C R I T I C A L
A N A L Y S I S
O F I N D I A N
F I L M
N O I R
Devarsi Ghosh Roll: PGDJ15052 New Media Stream Mentor: M.S Ganesh Viswanathan
Sumitted in !artial "ul"illment o" the re#uirements "or the Post$raduate Di!loma in New Media Journalism "rom the %sian &olle$e o" Journalism' &hennai "or the a(ademi( )ear 2015*1+.
%&,N-/DGMNS I thank thank my ment mentor or M.S M.S Ganes Ganesh h Visw Viswan anat atha han n for for guidi guiding ng me thro through ugh every every step step of the the dissertation. I thank my friends, Sumit Chakraborty, Ritayan Basu and nkita Sarkar for staying by my side and working on the dissertation in the !ast few days before submission and thus, a!! my worries and tension were somewhat shared by the trio and I did not pani" pan i" as I ra"ed against time. I thank whoever "urated the books for the !ibrary as the Cinema se"tion was rea!!y he!pfu! though it did not have Gyan #rakash$s Noir #rakash$s Noir Urbanisms: Dystopic Images of the Modern City and if I had that at my disposa!, the dissertation, may be, wou!d have been s!ight!y better. %ast, but not the !east, I thank Anna thank Anna and Akka and Akka from the tea&and&"igarette sha"k in front of the Indian Institute of 'ote! Management for he!ping me b e sane through the entire pro"ess.
%&,N-/DGMNS I thank thank my ment mentor or M.S M.S Ganes Ganesh h Visw Viswan anat atha han n for for guidi guiding ng me thro through ugh every every step step of the the dissertation. I thank my friends, Sumit Chakraborty, Ritayan Basu and nkita Sarkar for staying by my side and working on the dissertation in the !ast few days before submission and thus, a!! my worries and tension were somewhat shared by the trio and I did not pani" pan i" as I ra"ed against time. I thank whoever "urated the books for the !ibrary as the Cinema se"tion was rea!!y he!pfu! though it did not have Gyan #rakash$s Noir #rakash$s Noir Urbanisms: Dystopic Images of the Modern City and if I had that at my disposa!, the dissertation, may be, wou!d have been s!ight!y better. %ast, but not the !east, I thank Anna thank Anna and Akka and Akka from the tea&and&"igarette sha"k in front of the Indian Institute of 'ote! Management for he!ping me b e sane through the entire pro"ess.
&-NNS ntrodu(tion
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&ha!ter 1: he arl) ra 340s to +0s
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&ha!ter 2: he Middle ra 3+0s to 60s
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&ha!ter 7: Parallel &inema ra and Pre(ursors o &ontem!orar) 8oma) Noir 3 Parinda Parinda and Iss Raat Ki Ki Subah Nahin Nahin
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&ha!ter 4: 8oma) Noir and &ontem!orar) ndian Neo*Noir
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&on(lusion
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8ilio$ra!h)
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NR-D9&-N (he ethos of fi!m noir organi"a!!y doesn$t !end itse!f to the Indian "inemati" !anguage )parti"u!ar!y, popu!ar Indian "inemati" !anguage that derives its essen"e from theatre, dan"e drama, nautanki and Indian mytho!ogy*, however, fi!mmakers, time and again, right from the days of Mahal )+-* have dabb!ed in fi!m noir, regard!ess of how distant they might seem from western noir fi!ms in terms of treatment, if not aestheti". o!!owing Mahal , Chetan nand, Guru /utt and Ra0 1hos!a "hurned out noir fi!ms in the 23s and 43s. But with the introdu"tion of "o!our fi!m in Indian "inema, these rigid!y fi!m noir movies dried up as Bo!!ywood did not have the time or patien"e for the brooding and wor!d&weariness so "entra! to noir "inema. In "ame Ra0esh 1ha nna with his roman"es and so"ia! drama fi!ms and mitabh Ba"h"han$s angrier, a"tion&oriented fi!ms that took a 5more proa"tive approa"h to !ife$s woes6.1 7ven then, as mainstream as 1hanna and Ba"h"han$s fi!ms were, they often borrowed noir tropes, more so in Ba"h"han$s "ase )i!ms !ike Red Rose starring 1hanna as a psy"hopath and Ba"h"han$s Zaneer! Dee"ar and Andha #anoon where the superstar p!ayed the vigi!ante figure trying to fight and "ome to terms with the "rimina! so"iety around him*. Indian fi!m noir took a "urious turn in the 3$s with erstwhi!e (e!ugu fi!mmaker Ram Gopa! Varma making the semina! 'indi8Bo!!ywood neo&noir fi!m $atya )+9*. 7ar!ier Vidhu Vinod Chopra )$a%aye Maut , #hamosh, &arinda*, Sudhir Mishra ) Iss Raat #i $ubah Nahin* and Govind :iha!ani ) Aakrosh, Ardh $atya, 'hakshak * had f!irted rather su""essfu!!y with fi!m noir but it was with the arriva! of $atya and other dark thri!!ers from the Varma fa"tory, that noir su""essfu!!y entered the Indian mainstream fi!m s"ene. Varma and the then&young writers and fi!mmakers that he mentored su"h as nurag 1ashyap, Sriram Raghavan and Visha! Bharadwa0 went on to be"ome ma0or fi!mmakers 1
in the ne;t de"ade and thanks to them and fe!!ow fi!mmakers !ike /ibakar Baner0ee and :avdeep Singh, Indian fi!m noir "ame of age — Ma(bool , )k *asina 'hi, D, No $moking , +ohnny ,addaar , Manorama: $i- .eet Under , $hanghai, 'alaash, Detecti/e 0yomkesh 0akshy, 0adlapur! 0ombay 1el/et and so on. Regiona! "inema in India has a!so offered a variety of noir fi!ms. (wo of the first noir fi!ms in Benga!i were Satya0it Ray$s Chiriakhana, an adaptation of a Byomkesh Bakshy story and gradoot$s $abar Upare, both starring Benga!i matinee ido!
