Reel Reflections -2

After the obvious Karan Johar streak in Reel Reflections-1, I thought it would make sense to group movies around a common theme- in this case- Movies With Irritating Parent Figures

1. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge

THEN- Ah! A European romance between two young souls, that starts with fiery conflict in the UK and blossoms into kutchie-kutchie koo by the time they reach Geneva. And then- the inevitable whisking off of Simran to Punjab to be forcibly married to XYZ by her meanie dad, culminating in a wonderful end where the’ villain ‘ sees the error of his ways, and hands Simran over to her Raj (?) and everyone lives happily ever after. As an aunt of mine once commented- See, they didn’t elope, they instead convinced their parents- that’s the way it should be done, kids. Sniff. Tissues all around.

NOW-Obedience to parents ceases to be a desirable trait if said parent is trying to emotional and physically force you to marry some guy from the Pind. Really. FYI, Simran-ji, the UK government now has a Forced Marriage Unit, and come 2013, Amrish Puri’s deeds will become a criminal offence. Moral of the story- dear desi UK girls, (including Katrina from Namastey London) NOTE!! trip to India= underhanded attempt to get you married, unless otherwise proved.

2.Hum Aapke Hai Kaun

THEN- A grandly staged movie which elevated the Great (North) Indian Wedding to the status of an epic musical, which, (given the scale of most weddings these days )was almost prescient of Sooraj Barjatya. Alluring belle/sister of the bride- check! Shy, demure bride plus free transformation into model bahu and family heir-bearer-check! Giggly random females-check! Manly older groom/brother of the hero-check! And lest we forget- THE dashing hero- check , and how! An all-you-can-eat buffet of Bollywood, ’twas filled with songs, ceremonies, subplots, Tuffy and something for everyone-HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE THIS MOVIE?

NOW- Wtf were they thinking??!! Marry off poor Madhuri to brother-in-law widower so that a. His ‘needs’ are taken care of- a.k.a. coparenting-cum-cooking-cum-cleaning-cum-sexytime and b. the baby gets a ‘mother who would love it as much as it’s real mother’.I mean – WTFF! Can’t make my mind up as to who is creepier- the parents (all four of them) for dreaming up such an abhorrent solution or the bro-in-law who doesn’t say no to the prospect of the ‘saali’ becoming ‘gharwaali’!

3. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

THEN- Aishwarya was exquisite in this movie- to the point where a girl crush on my part may have even occurred. Added to that was the grace and grandeur of all of Gujarat just thrown in my face- and all I could do was blink in wonderment. The chemistry between Salman and the Bacchchan bahu was sensual. The love of Ajay was wistful. And the ending , unexpected, but oddly satisfying- for as we all know- LOVE COMES AFTER (arranged) MARRIAGE.

NOW- What’s-his-name was a mean mean father. Granted, he didn’t want his daughter to go gallivanting away to Italy, but why did he think marrying her off to another man was the solution? In that vast mansion- did he not find a single TV in all the years, which had a channel, which in turn played a movie with that oft repeated line- “Iss shaadi se teen teen zindagiyaan barbaad ho jaayegi?”

Anyway, Aishwarya and Salmando re-unite, but by that point she’s now in love with her husband.  So the gist of the movie seems to be this- You will fall for  the caste correct rich business man, yes the one you were forcibily married to, simply because he’s smitten with you ! Being on a pedestal and being worshipped always always trumps being someones flesh-and-blood-equal! Don’t bother with love-shove, that’s only for people who can’t find TRUE LOVE ,  arranged – marriage style!