The Invictus

Saw the movie "Parineeta" finally..after 2 weeks of futile attempts..I must say that the wait was worth it, 'cos the movie is brilliant in its simplicity...easy narration, crisp editing for a old worldly story, decent performances from the cast, in all a beautiful movie..

But the one thing that irritated me no end was the punjabisation of the wedding sequence..Garish punjabi-style costumes, "dolak", song and dance..hell, what's all this? we have seen this kind of a thing in almost all the movies, but why in Parineeta, set as it is in Bengal, derived from Bengali literature, steeped in Kolkata's "Bhadralok" culture?? The story is bengali, the families involved are bengali, hell, the bride and the groom are bengali, yet the marriage is punjabi?? Why???

This punjabisation - wrapping a diverse and rich Indian culture in Punjabi garb - is actually something that I find is increasingly taking over most media. You can't switch on a music channel without being subjected to some kind of a "Bhangra" remix; You can't walk into a pub / Disco without being forced to hear / dance to a bhangra..Almost all movies - esp. the wedding sequences, or the patriotic sequences - are invariably force fit into a punjabi milieu...be it in DDLJ or Kal Ho Na Ho or Maine Pyar Kiya or any one of the countless movies that Bollywood churns out...For variety, you can get a Gujarathi wedding, but that's about it...These movie makers would make you believe that India is only Punjab (or with some concession, Gujarat)..

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Punjabis or their culture, I quite enjoy (atleast used to enjoy earlier) punjabi beats..but when it is taken to extreme limits, so much so that it starts appearing that India is Punjab - Punjab is India, it becomes irritating..Don't we have anything else to offer - is this country bereft of any other cultural form? Or are you saying that people do not prefer any other culture?