$s ,andu and Indrani! Roy Chowdhury$s )kti 0angali 0hooter ,olpo have been both "riti"a! and "ommer"ia! su""esses. i!mmakers down south have a!so tried their hands in making noir fi!ms. ?ne of the most popu!ar e;amp!es in re"ent times is (hyagara0an 1umarara0a$s Aaranya #andam )@3+3*, "redited for resurging the neo&noir genre in (ami! "inema. ?ther (ami! noir fi!ms in"!ude Andha Naal )+2-*, Dharmam 'halaikaakkum )+4A*, 1alla/an 2ru/an )+44*, Ragasiya &olice 334 )+49*, C5I5D $hankar )+3*, 6uarter Cutting )@3+3*, 2naayum Aattukkuttiyum )@3+A* and 'hoonga 1anam )@3+2*. ust two years ba"k, Ra0eev Ravi, the "inematographer for a!! the movies )e;"ept Ugly* by nurag 1ashyap, the maveri"k of "ontemporary 'indi neo&noir "inema, dire"ted a sma!!, !ow&budget Ma!aya!am "rime "aper Nan $te/e 7ope% )@3+-*. (he previous year, Mohan!a! starred in the mu"h&!oved and high!y popu!ar Drishyam )@3+A*, whi"h has
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sin"e been remade into four different !anguages & 1annada, (e!ugu, (ami! and 'indi. (wo important Ma!aya!am movies made in the 93s are Irakal )+93* and Aparan )+99*. In the fo!!owing "hapters, I sha!! dis"uss the evo!ution of the noir genre in Indian "inema. I sha!! "hart how Indian noir fi!ms have "hanged and evo!ved from the -3s to the present day in terms of their heroes8protagonists, fema!e "hara"ters, vi!!ains, treatment of "rime8"rimina!s and the !aw and portraya! of so"io&po!iti"a! rea!ities vis&D&vis the time period in whi"h the fi!ms were made. I sha!! a!so fo"us on how Indian noir fi!ms are different from their Eestern "ounterparts in treatment of noir storyte!!ing tropes and devi"es. %ast, but not the !east, I$!! dis"uss the "hanges in the urban !ands"ape and the so"ia! rea!ities of urban man and woman of different so"ia! "!asses as seen through the fi!m noir !ens starting with fi!ms of the /utt&nand&1hos!a era right down to the present day fi!ms of 1ashyap&Bharadwa0&Raghavan. Note: Due to la( o" availailit) o" most amil and Mala)alam noir "ilms 3a "ew are availale ut without n$lish sutitles' shall not e anal);in$ re$ional noir (inema ut "o(usin$ solel) on
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&ha!ter 1: < %R/> R% 340s to +0s
In the
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'owever, to identify what e;a"t!y Indian fi!m noir is, is not an easy task. ust !ike in the meri"an !e;i"on, where the term has been defined vague!y, so too does it !oose!y en"ompass a "ertain se"tion of Indian fi!ms with !ow&key !ighting, stories "entered around "ops and8or "rimina!s with mora!!y ambiguous protagonists. (herefore, the best way to "ra"k this nut is by starting with an i!!ustrative e;amp!e & Ra0 1hos!aLs oh #aun 'hi; )+4-* starring Sadhana and Mano0 1umar. (here are four basi" e!ements in oh #aun 'hi; irst, is the fi!mLs distin"tive "inematography and mounting & !ow&key !ighting inside a mysterious Kha/eli$. (he shots are s!ow and unhurried and the s"ore is apt!y somber. (he fi!m "reates the i!!usion of being trapped in a morbid dream )simi!ar to !ain ResnaisL 7ast
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pra"ti"ing 'indus, the rein"arnation ba"kdrop served as an a""eptab!e premise to !aun"h the f!ash&ba"k framework into the movie. (he hero must revisit his past !ife, whi"h is "onne"ted to his present predi"ament, through songs, p!ot deve!opments and se"ret "!ues. %ast!y, the fi!m is "entered around the presen"e and betraya! of the femme fata!e, who is busy most of the time, singing sad but sedu"tive songs. (he hero, through most of the movie, is not ab!e to "orrespond with her. 'owever, her intentions are obvious!y marked with a sinister undertone. (he femme fata!e remains an ambiguous "hara"ter = sometimes she is "hased by him, sometimes she pursues him = the mystery is so!ved on!y when her story ar" is "omp!ete. Ehi!e oh #aun 'hi; is uintessentia!!y noir in its mood, te;ture, themes and treatment, the first ever 'indi fi!m that "ou!d be "a!!ed fi!m noir is 1ama! mrohi$s Mahal )+-*, a romanti" noir simi!ar to ?tto #reminger$s 7aura )+--*. In many ways, Mahal was a pre"ursor to not 0ust oh #aun 'hi; but a host of other Indian noir fi!ms, as it was not on!y IndiaLs first rein"arnation thri!!er but a!so !aid the first stone for Indian gothi" fi"tion. Mahal , whi"h was 1ama! mrohiLs dire"toria! debut, was in"!uded as one of the K+3 great romanti" horror fi!ms$ by the British i!m Institute in @3+2. 2 Mahal was a!so the first 'indi fi!m to e;hibit opu!en"e in its set "onstru"tion, the kind usua!!y asso"iated with histori"a! movies. (he sets were "reated by esteemed art dire"tor B.: (agore. In the movie, the !avish sets are used to an interesting effe"tF at one 0un"ture, the hero is seen wa!king end!ess!y through doorway after doorway, fina!!y ending in a grand "orridor. 'ere, in this seuen"e, mrohi bri!!iant!y visua!iJes in physi"a! spa"e, the entry into, and the entrapment of, the heroLs psy"he in a de!usiona! wor!d from where it is
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impossib!e to es"ape. Soon, 'ari Shankar Nthe heroO wi!! see things Kthrough a g!ass, dark!y$, as his sense of rea!ity be"omes b!urred.7 :asreen Munni 1abir writes, It$s unknown whether mrohi was fami!iar with 'o!!ywood supernatura! thri!!ers of the +-3s, espe"ia!!y those of a"ues (ourneur, shot in the fi!m noir sty!e, its roots in German 7;pressionism. (hese me!odramas had g!oomy, f!awed "hara"ters, ine;orab!y drawn to their ruin. Mahal has a "omparab!e moodH and it$s no surprise it is rooted in fi!m noir, for it was shot by the German "inematographer osef Eirs"hing, who used stunning "!ose&ups and shadows to "reate dramati" tension and infuse mena"e.7 Eith Mahal , the formu!a for suspense fi!ms was et"hed in stone by mrohi. Soon, many "!ones fo!!owed. Besides oh #aun 'hi;, there was Bima! RoyLs Madhumati )+29* and Ra0 1hos!aLs Mera $aaya )+44*. (hese fi!ms a""ustomed the audien"e to and "reated an appetite in them for ghost!y Kha"elis$ )mansions*, murderous affairs, psy"ho!ogi"a!!y unstab!e "hara"ters and a fema!e figure stro!!ing about as a haunting tune p!ays. very important figure in the growth and evo!ution of fi!m noir in India is Guru /utt and his Man riday, a"e "inematographer V.1. Murthy. /uttLs f!irtations with fi!m noir began with 0aa%i )+2+*. It was 0aa%i that "reated the ar"hetype for /ev nandLs ambiguous but "harming tri"kster hero. Bhai"hand #ate! writes, 5/ev nandLs s"reen persona in 0aa%i of a !ikeab!e s"oundre!, not to forget the "heeki!y p!a"ed beret on his head, went down we!! with the audien"e. (he Indian fi!m noir had found its hero. :ot as se;i!y "yni"a! as Robert Mit"hum or sou!y "harismati" as 'umphrey Bogart, /ev nand managed to be Ldark enoughL to make many of the desi noirs he a"ted in work. 'e a"ted in
