Sickness in the Film Industry

TONGUE IN CHEEK - THE FILM INDUSTRY IS SICK

Just imagine…you are in the cinema, holding your breath in anticipation – the lights go off, the screen lights up, the camera pans a drawing room and lo and behold - the hero waddles in and the focus, now, is on him…corpulent, flat footed, a running nose, looks constipated… and the other characters in the frame clearly indicating their discomfort - the hero had just let go – flatulence…possibly stinking like a garbage truck!

Will any producer be willing to touch a story or subject like this……no way! These are problems for the common ‘us’ to deal with. Hang on, all is not hunky dory. There are problems favored by the filmi folk. So, what are these ailments that are popular with the film industry?

Cancer – blood cancer is the most popular followed by brain cancer and lung cancer – cured not by the medical fraternity but by paying obeisance – to the tune of a ten minute long prayer song - to the family deity or whichever deity happens to be in the nooks and corners of hospitals!

Cirrhosis of the liver, a heart attack or two, so the ending can be as sentimental as cutting an onion! Alcoholism, STD, depression and anxiety are also favored by many for similar endings. Actors have become super stars by dying – in the story, of course!

Deafness, dumbness, blindness… cured by a thump on the head or cosmic rays emanating from the said family deity or whichever deity happens to be nearby…are very popular!

But all these are by-passe. The choice of the new generation or nex-gen is more exotic. They are realistic and are re-writing the way the common ‘us’ need to deal with various ailments. For example: To rehabilitate a blind person, one has to become blind oneself!

Dyslexia, Progeria, Schizophrenia, Autism, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are all in and the cutting edge of the great onion is sadly out of films, but, not from our homes! And beware…youngsters can become doctors by just seeing films – in the future! So, back to grandmothers’ cures and home remedies! Oh, do not forget to buy the discs of those ten minute long prayer songs and keep a CD player in your puja room ready please…and oh…await the cosmic rays!

KALI

(with inputs from NIVEDITA)