Dimaag Baju mein rakh ke FILM dekhne kaa
iView Author: Ashwin Prabhu (Texas. USA)
Email: ashwineasy[at]hotmail[dot]com
‘Dimaag Baju mein rakh ke dekhne kaa’ type of movie – Murder of cinema
One of the most common response of Indian cinema viewers where they do not want to commit themselves that the movie is bad is to say “ picture acchi hai agar dimaag baaju mein rakhke dekhega to’ In literal English it means that you will enjoy the movie if you keep your brains aside. Having been born and brought up in Mumbai where you cannot escape Films as a part of your everyday life, I have often heard this comment from friends and colleagues when I ask them about their opinion about any new movie they have seen. Whoever gives me this answer, I decided then and there that I am never going to ask him about any movie in the future. For me that person is not a lover of cinema and he has gone to see the movie not for the love of cinema but to do ‘time pass’ in the cinema theatre. I have always wondered what the person is really trying to say. I distinctly remember asking my friend about ‘Bunty aur Babli’ which I was contemplating to watch and was anticipating an honest opinion from him. Then I heard the dreaded words from him “ Agar Dimaag baaju mein rakh kar dekega to majaa ayega”. That set me thinking.
Should I do the following things to watch the movie
Should I buy 2 tickets ? One for myself and one for my brain to be kept aside on the seat next to me ?
OR
Should I remove my Brain and keep it at home and go to the movie without my brain in my head?
Let me try make an analysis of the average moviegoer in the City. I think there multiple types.
The first type is one who wants to be part of the intellectual audience but who does not have the courage to make his own decision about the movie he has seen for fear of being rebuked and castigated for going against the general opinion. He will wait till the general opinion is formed and then go with the same. Most of them fall in this category. They are not passionate about cinema but want to be considered as one of them
The second type is the one for whom movies are just like any other form of entertainment. He goes for the movies to have a few laughs to spend time with his friends. His opinion on a movie will be good or bad depending on the fun he had in the theatre not necessarily from watching the movie itself.
The third type is the intellectual audience who believe that they are the only ones who know what good cinema is all about. The funny part about them is that they do have a personal opinion about a movie but they will adjust their opinions to be part of the intellectual group. They will resist voicing their personal opinions and be politically correct.
The last type is the avid movie buff who actively participates in the movie and has a definite opinion of the same. Sometimes he may go against the general opinion also. But his opinion is his opinion alone without any prejudices or bias or influence. He sometimes runs the risk of being ridiculed by the so called intellectual audience if he differs from them. However his pure love for cinema gives him the courage and confidence to voice his honest opinion and respect the hard work put in by every filmmaker for a film whether it’s good or bad.
Generally the term DBMRKDK (Dimaag Baju mein rakh ke dekhne kaa) will be used by probably the first three types but never by the last. I sincerely hope that I do not hear this remark again from anyone who claims to be a lover of Cinema.
Tags: Bunty aur babli, Formula films.
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
And your point being?
wtf was this???
Waiting for the second part….
@ravptor, crazyrals: Dimaag baju mein rakh ke yeh padhne kaa…
btw, i seated my dimaag to my side when i watched Siingh Is Kiing, but i still hated it…:(
@Ashvin,
Fourth type audience is always an absolute minority. Even among filmmakers one may not find this fourth type of audience and they also dont assess the films based on the merits and demerits and several other factors affect their assessment. ;)
For few films this funda of Dimaag baaju mein rak ke film dekhna, can work but when every other film starts demanding this then it becomes a serious issue.
Its better to leave the mind in relaxed state than to leave it at home or keep it aside while watching the film.
Padosan, Golmal, CKNG like films demand a relaxed mind and then they can carry an audience on a fun trip. They dont demand one to leave mind behind.
But yes this term has been gaining momentum in present era and which is dangerous and so called good films of present era also expect audiences not to use mind in certain parts of these films. They expect an absolute support from audiences. When good comes on screen they(filmmakers) rightly expect that audience should applause these merits but they want when weak things come on screen then audience should accept them by not applying any mind. This is another dangerous attitude developed in the filmmakers. They only demand praises in all conditions. :(
For me “Dimag Baaju Mein Rakh ke Film Dekhne Kaa” is like an automobile maker, telling his customers, “Dont worry about things like mileage, engine reliability, shock absorption, just go for a drive, this is just a car after all”.
This Dimag Baaju Mein Rakhe ke school of movie making, started with likes of K.C.Bokadia, Pahlaj Nihalani, Harmesh Malhotra during the 80’s, as they thrust the worst unmentionable rubbish on us, in the name of entertainment.