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a spate of fi!m noirs !ike +aal )+2@*, &ocket Maar )+24*, C5I5D )+24*, Nau Do ,yarah )+2*, #ala 0a%ar )+43* and +aali Note )+43*.64 Guru /uttLs affinity for fi!m noir and the anti&hero, probab!y has its roots in his "o!!aborative work with his mentor, Gyan Mukher0ee, who had dire"ted #ismet )+-A*, a b!o"kbuster starring shok 1umar as arguab!y 'indi "inemaLs first anti&hero.4 In 1ismet, Mukher0ee used standard fi!m noir e!ements !ike "hiaros"uro !ighting and ob !iue "amera ang!es. /utt, impressed by V.1. Murthy who was an assistant to "inematographer V. Ratra on the sets of 0aa%i! took him on as his "inematographer for his ne;t, +aal . Sin"e then, Murthy be"ame an irrep!a"eab!e part of the /utt team. (ogether, they "reated some of the most !us"ious and ri"h images in b!a"k&and&white for Indian "inema. ndre Spi"er and 'e!en 'anson writes, 5(he !egendary "inematographer V.1. Murthy was responsib!e for the house sty!e of Guru /utt produ"tions, whi"h, a""ording to Creekmur, showed a deep fami!iarity with meri"an "inema and noir sty!e.65 i!m 0ourna!ist Sidharth Bhatia writes in 7i/emint , 5In the !ast named one NC5I5DO, the entire seuen"e of /ev nand hiding first from a "rime boss and then the po!i"e is reminis"ent of ear!y German e;pressionist and 'o!!ywood "rime fi!ms, whi"h ref!e"ted the "hara"ter$s fee!ing of being hunted.6+ (heir most fruitfu! "o!!aboration, however, happened in #aaga% #e &hool )+44*. It was a !abour of !ove for both /utt and Murthy. :atura! !ight was used in innovative ways in the fi!mH for e;amp!e, in a s"ene where Guru /utt and Eaheeda Rehman meet in a empty studio f!oor, the on!y !ight in the s"ene is a sing!e shaft of sun!ight, whi"h was brought in the room using spe"ia! mirrors "reated for the s"ene. In a + interview of V.1 Murthy
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by Ras Media Co!!e"tive and C.1 Mura!idharan, Murthy says, 5I got the "arpentry department to make two big mirrors, some four feet ta!!. I p!a"ed them outside the studio and had sun!ight strike on them at su"h an ang!e that it wou!d hit the e;haust fan from the outside, then another big mirror was p!a"ed on the "atwa!k inside the studio, and that wou!d dire"t the shaft of !ight in a diagona! pattern straight a"ross the studio. So, we got sun!ight not on !o"ation, but inside the studio f!oor. It was uite something, na. (i!! then nobody had used sun!ight inside the studio not even in 'o!!ywood fi!ms.66 #aaga% #e &hool was the !ast dire"tor&"inematographer "o!!aboration between /utt and Murthy. (he movie f!opped around the time "o!our fi!m was making inroads into Indian "inema. !so, around this time, the studio system began "o!!apsing and fi!ms be"ame vehi"!es for stars. Su"h artisti" "o!!aborations that took so mu"h time, effort and patien"e was possib!e where 5a"tors, dire"tors, te"hni"ians and produ"tion stuff were part of an integrated unit, who knew one another, had a modi"um of respe"t for ea"h other$s professiona! ski!!s and had the time to spend with ea"h fi!m on a regu!ar basis.6 6 Eith the rise of superstars !ike Shammi 1apoor, Ra0esh 1hanna and /harmendra, who were ab!e to manipu!ate "onta"ts a""ording to their wi!!, the "raft and e;pertise of fi!m studios began to be undermined. In the p!a"e of the studio system, a new ne;us between produ"er, distributor, finan"er and star emerged whi"h di"tated what kind of fi!m wou!d be made. :ow, a "inematographer$s innate ski!! and wi!!ingness to "reate a new kind of image was not the priority, but his abi!ity to enhan"e the s!ight!y overweight hero$s profi!e to make him !ook rough and tough was more important. (hus, produ"tion teams !ike /utt&Murthy, Bima! Roy&/i!ip Gupta )who "o!!aborated on Madhumati! famous for
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its noir&ish, "hiaros"uro "inematography* and Ra0 1apoor and the Mistry brothers "o!!apsed. 6 Simu!taneous!y, with the new phenomena of s!ow speed "o!our fi!m, whi"h, in the beginning, had !ow e;posure !atitudes and disma! "ontrast ratios for"ed "inematographers to regress to more "onventiona! framing and !ighting, thereby hindering them from e;p!oring the visua! possibi!ities of "inema. Soon, the rigid!y fi!m noir movies of Guru /utt, Ra0 1hos!a and Chetan nand dried up as Bo!!ywood did not have the time or patien"e for the brooding and wor!d&weariness so "entra! to noir "inema. In "ame Ra0esh 1hanna with his roman"es and so"ia! drama fi!ms and mitabh Ba"h"han$s angrier, a"tion&oriented fi!ms that took a 5more proa"tive approa"h to !ife$s woes6. 1 7ven then, as mainstream as 1hanna and Ba"h"han$s fi!ms were, they often borrowed noir tropes, more so in Ba"h"han$s "ase )i!ms !ike Red Rose starring 1hanna as a psy"hopath and Ba"h"han$s Zaneer! Dee"ar and Andha #anoon where the superstar p!ayed the vigi!ante figure trying to fight and "ome to terms with the "rimina! so"iety around him*. In the ne;t "hapter, we$!! take a !ook into what happened to 'indi fi!m noir in the !ate 43s and 3s, a period in Indian "inema, not parti"u!ar!y known for its "inemati" bri!!ian"e, if you, of "ourse, keep aside the :ationa! i!m /eve!opment Corporation of India )hereafter, :/C*&funded #ara!!e! Cinema.
