When you hear the words silent film what pops in the mind? Definitely not any sound. A silent film is a film that does not have any pre-recorded sound and has no audible dialogues. Earlier silent films were accompanied by live sounds such as that of a piano, instrument organ or orchestra etc. It may also consist of a short narration to set up a scene. The silent fil era that was the mid 1980(s) to the late 1920(s) many musicians like a theatre organist or a pianist could also be seen to add the theatrical effect. Earlier films used a device called magic lens that had a glass lens, an adamant light source and a shutter. The legends who laid the foundation of silent films were Muybridge, Marey and Le Prince which further paved the way to the cinema we see today. The myth that silent films also came across was that the films were primitive and were not watched by many individuals.

PUSHPAAK

Pushpaak is a 1987 Indian silent, comedy film starring Kamal Hassan and Amala in leading role. The movie revolves around the story of an unemployed youth, Kamal Hassan, a man who searches for a job in a destroy and hopeless manner. After a chance encounter with a millionaire who is on a self-destructive bender. Hassan kidnaps the man and replaces him at Pushpaak, a five-star hotel that the latter is booked into. The movie then introduces Tinnu Anand, an ice-pick wielding contract killer hired by the old man’s wife. The killer mistakes Kamal Hassan to be the drunk businessman and what follows is a series of humorous events. The movie has a humanitarian appeal which laments upon the human attachment to the to the materialistic world. In the end, the protagonist ends up in his previous life searching for employment and meaning.

What makes this movie an evergreen classic is the fact that despite being a silent movie, it was way ahead of its time. The nonverbal modes of communication such as symbolism, gestures, body language are visible throughout the movie. For instance, the hotel’s name, Pushpaak is symbolic of their chariot owned by the god of wealth, Kuber. Gestures have been used throughout the movie for one-to-one communication, like the silent balcony conversation between the couple. The background score keeps the viewers engrossed, creating an aura of the character on screen. The comic timing of the actors was well depicted with their facial expressions. Last but not the least, the movie leaves a moral message that materialistic love has no end, this is specifically portrayed in the scene where the people leave the beggar’s corpse for his money and Kamal Hassan realises that a poor man couldn’t take the money, he was so boastful about it with him. Even the riches of the businessman couldn’t buy him love or loyalty from his wife. The movie leaves an impact on the mind from the viewers and that is what it makes evergreen classic.

Weddings are considered as one of the most auspicious and important moment of life.  It’s a very common ceremony as almost every day there is wedding happenings. But corona has largely affected these wedding ceremonies. Almost every wedding requires gatherings of large amount of people and this near to impossible in this pandemic as it increases the risk of getting affected by covid-19. Event managers, caterers, wedding photographers, labours, other people related to these wedding ceremonies and their customers are facing problems in this pandemic.

But considering these problems government have issued certain guidelines for the marriages to curb the spread of diseases during ceremonies. Guidelines, rules and regulation related to marriages differ from state to state. Marriages and other functions are allowed in all areas except the containment zones but with limited capacity of people.

Some guidelines issued in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and other states of India are:

Number of guests for a wedding should be only 50% of a wedding hall capacity. But the maximum number of people allowed in a wedding are only 100.

• Guests have to mandatorily maintain social distancing.
• Event organisers have to arrange face masks, sanitizers and thermal scanners at the venue.
• Everyone have to mandatorily wear their masks
• Use of sanitizers or handwash is must.
• Rs 25000 fine will be charged for wedding containing more than 100 people.  

If anyone violates these rules, regulations or guidelines then F.I.R will be registered against that party. But according to some wedding photographers only few people are taking properly following these guidelines issued by the government but the rest are taking this pandemic casually. There are many cases in India where many people are getting infected by corona as they were gathered in marriage together.

But some people are also finding new and innovative ways or precautions for marrying in this pandemic. In a marriage guests maintained social distancing and to prevent any personal contact with bride and groom, transparent plastic curtains were hanged in front of their sofa.  New trends according to the weddings in this pandemic are also introduced in the market. Digital wedding is one of the new trends as people are inviting their guests at the online meeting apps and some are even marrying through zoom or any other meeting apps. In some wedding guests, bride and groom are seen wearing matching masks with their dresses. Changes in makeup, hairstyles and accessories are also the new trends. Many more fashion trends are introduced in market which makes wedding more interesting even in this pandemic.

Event management industry have to face a major due to this pandemic in India. The Events and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) have recently conducted a survey of with 170 companies that are affected by the pandemic. The survey result shows that many problems like loss of business orders, lack of funds, lack of labours, unavailability of advanced technologies and other resources, loss of revenue etc are currently faced by the companies. Organisers also have the pressure of arranging for digital weddings which can’t be possible without funds. Webinar, online meetings and live chats are going on between the organisers to solve these issues. Labours and small wage workers have lost their jobs, people are avoiding the outside food and maintaining social distancing which has largely affected Caterers or catering services as they are getting less order for serving food in marriages. Not only organisers and caterers but wedding photographers, DJs and many other people related to the event management are also struggling in this phase.

Some of the organisers have already resolved these issues and trying to give their best for making the marriages perfect as they can, even in this pandemic.

As we discussed earlier, marriages are one of the most important and auspicious ceremonies of all. They are celebrated like festivals in India. And Indians can’t stop celebrating their festivals. So, even corona couldn’t stop weddings in India.