Shree
420
This being my first post and one of the first movies on
Bollywood I have ever watched, I was thrilled to see this. My sister has
constantly held Bollywood Movies in high praise and it is not something I have
had the leisure of time to be able to get into. I am not trying to come off as
bashing on “Cinema! Cinema!” as in no way do I think it is a bad movie, but in
comparison to Shree 420 I was much more enticed and excited to see how this one
played out. There was a plot that I could follow cleanly and made sense to me.
Maybe that is due to my inexperienced eye, but I am a sucker for a central
character to root for as he grows and develops throughout the movie.
The Central protagonist, Raj Kapoor, was an odd one at
first. I never really knew what he was going to do. In the opening car scene
his charismatic ways instantly got me hooked on his character. He was
quick-witted and smart, yet still came off as compassionate. I knew he was good
and had a moral conscious and that cause me to wonder how he would deal with
his poverty. Especially with so many signs in the beginning of the only way to
make it was to throw away whatever morals he had to succeed in a place like
Bombay.
The scene where Raj and Dharmanand are talking to the public as prominent figures was
hilarious and I think a good representation of what the nation wanted at the
time. Dharmanand spent his time preaching about people and their dedication to
faith would lead to success as long as they kept working hard. On the other
hand, Raj spent his time preaching about how people cannot work hard without
food in their bellies and stole followers away from Dharmanand by just
preaching about how everyone would do better with a full stomach, particularly
some bread would be nice. I see this as a nice analogy for what people saw as
necessary vs what the government saw as necessary with Raj representing people
and Dharmanand representing the government. Relating to chapter one and the unrest India was going through at the time in the during the 1950's being freed of Britain's rule.
On the topic
of citizenship I see Raj’s opening song and repeat of that songs chorus, “My
hats Russian, English pants, Indian heart”, as a good sign for the confusion
that was on going at the time. Indians at the time had just come into independence
from Britain so the Indian people were trying to find their place in the world.
Raj does a very good job of saying no matter what you’re composed of as long as
your heart beats for India you will be considered an Indian, or at least to
Raj.
Hello Zachary! I found your interpretation of Raj's eclectic mix of clothing interesting saying that it reflects the confusion of the time. I would definitely agree that Raj does a splendid job of exclaiming the importance of carrying an Indian heart no matter what external devices may try to influence one otherwise.
ReplyDeleteWhat I wonder though, is if his clothes are a symbol for Indian confusion and or adaptation to this new dynamic, why not just have Raj wear clothes from England or the U.S? What is the significance of so many countries involved in his garb?
I also really enjoyed the dichotomy between the two speeches given from Raj and Dharmanand but ironically, Raj made his speech in an attempt to swindle people in the long run. What do you suppose was the significance of that? I saw this as Raj's first introduction into rural and or Western capitalist profiteering. Find a place where people are struggling and capitalize upon their misery with some charismatic injected deception.
Zachary,
ReplyDeleteIt is an interesting point you have made about Raj's clothes and heart. It seems me to that what really matter is what inside a person. People should not be fooled by the appearances. The scene of the two speeches shows how the majority of people are deceived by Dharmanand's speech and his talking about his clothes is a way to convince people of his patriotism. There are tow other scenes when Raj is trying to emphasize on this idea to Vidya, the school scene when she thinks that he is illiterate by the way he looks and the laundry scene when he fooled her by his appearance. The good matter is that Vidya perceives that message from him and hopes that he come back to how he was at the end even though he looked very nice. Additionally, Raj mix of clothes from different countries explains , maybe at that time, the notable lack of the country's productivity.
Zachary,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said at the start of your post. I was also excited and curious to get into a true Bollywood film. Although Cinema Cinema was good to watch from an introductory standpoint, Shri 420 had a story that I was entertained to follow.
Zachary, I really like your discussion of the contest of sorts between Dharmanand and Raj. It brings up the question of hard realities and needs versus empty rhetoric. In fact, Dharmanand seems to be toeing the official patriotic line by insisting on his India-made clothes whereas Raj's more cosmopolitan, if tattered, attire suggests a citizenship that is more clued into the basic needs of people rather than perform "Indian-ness."
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