Tyson in Bollywood

There are times when I have my doubts about the film industry around the world but especially in India at times. This latest bit of news to come out of Bollywood just serves to solidify that doubt in my mind. So what's the story? Well, in a forthcoming movie, former heavyweight boxing champ and ex-con Mike Tyson, will be appearing in a dance sequence. Now anyone who has seen a typical Bollywood movie knows that dance sequences are often in the movie with little or no reason other than to have a song. The hero and heroine may look at one another and suddenly realize they are in love and so they will sing a song to declare their love. Another typical dance item is the one in which a guest star will appear simply to boost the noteriety and fame of the song. Usually it's some hot new actress who has not yet 'earned the right' to act in the movie so she's relegated to songs. In this case, the new girl is actually Tyson and if statements coming out of Bollywood are any measure of the future, then it may not be the last time that we see him in a Bollywood feature either.

Tyson has been a bit hard pressed for work lately. After having lost several of his last few matches, he is no longer the driven boxer that he once was. Looking for something to do, he was approached by Bollywood producer Firoz Nadiadwala with an offer to appear in one dance sequence. These sequences are usually the first to be filmed so that the songs can then be marketed to the audience in order to raise awareness of the movie and increase interest in it. It often works and in this case, I'm sure the movie, "Fool n' Final" will definitely have some benefit to having Mike Tyson in the film. It's strange to think though how or why someone like Tyson (who is playing himself) will make an appearance in the context of the film.

Not that there has to be any reason for logic in Hindi movies. The usual response I have for anyone asking about Bollywood films is that most of them require you to check your brain in at the door and leave logic to another time and place. That's not to say that there aren't some great films and some brilliant actors and directors out there in India but for the most part, the industry panders to the masses which often leads to a dumbing down of the plot and overall quality. I can understand if this applies to kids movies where the main purpose is to have fun and enjoy but when adult fare also does the same thing, it's a bit harder to swallow.

Case in point, there's a movie out there called "Hindustan Ki Kasam" and it's about a secret agent who is stealing information from India and selling it to terrorist countries. It starts off with all the action and adventure of a James Bond film and leaves you thinking that perhaps this will be a great action film. In a subsequent scene you have the famous Indian screen idol Amitabh Bachchan speaking the praises of patriotism and teaching children in the scene what it is to love your country and to serve it honorably as his character did in the armed forces. Again, patriotic stuff that makes it seem like the film is going to be a knockdown drag-out adventure in which the virtues of the country and concepts of honor will be touted left, right and center.

Then we meet the hero who, in typical Bollywood style, is an exact twin of the villain. Shocker! He meets and falls in love with the main actress (again no surprise) and the two of them then get stuck in traffic. Being a fashion model, rushing to get to airport to fly to Europe (usually Switzerland) she is dismayed that she may miss her flight. So far the movie plot and story is developing in the usual fashion and there is still a good grounding in reality. Hearing the complaints of the heroine, the hero tells her that he will get her there in no time and that she should get on his motorcycle. Now rather than seeing a sequence filled with motorcycle stunts through traffic and such, the hero suddenly launches his bike into the air and then transforms it into a 747. Reality goes out the window along with it.

I shut off the film right then, not wanting to see anymore. The director of that film stated that this was his dream and his vision of a story that would promote the ideas of peace and patriotism to movie audiences. To me, all it showed was what can happen when you start writing a story and then continue drinking something which leads to ideas like motorcycles turning into 747's or Mike Tyson showing up to dance with you. It's sad when you think about it since the Indian film industry is one of the top industries out there. They produce more movies than any other nation in the world but seeing as how the majority churned out is crap, it's no surprise that they are able to meet that record. It's a clear case of quantity versus quality.