Okay guys wait, before you think this is going to be a blog saying how great a movie was Befikre, or how it was a pioneer for Bollywood, well… that won’t be so.
Having watched Befikre and been sad about how they took an otherwise fun and modern plot but still twisted it back to the same tried and tested and frankly near to its expiration formula, I believe I can say with proof that Befikre was not representative of the Indian youth… entirely.
Yup, where I think the makers of the film flubbed with the ending and went with the cliché instead of showing something new, I do believe that to an extent Befikre is slightly representing the Indian youth or better yet trying to show that casual sex and relationships are not something to shy away from.
Although the makers then total went back on everything they said in the ending and instead ended up saying that casual relationships don’t work.
But my point here is not to defend Befikre or bash it, but to try and understand that, has ever any Bollywood movie, been able to capture the idea of romance of that time?
Does the Indian youth actually represent what the movies like Befikre and all are showing? Where it’s all about just sex, no attachment, no commitments, only physical. Only living in that moment.
Are you sure this is what the Indian youth is seeking?
This is not the idea of romance.
Sorry To Say, But It Is Not All About The Sex For The Indian Youth
See, where I think Befikre was good was in normalizing or at least trying to normalized the concept of casual sex and not just something that happens if you are in a really serious relationship or after marriage.
Because sadly, even after so much modernization, sex is still considered taboo and only good if had after marriage, not before.
In the movie, the characters both enter the relationship without any expectations, love or end game result, of whether they will remain together long enough or not.
However bad the movie might have been, it does do this to a certain extent.
But, If Not Befikre, Then What Does The Indian Youth Want?
I believe the Indian youth is somewhere in the middle of what most Bollywood and even television industry seems to think of where the youth lies.
They are not sex crazed maniacs, who are commitment phobic and just looking for the next lay.
However, on the other hand, they are also not looking to settle down at a ‘achi umar’, raise kids and then live their life peacefully.
Somehow Bollywood seems to have gone straight from the marriage-is-it-all mentality to sex-is-all but even still have to show an actual realistic relationship, without the main leads eventually ending up together.
That is where Befikre went so off the rails and lost sight of what it was originally shouting about.
I think now what Bollywood should be focusing on is not casual ‘sex’… but casual relationships. That not every relationship will end in you finding your true love, but also that it is not wrong to have a relationship with someone for a small amount of time.
Signing off I would like to say that, stability, commitment are not wrong ideals to wish for, but right now for the Indian youth those are a little ways off. They are moving away from the arranged marriage mentality and want to explore and search and make mistakes a bit, before finally settling down with a partner of their choice.
Image Credits: Google Images
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