I saw this movie last night. And as it was pointed out by a friend, more than dissecting the movie, I would like to present some thoughts on the movie.
Firstly, the movie has a very high production value. As pointed out in an article, almost like a chic flick, but with men. There is no intricate story to it other than three friends rediscovering themselves and each other in a trip to Spain. The cinematography is serene and breath taking. You almost feel like you are there in many of the shots and hence you tend to really feel certain emotions they go through.
Well with this said and done, I would like to present an alternate perspective. We talk of movies like Delhi Belly, Shaitan or its predecessor Paanch, which unfortunately never saw the light of day, as movies which are a bad influence on society and tend to glamorize all the wrong things. What with Delhi Belly with the innumerable profanities, Shaitan with its show of an urban reckless lifestyle and Paanch depicting a group of youth who have to turn to desperate measures to secure a future.
Sure this can influence the wrong way. But history is proof that a majority positive influence can also be negative for a few people. This is evident by a renegade youth who ended up assassinating the father of our nation. But with all due respect, these movies, even though fictional, are depicting a certain truth about our society. Delhi Belly is what I would like to call a tad over the top representation of young urban India, of a particular kind, which are put into extraordinary situations. A large section of our masses may maintain a similar, if not exact, lifestyle. Shaitan also shows a reckless lifestyle enjoyed by a lot of our youths which is evident by the drunk driving mishaps that occur. Also the kidnapping bit is taken from a real case that happened in suburban Mumbai a few years ago. You can look that up. Paanch was a movie which was extremely ahead of its time considering it was ready for release in the early part of the last decade. I wouldn't like to go much into it but lets just say that the censor board and the audience has probably matured a lot since then to get impacted by it in a way that it was supposed to back then.
So you ask why am I comparing these movies to ZNMD? I would like you guys to pay attention to some negatives, which I observed. I am not demanding a ban on it, but hear me out and give me your thoughts. Firstly, only may be five percent of this country tends to enjoy the lifestyle that is portrayed by the three lead characters. Not quite the majority. But then again, movies not necessarily need to represent a majority. And after all movie making is termed as the business of selling dreams. This dream in particular can have drastic consequences if not tracked right.
I remember watching Dil Chahta Hai (DCH) back in college. At the time, the idea of going off to Goa one night in a Mercedes open top convertible looked so cool. We also made pacts within our friends that we will do this some time. But over time there was a realization that we might not have 'thee' car or the time to do such impulsive trips. We all have accepted it and moved on to face reality. But could it be possible that some youngsters at the time were also influenced the same but did not grow out of it?
This movie can have a similar impact. Farhan Akhtar had justified at the time of DCH that he can relate to only that class of society because he has grown up with it. I have nothing against you. But you have to realize Mr. Akhtar, that some of the youngsters might be taking home the wrong message. As I mentioned, the remaining ninety five percent does not live such life styles. Almost one third of that population may have never been outside this country and the other one third barely manages to squeeze some vacations into their lives. The last one third might be frequently going abroad but can no way afford the vacation these guys had.
Remember back in school we were made to wear uniforms? No fancy hair dos or what ever. Do you remember why this was enforced? One of the reasons was for the affluent to not influence the other children around. This is what could be possibly happening with such brand of movies as well. Barring the emotional moments, the affluence and the carelessness towards money is clearly a bad influence on our majority population. Especially the youth. Not to mention the picture perfect actors playing the parts. That adds to the self consciousness of the masses.
In a country where a significant number of people are just able to make ends meet, such show of grandeur can lead to grave consequences. An impressionable youth can take home all the wrong messages and keep unrealistic goals for himself or herself. This can make them aggressive professionals, perpetually depressed for not reaching that goal or may be worse. One possible reason for the spread of organized crime could have possibly been the show of affluence around with a major population still reeling in poverty. Such disparity can cause people to revolt.
I might sound too pessimistic in my perspective about a beautiful work of art. But to me, an influence of unreasonable opulence can equally lead to far reaching impacts as much as few profanities, smoking a cigarette on screen, or the portrayal of violence can.
