Sunday, 25 March 2012

Inspiration or Plagiarism?



Bollywood is doing what it does the best...playing 'catch me if you can' with Hollywood (Bollywood obviously the chaser). Its about Agent Vinod, though I haven't seen the movie, is so polished to an extent that it will feel like you're watching a flop Hollywood movie (that is just from the trailers). Flop because, movies like those don't work anywhere now, except of course our 'redefining,recycling' Bollywood. 

Why can't we have more films with the Indian feel? Kahaani, Kaminey, 3 Idiots, Dev D?

Although I agree that having not watched the movie, and in no mood to, I am no one to give my opinion on the movie. Quite right. But I am not talking about Agent Vinod here, I am talking about every damn movie which is churned out every week with the principle of boring us and stealing us of all our money. The inspirations which Bollywood takes from Hollywood is huge and heavy, not to mention ridiculously stupid. The globe-trotting Agent Vinod here is made to look like a James Bond of India. Don 2 tried and failed in the genre of thrillers but is a very good example of a heist movie, it too was stylized of course....And who can forget RA.ONE, the only SRK movie I regret watching, with its Iron Man, Spiderman, Superman references was a stupid movie. 

Of course there are some (and hopefully) will be some original movies like all the Rajkumar Hirani, Vishal Bhardwaj, Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar, Yash Chopra movies which makes me feel proud of Bollywood, however short lived though...

(Sorry for not including any Female Directors here, hoping I would add them in a few months/years)

And frankly this is my opinion. You can prove me wrong but I won't accept defeat easily.
The Dragon may be shy but when it comes to the things he loves, he won't stop at any length to know the subject in and out.

And anyone doubting my knowledge of inspirations and references - 
Ladies vs Ricky Bahl - John Tucker Must Die
404 Error not found - A Beautiful Mind
Krish - Paycheck
Koi Mil Gaya - E.T (obviously)
All the Music plagiarism (thanks to this site - http://itwofs.com/)
And bits of here and there....

Posted by at 21:25

16 comments:

  1. Great observation !
    fun finding it :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. I watch a lot of movies, man!
      Finding the inspirations becomes very easy then :P

      Delete

  2. I see your point, but it has a lot to do with the society and the economy (consumer choice), both of which are also guilty of trying to ape the West. It's not a bad thing - we're a young country, and this is a natural part of the transition from poor to developing to developed.
    But cinema is an industry, and it will function according to demand. Art will undoubtedly suffer, but all the more reason to search for and support the independent artists who continue to create quality products.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. If only there were more support for the talented ones and ban on directors like Anees Basmee...
      I agree with you totally but we are a young country and we need a style of our own...
      I'd prefer (dreadingly) a Dabangg clone over a Hollywood look-alike movie anyday...

      Delete

  3. Movies with Indian feel....yes I agree with you.
    BTW I have been reading some reviews of Agent Vinod which seem to totally write off the movie. Of course I do not know how it did in box office.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Even the critics are now tired of watching Hollywood wanna-be movies like Don 2, Agent Vinod etc.

      Delete

  4. The problem lies with the fact that films are made by the "entertainment industry" which makes it a business, with need for returns. It is easier to reproduce a proven success than to come up with something original. Indian as a theme also ends up being "globalized." How many viewers in India can totally identify with the characters or lifestyles of the protagonists of contemporary films. I guess the dividing line between popular and artistic will always remain. Thank God for the VIshal Bhardwajs and the Anurag Kashyaps and the Sujoy Ghoshs of our times. Nice post. Enjoyed reading and reflecting on it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. I thoroughly enjoy intelligent cinema rather than some heavily inspired movie or a Dabangg clone (I can't stress enough how much I hate those).
      Vishals, Anurags, Sujoys are still around there somewhere and its good better class of cinema is being delivered by new directors (I can't stress enough how much I loved Bejoy Nambiar's Shaitan)
      Thanks a ton for the comment :)

      Delete

  5. well researched thoughtful penning

    ReplyDelete

  6. Nice post.Not being a fan off bollywood I guess I enjoy the spanking received.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Well, good movies do come once in a while so that is whats keeping me a fan of Bollywood, otherwise it was over for me long ago...
      Thank You for the comment and do visit again :)

      Delete

  7. Totally agreed man!!!!
    I heard even chak de India and EMAET were some "inspired" ones too!:P
    Very well summed up!:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Chak De- Miracle
      EMAET - ?????(I have no Idea)
      The list never ends, I even know that a SRK (I know all his movies :P) movie had a song in which they ripped off 'Rasputin'!!!
      that was way before Pritam re-did the song officially.
      Thanks for the head-up on EMAET...I am on it right away, gotta find the source quickly

      Delete

  8. Hey, nice post man! Yes, it's true. Even our TV shows are ripped off from US/UK TV shows.

    This is an example of original TV in other countries: (Japan)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PthXkTpB2SA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. TV, Music, Movies...1.2 bn of people and we still copy the world...
      Amazing piece of originality TV there...Thank you for stopping by Vibhav ;)

      Delete

Thank you for commenting and I hope you liked my blog :-)

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)