rock_your_soul

Over the last few years 'Bollywood' films have been given the coverage and exposure they deserve over here in the UK. Their rising popularity means that people who wouldnt have access to watching a bollyowood film, or would simply dismiss it as a foreign language film, therefore unwatchable, are now enjoying the magic and power of bollywood. Recently Channel 4 here in the UK have began to show bollywood films every few nights, and sometimes in the day. I have watched many of them, but Masoom is by far my favourite. On paper the storyline doesnt sound incredibly exciting or original, but what is on screen is purely amazing. The actors portray their characters with such knowledge and ability that you feel you are watching the family's home movie. The basic theme of this film to me seems to be the power of love. GK's love for Rahul battles against his love for the rest of his family. And it is Indu's love for GK, and her eventual love and respect for Rahul, that keeps the family from being torn apart. It is a film about strength, about having the strength to love someone no matter what they have done, Shabana Azmi's Indu is both fragile but incredibly strong and dignified. Naseerudin Shah plays GK with such courage, but also shows his weak side. This is a film that deeply effected me. The power of its central themes are amazing, and shows a side of Bollywood that is largely unheard of.

The premise of popular was brilliant: show what ist like for 'opular' and 'unpopular' kids in high shcool in an intelligent witty way. the show started off brilliantly, with all of the characters possessing a lot depth

and appeal. One of the best things about the show was that it showed that high school can be tough for everyone, including the populars. It showed what lay behind their perfect faces and lives, showing that they had problems too, they were hurting. The main story arc, popular Vs unpopular, began to change as the show went on, this is natural of course, but a few episodes into the second series it seemed to be beginning to loose its way. the populars and unpopulars now seemed to mix a lot more, sometimes their old differences remerged, but now they didnt seem so realistic coz the charcaters seemed to be more integrated. The show had an off beat side to it which was great, but by the second series it seemed to have gone a bit over the top, though lots of the storylines were very funny, they seemed too unbelievable, and the show felt like it was loosing its continuity. When i heard the show got cancelled, iwas very dissapointed even though i didnt like the second series so much. But when i thought about it, maybe its early demise was inevitable. The show basically was about life in high school, lifes of popular and unpopular kids and the issues and arguments that lie between them. Like in life, the kid's positions changed, some became friends, eg lilly and josh, and charcters had lost their edge, eg sam. When this happened the show lost its way, maybe because it had moved too far away from its initial premise that made it so good, by the end being popular or not wasnt the issue, and even though series 2 was enjoyable, it seemed the chartacters had moved on and grown up, mayb they wre too different now, and because the central issue of the show now seemed changed, the show had run out of steam.