Some other members of the DBMRKDK school of movie making.
* Indra Kumar
* David Dhawan
* Suneel Darshan
* Kanti Shah
Get back with some more members of this exalted school of movie making.
Err and suspension of disbelief is fine eh. See the thing is that most people just have not heard that terminology so when they say “dimaag baaju main rakh ke film dekh” all the intend to say is probably that it needs a humongous suspension of disbelief to enjoy the movie. And I for one do not think that just because someone used those words means he is not an avid movie buff.
Despite having an nyu film school education, despite having a personal library of about 5000 video cassettes and dvds, despite watching an average of atleast 1 movie per day and many more on weekends that too > 50% in a film theatre, despite directing many student shorts and one full length feature, I am still proud to be a “Dimag Baaju Mein Rakh ke Film Dekhne Kaa” person. I honestly don’t think movies should be analyzed the way you analyze a theorem or a 1040 tax return or a chicken makhani cooking recipe. Most of these pfc “movie analysis” articles are way too funny for my taste. I read them just to laugh out loud at the amazing pretentiousness of the authors. As a film fraternity person who has had the good fortune of working with award winning DOPs and MDs, let me say this – not even 1% of the film makers think this much, especially the successful ones. Most movies that work germinate from very simple ideas that can fit on the back of a platform ticket. They are also born that way. You go to a barista or a funeral or wedding or a bar, some small idea hits you and rest is just detail and execution. To go on and on about some minor nuance, that is the province of insanity. I’m glad there are so many insane people who keep me entertained on a daily basis. Jame Raho!
There is a hell a lot of difference between entertaining movie making and “lazy” movie making. Star Wars or Indiana Jones series or Munnabhai series, are all movies that work on “suspension of disbelief”. But would you suggest that some one put their brain aside for watching those movies. Lagaan was an entertainer, and it had a brain also.
I think the reference here to is not the escapist stuff per se, its to the kind of “lazy, dishonest” movie making, where makers care a hoot about certain basic tenets that go into the making of a movie- script, screenplay, characterization, pacing IMO. Well maybe some people like that kind of movie making, I dont. IF that makes me snobbish, elitist, pretentious, thanks i have no qualms being that.
Ashwin – What would ou say to this ? :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9QN5hOnqNw
In a comedy when character of “funny man” is not played by a “capable actor” where only funny man, his actions and audiences remain, while the film is running on screen, and it starts becoming a bore then this funda dimaag baaju mein rakho starts pinching like anything.
FUNNY has to be absolutely funny in a very serious manner. That is the honesty factor. and real funny has to cater to different types of audiences having different levels of intelligence and understanding.
e.g Chaplin appeals and affects to a large section of audiences and no need to put mind aside there.
And regarding analysis of movies and all, come on that is something every average movie goer does. Even if a movie goer knows zilch about World Cinema or Tarantino or Truffaut, he will still analyze a movie, he will discuss it out with people whether the movie was good or bad. I mean thats something most of the movie goers around the world do, else you would not have had IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes. So if movie makers come up with a rubbish movie, they better be prepared for accepting the criticism, rather than just taking refuge in the “Dimag Baju Rakho” principle.
ratnakar, i don’t think you live your life like a military camp, waking up exactly at 4am, shitting by 4:20, toothbrush at 4:30, bath at 4:40, jogging at 5am, breakfast at 6am, march at 6:30, report to desk at 7:30, lunchbreak at 12:30, tea at 3pm, dinner at 6pm, sex at 8:30pm, sleep at 9pm, repeat until death.
there is no pacing & discipline in real life, then why can’t you accept that there can be movies which just ramble, just like real life. no specific purpose or intention, just a few moments, few jokes, few songs, some emotion tears fight sequences, then FIN. what is wrong with that ? that is how my daily life is. i don’t have a very purpose-filled disciplined driven daily life like soldier on kargil border or ceo of fortune 500 company. i just kill time, do some work, spend time with family, hang out, sleep etc. thats how it is for 99% of people on planet. david dhawan movie simply reflects that.
Ashwin…excellent …although i dont fully agree with categorization of audience…the post is something that every masala film enthusiast should read and think..if he/she has not alread kept their ‘Dimaag Baaju Mein’…ha ha..
