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Still singing in the rain

While rain is a lifesaver for the average farmer, the celluloid sees it as a matchmaker, an aphrodisiac, the hand of fate and so much more. Yesterday was World Music Day, a look at cinema, songs, and showers

ROMANCING THE RAIN The monsoon and rain mean different things to different cultures

For all who would wrinkle their nose at popular culture and have nothing to do with it, spare a thought before consigning it to the rubbish heap of history. Take, for instance, the epitome of popular culture — the movies. And in the movies think of rain, the all-purpose rain song and it is the final word in cheesy, manipulative playing to the gallery. So how can you club the rain song with making suitably serious comments on society?

Well, just like Eskimo has over 200 words for ice and snow and a language like Malayalam has a grand total of one word for the same, rain and the monsoon mean different things to different cultures.

If you take a random look at Hollywood movies, rain is invariably is used to introduce drama and foreboding. And rain at a funeral is a depression double bill. Think of little Joan Fontaine as the new Mrs. De Winter in Rebecca and what do you have? A sudden downpour and that is the end of her smart hairdo. And who can forget poor, wretched, doomed Marion Crane driving to her horrific drain-to-eye dissolve in the blinding rain in Psycho?

War and rain

In more recent times you have the soldiers, mere boys, throwing up in fear and terror as they make the D-Day landing in Normandy in driving rain and a hail of bullets in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. Then there is Sam Mendes, dark, dank Depression-era tale of a hit man, Road To Perdition. And even in Robert Zemeckis's fond tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, What Lies Beneath, rain plays an important role to set the dark, dire mood. Peter Weir's Truman Show, has Jim Carrey's character realising something is up when it only rains on him.

And if you think rain standing for all things dank and dire is totally retro Hollywood, think of our favourite techno geeks, the cyber punks, the Wachovski Brothers. In the Matrix Revolutions, Neo and the many Agent Smiths have their climatic battle in the rain. And the Wachovski Brothers' fascination for rain continues in V For Vendetta, which they executive produced. And then there is Wolfgang Peterson's waterlogged The Perfect Storm, which pits puny human against the towering demonical rage of nature in the mother of all storms.

For those who think of Singin' In The Rain as the ultimate musical tribute to the rain that Gene Kelly danced while running a fever, the associations are rather disturbing after Malcolm MacDowell decided to rape the writer's wife to the very same tune in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. Kubrick, incidentally, withdrew the film after a series of copycat crimes.

In Indian films

In total contrast are Indian films, where rain is the cue for rejoicing, singing a song and tripping the light fantastic. From forever, you have the hero and heroine singing melodious songs in the rain. You have Raj Kapoor and Nargis sharing an umbrella singing "Pyaar Hua, Ikrar Hua" in Awara, there is the absolutely delicious dripping Zeenat Aman pouting to Manoj Kumar in Roti Kapda Aur Makaan singing "Hai, Hai Yeh Majboori", there is Anil Kapoor and a radiant Manisha Koirala singing "Rim Jhim, Rim Jhim" in 1942 A Love Story, Amitabh Bachchan and a sultry Smita Patil burning up the screen with "Aaj Rapat Jaye" (Namak Halal) or Kajol cavorting in the rain singing "Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye" in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.

Drenched superstar

The title of the drenched superstar should go to Aamir Khan as he seems to catch the rain every time he steps out with his love. From "Tip, tip... Barish Shuru Ho Gayee" (Afsana Pyara Ka) to "Jo Haal Dilka... " (Sarfarosh) to the ultimate monsoon melody "Ghanana, Ghanana" (Lagaan) and even the recent rainy night rendezvous in Fanaa.

Which brings us to the other purpose of torrential rains. It is an opportunity to drench the heroine who by lucky coincidence is wearing a sari (Sridevi turned the sari into six yards of sensuality with "Kaatey Nahin Kat-the" in Mr. India). Rains also are an excuse for the young lovers to tarry awhile in abandoned cottages with rather unplanned results — think of Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore hoping "Bhool koi hum se na ho jaye" in Aradhana.

Rain has also been used as an integral plot point. Think of Naseeruddin Shah and Rekha as the estranged couple in the ultimate romantic film, Izzazat, rediscovering each other in a little railway station as a storm rages outside.

Mira Nair used the rains to celebrate the big fat Indian wedding in Monsoon Wedding while Jag Mundra celebrated his heroine's curves in Monsoon and Meghna Naidu tried desperately to revive her sagging career with a movie titled Rain. It took a maverick like Ramgopal Varma to turn a concept on its head and use rain to suggest ominous dread in his effective little thriller Kaun.

In the reverse

Coming back to cultural significance of rain, in the West, the rain is associated with gloom and depression. The sun, warmth and light are used to signify life-affirming things. While we are in the tropics and rain stands for life with swaying mustard fields and living happily ever after. We would never use blinding sunlight as a romantic trope because we all know that you have to be barking mad to sing with the mercury touching 44 degrees and salt maps of sweat on your back.

So while the new breed of horror movies imported from Japan, the J-horror film, has water seeping through every frame (living in volatile little islands teaches one a respect for the elements,) in our days of water shortage, leaky faucets would immediately be reported to the BWSSB and rain means the water table would show healthy levels and the bore-well will not run dry next summer!

MINI ANTHIKAD CHIBBER

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