To Amitabh - Day 267

Respected Brother,
Sadar Charan Sparsh,

I take this plunge to take the debate a little further or maybe little beyond the slumdog as some like Nina and Pankaj Mohan and few others had done and one Puneet mentioned the comments by Nargis Dutt over Satyajit Ray films. Now I am not as well versed as some of my other colleagues who give the comment numbers that they refer.

Well, let me put forth my views of Hind Cinema. My first movie was probably the very first parallel movie made under the banner of RK productions. I am not sure how many of the fellow bloggers would have seen Boot Polish. It was on slum life and I have not seen any movie as touching and as thought provoking about our larger section of people who live in those conditions!

I think there are two or may be three kinds of movies - one for pure entertainment value, second for socail messages and third for mainly historical passion! I would tend to put most of your movies in the first and a few in the second and probably you still have to do a film on historical perspective.

True the larger section of audience and film producers work on the first type of films, a few take up the second option and rarely does someone make a movie with history as the major background! If I would be asked what is my first priority when I go and watch a movie, I would not hesitate to state that I consider the cast as an important aspect, I first want to see some talented actors then it should possibly have a good gripping story and lastly but not the least if it could relate to some issues of life not necessarily of good, bad or ugly.

Among your movies Anad and Abhimaan and Namakharaam the first three movies that I got to watch were outstanding they can beat Znajeer, Sholay and Deewar, again these are my perception they could be wrong and I a not here to force my likes onto others! so no harm intended and possibly some of the new movies which may not be as highly acclaimed as some of the movies of seventies are also worth a view - These include Black, Viruddh, Sarkar, Mohabbatein, Baghbaan, Khakee, Kabhi khushi kabhi gham and Bhootnath.

Tomorrow, I have some plans to write some article on Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan in English about his autobiography in four parts, I prefer celebrating birthdays in that manner. I knwo I had earlier planned a visit to your residence and later saw the futility of such a exercise.

A very good day to you and hopefully you are having a wonderful time despite all this hulabloo over the last two days! Have a smile it does not cost us anything it only pleases the others. I am very poor at smiling, I am all the time in a serious mood! I know I am not a perfect human being and circumstances have not helped me much to change. The saddest thing has been my failure to uphold my resolve to quit smoking! I am further saddened by the fact that I had associated and roped my dead brother into the resolve. I hope his soul rests in Peace and forgives me his younger brother, I know he would he had a big heart!

Abhaya Sharma, India January 17 2009