Most of us will shy away from even discussing it among friends and some may well find it disgusting to have it dealt on the big screen near us. But the harsh realities are mostly the worst kept secrets of a conservative country like ours. Child abuse especially sexual abuse is one of the most hard-hitting crimes against children in India. And Bollywood like many of the social and governmental organisations pays no heed to this issue.

Picture this! A dark gloomy studio set giving you an impression of a C-grade Ramsay Bro.’s horror film shooting at the backdrop with a more insane-looking motor-mouth talking to the screen and scaring the life out of your little ones in the house. Picking up crime-related issues, exaggerating the possibility of super-natural forces at work and rather than informing, it holistically brings the case or the matter to brew to the level of wild imagination and even wilder choice of words and presentation. This is Indian TV news’ sensationalizing of information to boost up their TRPs in the race for grabbing more eyeballs by the news channels.

A lot has been said and written about the recent controversy over the kiss between Hollywood actor Richard Gere and Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. Almost all the TV news channels and morning newspapers were flooded with pictures and clippings of that incident. But, there are certain questions yet to be answered like: was Gere wrong in doing that? Should Shilpa apologise to the people? Or is it a mere controversy hyped by the media and self-proclaimed social do-gooders of our society? Let’s try and find some answers to these questions.

It’s discouraging and at the same time, discomforting to see the Indian films with the true Indian essence biting the dust at the box office week after week. In a tragic situation, a country like ours has forgotten to respect its traditional values and timeless cultural norms. Films like Water and Namesake have been at the loser’s end at the domestic ticket-window, whereas, they are among the top grosser in the overseas market.

The latest Akshay Kumar release this Friday reminds me of the yester years’ Manoj Kumar flick “Purab aur Paschim” to a great extent. In many ways, Namaste London is an inspiration from the classic in its theme of east-west divide and the desi-boy-wooing-english-girl which was evident in Purab Paschim as well. Decades have passed, but Bollywood continues to bring the great cultural divide to the big screens near us.

So, can you answer this simple question? Is your mother different from your grandmother? Has she been given the liberties and independence that your grandmother never enjoyed when she was of her age? Is her position in the family equal to your grandfather’s or is your mother making decisions, the way your father does at home? The answers that you will get will be an indication as to how the status of women and especially mothers has changed drastically in the Indian social context. Our Bollywood gives an insight into the changing trends of the society and the independent mother of today’s India.

A misconception: “I specially keep my actresses for than one film as all they do is dance, look pretty and compliment my male lead,” said one of the most popular directors in our very own Bollywood. So, how many of you believe that almost the entire clan of Bollywood actresses is suited to play only a bimbette or plastic roles or there are more substantial roles for them too?

For decades, Indian cinema has focused on what we call as social evils in the society. It has tried to walk the path, not dared by others and has produced some memorable classics. Even recent films like Baabul, which solely centers on the concept of widow-remarriage also proves that Indian cinema has not completely lost the missionary zeal of its glorious past.

The dull, sob-n-sigh duds of the idiot box have given way to the made-up drama with feeble doses of talent and calibre in the reality shows. For the want of some zing and spice, the Indian audiences are readily accepting the concept of reality TV which is slowly gripping the nation. Reality TV is a popular genre in the international media as in the overseas, people relish nudity and thrill served by the firing reality TV shows like Big Brother and American Idol. But in India, the shift is partly due to the mundane soaps telecasted on the Telly and partly due to the media hype and marketing strategies of the reality show makers.

Last night, one of my colleagues asked me to do a feature on the ever-controversial, much-hyped, less delivering beauty queen Aishwarya Rai and I replied, “I would rather write on my mom than Ash.” Want to know why? Then read on…