2 tickets..one for me and one for my brain…glorious… :-0
@NRI, your modest
film credentials allow you to look at movie making from the inside, where the process of taking an idea from the “back of a platform ticket’ and bringing it onto the big (or small) screen is without doubt a deeply satifying process regardless of the outcome. The old marketing term of ‘my baby is the best’ comes to mind, where the end product, no matter how hideous, is still a labour of love! However, us mere mortals have to contend with either the aesthetic or the entertainment value of a film, (on some days, with divine intervention, we may get both together!) and it is neccessary that film makers at least make the effort NOT to insult the intelligence of moviegoers. We have B-movies and tv serials for that 
“I sincerely hope that I do not hear this remark again from anyone who claims to be a lover of Cinema.” not quite sure what is so terrible if a “lover of cinema” happens to like a film which offers mindless laughs/a-dimaag-ko-baaju-mei-rakh-ke-dekho-type-film. it’s amazing how so many people tend to pass judgments on people based on their film preferences. i’ve noticed on many occasions that if a person says they enjoyed a film such as dhol or dhamaal or RNBDJ they get frowned upon, and when that very SAME person says they ALSO cherish films such as no smoking, manorma six feet under, gulaal it confuses people. lol.
IMO DBMRKDK movies represent movies that need to be watched without taxing one’s brain.Sometimes one does need to unwind & relax and does not need any gyan baazi or intellectual stuff from the movie.So the movie to be watched in that case would be a classic example of DBMRKDK.I had recently seen a movie like that- Dhoondte Reh Jaoge for a specific reason & I did even review the movie on PFC.yes I wouldnt probably watch the movie again- but while I watched it I could relax my brain & still have a decent time.Just because I saw this does not mean that I am not a lover of cinema.for this reason alone I would completely argue with the premise that Ashwin is trying to make over here.
for that matter haven’t a lot of us here on PFC seen Mithunda’s Gunda? Yes the movie is in a different sensibility altogether and we all know that right? So does that mean that all of us who watch a Wong Kar Wai or an Adoor Gopalakrishan would now cease to be called cinema lover just because we saw Gunda?
every movie goer cannot be always all serious about a movie. generally, those people who are movie buffs, will try to watch the serious, intellectual type of movies alone, or with people of similar mindset. but just to catch up with some random friends, if you go and watch singh is king and hv a few laughs… about the film or about the cast or about you… since u spent so much to be watching it…what’s wrong in that?
there sre fil makers like david dhavan or actors like govinda who have made their entire career on the funda DBMRDK. and what do you expect? the fourth type of movie buff will politely thank david dhavan for making rajababu? who needs brains here?
All filmmakers, who want to make good cinema, close down your shop…because whatever you do..however good cinema you make..
Assume a situation, when one have 200Rs and can buy one ticket, I am sure by the response seen here that our audience is going to prefer DBMRDK over your work, because there is the risk of thinking involved in your movies..
Close down your shop or start joining as apprentice to David Dhawan, Abbas Mustan, Aneez Bazmee, Sajid Khan et al..you will atleast make some money..why waste your time in detailing script, researching content, storyboarding etc…go to the shooting spot with the latest hollywood fun movie..modify it local taste..cast some Funny actors..make a movie..fill up your bank account..be happy..Close down your shop..DBMRDK dear friends..
for me “DBMRDK” was ghajini…
i wonder how movies like singh is king,ghajini become blockbusters.?????
1.is the indian audience dumb?
or 2.we are not exposed to quality cinema?
waiting for reply from all cinema buffs who are reading the post
Read all your comments and thanks for the same. Just wanted to clarify a few points
1. I’m opposed to the idea of someone justifying a rubbish film by saying it’s a DBMRK film and you should enjoy it because you are not supposed to make head or tail of it. There are different genres in Films like comedy, fantasy, drama, action. When I go to watch a comedy film I still expect a good script and genuine comedy that results out of the sensiblities of the script and makes me laugh out of the situations arising from the story. I’m not saying that we should watch only serious cinema which gives a message. As Neil pointed out it should not insult our intelligence. I have watched certain David Dhawan films and enjoyed it immensely and certain films of his were plain rubbish films. What I’m trying to say is that a Film is good or bad and when you watch it have the guts to say whether you liked it or not. But don’t hide behind the shield of DBMRK to give your opinion of the same.
2. Please do not confuse suspension of disbelief with DBMRK. When watching certain films you have to suspend your belief in reality while watching it. For Ex. When you see a superhero film you know that a man cannot have superpowers in real life. So you accept the same while watching the film . However if the director of the superhero movie does not have a story and dishes out a 100 scenes with no meaning and rubbish script , you cannot justify the movie to be good by saying it’s a DBMRK film. For Ex. Drona – It’s a superhero film and the viewer has already suspended his disbelief that the main protagonist is a superhero. However I cannot accept the movie as good because everything in the film is fantasy and whatever is shown is fantasy. Yes it’s fantasy but the least I expect is an effort in developing a good script and an engrossing fare which keeps you hooked till the end. That’s what a lover of cinema would expect. Funny part is Goldie Behl the director remarked that it’s a children’s film and that’s why children liked it and adults did not. Pray when have adults stopped enjoying Children’s films????? All of us have watched “ Lion King” and enjoyed it as much as children if not more.
