The three Hindi movies released recently?Corporate, Yun Hota To Kya Hota and Omkara have immense political meaning, save the moralising. But amongst the three Corporate has the message loud and clear, even though many may not agree with its cynicism over the dealings in the corporate and the political world. The movie clarifies in the beginning that it is not recounting any recent history but the involvement of a foreign cola drink, the issue of pesticides in the drink, the fizzling out of the issue from public gaze are all too familiar. The controversy has been carefully intertwined with the political goings-on to the extent that two political parties at two ends of the spectrum come together to save the day for the cola company.
Needless to say, most industry leaders will be smarting at the show of cynicism, the slick, sophisticated and fast-paced, and of course the sleaze and sex that invariably involves the corporate world. Following the release of the movie, several industry associations have made their protest known for the representation of the corporate culture in the movie. According to an Assocham press release reported in the press, there are several issues which industry feels are wrongly presented. ??What concerns us that a message goes around among the young film-goers as if the corporate sector is heartless and does not care for the people who reach the ladder of success. The way, the woman protagonist has been shown as a sacrificial goat is just not the real picture of India Inc which has some of the most respectable leaders to boast?, Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat said in a statement in New Delhi. But people going to the movies don'tseem to be unduly perturbed by the show of ambition and ways and means of the corporate culture. When Bipasha Basu makes suggestive statements in the movie of sleeping her way up in the corporate ladder there was a collective groan rather than breathless excitement in the movie hall, more so because people have perhaps learnt to accept the reality.
The film by Naseeruddin Shah Yun Hota To Kya Hota is undeniably a cheerful movie except for the end when the protagonists of the movie become victims of the terror attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York. Except that there are too many main characters to keep track of in the movie, that most often you might mix up the stock broker Salim with the boys who are also on the way to the US, the movie holds your interest all through just as Corporate, and is devoid of any obvious moralizing. Naseeruddin Shah seems to have deliberately kept the option out.
Though it is difficult to gauge who performed better than the rest, Paresh Rawal stands out with his earthy, uninhibited Gujarathi small-time businessman talk. Also, it is noticeable that young actors like Ankur who is shown reluctant to go to the US and who pays with his life for his decision, are incredibly good in their performances. Needless to say, again, with direction by Naseeruddin Shah, the actors must have had to deliver.
Vishal Bharadwaj'sOmkara is another movie which could have been better if only the language was not so far away from the audience. Though it lent legitimacy to the movie, a brilliant adaption of the Shakespearean play Othello, Omkara has an unusual feel because of the rural settings, political gamesmanship and a treacherous plot. The unexpected twists in the movie keep the audience wondering about what will happen next though many might have read Shakespeare.
