GenX patriotism: The new formula

NIKITA DOVAL / TNN / Feb 4, 2006, 21:22 IST

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Nationalism is not a dead emotion for the GenX so long as it is presented to them in their own style and context.

Nationalism is not a dead emotion for the GenX so long as it is presented to them in their own style and context.
When it comes to patriotism, Bollywood has a set formula Pak-bashing and self-glorification. And depending on how India's faring with its neighbour across the border, they do well in certain pockets as well.
But bringing GenX to the theatres and giving them something to ponder over is a tall order for Bollywood's jingoistic brigade.For a generation that believes that Indian history should be best left to textbooks, patriotic movies seldom strike a chord.
But now a favourite topic of discussion in college canteens is patriotism. And it is Rang De Basanti that has made them think.

Tracing a college group's journey from complete disenchantment with the country to becoming modern-day revolutionaries, the film has managed to strike a chord, and it's not just because of the use of cool-lingo, funky T-shirts and a wall scribbled with naughty graffiti.
...''It is a journey from disinterest to laying your life down for a cause, and the transition is so smooth that you relate to it,'' says H Sengupta, a broadcast journalist.

Cynicism as far as the country's political class is concerned, worried only about the lives and fortunes of friends and family, consumerism, the youth today might be charged with all these crimes but they are fine with it.
''The characters in the film are carved from the same mould as my friends and me,'' says Anirudh Sharma, a PG student. For him, the love for the country is not measured by the extent of your hatred for the enemy.
''How can anyone embrace jingoism in this day and age? Is this not the 21st century? If you believe that hating the evil neighbour is all that it takes to love your country then all your education has been a complete waste,'' believes Parul Saxena, a media consultant.
...''Most of us are sane, rational individuals in our daily lives, so we find it hard to relate to the hatred that has been preached in our films,'' says Vinayak Dua, an engineering student.
War films, movies about NRIs re-discovering their love for the nation, the youth today has been through it all and, more often than not, failed to connect with the content.
So jingoism is out and war stories with repeated feats have become passe. If Bollywood wants the youth to wake up to patriotism, it will have to talk to them in their language, of tolerance and looking inwards.
hyderabadtimes@indiatimes.com

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