Holi, the festival of colours, joy, love and enthusiasm is here and as customs and tradition dictate, the streets will be flowing with the hues of green, red and yellow. Culturally, after winter runs its course, Holi heralds spring, with the promise of good harvest and fertility of the land. Change is imbued in the festival and the fact has been metaphorically used in Bollywood films to ease us into the idea of major alterations happening post a Holi scene. It may not be apparent and is done in nuanced and subtle ways, but since our psyche is aligned to the fact that prevailing things, like weather, attitudes, relationships etc go for a toss post Holi, it becomes easier for us to assimilate the turn of events in the film medium.
Here, we have take look at a list of the five most iconic plot developments that were centered in and around the festival of Holi.
Damini (1993)
Holi is pivotal to courtroom drama Damini. Not just because of the iconic 'two-and-a-half kilograms of arm strength' dialogue mouthed off by Sunny Deol, but other reasons as well. In one of the scenes that essentially marks the beginning of change in Damini's (Meenakshi Seshadri) journey in the story, Holi is at the helm of affairs. On the day of Holi, Shekhar's (Rishi Kapoor) younger brother and his friends rape the house help Urmi. While Shekhar and Damini witness the rape, they are unable to save her. Things change as expected. Shekhar is caught up in the dilemma of whether to save his family or his conscience. Damini's trust in Shekhar, to do the right thing, is also at stake. The couple's relationship takes a bitter turn and Damini has recurring nightmares about the incident. Most significant of all is the fact that the Holi incident paves way for the rest of the drama to unfold inside the court.
Mohabbatein (2000)
Mohabbatein follows the story of hardened principal Narayan Shankar (Amitabh Bachchan) and Raj Aryan Malhotra (Shah Rukh Khan) as the latter tries to warm up the former to the eternal idea of love, while himself learning to come to terms with the death of his beloved Megha (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan). On the day of Holi, Raj makes the perfect use of colour to convince the strict principal of Gurukul – Narayan Shankar to let the students play Holi outside the school’s campus. As Narayan Shankar lowers his head, accepts the gesture on Raj's behalf and allows the students to play Holi, the bells of victory ring in love's favour.
Baghban (2003)
The entire family in Baghban comes together three times during the film. One of the instances is during the occasion of Holi, which is marked by the famous song Holi Khele Raghuveera. The Holi celebrations has larger connotations than the kids might assume, because the parents Pooja Malhotra (Hema Malini) and Raj Malhotra (Amitabh Bachchan), as we come to know later, want their children to take them in, turn by turn. In a move that separates the couple, the 4 children decide that their mother and father, if that is to be the case, shall have to remain separately. What unfurls later is being foreshadowed on the occasion of Holi itself when the children sit together to discuss and decide on their parent's future.
Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005)
Ishwarchand Thakur (Amitabh Bachchan) and Sumitra Thakur (Shefali Shah) are a rich married couple, whose son Aditya Thakur (Akshay Kumar) does not have any interest or responsibility. Aditya is a brat and to worsen things, even elopes with Pooja (Priyanka Chopra). After the Do Me A Favour song in the film, it is revealed that Pooja is pregnant with Aditya's son, who ironically does not have any sense of responsibility for his own self. After the news is revealed to Ishwarchand and Sumitra, in a harsh step, they throw out Aditya and Pooja from the comforts of their home to the outhouse. The character of Aditya is fleshed-out only post Holi, as he traverses adversities to get his wife a comfortable living. Dynamics of the father-son and mother-son duo, all gay till now, also change dramatically post the Holi song.
Goliyon ki Raasleela--Ram-Leela (2013)
Holi, as also replicated in popular Bollywood films, provides the characters with a chance to venture out and reveal the unseen sides of themselves. An example is Ram (Ranveer Singh) and Leela (Deepika Padukone) from Goliyon ki Raasleela--Ram-Leela. Ram, without fear, enters the house of the Sanera and flirts with Leela. The set up to the entire drama that will unfold in the film is done during the Holi song sequence Lahu Munh Lag Gaya, where the Ram and Leela play with colours in close proximity. It is a time of instant attraction and the romance in the emotionally charged-up-scene is palpable. Ram's infatuation turns into love for Leela and what adds to the ambience is the romantic red colour that whirls in the air and settles on the couple.
Follow @News18Movies for more
Comments
0 comment