Amar Akbar Antony

Here's a lesson for today's filmmakers. Amar Akbar Antony. I have watched this movie a zillion times and I watched it again today. It is no surprise that yesterday's hindi movies were considered complete masala and entertainment for the whole family. They had mass following not just in India but across the world, especially south east asia and africa. Compared to today's movies, these movies were popular even amongst the non Indian population.

Now why would I consider Amar Akbar Antony, an utterly illogical movie at times (imagine the three heroes singing out their names in front of the villain and the fool is fooled by fake mustaches. How dumb), a landmark?

• AAA appeals across age groups : With the story of three kids getting lost, maturing into a love story (without getting too sensual like today's movies) full of comical moments appeals to the younger generation. For the elderly the whole aspect of single existence in old age, burdened with physical and emotional problems (eg. of the 'Mai') would be a point of connection. I don't say that AAA would appeal equally to everyone but it does not pitch to anyone with a half heart, by having utterly useless side-actors (which has become so very common these days)
• AAA shows the whole spectrum of social strata: From poverty to richness and from Hindus to Muslims to Isiais to Sai Baba, the film has it all. And what amazes me is the sensitivity and secularity with which all this is handled. Eg. is when 'Mai' gets her eyes following the wonderful Sai Baba song. Its so amazing. A muslim person singing in praise of Sai Baba and a hindu heroine getting back her eyesight. Isn't this secularism at its extreme and hats off to the director for avoiding any religious statements by mixing the diversity of India so well.
• AAA comes with a message, without lectures: One of today's popular directors, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, ends up giving lectures in his movies. I wish he gets lectures on what's good and what's bad by a kala bandar for the rest of his life. Anyway, AAA has its own learnings for the audience, but delivered in a subtle way. Remember how Akbar denies to forcefully marry his dream girls. Or how even the evil Pran beats up his man because he did not pay the wife and kids of his employees on time.
• Songs are amazing and they are part of the movie, not the movie itself: These days there are so many movies where after seeing the songs you'd think its so awesome. And you go to watch the movie and it turns out the songs were all that were to it. AAA and other movies of the era has songs that were a logical extension of the movie and gelled well, and more importantly the movie had more to it than just songs. I am not a great fan of Laxmikant Pyarelal (they used almost the same tunes in all movies :X) but they did give some appropriate music for movies.
• There's happy endings: Now this may just be my personal bias but I like movies that end happily and make you feel good. I mean either you make a movie that's a piece of art, so much so that people don't care how it ends, only how its made. Or you make a movie that ends happily. The folly today's directors do is they make totally sloppy movies and end them abruptly with no head or tail. Its almost as if the producer ran out of money.
• The acting's so effortless, it almost feels real: OK this one's a problem of an industry flooded with actors and actresses made out of lineage not talent. But still, its appalling, the difference in acting out roles of a normal person (I'll admit these days actors are much better in acting stylish).