3. Amanda – I’m certainly not passing judgements on people based on their preferences. One person may love watching comedy films, others may like action films and some others realistic films. There’s nothing wrong with that . There are so many so called intellectual films which are badly made. All I’m saying is that let us voice our opinion in definite terms whether a film is good or bad and not try to justify it by saying that actually it’s a commercial or art film or a DBMRK and therefore the way it has to be seen is different.
4.. NRI – Yes. Most films germinate with an idea. But just having a great idea is not enough. Effort is required to get that idea on celluloid as a film which is complete in all respects and respects the sensibilities of the viewer. The viewer is also spending money and time to watch the film you have made and is entitled to an opinion on the same. If every film is a DBMRK movie then we do not have the right to criticize any film and every film would be a good film. As a film-maker you want the film to be appreciated by someone for the efforts you have put in.
5. The point here is go and watch a film and tell me whether you liked it or not. Don’t tell me it’s good if you leave your brains aside and bad if you start thinking. That’s when you are really insulting my intelligence as a lover of cinema.
@Ashwin you are overeacting. All your friend seemed to have meant is that its a time pass movie and you got “your movie loving self” riled up.
I dont believe in ANY of the categories you mentioned. A movie comes and goes . Sometimes you like dont even like the good ones as a whole but in bits or for some actors performance or some dialogues…or whatever and on some wonderful occasions its all lovely.
I have often reacted very differently having seen a movie over and over again.
no use taking useless stands on a non issue.
Arre, Ratnakar babu!
Harmesh Malhotra??
No way man!!
I couldn’t wait for his films!
Ok, so ‘Amir Gareeb’ wasn’t all that, but;
NAGINA
NIGAHEN
BANJARAN
HEER RANJHA
were lovely!
Oh? Or is that because they all starred SriDevi who i’m obsessed with?
Nahin yaar, it took me a VERY LONG TIME to get over ‘Nagina’!
Oh what the hell, i’m still not over it!
Harmesh Malhotra ki jai ho!
Dimaag Bju mein … My Directors
1. Late Manmohan Desai (see Coolie, Mard, Ganga Jamuna Saraswati)
2. Kewal Sharma (anyone remember Mithun’s Jeete Hain Shaan Se?)
No. 3 onwards as listed by Ratnakar.
Some more DBMRKFDK classics:
1. Dadagiri (Dharmendra, Govinda)
2. Marte Dam Tak (Raj Kumar, Govinda)
3. Daata (Mithun)
4. Rani Mukherjee’s debut movie (opp Amjad Khan’s son)
5. Manisha Koirala’s snake flick (opp Vikas who?)
More to follow.
the basic premise of any DBMRKFDK movies is that the thing must be implicit ,the very fact that movies like Andaz Apna Apna are now cult classics just show that DBMRKFDK movies can also be very good entertainers .
But this fact must not be stated explicitly by the producer/actor/director because it only shows that their film is a poor product and they are trying to take us for a ride by disguising their shoddy work as a DBMRKFDK movie.
A movie is a movie ,it may be classified into various genres for statistical analysis but every movie has it’s own soul, and it ultimately depends on how you execute the idea……The basic premise of plots like is Spiderman ,Superman and the likes is unbelievability but the quality of the movies is ultimately decided by who handles it ,David Dhawan or Steven Spielberg.
slowly we r moving towards oz bhai’s torture series…
“Lover Of Cinema”.
If someone likes classics,intellectual cinema and can analyze it with superb vocabulary, in every aspect of story,acting,direction etc.
And another person, who enjoys even brainless flops movies regularly, and doesn’t analyze anything.
i think, anyone who loves to watch movies, is a cinema-lover.
One of my friend used to go to first day first show of every movie. he was cinema lover.
—-
It is ok, for u, to categorize ppl for ur personal purpose.
—-
“when I ask them about their opinion about any new movie they have seen”…
so which category do u belong.. ?
skd-yes I’ve seen Jeete Hain Shaan Se as a kid.It had Mithunda,Sanjay Dutt & Govinda.It had that hit song- Julie Julie.
And the Vikas that you are talking about ( with Manisha) is probably Vikas Bhalla.
hmmm, it depends on the type of the story for me. when certain character takes illogical decision, or many things are not explained properly, or suddenly anything happens. or in mystery,thriller,detective movies, where facts are wrong, or it is too illogical.
then if i discuss with my friends, and they say this ‘dimaag thing’. then i get angry too.
