'Close up' takes a closer look at PDA in Movies

Close up, organized a fun filled panel discussion on "Movies, Romance & PDA' at Zenzi Mills. The panelists, discussing this subject, were from the field of movies and journalism, including, actor Anushman Jha of Love, Sex and Dhokha fame, journalist Prithwish Ganguly and blogger Rashmi Hemrajani. The session saw them expressing their views about how public display of affection has evolved in movies and whether shy romanticism has been lost with time.

The discussion was moderated by well known RJ and a beacon of Indian pop culture Malini Agarwal (Miss Malini for you), who played the perfect devil's advocate. The debate started by a film compilation that showcased the journey of expression of love in Indian cinema, from the quivering roses to scorching kisses under the Mexican sun a la Kites.

Sharing his views on PDA onscreen Anshuman Jha said, "Love Sex aur Dhoka was made for an audience that is willing to accept reality. It is sad to note that very few directors use PDA to tell a story, mostly it's a gimmick to increase its commercial value, which is why LSD stands out and has been received so well."

Surprisingly, Anshuman also claimed at the discussion of being a shy romantic who is very conservative in his views about PDA. This brought a new light to the discussion ' "how much is too much?" Rashmi Hemrajani felt movies do play a responsible role even if they show people getting cozy onscreen, "Movies are also imparting the needed sex education in the society, films like Salaam Namaste are a great example to impart knowledge in a modern and innovative way!"

Prithwish Ganguly pointed out that this change in the expression of love is evident from the movie watching habits of the audience. With the advent of the multiplex culture, the youth today are much more comfortable watching intimacy with friends away from the prying eyes of their families. As a counter point to whether romanticism has changed with time, he highlighted, "Even before our Independence, film makers exalted Achut Kanya as path-breaking movie with overt display of sexual expression. This meant that censorship has been shaped largely by our post independence governance and buildup of society. Still movies like Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Hum Tum and Raja Hindustani continued to defy "socially acceptable' norms for PDA and made them memorable."

The panelists didn't show any signs of inhibition when they recounted their favorite moments of PDA in movies; this got the audience excited with their own choices.