When Indians make films, there is a characteristic that is completely different from the film culture of other countries, that is, advocating the beauty of the film form and the content of the film are equally important. Beauty, in the hearts of Indians since ancient times, means happiness, auspiciousness, charm and beauty. Anything that can evoke wonderful emotions in people’s heart can be judged as beautiful; anything that can fit into the psychological structure of people and can feel aesthetic pleasure for everyone is also beautiful. And whenever we appreciate an Indian film, what we see is not just the images and characters, but the sense of form attached to the images and characters is often more dazzling, such as national costumes, festival sacrifices and gorgeous and colorful Special wedding customs.
The beauty of the connotation of costumes The
exquisite costume culture is one of the most significant features that distinguish Indian films from other national films. The film often uses the similarities and differences, complex and simple, bright and simple, delicate and crude to metaphorize the characters’ religious beliefs, the prosperity and exhaustion of life, the joy and sadness of mood, and the wealth and hardships of life. The beauty of the connotation of clothing has become a symbol, value concept or cultural orientation in Indian films.
In India, religion influences people’s values and codes of conduct, as well as the style, structure and shape of national costumes. In each film, viewers can tell the main characters’ religious affiliation by the way they dress. India’s native religion, Hinduism, sari is its typical traditional clothing for women, while men wear doti, both of which are fully seamless without any tailoring, one is loose and cool, suitable for India’s hot weather ; Second, Hindus believe that this seamless “clean clothes” is suitable for prayer and reflects the cleanliness of Indians when they practice. In addition, the red auspicious mole on the forehead of a woman is a sign of a married woman in Hinduism, which has the connotation of sacredness and inviolability. The introduction of Islam has had a significant impact on Indian clothing. Clothing follows Islamic regulations. Women are always dressed in long trousers and long trousers, and their appearance is covered with a scarf or Bulga. The plant patterns on the clothing, such as holy trees, vines, Weeping willows, etc. all symbolize the universe, sky or stars that people believe in, and pinned people’s yearning for a better life. The nose ring, one of the most unique decorations for Indian women, is of Muslim origin. In addition to Hinduism and Islam, which have a large number of beliefs, the turbans and beards of Sikhs are also very characteristic. Sikhism believes that long hair and long beards represent wisdom, knowledge and boldness, and are the most important symbols of adult Sikh men. One of the main themes of the film “Akbar the Great” is to express the integration of Indian religions, in which the meaning of the costumes highlights the combination of Hinduism and Islam: the Hindu princess Jodaha did not become an Islamic empire. Before the queen, she only wore traditional sari, but when she got married, in addition to the auspicious moles of Hindu married women, she also wore the exquisite nose rings of Islamic women as the locals did, implying that Hinduism and Islam will be in the future. coexistence.
Indians often do not pay attention to symmetry or obvious order in art forms, but have a soft spot for densely crowded and clustered things, which is reflected in the decorative nature of clothing. Some scholars once said: “The decoration of Indian clothing is particularly elaborate, and most of them are full of symbolism”, because for Indians, the decoration symbolizes the prosperity of life, and the exquisiteness and luxury of clothing can become a symbol of status and power. In the film “Dove Das”, the costumes of the heroine Paro and the dancer Chang Dramsi are the decorative representatives of Indian film costume culture. Pointing auspicious moles, sticking patterns on the cheeks, and drawing a cross pattern on the navel It is a joy to dedicate a world full of the spiritual power of God to God, and it is also a portrayal of the two heroines in a happy period full of love. On the contrary, when tragedy strikes, the protagonists’ costumes are mainly simple and simple, such as black and pure white, which correspond to the situation of the characters. At the end of the film, Paro, dressed in white sari, is separated from life and death, the male protagonist, Dove Das, who is dressed in black doti, and the clothing serves as a metaphor for cultural narrative here.