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&ha!ter 2: < MDD/ R% 3+0s to 60s Corey Creekmur, in the book International Noir )@3+-* writes, 5 "y"!e of popu!ar 'indi fi!ms, a!most a!! set in )then* "ontemporary Bombay, regu!ar!y featured many of the "hara"teristi" e!ements of 'o!!ywood fi!m noir, in"!uding heroes )most "onsistent!y embodied throughout the period by the suave star /ev nand* who skirt the border of !ega! and i!!ega! a"tivityH !ike their "ounterparts in meri"an fi!m noir, these are men who are streetwise but "an "onfidentia!!y negotiate swanky night"!ubs featuring a!!uring femmes fata!e )often e;p!i"it!y EesterniJed through signifiers su"h as "!othing, smoking, and the use of 7ng!ish* as we!! as the semi&i!!i"it temptations of a!"oho! and gamb!ing.6? /ev nand was perhaps the one and on!y "onsummate noir hero of Indian "inema. Starting with 0aa%i in +2+, /ev, through his produ"tion "ompany, :avketan i!ms, produ"ed a series of noir fi!ms through the 23s and 43s. Most of these were dire"ted by his brothers Chetan nand and Vi0ay nand. ?ne of the first and most memorab!e of these "o!!aborations was +2-$s 'a-i Dri/er dire"ted by Chetan nand. (he fi!m was Chetan nandLs first ma0or "ommer"ia! su""ess. !though, "onsidered as a "rime thri!!er today, the "rime p!ot of 'a-i Dri/er takes a ba"k seat to the noir e!ements that form a vita! part of the heroLs wor!d
— for e;amp!e, his hangout den with the dan"er and sma!! time
"rooks. (he fi!m is enri"hed with V.RatraLs shadowy "inematography, whi"h p!ays around with !ight and shade, S./ BurmanLs evo"ative and the we!!&e;e"uted outdoor seuen"es, 11
whi"h were fi!med a!! throughout Mumbai. t su"h, the "ity is an important "hara"ter, and this fa"t is mentioned in the opening "redits. ?ne "ou!d argue that we!! before $atya )+9*, 'a-i Dri/er was the first KBombay :oir$ movie )more about Bombay :oir !ater*.@ Eith the introdu"tion of "o!our fi!m, the moody noir movies ui"k!y disappeared from 'indi Cinema. Pet, :avketan i!ms "ontinued to produ"e fi!ms in a simi!ar vein, the most prominent of them being Vi0ay nandLs +e"el 'hief )+4*. +e"el 'hief is one of the best e;amp!es of 'indi noir fi!ms, around this time, when su"h fi!ms were not being made. Suresh 1oh!i, writes in the book *ousefull: 'he ,olden
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'owever, +e"el 'hief was one of the rare fi!m noir movies to have "ome from this period. /ev nand$s fi!ms had taken on a g!itJy, g!amorous ua!ity even though they dea!t with "rime e!ements but "rime a!one doesn$t make noir. :everthe!ess, one su"h /ev nand fi!m from this time, +ohny Mera Naam )+3*, did serve as an inspiration of sorts to Sriram Raghavan$s +ohnny ,addaar )@33*, a fantasti" neo&noir "at&and&mouse thri!!er "entered around an amora! protagonist Q one of the best Indian thri!!er fi!ms ever made. Ehi!e the "!assi"a! visua! aestheti"s of fi!m noir might have gone for a toss in the age of "o!or fi!m and Manmohan /esai$s masa!a entertainers, fi!m noir e!ements )themati" e!ements to be pre"ise* did "reep into some of the ma0or fi!ms of this era, parti"u!ar!y mitabh Ba"h""han$s angst&driven a"tion dramas !ike Zaneer )+A*, Dee"aar )+2* and Andha #anoon )+9A*. 'owever, it is a mu"h !esser&known Ba"h"han fi!m, &ar"ana )++*, dire"ted by yoti Swaroop that "an go down in the anna!s of Indian fi!m history as a prime e;amp!e of desi noir from the 3s. (he fi!m is e;p!i"it!y referen"ed in +ohnny ,addaar . In fa"t, the p!ot of +ohnny ,addaar is somewhat disti!!ed from that of both #arwana and ohny Mera :aam. (he protagonist of ohny Gaddaar, Vikram, is a young, ambitious "onman who sudden!y gets greedy and stea!s a bag fu!! of money from his partner, thereby 0eopardiJing a business p!an for his gang. (he rest of the fi!m is about how Vikram wi!! go to prevent his gang, or anyone e!se for that matter, to know about his se"ret "rime.5 (he movie p!ays on a te!evision at a mote! desk )a throwba"k to a!! the fi!ms beho!den to the psy"hoti" desires of su"h gatekeepers after !fred 'it"h"o"kLs &sycho )+43** and supp!ies Vikram with his se"ret identity, LohnnyL, whi"h heL!! use to "ommit the "rime. (he movie is fi!!ed with other "hara"ters using pseudonyms at various points, mimi"king
