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hurrengoa
"follow the orders of your spirit" angel aldarondo   The movie theatres have always fulfilled a protection task. They are an easy way to be isolated from reality during one hour and a half. In its immaculate altar, it turns imagination into cinemascope. In an almost mythic temple, with great sound, God’s pop corns become ambrosia and Coca-Cola elixir.
In India, this rite is a popular feeling with deeper roots. India has the most cinemagoing population. Millions of Indians go to the cinema every day to receive their opium dose in the shape of Masala. Colorful noisy musicals, emotional stories full of glamour, exotism, tradition, action, music and dancing; all these things are collected in a story with a beautiful ending. A boy is looking for a girl and he finds her in the end. Then, the villain overcomes them and he preserves the social orders.
This is the Masala genre (Bollybood in the west), that is, in Bombay the films that have their own star-system. It is an excellent event. India is the only country (apart from USA) that films super productions that are only used for national consumption. Besides, they are very successful. This fantastic recognition comes from an ultra nationalist feeling (with their funny fees, the French should learn from this). The inhabitants are willing to watch stories of their place. They like protagonists that are similar to them: Protagonists that will reflect their way of living. Due to this event, Bombay has become the ‘Meca’ of cinema. One thousand films are produced there every year, which is twice the production in Hollywood.
These films have the same structure and themes as the first films. However, they exclude the influence of the Italian neorealism and reduce the epic dose little by little. The first national success arrived in 1955. It was the film entitled “Pather Panchali” ; which later on became the master piece of the Indian films. The Indian studios show what people want to watch, without arrogance. They just give in to passion.
As wise people announced, in a century, this genre will take the entire world in the west; like a kind of backwards globalization. Stay calm! This is impossible. According to west population, these kinds of films are a kitsch sub production. This genre is an old crudity with frantic rhythm and grotesque actors. It will become a fashion aimed at brave people at the most. For the time being, there is an American title that parodies this kind of films: “The Guru”(2002). This film is the nonsense that inspired the Coca-Cola advertisement. In my opinion, the film that is most influenced by Masala is “Moulin Rouge” (2001), as we can see the great tribute that is made to this genre.
If we put aside all the differences between the two cultures, Bollywood and Hollywood have many things in common. Nevertheless, the spirit of the first one is much more pure. Its attitude is more independent. It is also more direct when facing emotions, when creating spectacle and causing impression.
Even the most bored west people fall down in the arms of passion sometimes. I fell down there while writing this article. Before documenting for this, I bet Yolanda Hollywood’s production was stronger than the Asian’s. Next day, I bet Gorka the same thing. When they read this article they will know they won the bet: a dinner each in Urepel. Congratulations to the guessers!