The latest fad in the movie industry is re-releasing old movies in theatres. It started recently with a couple of Mohanlal-led Malayalam movies—Devadoothan and Manichithrathazhu. And before I knew, I started seeing re-release announcements from every other movie industry in the country. Watching a classic like Manichithrathazhu on the big screen yet again must definitely be a bonus (one that I sadly missed). And the same can be said for cult classics like Tumbbad, compensating the makers for the unfair box office numbers during its first run and perhaps, giving the audience a chance at redemption for the injustice they did towards movies like that.
But someone, please tell me, what the hell is the re-release value for boring duds like Pardes or Taal? I remember struggling to keep my eyes open and challenging myself to finish these. The list is growing by the day, with multiple mediocre or below-average movies being presented as ‘cult classics’ and released in theatres yet again to (wrongly) prove that point. And now every filmmaker who has blamed the ‘sense’ of the audience or the ‘Boycott Bollywood’ movement for the failure of movies that really deserved to fail (because they were bad) will follow the lead. And so will the makers of less-than-mediocre movies that once became superhits only due to the ‘mass star-power’ of superstars. The fad is going to continue for a while, I’m sure. I just hope it fizzles out after that.
In the midst of this fad, there is one movie that is getting re-released for genuinely being a cult classic—Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein, remake of the Tamil blockbuster Minnale. But the question here is—why on earth is this movie a cult classic? The sheer number of youngsters who have named this movie as their favourite is not surprising, it is alarming! For girls mostly, the primary reason has invariably been the drop-dead gorgeous Madhavan and his boyish charms. The common reason cited by both genders has been just one—“How romantic is this movie!” I once had a trainee who I was giving extra attention to with respect to improving his communication skills. And even with his then-not-so-great language skills, he ended up writing a three-page essay about this movie, proclaiming his never-ending love for this gem.
Amidst all the ‘wows’ and ‘yays’ showered on this movie, people seem to have forgotten that the movie was literally based on the worst kind of stalking that one can imagine. I mean, forget the usual hero falling in love with the heroine at first sight and trying to get her details to pursue her trope. Here the hero (Ugh! Hero!) crosses all boundaries of sanity and decency by slyly getting the heroine’s contact details, calling her up, and upon finding a rather criminal opportunity at impersonation, pretends to be the heroine’s soon-to-be-fiancé who she has never met! Man! That is so messed up at so many different levels!
To make things more messed up, he keeps his mouth shut about his real identity even when he knows she has fallen in love with him, spending the night at her place, tricking her into keeping it a secret from her family that she has met this guy already. Yeah, I should really be asking, “What the hell are you thinking girl????!!!!” I mean, this is seriously a grown-ass woman making her living by working some high-funda job, and living alone, but lacks the basic sense of safety measures, especially being a woman!!!
Anyway, as if things weren’t messed up enough at this point, they make the creepy stalker hero an aggressive stalker hero who threatens and screams at the heroine for (rightly) deciding to cut him off once she meets the real to-be-fiancé. Yeah, what romantic feel-good movie is incomplete without the hero threatening the heroine, only because she recognizes he was a lying, impersonating asshole? And how else should said feel-good movie end other than with the heroine professing her undying love to the insane stalker and having a happily-ever-after with him? Oh! Dear Lord! If only I could include a facepalm emoji here.
To know that in our younger generation’s eyes, this is the template of a perfect love story, an illogical, yet endearing romantic movie that makes one believe that all is fair in love and war—shouldn’t it be alarming? Yes, let’s not nitpick every movie from the past for standards that have changed over the years, or wrongs that were once acceptable or brushed off. But in what century was this level of stalking in any way worthy of glorification? And except for basking in the long-lasting glory that this movie has brought upon them, I haven’t seen a single person associated with this movie address the level of ‘wrong’ that this movie single-handedly spread as ‘right’ in the minds of gullible youngsters.
Tomorrow, when this shitty movie hits the theatres again, I am sure there will still be many takers for it, running to watch their favourite movie on the big screen yet again and ignite their sense of nostalgia and romance. Yet again, there will be posts glorifying the ‘power of love’ and ‘end justifies means’ lunacy using this movie as an example. And yet again, similar movies that ought to be sealed in an iron trunk, chained, and dropped to the bottom of the ocean would rise as ‘cult classics,’ propagating the same idiocy through the generations to come.
Also published on Medium.
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