Tuesday,
September
11,
2007
Bollywood
films
have
a
new
trend
these
days
–
male
bonding.
Coupled
with
a
screenplay
brimming
with
gags
and
sexual
innuendos,
it
definitely
keeps
the
box
office
busy.
From
Hera
Pheri
through
Kya
Kool
Hain
Hum,
to
Lage
Raho
Munna
Bhai,
this
flavour
of
the
season
has
audiences
pouring
in,
and
producers
laughing
all
the
way
to
the
bank.
Things
were
different
not
so
long
ago.
As
Inder
Kumar
recalls,
with
a
smile,
"We
had
male
bonding
even
in
the
past,
in
movies
like
Sholay
and
Yarana." However
a
friend
in
need
then
was
someone
willing
to
sacrifice
for
the
other,
maybe
even
die.
And
favours
doled
out
were
never
mentioned.
Every
hero
was
a
martyr,
a
one-dimensional
superman,
who
silently
suffered
for
his
buddy.
Unlike
the
heroes
of
today
–
bold,
brash,
unethical
and
exploitative,
at
least,
when
it
comes
to
his
pal.
It
is
almost
a
new
revolution
in
film
content.
Indu
Merani
believes
that
male
bonding
works
only
in
comedies.
"We
all
know
that
guys
have
a
lot
of
fun,
when
they
go
out.
Showing
that
fun
on
the
silver
screen
will
attract
attention." However,
Merani
adds
that
she
would
not
want
to
watch
the
same
trend
in
all
the
movies.
Since
most
producers
feel
the
need
to
cash
in
on
this
new
aspect
of
content,
they
churn
out
nonsensical
feature
films,
filled
with
nothing
more
than
a
series
of
stale
gags
and
meaningless,
forced
bantering.
However,
most
of
them
work
miracles
–
remember
what
No
Entry
did
to
Boney
Kapoor's
business?
And
the
boys
have
a
ball,
too.
Reitesh
Deshmukh
and
Tusharr
Kapoor
became
overnight
sensations
with
Kya
Kool
Hain
Hum,
after
they
were
written
off
as
non-actors.
Akshay
Kumar
suddenly
became
not-so-wooden
after
Hera
Pheri,
and
he
gets
better
with
every
boy
flick.
Rakesh
Roshan
pooh-poohs
the
trend.
"The
most
important
thing
in
a
movie
is
the
content,"
he
points
out.
"If
the
content
is
good,
it
will
do
well.
It
has
nothing
to
do
with
the
male
bonding."
He
mentions
Rang
De
Basanti
and
Iqbal
as
examples.
Roshan's
next
movie,
Krazzy-4,
will
have
some
male
bonding
as
well.
Inder
Kumar
says,
without
any
qualms,
"Bollywood
has
always
followed
Hollywood,
and
we
cannot
rubbish
this
truth."
He
is
referring,
of
course,
to
movies
like
American
Pie
and
Snatch,
wonderfully
'inspiring' to
our
aspiring
directors,
especially
since
the
producers
are
willing
to
participate
in
the
revolution.
We
have
always
had
hero-centric
films
in
the
industry,
only
now,
we
have
the
camaraderie
between
errant
husbands
and
sex-starved
bachelors
lighting
up
the
silver
screen,
and
bringing
a
twitch
on
the
lips
of
the
most
humourless
man
in
the
audience.
Male
bonding
is
here
to
stay.