The Centennial of Indian cinema - 100 golden years and counting !!

For an industry/fraternity that has given so much to the culture, the heritage and the diaspora of Indian audiences across the world, the least she could do is write a few lines about it. Cinema (in India) is religion. She, like every typical Indian girl grew up watching, dreaming and fantasizing movies. While most of the international viewership is skeptical about the content of Indian movies and consider all of them to be musicals, only an Indian movie lover knows "the real world of Indian cinema". A world filled with dreams, hope and romance. A world that is full of color, grandeur and glory.

The fact is that this is one form of entertainment in India that is equally accessible to the poor and the mighty rich with no disparity except for which row seat they watch it from. The servants that worked in her house would skip a meal to save the 20 Rs to go watch a movie. Even on an empty stomach, the high that the  mystical, magical and marvellous world of cinema provided was unprecedented and unparalleled.

Indians worship their stars. They are heroes in every sense of the word. Everyone wants to grow up to be like them. Their stupendous success made people believe that if you reach for the stars -you'll have the night sky in the palm of your hand. It is one of the fastest growing industries with almost $17 billion in revenue and over 1000 films churned out each year(twice the volume of Hollywood). 

Evolving from song and dance sequences in movies to parallel cinema and now to the even better, intellectual cinema- catering to the young urban educated audiences, the film industry has sure come a long way. But what is constant and what she is most enamoured by- even to this day is the glamour, the glitz  and the flamboyance of Indian films. 

The silver screen where 'nothing is impossoble'. Every girl is wooed, worshiped and deeply loved. Every guy is strong, handsome and in control. What's not to love about Indian cinema? To name some magnificent masterpieces or contributions in over a 100 years would be next to impossible, so lets close out by saying this:

For a country that is disintegrated by caste, creed and religious diversity - the one common language that every Indian speaks and the one biding connection that all Indians share is their undying love and passion for Indian cinema. To the biggest and the best industry of all - Happy birthday....And See you at the movies.

Like Raj Kapoor once said 'The SHOW must go on'......

Dream Girl.....

She lay peacefully as the shimmering rays of sunlight streamed through the white lace curtains into a bedroom overlooking the deep blue sea. Her skin felt like silk on the 1500 thread count ivory Egyptian cotton sheets. Her hair had come undone and long black tendrils grazed her face. She seemed so at peace with herself and the rest of the world. He stood outside her window watching her sleep and told himself how he had never seen anything more exquisite or irresistible.

But she would always be a mirage. A longing that would never be fulfilled....He tried really hard to look away but her face was so mesmerizing that it kept him captivated. She always had that effect on people. In all the years he'd known her, she would walk into a room and it would instantly light up. She was energy, she was charisma, she was grace and she was joy. She was smart and witty and kind. But above all she was just a heartbeat away from being his for life.

On that thought, he heard a loud beeping noise and woke up to his alarm going off. Even though it wasn't meant to be, he woke up each morning wondering what it would have been like to wake up to her beautiful smile and know that she would be by his side.....She was a dream, she was a wish, she was a fantasy :)

-So long...