'Bhes Badalna' is the Hindi language phrase that means 'putting on a disguise'. It is one of the tropes that have often been used in Bollywood films to further the story. There are also some standard situations to use this. Like when the hero has to infiltrate the villain's den. Or when the hero cross-dresses to gatecrash the heroine's picnic, in his attempt to woo her. Or at times to create a false identity, especially in the genre of 'Comedy of Errors'.
But what I find hilarious is that the film-makers don't even put an effort in developing elaborate disguises. They expect the audiences to suspend their beliefs and imagine that the disguise is working. I have seen umpteen films especially from 80's and 90's where a character will put a fake mole on his face or just wear glasses and walk into a party and no one will recognize him.
In a revenge drama titled 'Khoon Bhari Maang' (Blood in Trichion), Rekha, the heroine of the film is shown in two avatars. She comes back to take her revenge with a changed hairstyle, western clothes and a plastic surgery. Yes, she looks different in both the avatars. But only fools will believe that it is not the same person. Other characters in the film were foolish.
Okay! At least in this case there was a definite makeover. What about a film called 'Rafoo Chakkar' (Slip Away)? In it two male characters disguise themselves as girls. The lead protagonist, Rishi Kapoor, with his softer looks, could carry it off easily. But his sidekick, Paintal (left in the picture) was an easy giveaway. Still every character in the film believed that Paintal was a girl. In fact a man falls in love with him her.
A relatively recent film, though entertaining and well made, was entirely based on a flimsy premise. The wife doesn't love her husband. The husband instead of talking to her and addressing the core issue, creates a different identity for himself. He meets his wife at a dance school everyday, under the disguise of this newly assumed identity. Miraculously, with change in disguise, his personality also changes. I am not even questioning that. May be there is a scientific reason for this change in his persona. May be the phrase 'clothes maketh the man' is literally true. The wife feels attracted to her own husband, who is in disguise now. The film is called 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' (A Match Made by God) and here are the two looks of the lead actor Shahrukh Khan while his wife in the film remained clueless.
So if you owe money to a colleague of yours, don't worry. Wear a pair of glasses and go to office. While you will see the same people, they will not recognize you. Okay! don't take the risk. Glue a mole to your cheek as well.
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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is Hindi Film Industry / Bollywood cliches. You can read the theme reveal post here.
2017 Challenge Post from Letter B: Books - It was a fun post about the role books played in my life since childhood. Click here to read.
2018 Challenge Post from Letter B: Books that I read in March'18 - It was a post in which I reviewed three books (Kafka on the Shore, Byculla to Bangkok, The Everything Store) that I read in March 2018. Click here to read.
