[Reader-list] celluloid and compact disks in Punjab

[daljit ami]

Role of entertainer and market forces
Gurchet Chitarkar started his career as painter and went on to be a filmmaker. During his journey to a filmmaker he worked as theatre artist, orchestra dancer (transvestite), folk dancer, comedian and coordinator. He experimented with the video medium and produced the trendsetter for films on Compact Disks. His theme, language and audience remained, predominantly, from central Malwa. He familiarized the rural audience to the commodity hitherto unknown to them and effectively translated that initiative into consumer base. The crashing prices of Compact Disks and Compact Disk players contributed as they coincided with his audience. His audience was devoid of films so they took whatever came to them. Gurchet Chitarkar used this ignorance or vacuum to his benefited. His content started with glamorized/stylized social issues and went on make mimicry of serious issues. His producer become T-Series as they realized his consumer base and initially purchased his film from local Cassette company then produced his films. The profitable market left him with no space to think. He went for quantity leaving behind rationality, cultural sensibility and human dignity. His film Family-420 is proper representation of this trend. Abusive children trivialized family relations. Septuagenarian grandfather brought a Haryanvi. The woman has agreed to live-in because of her greed for good food. She has left behind a good number of children behind; the reality got exposed in the end. Most of the film is has dialogues, which are either to tease other one or conspire against other one. Every relation (involving male-female) seems to be bondage and they seem to be living together just to demean each other. Grandchildren talk as they are talking to newly wed elder brother. The low caste women are conspiring to make the father and sons separate. 
After Family-420 Gurchet went on to make Family-421, a desperate attempt to maintain market. His efforts to continue after Family-420 make him leave the meaning of 420 (fraud) irrelevant. This time Grandfather went on to purchase a Bihari woman. Rest of the matter is same; children are more abusive, castist and conspiring. The hollowness of dislodge has increased every character has a personal motive and scores to settle with other. These films are just demeaning women in general and in-migrated women in particular. I kept on thinking by the dialogues given to children should not be charged under legal provisions against child abuse. What are limits of space and time in which these dialogues can be placed? These films provide ample space to discuss the role of entertainer in society and market forces. Is entertainer just a non-thinking supplier to meet the ‘demands’ or they have a role in society? 
Daljit Ami
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