In addition, the ethnic traditional costumes dominated by Hinduism have not lost their vitality due to the impact of India’s secularization reform and foreign culture, but are compatible with other costume cultures, making the connotation of costumes gradually diversified. “Love on the Road” tells a story of rebelling against the strict teaching system and pursuing freedom and light. The three pairs of student lovers in the film come from different family environments and religious backgrounds. They can respect traditional culture and accept modern and emerging education. Thought, so the clothes they choose, reflect the various meanings of classical, elegant and modern respectively. In “The Bride and Prejudice”, the transnational love between Darcy and Larita leads to a splendid costume show from the East and the West: native Indian saris, Dotti, Toddy, Salvador and “Nehru suits” On the stage one after another, Westerners represented by Darcy wear suits, evening dresses, jeans and shirts, often a dance scene, and their costumes have dozens of types, which can be described as a major breakthrough in Indian film costume culture.
The beauty of piety in sacrifices
India is a religious country. Religion plays a central and decisive role in the lives of India and most of its people, so India is also known as a “religious museum”.
When people believe in religion, they will definitely use various forms to offer sacrifices to the gods they worship. This is sacrifice. The idea of ”sacrificing omnipotence” in ancient Indian religions runs through the history of Hinduism. Indians believe that the world is born by the “Prajnapati” who used himself as a sacrifice and then sacrificed himself to the highest God. Therefore, Indians believe that sacrifice is not only It has the function of communicating between people and gods, and it has the magic power to control all things, participate in and influence the future of the entire universe. Indian films love and are good at expressing various religious activities, the essence of which is the sense of mission and sanctity of sacrifice for a long time, but it cannot be denied that Indians can find from such day-to-day sacrifice activities, Formal beauty and meaning, because for Indians, what goes hand in hand with beauty is the games and entertainment brought about by the secularization of religion.
Throughout the film’s depiction of festival sacrifices, its forms are generally divided into two parts. One is the family sacrifice, which mainly includes three ceremonies such as reciting the Sanskrit classics, smearing red and touching the Lingga; the second is the public sacrifice, which mainly expresses It is a collective activity, including three festival forms such as Lantern Festival, Holi Festival and Durga Festival.
Indians firmly believe that the world is ruled by gods, and it is always the gods to deliver messages, and gods can be met face-to-face in all things, especially in temples or family shrines, so we can see the protagonist everywhere in the film. The scene of offering sacrifices to the gods in one’s own hall or temple. There are three main types of family rituals. One is to recite Sanskrit classics, such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads, which are compulsory for Brahmin nobles and Hindus. The philosophical thoughts and admonitions in the book are still very important to modern life. Revelation, reading the Sanskrit classics can improve one’s spiritual realm and bless the family’s well-being; the second is to apply red, the red seasoning is made of cinnabar, with spices and milk, and smeared on the guest’s forehead with fingers, this is the master The most sincere greetings to friends who have come from afar; the third is to touch the linga, the linga is the male root of Lord Shiva, which symbolizes strong fertility and sexual ability. Before marriage, an unmarried woman should sprinkle water on the linga every morning. , incense incense, touch three circles with the right hand, and pray for a good husband and more sons. In the film “The Bride and Prejudice”, Larita is asked by her mother to touch Linga every morning, implying that Larita has reached the age of marriage.
As for public sacrifices, Indian films’ grasp of rituals is often linked to the general social life and spiritual emotions of Indians, and its essential core can be glimpsed through the surface. The festival of lights was originally a grand festival of lights held by Hindus to celebrate the hero of the Ramayana mythology, Lord Rama, who returned to the Ayodhya Temple after 14 years of exile. Therefore, in the film “No Flowers Are Red for a Hundred Days”, in order to welcome her son who has been away all year round, the mother took advantage of the opportunity to sacrifice to God Rama, and lit countless lights to pray for her son at the festival of lights, implying that her son can be like a great god. Good luck, come back soon. The Holi Festival is an extension and expansion of the red smearing ceremony in the family sacrifice. During this festival, the physical contact between the participants, as well as the contact with the flowers and trees are paid special attention. In fact, such behavior can be understood as: The fecundity is passed on to those who have been sprinkled with pollen, symbolizing the lurking desire and the closeness and fusion of man and nature. If we study more deeply, smear pollen or cinnabar on the body, it seems that the visible social differences can be eliminated, just like the saffron ceremony in “No Hundred Days of Flowers”, which actually symbolizes the quiet love between the hero and heroine. Germination and the implied meaning of erasing the difference between the status of the nobles and the commoners. It can be seen that the sacrificial activities have been fully integrated into the social life of the Indians in the film, and have the characteristics of beauty because of their sacred and beautiful atmosphere.
