Enkayaar, Bollywood Trade News Network

When was the last time when a hero was seen expressing the feelings of romantic inclination through a letter? Before the advent of Internet and the mobile phones, this was the most common form of communication that was used as a prop by the filmmakers to give a direction to the movie. This was more so evident in the case of romantic films, but now the letters have become extinct as far as Hindi films are concerned. While Hollywood made a sensitive film of romance through e-mail via YOU HAVE GOT MAIL, the same is still to be put into operation in a Hindi film.

In the world postal week it would be of interest to take a trip down the memory lane and to discover the joy of films making through the letters. Letters have always been the source of conflict of expression of feelings. Who could forget the song, PHOOL TUMHE BHEJA HAI KHAT MEIN or YEH MERA PREM PATRA PAD KE TUM NARAAJ NA HONA. It was a letter that formed the basis of confusion in DOSTANA and the fulcrum of whole of the film rested on the letter, which also united two forgotten friends.

One of the eternal favorite letter songs has been PHOOLON KE RUNG SE in PREM KE PUJARI where through the process of letter readings one gets a world eye view of whole of Europe. DAAKIYA DAAK LAYA became the signature tune of the postal department at one point of time. Moving to the other extreme a song CHITTHI AAEE HAI WATAN SE CHITTHI AAEE HAI in NAAM turned out to be the song that became the catalyst for the movie to graduate to climax with an impact. The separation of a wife from a husband from his wife is captured beautifully in the song, KHAT LIKH DE SAWARIAN KE NAAM BAAPU, which is an ode to the separation of a wife and sums up the existentialist dilemma that a newly wedded wife faces when her husband goes away. Another song of this genre which is an all time favorite and which invokes the Heer tradition of Punjab is from HENNA, Chithiye Dard Pawak Waaliye leja leja sandesa sone yaar da ... One of the all time favorite songs which sums up the loneliness of a soldier posted on the border is from BORDER, SANDESE AATE HAIN.

Letters as a prop have been used invariably in the films to create the situation of humour as well, where the letters reach the destinations where they are not supposed to reach.

Among the stars of the present generation, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan have been associated with films where either the song-featuring letter has been a super hit or the letter has created the situation of confusion and has delivered a super hit, the films being MAINE PYAAR KIYA, and ISHQ. Letters have also been used as a device to cultivate the anger in the hero to wage a war against the system and the family, as it was done in TRISHUL where a dying mother through the letter reveals the reality to her child. In fact the usage of letter in this manner has been used as a conduit to do away with the dilemmas arising out of issues of morality in major cases in the Hindi films.

In a time where the e-mail has emerged as the medium for expression of love and chat room has become the location to profess it, it would be of interest to bring into limelight this new genre which has all the chances of being a super hit as the popularity of chat rooms and e-mail has become a universal reality.