Past Imperfect

Bollywood's offerings in the historical and mythological genre have more misses than hits, but at least some filmmakers are trying to walk the talk

The upcoming film, ‘Thugs of Hindostan’, promises a big star cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Sheikh, period costumes, and catchy ‘item numbers’. Its trailer currently has over 76 million views. If nothing else, it indicates plenty of audience curiosity and thereby an easy breaking even at the box office for the producers. The junta, as they say, will come for paisa vasool entertainment in the week of Diwali. However, those used to Hollywood’s production standards of fantasy fiction are already calling it a poor ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ rip-off and history enthusiasts are screaming blue murder at the loose use of the word ‘thugs’ in the title. Judging by its trailer, ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ seems more like a work of fiction rather than history, no matter how many faux Angrez characters show up on screen. For anyone who remembers their school lessons will know that the thugs were a notorious cult of highway robbers and murderers, and not pirates turned nationalistic revolutionaries.

Lowest common denominator Apart from political machinations, there is little regard for history in India – both inside and outside our classrooms. However, we seem to like to watch glitzy versions of our past, going by the number of historicals churned out from our film and television industries. In the last few years, we have seen big banner films like ‘Jodha Akbar’, ‘Mohenjo Daro’, ‘Bajirao Mastani’ and ‘Padmavat’ on the big screen and productions like ‘Bharat ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap’, ‘Jhaansi ki Raani’, ‘Chakravartin Ashok Samrat’ and ‘Porus’ on the telly. Many of these have had historians frothing at the mouth for some wild inaccuracies and the “guardians of culture” for “hurting their sentiments”. Unfortunately, only the latter is ever addressed. Remember the gaudy Bollywoodised costumes for leading lady, Pooja Hegde, in ‘Mohenjo Daro’, or the most improbable sequence of Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra’s characters dancing together in ‘Bajirao Mastani’? The serial ‘Porus’ depicted Alexander and Porus being born on the say day, when they were known to have been years apart in age.

When objections are raised, a change in title and a big, fat disclaimer follow, stating that the film/show is a work of fiction, only ‘based’ in or ‘inspired from’ history. While many of these protests seem farcical, there is merit in some objections because creative liberty ought not to become a free for all card. Compare this to Bhanu Athaiya’s Oscar-winning contribution to costumes in the 1982 Richard Attenborough film, ‘Gandhi’. Or runaway successes like the recent Netflix production, ‘The Crown’ – noted, among other things, for its solid research. The point of authenticity is never missed. But for the most past, our filmmakers seem to be happy to work with just a handful of facts.

The realm of mythology is even bleaker. Since ours is a living culture, its mythology belongs to everyone and commercial writers feel free to bend and twist it at will. TRP ke liye kuch bhi karega, Puranas be damned! Television has come a long way –not necessarily in a good way – since the Chopra and Sagar production days and shows like ‘Devon ke Dev…Mahadev’, ‘Karmaphal Daata – Shani’, and ‘Siya ke Ram’ are regular fare for viewers now. When there are many, many more episodes to write than there are stories in the Puranic and folklore corpus, it is anyone’s guess how authentic the things being shown are. Again, just the existence of a mythological character serves as an excuse to pass off any story as one from Indian mythology. There may be better CGI now, but there’s certainly lesser regard for the ‘real thing’. Radha on the dance floor seems to have become the norm, as far as mythology in television is concerned.

Earnest templates Shows like ‘Naagin’, on the other hand, which only borrow a mythological template and are otherwise unabashedly fictional, have better ground to stand on. Working with a known premise of shape-shifting magical beings – much like the hit 1960s American sitcom ‘I dream of Jeannie’ – this show simply entertains audiences without the burden of legacy.

The recently-released dark fantasy film, ‘Tumbbad’ is another example of excellent use of mythological and historical templates. Although entirely fictional, the film made judicious use of well-known motifs such as an Earth goddess (like the Vedic Bhu Devi), a truant god (like the Biblical Lucifer), pacts with the Devil, and wrath of the Gods. It also uses universally-recognizable psychological paradigms like greed versus good, while placing the story in a historically familiar setting like British-ruled India. With understated and appropriate costumes, intense visuals and stunning CGI, it creates a completely immersive world, where the viewer readily suspends his disbelief. It is easily one of the best films of this genre to come out of the big Bollywood film machine, and has much to teach future filmmakers. Where history is concerned, not everyone can follow the academic rigour of Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi (of ‘Chanakya’ fame), nor are all audiences made for serious watching. However, films like ‘Lagaan’ have, in the past, shown that works of historical fiction can be enjoyable without being over the top. The past does not always need war paint to look beautiful.