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+ohnny Mera Naam, where the hero p!ays a spy who dons mu!tip!e identites to infi!trate a "rime gang. 5(o de"ode RaghavanLs +ohnny ,addaar , one has to enter the !ogi" of nandLs fi!m, whi"h is eua!!y besieged with a different kind of "ounterfeiting, a shadow p!ay of in cognito.6 5 t the same time, &ar"ana whi"h a!so p!ays on te!evision gives Vikram the idea for his "rime. 'e fo!!ows the footsteps of the Ba"h"han "hara"ter who is a "onniving "rimina! who "overs his tra"ks by f!ying se"ret!y from Bombay to :agpur to get on the 1o!kata& bound train that took off from /adar. %ater, in +ohnny ,addaar , the po!i"e inspe"tor in "harge of so!ving the "rime "ra"ks the "ase by re"a!!ing &ar"ana. 5 (he spirit of fi!m noir "omes from the streets, from the smoke that rises off manho!es, from the guttura! grunts of rough men fighting it out in street "orners for a !iving. Superstar mitabh Ba"h"han made a "areer out of p!aying the Langry young manL in the 3s and 93s. 'is vengefu! forays in some of the top "ommer"ia! b!o"kbusters of his time were 0ustified by the rea!ity that so"iety had be"ome rife with "orruption, whi"h, in turn, had "orroded !aw enfor"ement and thus, it was hard for the "ommon man to have a""ess to 0usti"e. In su"h "ir"umstan"es, the on!y way to "!eanse the "ity, in Bo!!ywood "inema, that is, wou!d be to go the vigi!ante way. Ba"h"han fi!ms during this period were very mu"h a produ"t of its time. Severe so"io& po!iti"a! prob!ems emerged in the 3s in India. 7thni" vio!en"e, droughts !eading to food shortages in addition to demands for better hea!th "are and edu"ation was driving the "ountry to the edge. ?n top of that, the war with #akistan, e"onomi" diffi"u!ties throughout the "ountry and freuent "!ashes between the estab!ishment and !eft&wing students and union members had turned India to a boi!ing "au!dron. In +2, when Indira
14
Gandhi was being asked in various uarters to step down as #rime Minister after she was found of brea"hing e!e"tion ru!es, she responded with de"!aring a KState of 7mergen"y$, under whi"h +3,333 po!iti"ians, students, 0ourna!ists and a"tivists were arrested without tria!. It was around this time, a new kind of fi!m emerged were the hero wou!d provide vigi!ante 0usti"e to a "orrupt "ity. (he romanti" hero of so"ia! dramas was !ong gone and the hero of the 3s was a "yni"a!, brooding man who was either fighting organiJed "rime from the side of the !aw ) Zaneer * or fighting so"ia! in0usti"e by being a "rimina! himse!f ) Dee"aar *. ayson Beaster&ones writes, 5:ot surprising!y, the po!iti"a! turmoi! of the +3s was very mu"h a presen"e in the musi" and fi!ms of this era. (e0aswini Ganti )@3+A*, Ra"he! /ywer )@333*, and other fi!m s"ho!ars have noted that this period saw new kinds of representations in Indian fi!ms. Rather than being a for"e of deve!opment through so"ia!ism, for e;amp!e, the fi!ms of the +3s and beyond introdu"ed negative depi"tions of the Indian state, parti"u!ar!y "onf!ating po!iti"ians with so"ia! and e"onomi" "orruption writ !arge.611 (he produ"tion of Ba"h"han starrer&a"tion dramas of this era, with an arguab!y so"ia!ist bent, "ontinued we!! into the 93s. fter the (e"hni"o!or e;travaganJa of Shammi 1apoor and Ra0esh 1hanna in the 43s, the "inemati" !anguage of the 3s fi!ms were beginning to take new shapes, in !ight of not 0ust the po!iti"a! "inema but a!so the para!!e! "inema movement that was b!ooming around this time )More on para!!e! "inema in the ne;t "hapter*. ayson Beaster&ones writes, 5(his kind of fi!m reuired a new kind of ba"kground musi" and a new kind of fi!m song. Musi" was signifi"ant!y !ess important to the narrative in this era than in previous era. In parti"u!ar, the angry young man fi!ms of
15
the s"reenwriter duo Sa!im&aved )Sa!im 1han and aved khtar* fo"used mu"h more attention on dia!ogue than on musi".6 11 ?ne of the !ast fi!m noir movies, a!beit a shoddi!y s"ripted one, of this period is the Ra0esh 1hanna&starrer Red Rose )+93* dire"ted by #.Bharathira0a. or on"e in his "areer, 1hanna steers away from his romanti" and me!odramati" image and p!ays a misogynist, who, after sharing his bed with young !adies, ki!!s them. (he fi!m, a remake of the same dire"tor$s (ami! movie, $igappu Roakkal )+9*, is a pure B&movie, with its use of garish f!uores"ent "o!ours, 'it"h"o"k&ian "amera ang!es and montages and fast "uts. %ooking ba"k at the movie in @3+4, Red Rose might appear as an in"onseuentia! movie in the s"heme of things, but in addition to its fi!m noir sensibi!ities, its "ampy essen"e makes it an a!!&time favorite for fi!m buffs and "riti"s. ourna!ist ai r0un Singh, author of +aane 0hi Do ? writes, 5Ehat makes Red Rose terrib!e and sort&of&e;"e!!ent at the same time is the way it "ombines disparate e!ementsF on one hand, it$s a "heap rip&off of psy"ho!ogi"a!&horror "!assi"s !ike &eeping 'om and &sycho, presented in the B&movie sty!e of the Ramsay BrothersH on the other hand, you "anLt fu!!y appre"iate this movie without referen"e to the !ong&defun"t superstar persona of Ra0esh 1hanna.612 In the 93s and in the ear!y 3s, ti!! the re!ease of the semina! Indian gangster noir fi!m, $atya, dire"tors asso"iated with #ara!!e! Cinema movement !ike Govind :iha!ani and then&young fi!mmakers !ike Sudhir Mishra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra made "omparative!y )in re!ation to the 3s* grittier, darker and more rea!isti" noir fi!ms. (hese paved the way for the fi!m noir boom in the !ate 3s that began with $atya. In the ne;t "hapter, I$!! de!ve
16
into the fi!m noir movies of the 93s that were a "ru"ia! inf!uen"e to "ontemporary Indian neo&noir "inema.
