Oh, the golden age...

The reading in the last few days about the aftermath of the loss of one of the revered figures of the Indian industry just brings to mind these thoughts.

Mr. Bachchan in his blog has put forth some somber thoughts as well of the days gone by.

Yes, the days gone by in the Indian industry were different...Shri Shammi Kapoor ji was indeed a one of a kind actor, performer and dancer.

Films like the ones he made weren't that technically sound, no special effects et al and formulaic too, but had a soul and reflected Indian culture...And the music was one of the best...

There are some good films been made now, experimental ones, but the ratio is skewed. Originality in actors is difficult to find...


Time to go down memory lane a bit when there were real and original men and women...
These are unforgettable melodies rendered powerfully with beautiful lyrics that hold a lot of meaning ...Not too many songs of today have this kind of staying power...

And there are so many wonderful and beautifully picturized songs!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCZjI9A6yFU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J1PUEiilUU
http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=-J1PUEiilUU
Courtesy- Youtube
































Babita Shivdasani used to look gorgeous with her future uncle-in -law.She really had a lot of charm in her hey days and for some even more than what her daughters Karisma and Kareena had in the future...





(More videos will be uploaded soon...)

Is the mind without fear and the head held high?

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake

Rabindranath Tagore

On the 64th year of Indian independence can this beautiful poem stand true for the country of my birth, India?

Anyway, before dwelling too much into a negative discussion, a look at some links of the real heroes...

http://www.timesnow.tv/Tribute-to-men-who-fight-for-the-nation---Part-3/videoshow/4381300.cms

Well, as child in school a little more than a decade back I remember reading about how the population explosion, unemployment et al has held the nation back. These issues are still around.

The corruption according to most is the biggest problem.

Add to it, things which have been around for years as well- the large scale poverty, the disparity between the rich and the poor, nepotism for power posts in entertainment, politics, corporate world etc which has at so many points deprived true talent. The weakness of the country is blatant to the world thanks to many conscious citizens of the world.

Social activist Anna Hazare's struggle for the common men is ray of hope for the Indian nation burdened by years of corruption. So the conscious and common citizen of the nation has found a hero ...

http://www.avaaz.org/en/free_anna/?fbpost_08162011

http://www.annahazare.org/

And a chance to prove the following wrong! But the question is will it happen soon?

Sir Winston Churchill had reportedly written this 64 years ago about India :

"Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all Indian leaders will be of low caliber & men of straw. They will have sweet tongues & silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power & India will be lost in political squabbles. A day would come when even air & water would be taxed in India ."

P.S- Being a person who's studied history, art, cinema, music et al and delved deep into it, I must add something about entertainment here. Yes, there are still a few good Indian movies which are being made.But their number is low and the percentage isn't encouraging.

Rang De Basanti, a patriotic film which came out almost five and a half years ago had the ability to touch the youth of the country deeply. It had a message. And it also talked about the corruption killing and eating up the country

But where the actors of the film now apart from Aamir Khan who has an intelligent understanding of cinema and also is a smart/ suave business man?Well, they are not stars in B-Town.They hardly do much work and such meaningful movies are hardly made apart from a Taare Zameen Par from time to time. Historicals such as Jodhaa Akbar relect Indian culture but there aren't much of that sort any more either.

Instead some who do silly similar kind of movies, shake their bodies, are expressionless to the core, a few bimbos who can't even speak Hindi but probably can excite a few Indian males( never mind that people and men internationally don't care about that kind of botoxed, plastic, silly, brainless type) are so called stars in Bollywood or B-town. God. It really seems things are going to the dogs...

No wonder most Indian movies are ridiculed worldwide.Apart from the name Bollywood( for being a copy of Hollywood). The likes of Mr. Bachchan not liking that name is quite understandable indeed.

The one of a kind hero Shammi Kapoor's loss is A GREAT one indeed. It just happened a day before Independence Day. Have been talking about the tragic events in the month of July. August gave a blow as well to a lot of cine viewers.

He was from a time when people were original. He had an original, unique style.

There was a time when men used to be real men in Indian cinema. The music was original and the lyrics beautiful and meaningful.The stories were kind of similar, yes but they were closer to Indian culture. But sadly we don't see much of that anymore...

Mr. Bachchan's tribute on his blog is a wonderful and touching read.

A you tube song and many tributes dedicated to him by the common fans are here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J1PUEiilUU&feature=feedlik