Indian Cinema: and it's coming of age!!!

scene #1 - in the backgrounds....the composer going at full force on the entire keyset of the piano from one end to the other......a hero and a heroine (atleast thts wht d protagonists are familiar as) running in utter slow motion and when they meet the camera zooms past to show a pair of flowers shaking hither and thither.......

scene #2 - a female chorus in the background yelling 'aaa' in stratospherical tones.....clouds and thunders in the sky going berserk as if it were armageddon....clashing waves.....a hurt hero(usually with a gazillion bullets shelled into his abdomen) fighting against the uber-powerful antagonist who never fails to die in the end....and a bunch of the hero's folks praying for him at the nearest temple in full commitment...

.....till quite sometime, this was what the Indian cinema offered...save for quite a few number of examples that earn deep respects given the age of their making and their being fabulous (read - director specific or actor specific) ........however, of late, with no specific time-line moment depicting this, Indian cinema changed for good. Slowly adapting to better standards of technical work, art and dialogue as well as styles of depiction either by pure original creation or inspiration from the ubiquitous Hollywood or other cinema arenas.....Indian cinema indeed arrived.

However, this significantly caught my eye particularly in 2010, with either me acquiring a taste in cinema or the arrival of certain examples that proved this fact.

The holy examples being Vinaithaandi Varuvaaya, Raavan, Udaan, Khaleja, Prasthaanam, Orange, Rakta Charithra 1 & 2, Vedam, et al.....cumulatively for the way they handle simple, rebellious, fundamental and controversial subjects with utmost care, bravery, commitment and finesse......a few highlights on these masterpieces

• VTV - for the really delicate subject and the way Gautam Menon handles it, specifically the songs, the picturesque frames, the amazing music score, and the entire beauty of it being a foslan anthem!
• Raavan - for the sheer intensity portrayed by Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bacchan, Vikram and the other cast, besides fabulous frames, the close quarters photography and the haunting end
• Udaan - the photography that apes a clogged yet focused style, the OST and for a certain moment when the underdog bloke takes a strike against his suppressive dad.
• Khaleja - for the honest representation of a very intellectual subject with decent mix of commercial fun and amazing artwork that redefines traditions, the cinematography that feels like its a smooth ballet run, the catchy dialogue and Mahesh's well versed attempt at reinventing himself.
• Prasthaanam - if there's one thing thats mesmerising about this film, its DevaKatta's terrific dialogue work while a grown up Sarvanand also impresses well besides Sai Kumar in his best self.
• Orange - again a delicate and intellectual subject handled very impressively, and the way this movie with its class and art catches you the second time u watch it around, nice OST too.
• RC 1 & 2 - for sheer thrills, a Tarantino/Robert Rodrigues-ishh crime drama, the sheer guts of RGV in making it, brilliantly thought-out frames and a brilliant combo in Vivek and Surya!
• Vedam - one more very interesting subject, specially watchable for some delectable frames, screenplay and hugely mature work by M.M.Kreem and Arjun, Manoj and Anushka

...well..there might be a few more very purist-oriented movies that depicted the sheer coming of age of Indian Cinema....my apologies If I've missed out any......(specially coz Indian Cinema includes other genres like Bengali, Marathi, Malayali films et al which I fail to catch coz of language constraincy, but speculation is rife that every year, these so-called genres also belt out impressive stuff)....an interesting yet sad fact being that the general audience in India hasn't yet acquired quite a sophisticated taste, albeit not much complain to be laid on them as they're used to it and are seldom provided better stuff, thus resulting in the sad fact that most of these masterpieces do bad (read: terribly bad) at the Box Office and another shocking fact being that most critic reviews are lobbied for commercial advantage.

.....Nevertheless, as long as stubborn technicians remain who stick to what they do and believe in good art, good, quality Indian Cinema is here to stay!