Winds of Change.

Friday Poora Filmi Hai

Salaam Namaste, the latest offering of the Yash Raj Films, is path breaking in more than one senses. Though I personally didn't like it much, the script must be acknowledged for daring to treat a sensitive topic with a distinct freshness. The issue of unwed mothers is not new to Bollywood or India, but the treatment in the movie is different. Everyone from Kunti in Mahabharat to Sharmila Tagore in Aaradhana had to abandon the child conceived out of wedlock. Not in Salaam Namaste. Amber (PJ: They should've named her HumpHer ;-)) decides to have the baby. Even this isn't pathbreaking -- Kya Kehna, interestingly, with the same cast, had almost the same setup. Saif chickened out of the relationship when he learnt that Zinta is pregnent and she decided to have the baby anyway. There, her father forced her to leave the home and severed all ties with her. Cut to 2005, no family rona-dhona, just a girl with a strong decision. But the pathbreaking character in the movie is the one played by Saif - Nick. He decides he doesn't want the baby and thus is ready to give up the relationship altogether. Last time when he did that to Zinta in Kya Kehna, he became a qualified villian. To make the character soot black from gray, they even gave him some lines like - "Jaane kiska paap mere sir daal rahi ho, etc". Not in 2005! Here we are cool with the metrosexual Nick getting out of the relationship since he doesn't want the unnecessary burden, but his chick wants it. If we roll back to Prem Chopra times; then he, and other pitch black characters, were mainly responsible for getting side heroines pregnent and abandoning them. It wasn't unimaginable to get the girl killed to mitaofy sab saboot. If this unfortunate thing had to happen with the leading lady, the hero had to die after making all the promises to marry her (Aaradhana, Humraaz). A whole lot of water has flown down the bridge since then (and of course, various preventive methods are available now ;-)).