LOVE SEX and DHOKHA

When we bought the tickets of LSD LSD (LOVE SEX and DHOKHA), at Regal theatre, our eyes fell on a couple, who were quite well immersed in one another in the public place. My friend asked me, “What is this happening?” I said, “LOVE”. She said, “Ummm (playful smile)… ready to move towards next step”. I replied jokingly, “After that Dhokha?” And then we giggled without having any idea that the same kind of scene we would be watching in the movie and it would be reinstating our position that we are viewers not just inside cinema hall but anywhere, anytime.

Finally, we were inside the hall and waiting for the film to begin. But! What’s this? Such an unconventional beginning, that neurons had to take their extra time to send back message – “What the optic lobes have just perceived is the beginning of the film and not an advertisement of a local video camera leasing company, which promises the best end results of the video cam”. This is for the first time supposedly in the history of mainstream Hindi cinema, that entire film is shot in a fashion as if the viewer is handling the camera and watching how do people move or behave before the camera lens. Camera Lens is here an extension of eye lens of spectator.

All the main actors have been cast for the first time and they are not more than characters. This is the beauty of direction. But what compelled Director Dibaker Banerjee to tell tales of not so successful Dilwale Dulhaniya Lejayenge type/Blue Film Market/ Sting Operation aka Tehelka in this manner? Many people can be seen drooling over stalls at every nook and corner of the main markets of our cities or railways stations or bus stands/stops, to buy CDs/DVDs/fictitious stories of what is called as reality bites. LSD has facilitated presentation of few of those tales burnt in CDs/DVDs onto celluloid.  The voyeuristic tendencies of the people coupled with advancement in visual technology seem to have interested Dibakar Banarjee.

All the three stories have a common meeting point i.e. a multi-purpose retail store and are shown to be shot from three different camera perspectives. At many times one gets the feel as if the camera is central character and everything changes or movie progresses with the positioning of the camera. In the first and last story for example one can sense the significant role played by the video camera, its movements, significance of jerks, blurred meaningless (but meaningful) frames and finally to get into the psyche of the characters.

First story is influenced by Yash Chopra’s films where Rahul or Raj are the male protagonists who fall in love with a pretty, innocent girl and then make efforts to woo her father to get consent for happy union of two. Here, Rahul falls for a girl who he directs for his project film. Before the love story could reach its pinnacle father of the girl tried to get her married, but she runs away. They marry in a temple, spend their time in a hotel where they shoot every moment of their life in camera. Father finally traces them out and assures to accept their relation if they would return. But in the disguise of that compromise approaches the end of their life and then this love story sells as one of the reality videos.  Dibakar crafted the plot in the shadow of contemporary social blot of honour killings which are still in practice in otherwise rich and modern provinces of Haryana and Punjab.

Dibaker Banerjee has reiterated the ambitions, paradoxes, confusions of the middle class vis-a-vis their Sexual life and Love, which is finding various kinds of expression in covert and overt manner. Covert, because, this same middle-class collectively wear mask of morality in the public spaces; emergence of moral policing is the outcome of the same mind-set. After media revolution, anyone anywhere could become the centre of news and in such an arena, many new age heroes-heroines emerged irrespective of their responsibility and credibility. Media revolution has awakened obsession of individuals to see them on camera. The latest in the fascination is to see sex life of people through various visual mediums such as CD/DVDs, internet, films, TV Channels including news channels and MMS. These voyeuristic tendencies have transcended gender precincts. It’s the matter of past when man only was considered to be voyeur who enjoys watching woman’s nude body and her in sexual act. Circulation of blue film CDs/DVDs/MMS clips among adolescent school students is a common practice, and the free access to video films of individuals having sexual intercourse on internet, suggests as if the entire populace is voyeuristic given comfort ability of space and time. Moreover, people are nauseatingly interested about sharing their sexual life with unknowns or known given a chance. Many deliberately take the chance by shooting their intimate moments in video camera and upload it on internet or sell it in the form of CDs/DVDs or send as MMS clips. This is considered to be an act of dare devilry. The other thought which works in the backdrop of mind is that it will instantly make you famous, and is also considered to be a shortcut to make easy money. How much sexual liberation society is going to achieve with these acts is yet to be assessed. It reminds me of a (in)famous Mysore Mallige which has formed inspiration of Dibakar’s second tale.

Dibakar’s third Tehelka tale pushes me to narrate a co-related incident that happened before me. I happened to meet a long time known who is correspondent of INDIA TV. He was sharing that how much keen he was on getting some CD/DVD related to sex scandal of a top politician. He was quite impressed with Swami Nityanand’s episode and the TRPs it has generated for the channel. In the last tale of LSD, these attitudes of media – sex and sensation have been re-emphasised.  Dependency of the NEWS channels on sting operations has less to do with politics and responsibility of bringing out truth but to attract maximum eyeballs and catering to the basic instincts of people to keep them glued to TV sets. This predilection for sting operations or eagerness to catch the sex life of people in visual mode has risen to such an extent that it can take fatal turns even. Like the very recent case of Prof. Siras of AMU, whose sexual life was allegedly shot visually by the AMU authorities as a part of intolerance for his sexual preferences. He was humiliated, sacked and it led to loss of his life.

Second story gets its skin through the standpoint of installed CCTV in a retail-store and subsequent use of those recorded stories of the CCTV to make instant money while the spy camera which is used for sting operations add nuance to the third story, adding importance to the blurs and not so focussed frames. Many critics may argue that it seemed more of an amateur video film rather than a full-fledged polished commercial film. However, in my opinion the script of the film and its spirit demanded it to be like, it is. Film in its premise is not a glossy or the one where the living characters are the cause of conflicts. But here the plot of the film itself is in conflict with itself. There is relative tension between the characters; their intriguing relation to the camera; their thoughts about themselves and also their relation with the viewer in the cinema hall, create variance in the plot of the film. And to add to the charm of the frames movie has been shot with video camera.

Well the movie leaves you in the whirlwind of many queries and answers such as, how can anyone consider oneself as sovereign citizen when CCTV cameras installed capture every activity and movement of everyone in all urban public spaces in the name of surveillance or security concerns? CCTVs are omnipresent and they have become part of our very existence willingly/unwillingly, consciously/unconsciously,democratically/undemocratically. How Middle class ever will resolve its confused state of mind regarding sexuality? Is Indian middle class ready to accept the fact there is urgent need to introduce sex-education in school syllabi?