How creative can you get?

Creativity in our country has no value. As in, you could create something and unless you really, really are smart or got some good legal work on what you have done in advance, your work stands for nothing.

‘Borrowing’, ‘being inspired’, ‘adjusting’ and downright unapologetic flicking takes place constantly in every field or genre of work. Why else would we see ‘copies’ of everything else under the sun, be they big brands or just pirated film DVDs? We care naught for the original thinker – we are past masters in taking the original thought and twisting it to suit our purposes and needs… and then we are creative as you please in justifying the act. Period.

No wonder the non resident Indian achieves distinction in academics, research only once he or she is non-resident. Then of course, we are quick to claim that he is one of us, not once wondering why this achiever had to fly out of the country to achieve what he or she has.

Actually there is no use playing the blame game in finding out who the culprit is; or passing on the buck. We appear to be a nation of sycophants, largely led by the medium of cinema, reading to digest and spew all that the screen and the stars show us. So every icon in our everyday lives is from some part of cinema, either Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood or Mollywood or whatever – which of course, even drove our political decisions. We never paused to think that just because someone ‘acted’ like they were a saviour of the masses, the image powerfully held up in technicolour, that would they in real life, without the greasepaint be actually capable of running a state or a nation? Do successful corporations employ film stars to lead their businesses?

And as for our legal systems – let’s not even go there.

The current ‘3 idiots’ controversy is what set off this particular rant. Yet, we are continually seeing ‘inspiration’ – very creative indeed. Like Salman’s Mel Gibson Braveheart look is being defended stoutly as reverse inspiration(http://movies.indiatimes.com/News-Gossip/News/Salman-Khan-trying-hard-to-be-Mel-Gibson/articleshow/5285330.cms); or Big B’s Johnny Depp inspired look(http://movies.ndtv.com/gallerydetails.aspx?id=4065&category=Movies&picno=5§ion=Bollywood&ShowID=0#BD) – all this is masala for the media yet ultimately no one stands up to ask the big question – why are we only inspired?

And as for ‘3 idiots’ – I have not seen the film but have read the book. It’s not in my view the best of Chetan’s works(I think his '2 states' is crafted better) but what’s more important is that it is an original work and set the tone for a different kind of an Indian writing that would reach out empathetically to a mass audience, in the time of its publication. It opened the doors for many new young writers of a different sensibility sans the heaviness and the angst that had been showcased internationally before.

Now, I am not sure I want to see the film.

And ultimately, we the audience will be the ‘idiots’ for we will forget and not care for the real issues that need correction. All we need is another film, another star… more panaceas. We are truly a people who don’t wish to look at ourselves in the mirror.