My elders often say, The films of our times used to be so light and beautiful! Look at films of Bimal Roy, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Guru Dutt; the tuneful music of Naushad, O.P.Nayyar, Madan Mohan and look at the actors, directors and singers of your time Shahrukh, Madhuri, Himmesh!

I agree with them about the music part, though not completely. Yes, Naushad, Jaidev and other stalwarts produced beautiful music based on classical Ragas, but there is good music in films of today as well Jatin Lalit, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, I have an entirely different opinion about the old films though. The films of today (Samay, Salaam Bombay, Monsoon Wedding, Hera-Pheri, Iqbal, Corporate, Page 3, for e.g) seem to be a lot more meaningful than the Shammi films or such. Dont get me wrong, I do like the acting of Shashi, Shammi, Dev Anand, Nutan, Nargis, Tanuja, Sanjeev and other golden stars, but somehow, they seem pretty juvenile when compared to the sophisticated themes and acting of Bollywood actors of today Rani, Kajol, Aamir, Sushmita, Akshay Khanna and others (there are a few exceptions such as Mother India or the mid-year films of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee, etc which can be categorized as thoughtful films.)

I have had several such letdowns recently, regarding old Hindi films. A few days ago, I was watching Mera Saaya. About fifteen years ago, when I had first seen the same film, I had loved it. I thought the plot and the buildup of suspense was great. The same film watched more recently, had me laughing and feeling stupid that I had thought it to be a great film. Sadhana and Sunil looked great in the film, but the hysterical, childish acting of Sadhana and the insipid theme of the film was a total letdown. The same experience when watching Sanjeev Kumars Qatl a film that was considered a great, suspense film. It was very endearing to watch Shammis films, mostly set in Kashmir or other beautiful places, but the storylines were totally hilarious with the Elvis-style dances, long foreign cars and the same old themes of rich boy-poor girl or other way around and a villain (usually Prem Chopra).

On the other hand, this comparison of old films vs. new, has also revealed underlying, more serious changes in our country, our lifestyle, which has caused this transition of films. No doubt, Bollywood films have evolved, but why do the new films being produced only highlight the bad and ugly things in society? Corruption, goondaism, terrorism, ennui of well-to-do households, poverty, murder, crime, violence, sex and other hot topics are usually the hit films today. Makes me question werent all these issues prevalent in India fifty years ago (if not in the same intensity)? Or were our older generations oblivious to these problems and believed in having a good time and enjoying life instead perhaps can be termed as cold-hearted or callous by self-righteous people (the true ones or fakes). Is the younger generation more sensitive, more brooding and more concerned over these issues? If so, is that a welcome change? Hey, problems in the country are not improving anyways, because of these films with serious, mature themes. Many-a-times, the people producing and directing these films are the bad guys themselves, trying to teach the innocent public about the evils of society yeah right!

The pretty girls wearing tight salwar-kameezes of the olden style (Sadhana, Nanda, etc) with their voluminous coiffeurs, the handsome males like Shashi Kapoor, Sunil Dutt or Sanjeev.are of the past, not considered hot in todays films. Only serious topics, tall, skinny females with long straight hair, (gone are the playful curls and upturned noses of the beauties like Geeta Bali, Sadhana, Nargis and others!) sporting western outfits and feminine men are hot these days. But boy, do some of these new films make people sit up and think! At the same time, I sometimes feel sad that I did not belong to my Nanis generation! Life seemed lighter and less complex then! Certain things were just accepted the way they were, like the role of womenfolk in the household, the differences in the rich and poor, etc. There was none or very little rebellion about such things. With the changes (which are very welcome, by the way!) in our way of thinking and the appropriate reflection in the films produced, one does get the feeling of being a very responsible, mature and grownup citizen of their country - although the ride seems to be downhill without improvements! Some nostalgia and wistful thoughts of the past are still lurking there, beneath all these changes. It is like racism and casteism, everyone denies it but it is there! Or like now that we have computers, foreign cars and modern houses, we spend time thinking about bullock-carts, food cooked on a mud stove and the rustic houses of our ancestors with the open-air chowks in the middle and wooden swings in the verandah!