honest even the most Indian film makers are not really happy with it.
The films currently created by this so called 'Bollywood' are mostly packed with flashy scenes, fancy cinematography and very little space for actual stories or moral value's. The common accessories of these movies are almost nude and hyperactive dancers trying to recreate the common western MTV hype of the month. This is understandable considering the amount of films that 'Bollywood' has to produce and still keep the public entertained.
But for me these current 'Bollywood' movies really do not represent the moral value and the culture rich India that I know of.
So which movie does? To really witness the true power of Indian movie magic we must travel back in time, as far as the 60's, to the south of India.
A time where words had meaning, flowers where ornaments, science and mythology lived in harmony, and where good moral values where always available.
The time of 'Thiruvilayadal'(1965) a epic mythological movie full of symbolism moral value, and the best opening scene and music spectacle of the worlds film history. Even the special FX are amazing for its time, remember Peter Jackson the maker of the Lord of The rings trilogy was still in his dippers at this time.
The main characters in this film represents the elements of our universe, and the thoughts behind them can be as advanced as your brain can handle. Beside the breathtaking settings and music compositions, this movie glides on moral values, and valuable lessons.
Vighnesh M. Peters
