By Anu Dev
We all have heroes and heroines from movies we saw as children. Some of these movies we can re-watch and they take us back, even just for two hours, to that time when things were so much simpler. Much of the appeal of those movies comes from the nostalgia accompanying our memories of when we first saw them, and what things were liked back then. Movies and songs can be really powerful in the way they evoke certain emotions within us.
For me, “The Little Mermaid” and “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai“ are two movies from my childhood that managed to make me remember quite strongly the first couple of times I saw those movies. And I still cheer when I see Shahrukh running towards Camp Sunshine with Raghupati Ragav playing in the background. Shahrukh has clearly mastered those dramatic running sequences. These movies still make me laugh, cry, sigh and sing-a-long.
And I can’t help but reflect on how Indian movies have changed since the days of ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’. And truthfully, I really don’t enjoy most of the newer movies. Maybe some might call the older movies cheesy; even I quickly lose patience with the seemingly never-ending ‘running-around-trees-while-singing sequences’, but at least they didn’t have the actors ‘getting down’ to Raghupati Ragav in a club like Hritik and Priyanka did in Krissh 3. It’s clear that Bollywood has always drawn some influences from Hollywood – the name ‘Bollywood’ itself speaks volumes – but now, it seems to be reaching all new heights. But that’s a discussion for another time – luckily we can choose whether we want to avoid the newer movies and look at movies from whatever era we prefer.
I finally got to see “Frozen” a few weeks ago and I was thrilled that it managed to make me as happy as the original Disney movies. Disney has clearly updated their style to make their movies more current, but they still managed to keep the ‘Disney-ness’ of the movie. It had all of the ingredients that we’ve come to expect and love from Disney movies.
So it’s nice that there are still movies that you can enjoy that can take you back to your childhood days. I know we should be moving forward, forging onwards, setting goals and trying to achieve those goals. But for me, and perhaps many people my age, we’re at a strange stage in life.
Just a few months ago, our parents were driving us to school, making sure we’re well fed and well dressed, but now, some of us are living on our own, doing our own grocery shopping, driving ourselves around and doing you know, ‘adult-things’. And a few years from now, we’ll be responsible for keeping our patients alive, defending our clients in court or keeping our businesses afloat. So with our futures quickly hurtling towards us, it’s nice to escape for a few hours into a nice movie that makes us feel like our younger selves.
So what movies take you back to your childhood? When last did you look at those movies? I can guarantee that those movies will be the ones that can cheer you up when you’re having a bad day.