&ha!ter 7: P%R%/// &NM% R% %ND PR&9RS-RS &-NMP-R%R> 8-M8%> N-R 3 Parinda and Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin It a!! started with Govind :iha!ani$s "op drama Ardh $atya )+9A*. :ever before was urban grime and ma!e angst treated with su"h understanding and sensitivity. 5Govind :iha!ani "hanged the dire"tion of gangster fi!ms with rdh Satya, a fi!m that "an be seen as a forerunner of Mumbai :oir.617 :iha!ani, through Ardh $atya )7ng!ish trans!ationF 'a!f&(ruth*, painted Bombay in an entire!y new !ight. Ehi!e this fi!m did not have the private eye, the femme fata!e or other standard fi!m noir tropes, the darkness of noir pervaded every ree! of the fi!m. (he movie, whi"h derives its name from a poem of the same name, is deep!y e;istentia!ist in nature. (he protagonist nant Ve!ankar )?m #uri* wanted to study !iterature. But his father )mrish #uri*, a "onstab!e, for"ed him, through his fier"e and overpowering persona!ity, to be"ome a "op. Being a no&nonsense person who refuses to be undermined by anyone, it isnLt !ong before nand butts heads with !o"a! mafia and its !eader )e;"e!!ent!y p!ayed by debutante Sadashiv mrapurkar*. (he
17
fi!m, though not f!aw!ess, has a wi!d energy and vita!ity, suppressed under the "a!m e;terior of the s"enes, something that was never before seen, ti!! then, in 'indi Cinema. Ehi!e Govind :iha!ani was being "hampioned as one of the best fi!mmakers in India, in the 93s, to have "ome out of the #ara!!e! Cinema movement, a new dire"tor, by the name of Vidhu Vinod Chopra, was uiet!y making sma!!, independent neo&noir fi!ms, that were uite ahead of its time, and even, today, ho!d up we!! to "ontemporary standards, given that the "inemati" !anguage of "rime and thri!!er fi!ms have be"ome more advan"ed sin"e then. Chopra$s se!f&finan"ed, feature fi!m debut $a%aye Maut )+9+* is a psy"ho!ogi"a! thri!!er in the vein of !fred 'it"h"o"k$s 1ertigo, based on his own (II dip!oma fi!m, Murder on Monkey *ill . In the fi!m, the protagonist, Ma!!ika, heiress to a !arge forture, is running for her !ife from a hired gun and a mora!!y ambiguous man,
18
visua! moments in the fi!m, for instan"e, Shabana Jmi$s s!eepwa!king s"ene and the "!ima"ti" reve!ation where the murderer$s fa"e is seen through a dim!y&!it window. (he fi!m is set in the pi"turesue town of #ehe!gaum )in 1ashmir* where a fi!m "rew has gathered to shoot a movie. (hings go awry when an a"tress )and a wannabe heroine* "ommits sui"ide for no apparent reason. t this point, a mi!itary man who is sure that the !ady had been murdered enters the p!ot, ki"k&starting a series of events that resu!t in a few more ki!!ings, with the b!ame shifting from one person to another. s the story progresses, we rea!iJe that a!most a!! the "hara"ters are mora!!y ambiguous and have an hidden agenda.
19
Bombay "rime epi" &arinda and Sudhir Mishra$s Iss Raat #i $ubah Nahin )+4*, two of the first fi!ms that !ater gave rise to the "ategory KBombay :oir$ = a series of gritty "rime fi!ms "entered in the "ity of Bombay, that, whi!e going the typi"a! "ops&pimps& !ow!ifes&gangsters route, are deep!y rooted in the "ity$s history and geography, and over the years, so many su"h fi!ms have been made, that an entire sub&genre has deve!oped, simi!ar to S"andinavian :oir. %a!itha Gopa!an writes in A Companion to .ilm Noir! 5It is the "ity itse!f, Bombay, that has re"eived "onsiderab!e attention in re"ent s"ho!arship in Indian "inema studies. s the "entra! produ"tion site for popu!ar "inema, Bombay "inema is used by MaJumdar NRan0ani MaJumdarO to des"ribe a range of fi!ms that dep!oy the spa"e of the "ity in various genres. MaJumdar "!aims that utopian idea!s of urban spa"e evoked by theorists with the modern "ity in 7urope as the mode! = #aris, Ber!in, %ondon = emerge in the "ity fi!msH monumenta! sky!ines in panorami" shots, speed of dai!y routine, p!easures of anonymity, and so on emerge as the themati" preo""upations in fi!ms sin"e Bombay "inema "ame into being. s is the "ase with the theorists of modernity whose paeans to the utopian !ongings of the "ity were a!ways a""ompanied with disen"hantment, this disen"hantment was re"ast in the +3s onwards as "rime and gangster fi!ms, as in .# /uttaLs *athyar )+9*, ChopraLs &arinda, :.ChandraLs "e!ebration of the !umpen pro!etariat, and Manmohan /esaiLs star&fo"used "y"!e of urban "rime.65 Shooting, in gangster fi!ms, is more often than not, done in rea! !o"ations = a!!eys, "!austrophobi" "onstru"tion sites or "ity do"ks. (he gangLs meeting spots for operation 5!ook !ike abandoned fa"tory sites, sometimes !ike ha!f&"onstru"ted bui!dings6. Chase seuen"es are designed to traverse through 5the density of the "ityLs pub!i" spa"es.6
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Instead of 5sanitiJed aestheti"s6 and bright !ighting that saturates the mise&en&s"ne of the home!y interiors in fami!y fi!ms, in fi!m noir, we find the urban spe"ta"!e "omp!ete!y destroyed with e!ements !ike !ow&key photography and use of shadows.5 Ran0ani MaJumdar writes in 0ombay Cinema: An Archi/e of the City, 5 &arindaLs a!!eys, "!osed spa"es, ordinary sites, e!evators, dark stair"ases, pee!ing wa!!s, and streets are ubiuitous. (he "ity is dark, "rowded, and ruth!essH its human form is nna Np!ayed by :ana #atekar, nna is a ,odfather &!ike "rimina! donO. nna is the "enter of the "ity and his so"ia! net "onne"ts him to the po!i"e, other underwor!d riva!s, fa"tories, po!iti"ians, and more. nnaLs e""entri"ty or madness is "entra! to the way the "ityLs !aw!essness and de"ay are portrayed. %ike other noir fi!ms, &arinda offers a "ombination of the themes of e;"ess, the biJarre, "rue!ty, madness, inno"en"e and a fas"ination with death. Centra! to the narrative of death is the noir&!ike darkness of the "ity.61+ Seven years after the re!ease of &arinda, Sudhir MishraLs high!y underrated Iss Raat #i $ubah Nahin )+4* re!eased. It is a strange, a!most surrea!, e;istentia! fi!m about a "han"e meeting between an advertising professiona! ditya ):irma! #andey* and Raman bhai )shish Vidyarthi*, a gangster. (he fi!m is "entered around one !ong night in the "ity, where a series of vio!ent, emotiona! and intense events happen. ditya who is married to #oo0a )(ara /eshpande* a!so has a mistress, Ma!vika )Smriti Mishra*. Conseuent!y, their marriage is on troub!ed waters. (he emotiona! "haos gets out of "ontro! when the three end up in a "han"e en"ounter with Raman bhai in a bar, where ditya ends up s!apping him a""identa!!y. Mayhem unfo!ds in the "ity as a!! the "hara"ters get invo!ved in a "at& and&mouse "hase. Mumbai "omes a!ive in that one night through its streets, do"kyards, a!!eyways, rai!way tra"ks, dirty bathrooms, run down hospita!s, neon !ights and swanky
