the world cup

for two years, this blog has not seen a new post. returned today to remind myself of the day we discovered mahendra singh dhoni. what a man. what a captain. what a world cup.

Spoofy Times

Does it feel like we’ve been seeing more spoofs than ever before? That’s because we probably have. It might be a sign of the times – with everything from onion prices to diplomatic secrets to the number of zeros in scam valuations (quick, how many zeros in one lakh crores?) spiralling out of control, there’s been plenty of fodder for satirists. And with traditional media lower than ever on credibility, it’s over to the funny folks to tell it like it is and bring some perspective to the proceedings.

2010 was a breakout year for satire in Hindi films, with Tere Bin Laden, Peepli [Live] and Phas Gaye Re Obama making an impact. Tere Bin Laden was a light hearted farce about a poor chicken farmer with an unfortunate resemblance to Osama Bin Laden. While the film had no explicit agenda to comment on global terrorism and associated politics, it ended up highlighting the farcical nature of the ‘war on terror’ anyway. Nothing about Osama Bin Laden is funny, but perhaps laughter at the thought of him (think ‘Osama does Numa Numa’ on YouTube) is a better response than helpless outrage or fear. Same goes for Hitler and the hilarious ‘Hitler reacts to…’ videos on YouTube, based on a clip from the 2004 German film ‘Downfall’. These spoofs of larger-than-life villains humanize their subjects, dulling their power and hold over the public psyche.

Politicians have traditionally provided rich material for caricature. In recent times, our mainstream media folks have kept them company in the ranks of the ridiculous. Anusha Rizvi’s Peepli [Live], a black comedy about farmer suicides in India, lampooned both our politicians and shrill newshounds. Their seemingly farcical excesses – the search for a suitable ‘yojana’ for an as yet un-dead farmer, the ‘sansani khez’ sensationalism, the mad eagerness for ‘breaking news’, the stunning lack of perspective despite being in the thick of things - were actually all within the realm of what plays out on our television sets every day. In effect, Peepli [Live] felt like a spoof of a spoof – as fun to watch as that was, it rang too true for comfort.

Not all spoofs have a serious undercurrent, of course. Most are made for the sheer fun of it. Bollywood’s favourite spoofs are self-parodies of the kind that Farah Khan has perfected. Or had perfected, given the huge slip-up in form that was ‘Tees Maar Khan’. Still, her ‘Main Hoon Na’ remains a pitch perfect homage-spoof of 70’s Bollywood. Rajendra Prasad’s ‘Quick Gun Murugun’, was a less perfect homage to the Sambar Westerns of Madras. And what can one say about that cult classic ‘Andaz Apna Apna’? It spoofed everything from Anil Kapoor’s ‘jhakaas’ to Ajit’s vintage villainy. By the time Shakti Kapoor made his appearance as ‘Crime Master Gogo’, there might have been a few deaths by laughter. 

Tollywood does a lot of mini self-spoofs in its comedy tracks. Remember how Brahmanandam’s ‘Khan Dada’ from ‘Money’ brought the house down way back? More recently, Rayalaseema factionists were mercilessly parodied in ‘Ready’ to hilarious effect. Which kid would want to grow up to be a factionist after watching that? And therein lies the power of satire. What can’t be hammered home with years of schooling or preaching, sometimes can be nudged home with ridicule. 

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wrote this for channel6, hyderabad.