There were times when the hero and heroine always maintained a minimum 'two-span' distance from each other! It’s hard to imagine how that was even possible, given that today, they can hardly keep their hands (and other parts of their anatomies) away from each other in romance sequences and love songs!
There were times when our heroines shied away from showing skin beyond their hands, feet and faces. And there was a set of glamorous actresses (aka vamps) who would make up for that shortcoming, but even they wore skin-coloured clothing in which the zipper was visible. Today however, heroines themselves compete with so-called ‘glam stars’, showing as much skin as permissible [not by ethical standards] but by Censor standards!
The few who wept out in rebellion against this skin parade have themselves gone used to the whole show! And so, as audiences, we have learnt to appreciate the smooth curves, alabaster skin and everything else that the Censors permit! On screen, it’s OK! In Tinselville attire, ethics for women are briefer than their outfits!
And just as we were once appalled by the skimpy attire, today we are stunned, embarrassed, ot titillated, when we watch our Indian stars lip-locked! But the ‘kissing scene’ in today’s cinema is growing in length and importance! It may not be pivotal to the plot, but it gets enough coverage and adds to the pre-release hype. So there’s at least something in the movie that gets talked about! No matter how much the director assures us the kiss is of absolute importance to the script, most often, when the movie is out, we see that the film would have survived as well without the kiss! It was not a kiss of life, but a kiss to boost box-office receipts.
No matter how revealingly our women dress, when it comes to the kissing scenes, a wave of tension and embarrassment, at times, passes over their visages. Some of these kisses are so absurdly unnatural that they are repulsive to watch. But it looks like with the coming set of movies, we are going to have to brace ourselves, watch embraces and more, and be ready to be embraced, sorry, embarrassed.
The latest stills from Nepali showcase some close scenes between Bharath and Meera Jasmine, while Thoondil stills foretell quite a few intimate scenes between Shaam and sizzling Divya Spandana! Also in the offing is a 13-second long kiss in the climax of Nakul’s Kadhalil Vizhunthen. Nakul had a few minutes' practice session behind a tree with his heroine Sunaina (which by the way, was the lady’s suggestion)!
And then the least-expected kissing couple is in Pirivoam Sandhipoam – Cheran and Sneha! The actress, who refused to liplock with the famous Indian Kissing Star Kamal Haasan, was apparently quite comfortable with the kissing scene in this movie. Here again, it was the hero who was reluctant, but was eventually convinced by the lady and the director!
We still remember the times when an umbrella would come in the way to block out the hero and heroine as they embraced and a bee touching a flower symbolized a kiss. But soon, we’ll be getting accustomed to watching them kiss passionately, as though it was a silver screen tradition from time immemorial!
Check out stills from:
Prirvoam Sandhipoam
Kadhalil Vizhunthen
Nepali
Share your views and comments – blog now