21
bui!dings by the sea side. Ran0ani MaJumdar writes in orld .ilm 7ocations: Mumbai! 5 Iss Raat #i $ubah Nahin "ombined the wor!d of rest!ess and !ost sou!s with a no"turna! "artography of the "ity, imbuing the narrative with a sense of thri!! and adventure.617 Ehi!e these two fi!ms !aid the groundwork for Bombay :oir8Mumbai :oir, Ram Gopa! Varma$s $atya )+9* was the u!timate "u!mination of Bombay "rime "inema and the anti&estab!ishment, anti&big studio, e;perimenta! fi!mmaking )e;emp!ified by the works of Chopra, :iha!ani and Mishra* that had been going on for so !ong. Many peop!e asso"iated with the movie !ike nurag 1ashyap, Saurabh Shuk!a, Visha! Bhardwa0, Makrand /eshpande and Mano0 Ba0pai !ater went on to be"ome some of the best writers, dire"tors and a"tors asso"iated with Bombay :oir8"ontemporary 'indi neo&noir. ?mar hmed writes in $tudying Indian Cinema, 5n une;pe"ted "ommer"ia! su""ess, $atya "onfirmed Ram Gopa! Varma as a ma0or fi!m&maker and !ed "riti"s to "oin the term LMumbai :oirL in re!ation to a "y"!e of fi!ms whi"h appeared as a resu!t of the fi!mLs ung!amorous representation of the underwor!d.616 Satya, whi"h was shot on a !ow budget with new fa"es and theatre a"tors, in rea! !o"ations, a!most in a do"u&drama sty!e, a!ong with *yderabad 0lues )dir. :agesh 1ukunoor* and 0ombay 0oys )dir. 1aiJad Gustad*, re!eased in the same year, inspired a !ot of fi!mmakers to es"hew big studio funding and make independent fi!ms. Some fi!m theorists hai! this period, e;tending into the @333s, for the resurgen"e of para!!e! "inema. $atya "hanged the thinking of the industry as Bo!!ywood sudden!y be"ame open to the idea of sma!!&budget independent fi!ms, espe"ia!!y be"ause $atya made a !ot of money. o!!owing $atya, Varma gra"ed us with a number of ua!ity neo&noirs !ike #aun; )+* and Company )@33@*, and together with nurag 1ashyap and Sriram Raghavan, "arried
22
on the noir !ega"y into the ne;t de"ade. (he @333s "an be rightfu!!y "a!!ed the time when Indian :oir "ame of age. In the ne;t "hapter, I sha!! de!ve into "ontemporary Indian neo& noir "inema i.e the period from Satya to the present day.
&ha!ter 4: 8-M8%> N-R %ND &-NMP-R%R> ND%N N-* N-R 5It ... stru"k me that you a!ways hear about these gangsters on!y when they either ki!! or when they die. But what do they do in between (hat was the first thought whi"h eventua!!y resu!ted in $atya.61? wrote Ram Gopa! Varma in @339. or the first time in the history of 'indi "inema, gangsters were not made to appear !arger than !ife through use of any e;traneous "inemati" devi"e !ike three&point !ighting to enhan"e the a"torLs profi!e, !ow ang!e shot to make him !ook magnanimous or an over&the&top ba"kground s"ore as a "ue to te!! the audien"e L%ook, this is the bad guyL. Gangsters were treated !ike any other person with a nine&to&five 0ob in $atya.
23
In the "entre of $atya, !ies the age o!d noir trope of an outsider simp!eton entering the big, bad "ity to make a !iving on!y to fa!! into the depths of the "rimina! underwor!d, where he tries to make a name for himse!f, ti!! he fina!!y fa!!s from gra"e. $atya, owing to its !ow budget, was shot in rea! !o"ations in Bombay = some of the dirtiest, grimiest spots to have ever gra"ed the s"reens of Bo!!ywood with sma!!&time but ta!ented a"tors, and its "inemati" !anguage was new, bubb!ing with energy, something midway between art& house "inema and "ommer"ia! "inema. Sin"e then, Satya has inspired "ount!ess fi!mmakers, not 0ust those making "rime movies in Bombay, but it a!so insti!!ed a new s"ript&driven, toned&down approa"h to Bo!!ywood fi!mmaking in genera!, whi"h after the re!ease of Dil Chahta *ai and 7agaan in @33+, began to produ"e, what we know today as Kmu!tip!e; fi!ms$. Ran0ani MaJumdar writes in orld .ilm 7ocations: Mumbai, 5It was however, the gritty and edgy wor!d of Ram Gopa! VarmaLs $atya )(ruth, +9* that rea!!y brought the term Mumbai :oir into mu"h wider "ir"u!ation. $atya staged noirLs typi"a! sense of Lmora! ambiguityL whi!e a!so drawing mu"h more e;p!i"ity on the visua! "odes of the gangster genre.617 o!!owing $atya, Ram Gopa! Varma estab!ished himse!f as the master of Indian neo&noir with the re!ease of #aun; )+* and Company )@33@*. Ehi!e #aun; was a "hamber fi!m, invo!ving 0ust three "hara"ters in a "at&and&mouse game, Company was a spiritua! seue! to $atya based on the dreaded terrorist /awood IbrahimLs L/L Company. In between $atya and Company, another important noir fi!m was re!eased = Mahesh Man0arekar$s 1aasta/: 'he Reality )+*, 5be!ieved to be !oose!y based on the !ife of underwor!d gangster Chota Ra0an.61@ )(?I* 1nown for one of the finest Lbad boyL
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performan"es de!ivered by San0ay /utt, 1aasta/, !ike $atya, portrayed gangsters as everyday human beings, and on the !ines of "!assi" fi!m noir, showed the rise and fa!! of a gangster who is too wi!d for the "ity to hand!e. Various individua!s asso"iated the Ram Gopa! Varma around this point of his "areer went on to make a name for themse!ves in the movie business and being mentored by Varma, they made fi!ms simi!ar to his sty!e. (wo of the best dire"tors to have "ome out of the Varma stab!e are nurag 1ashyap and Sriram Raghavan = together, they have made some of the best, most innovative neo&noir fi!ms in re"ent memory. (he then&@4&year&o!d nurag 1ashyap, who "o&wrote $atya with Saurabh Shuk!a, be"ame a high!y sought&after writer in Bo!!ywood after the su""ess of the fi!m. 'e then went on to write some of the best "op dramas and thri!!ers in Bo!!ywood before making his dire"toria! debut with &aanch, whi"h due to "ensor board prob!ems, has gone unre!eased. &aanch, based on the +4& oshi&bhyankar seria! murders in #une had some of the best noir imagery at that point in Bo!!ywood. (he story was set around a bun"h of angst&ridden youngsters, who have a sma!!&time band of their own and are eager to make it big in the "utthroat media industry of Bombay and in a bid to do so, end up kidnapping a friend and ki!!ing him, resu!ting in a series of gruesome murders one after the other. #aan"h broke away from the series of gangster noir fi!ms, 5triggering a series of psy"ho!ogi"a! thri!!ers.6 5
