The Days that were

This post is the result of long, nostalgic reminisces with a friend.
Whenever we talk, we inadvertently begin talking about the era of the 90s when our life was not invaded by status updates, micromax and Amul macho ads. When the only ads we used to see were the ‘Amul piyo glassful doodh’, ‘Sunday ho ya Monday, roz khao andey’, the favorite English movies were Terminator 2, Jumanji, and Jurassic Park, primetime used to consist of Superhit Muqabla and Tehkikaat. Serials like Just Mohabbat, Hip Hip Hooray, Genie, Small Wonder and Hum paanch formed the staple conversation. And also, the cute guy in the next class. So, I thought let’s just go ahead and write a post about it.

There was something about those days. The 90s. After all these years, even the snooty teachers, the horrible home works, the bad results seem to have a charm of their own. It’s like, they are waving out to me and saying, ‘Hey see, we were not that bad after all’.

·All cousins were divided into two camps – Shahrukh Khan and Amir Khan. I valiantly fought for the dimpled, stuttering, cute Shahrukh until all my rowdy cousins overwhelmed me with sheer volume. Jeez, I can’t even count the times I have watched Kuch Kuch hota hain and Dilwale Dulhania le jayenge, wide eyed. And I didn’t even keep a track of it when I started cringing at those very songs and dialogues.
·The Indi-pop era – I think it was Alisha Chinai first who breezed into our television sets and our minds with her ‘Made in India’. Followed by now-forgotten Indipop artists like umm...really can’t remember!
·Superhit Muqabla – Baba Sehgal. Top 20 songs at primetime. The perfect dose for entertainment-starved kids.
·Golden oldies of the 90s. – Andaz apna apna. Jo jeeta wohi Sikander. Hum hain rahi pyaar ke, Khamoshi. Comedy and love at its pure unadulterated form. The songs, the lack of conniving - ness in the scenes, the dialogues and the chemistry between the stars – all was so heartening. It did not have an oversmart Akshay kumar throwing wretched dialogues our way like in a Housefull. And now, while listening to Pinball Wizard, I realized how Jatin-Lalit conveniently lifted the tunes from the genius work of The Who.
·No multiplex, no show-offs, no exorbitant ticket prices. The standalone theatres ruled at that time. Hordes of people crowding in front of the theatre with just popcorn in one hand a movie tickets in another.
·The very first English movie that bowled the kid me over was Terminator 2. And then of course, was Titanic. Now Terminator 2 doesn’t feel that scary any more. And Titanic definitely doesn’t feel the ideal, definitive portrayal of love and star-crossed lovers.
·Other than gulping down whatever that came on the idiot box, rest of the entertainment was derived from collecting priceless Tintin and Asterix comics. Now I can read them for free on Teh internetz.

However social-media powered life gets these days, those still rule.