THE WONDERFUL LIFE OF THE IDIOT BOX

Most stars when interviewed say they hate running around trees, singing silly songs and running in slow motion looking, please note, fabulously beautiful. They say they want to do meaningful cinema.

Heyyyy…maybe when you are a big Bollywood super-duper star with millions of fans (and millions of bucks in the banks) you can say that. But me….. give me a chance to do the same and I will do it for free.

As all other Indian kids I too was brought up on a dose of Hindi movies, Chitrahaar and in those days Pakistani serials and some pretty popular American serials. Not too much of meaningful cinema there.

We didn’t have cable TV then nor did we have TV for the whole day and night. The evening would begin with “Krishi Darshan” (a programme on Doordarshan for farmers) and go on to some serials and song programmes. Today of course I can’t imagine living without a day full of serials, songs, movies and news.

I am what they say a couch potato…I can watch serials and movies the whole day as if participating in a marathon to see who wins the competition to have seen the most TV. I just love the world of make believe, transporting me to a fantastic place away from the drudgery of everyday life.

Complications and issues get solved, villains get beaten up, the good get better, the nasty are taught lessons they remember their whole lives, the corrupt are thrown in jails, the poor get rich, the rich love the poor, everyone looks beautiful, glitzy and glamorous and the hero wins…always. That doesn’t happen in real life does it? Doesn’t happen in meaningful cinema too.

Bone tired from making money for the company you work for, there is no better way to rest and relax and chill than in front of the idiot box. Idiot box it may be but for a few brief moments it gives you hope of a wonderful world where everything is beautiful and nothing can go wrong.

Who wants to watch meaningful cinema when you watch the drama and theatrics of meaningful cinema every minute of every day in your own life. What you really want to do is escape from the real world and give yourself a break from the rigours of monotony.

What a great job it is to create the “meaningless” cinema and TV that we love so much. No wonder that the world of Bollywood and TV and all the creative minds behind it all have defined our entertainment world for so long and continue and will continue to rule our hearts.


Comments

  1. enquirer20 July 2013 at 12:59

    No body ever put it so well.More power to u n the housewives.

    ReplyDelete

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