By:
Joginder
Tuteja,
IndiaFM
Wednesday,
October
03,
2007
Male
bonding
has
always
been
there
in
Bollywood
movies
but
never
the
way
it
is
now.
Be
it
the
story,
the
treatment
or
the
final
presentation,
everything
today
is
new
and
glossier
than
ever
before.
Friends
doing
favours
and
even
sacrificing
their
lives
for
each
other
was
what
male
bonding
was
all
about
in
films
like
Sholay,
Dosti,
Yarana,
Dostana
and
the
Tamil
Anbesibam.
Fast
forward
to
2006-07
and
it's
a
laugh
riot
all
the
way.
Munnabhai
M.B.B.S.,
Lage
Raho
Munnabhai,
Dil
Chahta
Hai,
Garam
Masala,
Hera
Pheri
and
Phir
Hera
Pheri
---
they
are
a
gang
of
boys
having
a
blast.
Just
about
everything
they
do
on
screen
evokes
peels
of
laughter
from
the
audience,
often
sending
the
producers
laughing
all
the
way
to
the
bank.
Perhaps,
the
inspiration
came
from
Hollywood
where
movies
such
as
Hot
Bubblegum
and
American
Pie
set
a
precedent.
Director
Inder
Kumar
has
no
qualms
acknowledging
the
fact.
"Bollywood
has
always
followed
Hollywood
and
we
cannot
rubbish
this
truth," he
says.
"We
had
male
bonding
in
films
even
in
the
past
like
"Sholay".
But
it
was
different
from
the
new
trend
where
a
bunch
of
gag
masters
hang
out
together,"
he
adds.
However,
Indu
Merani
believes
"such
a
trend
can
work
only
in
comedy
films".
Of
course,
there
have
been
instances
where
the
film-maker
has
tried
to
sell
nothing
but
lampoons
in
the
name
of
comedy.
"And
that
formula
doesn't
work
in
the
long
run," says
Indu,
adding
"male
bonding
can
work
only
in
a
particular
type
of
cinema".
She
admits
she
would
hate
watching
such
comic
movies
over
and
over
again.
Producer-director
Rakesh
Roshan,
who
is
awaiting
the
release
of
Krazzy
4,
looks
at
the
issue
from
a
completely
different
angle.
He
says:
"The
most
important
thing
in
a
film
is
its
content.
If
the
content
is
good,
it
will
do
well.
It
has
got
nothing
to
do
with
male
bonding."
Recent
films
Rang
De
Basanti
and
Iqbaal
are
proof.
At
the
end
of
the
day,
the
actors
admit
having
fun
together
on
the
sets
and
the
audience
returns
to
the
theatre
for
more
of
the
gag
masters.
So,
male
bonding
is
here
to
stay.