25
#etty greed and uninhibited ambition a!so forms the "entra! "ru; of Sriram Raghavan$s +ohnny ,addaar )@33*. Raghavan, who had "ut his teeth ear!y in neo&noir with the do"udrama Raman Ragha/ )+@* based on the rea! !ife seria! ki!!er of the same who operated in Mumbai in the 43s, made his feature fi!m dire"toria! debut with )k *asina 'hi )@33-*, a psy"ho!ogi"a! thri!!er produ"ed by Ram Gopa! Varma. )k *asina 'hi was a pu!py revenge drama that was dark and b!oody and starred Saif !i 1han in a "omp!ete image makeover as a suave, smart and ruth!ess "onman. 'e fo!!owed it up with +ohnny ,addaar = a KB$ movie by his own admission = a dark but en0oyab!e thri!!er peppered with referen"es to hardboi!ed "rime fi"tion and Indian n oir fi!ms of the 43s and 3s. Raghavan$s fina! feature fi!m, 0adlapur )@3+2*, was, however, his darkest. bandoning the meta&kits"hy treatment of +ohnny ,addaar , Raghavan treated the story of a man avenging the murder of his wife and son over the "ourse of fifteen years as a b!ood& soaked, raging fireba!! of mayhem and vio!en"e. (he wife and the son$s murder in the fi!m is pure!y a""identa! and at su"h, the dire"tor seems to ask us, 5/oes the !a"k of persona! motive for their death make the !oss more a""eptab!e, if ine;p!i"ab!e620 0adlapur doesnLt ask the uestion dire"t!y, in a heavy&handed, message&movie way, but a!!ows it to simmer deep down in the sub"ons"ious. (his make the fi!m ambiguous, with !ines between the hero and the vi!!ain b!urring )at points, the ro!es seem to be reversed, with the ki!!er "oming off as a sympatheti" man with emotions and the avenging hero turning out to be a mer"i!ess for"e from he!!* time and again, and even with the near&+@3& minutes run&time, what shou!d have been a brisk fi!m, is heavy on the senses. :oir, by definition, raises e;istentia! uestions and 0adlapur poses uite a few of them. In that regard, 0adlapur may not have the thri!!&a&minute tautness of +ohnny ,addaar , but its
26
suspense is more subt!y bui!t to hint at the e!usiveness of what makes a person be"ome a ki!!er, beyond peniten"e and forgiveness "oda.
27
)@339, hereafter, ?%%?* ! 7o/e! $e- Aur Dhokha )@3+3, hereafter, %S/* and the po!iti"a! thri!!er $hanghai. 2772 and 7$D
"on"ern themse!ves about the "orruption of
"ontemporary urban midd!e&"!ass so"iety in /e!hi and dea!s with themes of greed, petty "rime, voyeurism, "!ass mobi!ity, "!ass "ons"iousness, sensationa!ism in media and the spiritua! bankrupt"y of the nou/eau riche and those who want to be"ome so. /ibakar Baner0ee dea!s more dire"t!y with fi!m noir in Detecti/e 0yomkesh 0akshy@ )@3+2*, a hyper&sty!iJed take on what "ou!d be "a!!ed a period fi!m = a dete"tive fi!m set in -3s 1o!kata = shot in the a!!eys and streets of :orth 1o!kata whi"h sti!! !ooks !ike how they did before independen"e. !ot of fa"tors have "ontributed to the boom of neo&noir fi!ms post @333s. Besides the su""ess of $atya and the inf!uen"e of fi!mmakers !ike Varma and 1ashyap, a !arge number of internationa! fi!ms today are avai!ab!e to India thanks to /V/s and we!!, internet pira"y. Eith a strong independent fi!m "u!ture emerging, thanks to digita! fi!mmaking, new and young peop!e are making !ow&budget fi!ms. Most of these young fi!mmakers are from the metros, shoot on rea! !o"ations and are somewhat inspired by the 1ashyap&brand of fi!mmaking, for, rightfu!!y or not, he has be"ome the "ontemporary poster&"hi!d of Indian indie&fi!mmakingH at su"h, neo&noir fi!ms are being made by the doJen. i!ms !ike Vasan Ba!a$s &eddlers )@3+@*, mit 1umar$s Monsoon $hootout )@3+A* and 1anu Beh!$s 'itli )@3+2* are a!! produ"ts of this trend )it wou!d be si!!y to "a!! it a movement* and by the !ooks of it, the trend is not stopping any time soon.
&-N&/9S-N 28
s a post&!ibera!iJation and post&g!oba!iJation India opened up to new possibi!ities and "onseuent!y, a sea "hange in !ifesty!e, sensibi!ities and ethos, so did the "ountry$s fi!ms "hange. Ehere on"e fi!mmakers p!ayed around with noir aestheti"s to make fi!ms that were sti!! rooted in "!assi"a! Indian "inemati" !anguage, over time, this !anguage has evo!ved to take a grittier, more un&dramati" form. s India be"omes more "yni"a! and far& removed from the ha!"yon days of inno"en"e that "hara"teriJed the fi!ms of yesteryears, Indian fi!ms, today, over various genres
— and not 0ust thri!!ers — have be"ome Knoir$.
i!m :oir is a fi!m about the "onsummate outsider in the "ity, trying to make it big, trying to navigate through the various so"ia! me"hanisms of the "ity, in a bid to find the truth. It$s no wonder that the genre today is being spearheaded by those who are outsiders in the "inema industry i.e unaffi!iated with the big studios and big bu"ks. Sure, they don$t gross hundred "rores, but as !ong as the rebe! e;ists, as !ong as the spirit of Guru /utt, Chetan nand, Vidhu Vinod Chopra )before he be"ame a fat "at and began produ"ing fami!y& friend!y tear0erkers*, Ram Gopa! Varma )before his su""ess went to his head* and nurag 1ashyap e;ists, so wi!! Indian fi!m noir.
88/-GR%P<> +. Bhatia,
<.
)@3+2*.
Shadowy
past.
Retrieved
Mar"h
+2,
@3+4,
from
httpF88www.!ivemint."om8%eisure8a1S'@C0:Vd-ioVhgh:1M8Shadowy& past.htm! @. B!yth, M. )@3+2, May @@*. +3 great romanti" horror fi!ms. Retrieved Mar"h +2, @3+4, from
httpF88www.bfi.org.uk8news&opinion8news&bfi8!ists8+3&great&romanti"&horror&
fi!ms
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