The Sacred Beauty of Marriage Customs
If festival sacrifices are just a sporadic embellishment in Indian movies, then the rendering of characteristic wedding customs must be the highlight of the film. Most films involve marriage scenes, which often become the climax of the plot, as the famous director Mira Nair said in an interview: “We use marriage as a situation and a premise to explore the human state, and Chekhov did this. , Shakespeare did it, Hollywood did it, it’s not new to explore marriage, it’s how you look at it.” Perhaps it’s not new that Indian filmmakers explore the meaning of marriage in their films, especially as they deepen the meaning of marriage , and this meaning is reflected in different degrees as love, religion or social culture in each film.
With regard to love, Indians believe: “Love is the unique potential to fill the imperfect chasm of life. Perfection is the divinity in the aesthetic experience of love, and love can be closer to the kingdom of divinity. After personal satisfaction, love, It can adapt to the whole society.” In the Indian classical aesthetic theory, the meaning of love is elevated to a sacred position, and the film is no exception. And Indians think: “Marriage is not only the union of the body, but the union of the mind. It makes our life richer, more human, more faithful, and it becomes a greater love, a deeper tenderness, a more complete The reason for understanding.” It is precisely because marriage has the function of sublimating and elevating love, so Indian films that put love in the first place always like to show the form of marriage customs that can highlight the meaning of love, that is, marriage customs make “the great love in the world” Stories (even when they involve violations of human laws) are concentrated, sublimated, and glorified because of their loyalty, because they do not deteriorate.” Often an Indian movie will have one or several marriage customs, which can symbolize the beginning of a love, the end of another love, or a beautiful love that finally comes to fruition. Films such as “The Full Moon” and “The Bride and Prejudice” all show the perfect love that is finally proved through legal marriage.
From love to religion, marriage custom has its own unique meaning. Indians believe that the primary purpose of marriage is to fulfill various religious duties, and more importantly, marriage custom itself has a sense of religious sanctity. The film often depicts the process of marriage custom incisively and vividly, so as to reflect the special meaning of marriage custom at the religious level. The film “Dovdas” highlights several details of Hindu marriage customs: the bride Paro appears in full costume, wearing a red sari inlaid with gold, adorned with gorgeous jewelry, auspicious moles on her forehead, Covered with red patterns; the formal ceremony was held under the wedding shed supported by four sticks, and relatives and friends kept throwing flowers and rice to the newlyweds; four people lifted the bride and circled the groom, and the bride held leaves to symbolize good luck; in the middle of the wedding shed There was a fire, the bride and groom offered sacrifices to the god of fire, and poured fried rice into the fire; finally, the groom smeared cinnabar in the middle of the bride’s braided hair, and the welcoming procession went away. The whole process is solemn and meticulous, using the joyful and festive wedding ceremony and the sad parting to form a strong psychological contrast and dramatic effect.
However, the rendering of special marriage customs in Indian films is not only at the level of love and religion. Mira Nair’s “Monsoon Wedding Banquet” allows us to see a new breakthrough in the film’s marriage customs. The “home” in the movie is a combination of East and West, and there is a deep traditional culture: marriage is designated by parents, and wedding is Indian-style; but modern Western factors are also deeply infiltrated: for example, most young people have received Western education and hold Open sexuality. This “designated marriage”, which is mainly based on English dialogue, is itself the crystallization of the collision between Western culture and Indian culture. How can two modern young people have a good relationship in a traditionally arranged marriage, how can the essence of Indian national culture be extended, etc. Problems converge into one of the most important propositions in a globalized environment, and that is the “identity” triggered by marriage.
From this we can see that although costumes, sacrifices and wedding customs only exist as the superficial form of movies to obtain aesthetic pleasure and pleasure, they can be understood as the inheritance, tolerance and pleasure of traditional Indian culture at a deeper level. carry forward. In the religious worldview, Indians go their separate ways and are colorful and splendid, but when it comes to beauty, they always adhere to the attitude of “born for beauty”.