But i think, it is not his fault, it is just our personality doesn’t match. He watched movie for something else, and i watched for something else.
—-
Actually everyone watches movies at differet times, with certain expectations, in a different mood, for different motives. so sometimes i want to watch a classic, or a movie which is highly rated for content, or sometimes i just switch on the tv, and watch any movie.
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I think, what these friends meant was, “i went for time pass, just to enjoy a little bit, and if u will overlook certain things in the movie, u may enjoy a little too, it is not that boring, or too bad, there is something good in this movie, for example, the om-puri is good, or music is good, there are some good jokes, etc. just don’t have higher expectations”
—
But yeah this is not always true. sometimes u can’t enjoy what ur friends enjoyed in a movie.
And sometimes those same ppl, ever after keeping their brain aside, can’t enjoy many other movies.
—
It happened many times, that i didn’t like some mithun/dharmendra movie at all, but some of the village-ppl were enjoying so sooooo much. and when i went to dvd shops, many times i found few ppl, who were purchasing mithun-vcd.
I try to stop myself from saying, that i am better than them.
I dont think films should be taken so seriously.
There is no formulaic treatment and no set rules, an escapist illogical film is a concept too. Is it less work..I beg to differ!! I dont think its laziness, its just in some situations adding logic might just ruin the flow of the film.
Everyone can guage what a film will turn out like mostly from the maker, cast and crew and trailors, and this information is available before you buy a ticket. So I dont see what the whole fuss is about quite frankly.
@NRI
Your username is quite pretentious too :P
I agree with some points you make, disagree with most, lekin boss mein dimaag baaju mein rakh ke article pada…I’ll go back to doing my shit in the next instance…and PFC is history, just like a bad movie.
A well written post. But there are certain aspects where u have gone wrong(according to me):
1) If u liked a movie doesn’t mean everyone (including your type of cinema lovers) like the movie.
2) A person’s reaction towards a movie depends a lot on the thoughts in his head. Your reaction towards a movie is different when u r sober than when u r under influence !!!! ……. Ever imagined y some people like romantic movies while some like action and etc etc. Acc to me it depends a lot on the kind of life u have lived till now.
3) Every movie (i mean every movie) has something to offer ….. believe it or not but if u really USE YOUR BRAINS u will surely find something worth watching in a movie. Talking bout SIK … “mika” and “udhaas” was paisa-vasool for me … i can go on and on about this.
But yeah even i detest the kind of people who cant tell why they liked the so called no-brainer movie. anyone who can justify what he liked in the film and what he didn’t is a cinema-lover for me.
The Worse is that even Critics, and Filmmakers THEMSELVES, often suggest the audience to watch a film Dimaag Baju mein rakh ke.
This means that 3 out 4(75%) of the movie audience really dont care what they are watching, they dont mind even if the movie is not sensible ….No wonder filmmakers stick to the “DBMRKFDK” films…hmm that makes sense
@Aswhin:
Generally the term DBMRKDK (Dimaag Baju mein rakh ke dekhne kaa) will be used by probably the first three types but never by the last. I sincerely hope that I do not hear this remark again from anyone who claims to be a lover of Cinema.
.
Not necessarily.
.
What do you say about James Bond series, Indiana Jones, Fast & Furious etc ? IMO they simply belongs to DBMRKFDK category and no different from our Dhoom, Race or Cash, conceptually.
.
PFC doesn’t mean PF Intellectual C. Cinema like other art forms is widely subjective and can appeal to a different set of audience at different point in time. Your article is valid for ‘non-seious’ cinema, which is open for anyone to define.
.
After reading your article I would love believe that I belong to group-4. But the fact is, I end up writing on crappy movies and I have recommended few movies with DBMRKFDK remarks.
Example- Dhoom-II .
Subjective topic, hence there would be difference of opinion.
Cheers!
~uh~
i think there are only two extremes for a movie , either it is good or is not.
dimaag or no dimaag…. if i hv a good time watching a movie tht movie is good for me..
and why not people watching a movie for time pass can be cinema lovers…my best time pass is watching movies…
and i can proudly say i m a cinema lover…
someone rightly said tht every movie has something to offer…dont analyze much…boom had katrina…kya dil ne kaha ..well..tht time i loved its title song…
dimaag hamesha saath mein rakho..bhale hi kaisi bhi movie ho…hasne ke liye samajhna padega…aur uske liye dimaag chahiye…
p.s. while writing the post…mera dimaag baju mein rakha tha,…
and the last after your last types is the one who is more intrested in analysing things than actually experiencing it:) i think you got it…