Of the numerous cliches in this brief news story on actress Bipasha Basu, this paragraph alone has four.
'The dusky beauty is enjoying a career high and her personal life is also going great guns as is evident from the Filmfare cover she shot with boyfriend John Abraham where the scorching couple is shown lounging together on a bed.'
Other familiar phrases include 'de-glammed' and the ubiquitous 'Bong Bombshell'. (If there's a single Bengali actress who hasn't been described as such, I'd like to know who she is.)
These phrases are overused to such an extent, they cease to have weight. Even their specific meaning is unclear. What, for example, is a 'scorching couple'? And how would you define a 'career high?' Phrases like this occupy space without saying anything. At the conclusion of such a story you've learnt nothing. So why write this story to begin with?
These phrases are overused to such an extent, they cease to have weight. Even their specific meaning is unclear. What, for example, is a 'scorching couple'? And how would you define a 'career high?' Phrases like this occupy space without saying anything. At the conclusion of such a story you've learnt nothing. So why write this story to begin with?
I'm not sure why Indian film writing has devolved so much in the past few years. Is it a measure of self-protection? Do reporters feel that the only way they can continue having access to film stars is by not offending them, and does this strategy include offering no facts, no critiques, no point of thoughtful discussion?
It's not all bleak though, and in the past few months I've enjoyed and learned from the writing of a friend and former colleague, Rahul Bhatia, who now writes for OPEN magazine. Tell me what you think of the story he wrote on the Saawariya debacle. I enjoyed the narrative style, the simple but precise language, the sense that the reporter was a part of the scenes he was describing, and the frankness of those interviewed.
What are your favourite pieces on Indian film?
