Veer , the Dabang hero

Veer Rasa or Heroism

During one of my encounters with the audience outside a singles screen after watching a recent Salman Khan flick I happened to ask them what made Salman their hero. Not surprisingly, most almost believed Salman Khan to be a superhero… Someone who could do the impossible in real life too. Salman Khan to come out and bash the thugs; Salman turning Robinhood, (Robinhood Pandey in his case); Salman restoring the family and the city…

Over the last few years Bollywood has gone through some noticeable changes. In fact India as a whole has been moving towards being a more interesting place. Something I silently believe Anna Hazaare may have been responsible for. While holding the government at ranson with hunger strikes is not quite appealing, the man does seem to have brought in changes that could work for better. Credit to him for that. For being the representative of the angry men of the country. Let’s face it… ‘Mera Bharat Mahaan’ ain’t the ideal slogan with thousands of crores of scam money filling pockets and lockers of so many of our Indian brother and sisters. Inflation is at all time high; the just-in budget is not helping things. People are angry. But also helpless at the same time. The choice is not much, the hope is immense. Such is the time when the wish for a superhero to intervene and set things right is at it’s peak. We want a Salman Khan who could take on the system. Anna Hazare, by all his means, though not quite the macho man, has been indeed capable of turning the focus of the ‘aam aadmi’ back to what matters more.

Amidst the stress of coughing up so much more money for basic necessities, films continue to be one of the cheapest form of entertainment. Something which takes off the mind from it’s daily routines; it’s spirited pursuits and agonising failures. And as they walk into the land of larger than lives, they are welcomed by the hero – call him Dabangg, Veer, Bodyguard, Tiger… Or in some cases Singham and Rowdy Rathire – who single handedly pulls down the evil. Inspirational? Hell, yes! The will to fight, even though only temporarily, is instilled. Just like the way when Anna goes on a strike for a couple of days. We brave up!

Go back a few decades when Mr Amitabh Bachchan was at his peak as the angry young man. Not much seems to have changed since then. Or actually it did. While aspirations remain same – the will to brave it out – the problems changed marginally. The hero changed face, peforms the same trick. Much like Superman, Batman or a lesser known Arrow – the task is to save the city afterall. In style, with valour. And the bravery is way to gain love, affection and respect.

We salute Salman Khan and gang – Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar catching up on that – for being the on screen aspirations. And also the fighter in each of us, who wants to save the day and make a difference. Even if it’s a filmmaker who wants to move away from the beaten path to make something that does not have a Salman Khan-like hero. After all, it’s about being strong, willed and able enough to make a difference. Peace. Respect!

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