IIt’s been 20 years since t got drunk devdas Was released on 12 July 2002. The plot of this iconic Bollywood film was based on a book of the same name by legendary Bengali writer Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The tragic love story of Dev and Paro, played by the beloved Shah Rukh Khan and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai, received a lot of praise from the public and was even screened at the Cannes Film Festival. But the film renewed the old toxic Indian problem for a new generation to look at alcohol through the lens of romantic loss, not the problem it is.
The story of Devdas explains this cultural distortion. In our everyday lives, we often compare someone with a devadasa to someone who is going through heartbreak or their unhealthy alcohol consumption.
Indians do not consider alcohol as a mental health, substance abuse issue. Alcoholics get free passes throughout our literature, films, music and the performing arts. And it is not limited to just songs or a few movies. Indori IshqiA web series, written by Kunal Marathe, also deals with a modern-day Devdas (played by Rithvik Sahor) where rejection from a love interest means drowning himself in alcohol and destroying his career and other relationships.
Read also: Devdas: The tragic hero act that made KL Sehgal a household name
glorification syndrome
From devdas And shabby from (1984) Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and salt bastard (1973), Bollywood glorifies drinking as something that serves as a testament to unrequited love, social disillusionment, poetic resentment and masculinity. It has been romanticized as a coping mechanism or offered as a form of comic relief. From Amitabh Bachchan waving like leaves salt halaliKa (1982) Song little one who drank To small pegs From Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018), somehow the mainstream Indian entertainment industry has made alcohol an essential part of both joyous celebrations and painful yearnings.
From working as a medium for the teary-eyed Aamir Khan or Shah Rukh Khan trying to prove his affection to his female love interest in films such as Raja Hindustani either devdasAlcohol is no longer a party element. Honey Singh’s fame and more pop-Punjabi music like Chaar Bottle Vodka and Daaru Desi have made the party playlist an amalgamation of songs from shots and pegs. These Songs Have Taken a Feminist Angle, Whatever It May Be I’ll kiss a little From The brave hearted will take away the bride either got late From Race 2Bollywood has also promoted a safe place for women to drink, but only at parties.
The women who drank alcohol in Hindi films were undoubtedly morally corrupt or evil vampires. He did not have the luxury of broken hearts and public sympathy. Drunk women are rarely romanced by male heroes. They don’t even keep their hair. Of course, the number of Indian men reciting and abusing Harivansh Rai Bachchan bar Lines at drunk parties were the stuff of North Indian men during the 1980s and 1990s. Journey from Ghalib to Bachchan maikhana And bar (or your local theka) can be a spiritual, political and revolutionary act.
For the men, the plot of alcoholism either ends with fatal liver disease, shown by persistent vomiting and anxious family members surrounding the protagonist. If not, a mysterious affair makes them sense the danger and they give up the addiction when they find their lover back. Kabir Singh Or start a new life with Dev Chanda dev d, Usually, though, there isn’t much about the rehabilitation process, or what it is like in real life. Often, clouds of smoke that were previously deemed appropriate now indicate mental anguish as they cover the protagonist’s face.
Read also: Why Bimal Roy’s Devdas remains at the top
Another upgrade is about to happen
Recently we have seen Kabir Singh And Aashiqui 2 Picture what might be called modern devadas, with their disturbing belief – through alcohol – about the idea of female abuse. “He was just heartbroken”, “he broke his heart he deserved it” – statements like this are used to justify acts of violence. Even though they try to get it wrong in the end, somewhere, the beautification of wine – and the wine – has won over audiences.
Today the time has come to change the story of alcohol in Indian cinema as well. A short text disclaimer at the bottom of the screen is just as effective during scenes of alcohol consumption as not having one. What is more essential is to dissuade bottles of vodka from the idea of a man who feels pain but is forced to cry and deal with his issues healthily by a patriarchal society.
This sad boyfriend-boy trope has gone too far and too long, affecting too many real people and ruining too many relationships. Both the audience and the filmmakers need to realize that 20 years later, watching Shah Rukh Khan die in the name of love, when the real cause of his death is alcoholism, won’t cut it anymore.
Our popular culture plots need to be upgraded. If your friend is going on a bender, don’t justify it in the name of a broken heart, give them a therapist and the number of a friendly neighborhood de-addiction center.
Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)