I happened to see two very similar films on the very same day - a coincidence that has prompted this blog. The two films I'm referring to are Going the Distance (Nanette Burstein, 2010) and Anjaana Anjaani(Siddharth Anand, 2010). Though I admit that these films are unlikely to be regarded as classics or blockbusters, they are the subject of this blog, since they have managed to subvert their parent genres in certain ways.
First the points of concurrence: both films are love stories. Both films are set in the cities of New York and San Francisco - cities already invested with a high degree of romantic charm through our exposure to Hollywood fare and American television. And the most significant similarity in terms of this piece - both films use the recent economic Recession as a narrative hook.
We know that the economic recession brought about major social changes across the world, but in Going the Distance we see how it affects the genre of "romantic comedy". The recession is one of the factors that generates conflict in the plot, as it is due to this that the protagonists are forced to stay put in different cities for a lack of jobs in the other's city.
Going...is no fairytale romance or "chick flick" (which, by the way, is the most dumbing-down way of classifying a film). It is not your typical romantic comedy of the Julia-Roberts-Meg-Ryan type, where the happy marriage of the hero and the heroine is the main narrative motivation. The climax of this film simply concentrates on bringing the protagonists closer to each other. It is the hero, Garrett (Justin Long), and not the heroine, who moves out of New York to LA, which is closer to Erin's (Drew Barrymore) home, San Francisco. There is no suggestion of a wedding, and the film is happy to end with a practical (not perfect) solution to a real-world problem. It would be unrealistic to show the two protagonists happily walking into the sunset, as most of the audience struggles with issues like career versus relationship, job security, and long distance relationships. Yet, the film has not done away the concept of "soulmates". We know that Erin and Garrett are meant to be together, but it's not going to come to them easy, like it never does in the real world.
The romantic comedy is still in its nascent stage in Hindi Cinema, as compared to its Hollywood counterpart. This is evident from the recent spate films like I Hate Luv Storys, Jhootha Hi Sahi, Break Ke Baad; better films like Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na and Love Aaj Kal, and of course, Anjaana Anjaani.
The love story is the most common plot in Hindi films, but what makes these films different is the focus on the individual, as opposed to family. Most love stories of the 1980s and 90s followed a predictable pattern, wherein the hero and the heroine could not marry each other because of family enimity or difference in social class. These conflicts were done away with once the protagonists proved themselves to be worthy of each other and their respective families, and again, the film would end with a wedding scene. The films I have mentioned earlier completely do away with the cumbersome "holy cow" of the family and concentrate on individual choice in romantic matters. The parents are either genial friendly souls or, unhappily, dead!
We see an example of this in Anjaana....where Kiara (Priyanka Chopra's) parents do not play any consequential role in her decision-making, and Aakash's (Ranbir Kapoor) parents are hardly mentioned. Recession looms in the backdrop in this story too, as Aakash's reason for committing suicide is a major loss at the stock market. The advantage of focussing only on the main characters is that it makes for layered character structure and development, but this is missing in both Anjaana...and the other films I've mentioned. Also, these films are made without the characteristic warmth or crackling dialogue of the conventional Hollywood romantic comedy. This feature is missing in Going....as well, which is why it is a lesser film.
Anjaana....though deserves mention for a hilarious inversion of a very familiar Hindi film plot device - one where the heroine in abducted and the hero bravely fights with the goons to rescue the damsel in distress. Aakash is picked up by a beefy tattooed man at a bar, and is forcibly carried away to a room, as Kiara rushes to rescue him. The movie should be watched, even if for just this one scene.
The Romantic Comedy remains one of my favourite genres for its witty dialogue and sharp charactertisation, even though its one of the most predictable of plot lines a love story can follow. Its nice to see that it us undergoing a much needed change in Hollywood, and is will hopefully evolve in Hindi cinema.
