Impact of the Indian Hindu on the Hindu Films - Research Paper Example

?Explanation of the Creative Project The Critical Essay ‘Motion Picture and Religion: A Punchy Amalgam” examines the impact of the Indian Hindu religion on the Hindu films produced in the country. Hinduism has always had a great influence on Indian society, right from the ancient times. Hindu religious customs and traditions have molded the ways of life of a major section of the Indian population. However, India is home to about 1.21 billion people of the world, and all Indians do not exhibit an equally strong religious inclination. This is especially true of the modern generation of Indian youths. This is where the different forms of art and media play an important role. The various artistic mediums of expression in India like literature, music, theatre, cinema etc. have always tried to reflect the contemporary trends prevailing in the Indian society. However, the art forms have another social responsibility also. Many creative endeavors have been made based upon a socially relevant subject and the art medium has been used to spread the social message among the viewers of the artistic medium. In this way, the wide reach of the art mediums are used to propagate certain influential ideas in society. The short story “Attitude determines Altitude” describes how the lives of two young boys were positively influenced by a Hindi mythological film. The story provides an example of how the medium of cinema can spread the influence of Indian religion and mythology to a greater audience. The present generation of young Indians is used to living a hectic life right from their childhood, where they are burdened with their education and other extra-curricular pursuits. Naturally, they do not have the time to explore the rich traditions of Indian culture and religion. However, Hindi films have always been very popular among the youth. Therefore, the Hindi cinematic medium can be utilized to educate the young Indians in their country’s religious traditions. The creative project gives a hypothetical example of how this can be achieved. Attitude Determines Altitude The Guptas were a small Indian family residing in Mumbai, in the State of Maharashtra in India. Rajesh and Sarika Gupta were a happy middle-aged couple who worked hard for their family. Rajesh, aged 38 years was employed as a manager in a private corporate firm, while Sarika worked as a school teacher in one of the neighborhood schools. The couple had two sons: Arun, aged 7 years and Aditya who was a mere 3 years old. The family lived with Rajesh’s parents in a rented flat in the Andheri locality of Mumbai. The two young boys had just embarked on their school life. Arun studied in the second standard while Aditya attended a playschool in the vicinity. Their parents Rajesh and Sarika were dynamic individuals who had worked hard to attain a respectable position in the society. However, in comparison the sons seemed to be too innocent and timid. They did not appear to be children of the modern generation who were supposed to be smart and enthusiastic in all spheres of life. In fact, their parents were quite concerned about the shy behavior of the two boys. The present world required its inhabitants to be strong and responsible to endure the trials of the modern society. The couple encouraged their sons to socialize with the other children in their apartment and participate in different games hoping that would help the boys to gain confidence and improve their social interactions. Arun and Aditya did all of these activities; however, the result was not as their parents would have liked to see. They boys remained hesitant and withdrawn in their everyday behavior. However, Indians firmly believe that the Almighty grants the wishes of those who request earnestly of Him. Similarly, Rajesh and Sarika’s prayers were finally answered one day. On Arun’s eighth birthday, one of Sarika’s colleagues in school gifted him with a DVD (Digital Video Disc) of the Indian animation film “Hanuman.” Hanuman was actually a Hindu religious God who himself was an earnest devotee of Lord Shri Ram. In the Indian epic “Ramayana” Hanuman plays a significant role in helping Lord Rama to reclaim his wife Sita Devi from the clutches of the Rakshas (demon) king Ravana, by defeating the latter in a fierce battle. The animated film depicted the incidents in the life of Hanuman starting from the time of his birth. He was born to the couple Kesari and Anjana and was endowed with the special blessings of the Hindu Wind God: Vayu. In addition, the other Hindu Gods also blessed the baby and gifted him with an immortal life. As a result, Hanuman was very strong, extremely intelligent and was gifted with supernatural powers which became evident from his childhood days. In fact, Hanuman was very naughty as a child and the film portrayed a number of instances of his mischief. He became a menace to the hermits residing in the neighboring forest as he used to regularly upset their regular schedules of prayer. Hanuman grew into a strong and powerful being. In the course of his life, he met Lord Sri Ram and his brother Lakshman in the forest. Hanuman became an ardent follower of Lord Rama and promised to help him to reclaim his wife Sita Devi from the demon king Ravana who had kidnapped her. Hanuman flew over the Indian Ocean, reached Ravana’s territory and set fire to his capital city of Lanka. He managed to meet Sita, when she was still in confinement and assured her that she would be rescued by her husband. Finally, Hanuman helped Lord Rama and Lakshman to defeat Ravana in a fierce battle and rescued Sita Devi from Lanka. He accompanied the trio back to their kingdom of Ayodhya and served Lord Ram and his wife Sita for many years. The film had an engaging storyline and was adorned with world-class animation effects which immediately caught the attention of Arun and Aditya. They developed a special liking for baby Hanuman and started imitating his mischievous acts in real life. Once, as a child when Hanuman was hungry, he mistook the Sun for a huge fruit and leapt up in the sky to get hold of it. This was a favorite sequence of both the young boys and they put all their efforts in jumping up and reaching the sun whenever they were out in the open space. Hanuman was also shown to possess the ability of expanding and contracting his body as per his wish. He could grow into an enormous size as well as shrink to form the tiniest creature as the situation demanded. Arun and Aditya imagined that they were also endowed with this special power. Sometimes the boys used to lord around the house trying to take giant steps behaving as if they were some huge beings while at other times they used to behave timidly like tiny creatures. Their parents were not able to fathom their strange behavior till they themselves watched the film. Such was the effect of the movie that it brought about a change in the nature of the two brothers. Considering Hanuman as their role model, they overcame their shyness and made an effort to mix more openly with their companions. Now, they did not seem to be afraid of anything. They imagined themselves as strong human beings and started facing life with renewed vigor. Though, their parents used to get disturbed by their mischievous acts, overall they were relieved that their sons were finally able to overcome their shyness. A simple film achieved what years of effort by the parents had not been able to accomplish. Read More