Rap, called "RAP" in Europe and america, originated in passages of chanting in black music.
Even if rap variety shows have created wave after wave of ratings frenzy, this art form is ultimately difficult to get public recognition.
Yes in China, and so is in India.
Yes, india again.
The difference is that it is a variety show, but people have made a commercial movie, and even the name is exactly the same-
"India Has Hip Hop"
It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and received a good response.
The global box office is 37 million, especially in foreign countries. Rotten Tomatoes has a 95% freshness rating and IMDB also has an 8.2/10 rating.
Even more amazing is that the film will also represent India, competing for next year's Oscar for "Best International Feature Film".
What kind of movie is this, and what kind of magic is there under the title of the cottage style?
Again, indian movies can often surprise us.
The male protagonist of the film is named Marad (Played by Ranville Singer), a Muslim, a senior, living in a slum.
The family of five was crammed into a small, dilapidated house.
My father's job was to drive a car for a rich family and earn a meager salary to support the family.
Obviously life is already quite poor, but the father still stubbornly married the second wife. Because in India, Islam still retains polygamy.
The mother was helpless, and could only pour bitter water into her stomach and serve the guests at the wedding of her husband and other women.
Mallard, who couldn't do anything, could only lean against the corner to listen to his favorite music.
But compared to other slum boys, he was lucky because he had a free girlfriend.
The girl's name is Safina (Aria Buhart), and the two grew up together.
Because they are both Muslims and because of Safina's middle-class family situation, the two are not in the right household, and they can only secretly talk about underground love.
Pretend not to know on the bus until a seat is vacant before you can sit together.
Where the two date is a broken bridge over a garbage dump.
Life is full of bitterness, and Mallard relies on music to solve it.
At first, I listened, and then I began to write slowly myself.
Seeing the head of the rap star Nas on the chest of the British who came to India to visit, he was able to sing his song immediately.
One day at school, he accidentally saw a street rapper MC Charles singing at a school concert, and instantly became his fan.
While brushing Facebook, Mallard discovered that Charles was going to organize a rap contest with no threshold and anyone could participate.
The ignorant Mallard took the lyrics he had written to the scene and recommended it to Charles, who knew that he was rejected by Charles: You don't express your thoughts, why should I express it?
While speaking, he gave a rhythm and let Mallard sing it himself.
Shy Mallard read out his lyrics in the accompaniment, and unexpectedly won the affirmation of everyone.
After the battle, Charles was so infected that he invited Mallard to his studio and recorded the song.
At the same time, Charles gave Mallard a stage name: Gully Boy, a street boy.
In this way, Mallard lived in two worlds.
In the studio and music, he is a street boy, singing rap and debauchery, and the music video has hundreds of people liked him.
Back home, he drove for his father, read books that failed the exam, and talked about love that he did not dare to see.
The paper wrapped can't hold the fire, and the story of Mallard's rap is finally known to his father.
Angry, slapped, father forbade: if you sing again, you are finished.
But gold always shines, and rap videos spread to distant America, where a female musician from the Berklee College of Music noticed him.
She invited Mallard and Charles to sign a contract with her, promising half the copyright.
Behind the scenes, There are different drivers, and in professional cameras and curated MVs, Mallard and Charles show their skills.
Their first musical work was viewed more than 400,000 times on the Internet.
As a result, Mallard became a school celebrity, and everyone knew him as a street boy.
Marado, who had a little fame, was caught in a contradiction.
Emotionally, he had a one-night stand with the female musician who picked up him, so he broke up with Safina;
In the family, he and his father eventually broke up due to music, leaving the family with his brother and mother, and needed to support the family by themselves;
In terms of career, although the video has likes, the income is not enough to support the family.
He had to ask his uncle to find himself a job selling and spend his days in nine-to-five suits.
At this juncture, an opportunity came to the eye.
Mumbai will host a hip-hop competition where the winner will not only receive a Rs 1 million prize money, but also an opening performance for a concert by hip-hop superstar Nas in Mumbai.
Although Mallard had recorded the video, the live performance was a mess.
His mess has not been cleaned up, can he free his hands to participate in this fateful contest?
I will not spoilers for the time being, and leave it to you to see for yourself.
After watching the plot, everyone may feel the same as me -
Isn't this a handsome version of Mysterious Superstar?
There is a dream of a musician, there is a lover who lives in the shadow of extreme patriarchy, there is a lover who silently loves the protagonist, there is a mother who is towards the child...
Even the slap looked exactly the same.
However, "India Has Hip Hop" is more than that.
We know that hip-hop is not the same as other music.
It stands for mavericks, for catharsis, rebellion and non-mainstream.
In India's strict caste class system and social environment, "hip hop" means more than just rap music.
You listen to these lyrics written by Mallard —
Who is manipulating? Who's writing the story?
There are skyscrapers on the right
There are hungry and crying children on the left, why is there a gap?
Money is necessary, otherwise how can we be called?
Along with the social situation shown in the film footage, the yellow-skinned child,
Lonely and helpless old man,
Dirty and messy environment...
This song and lyrics have become more like a piece of paper, a war book.
Rather than saying that Mallard is enriching his life with hip-hop, he is using hip-hop as a weapon to expose reality and challenge society.
He challenged extreme patriarchy.
Knowing that Mallard learned rap, his father punched and kicked verbal threats without saying a word.
Even Safina, who comes from a well-to-do family, expresses her views that are not so in line with the public order and good customs of Indian society,
What you get is also unwarranted violence.
You see, the patriarchy of Indian society, the matriarchy is the supreme being.
It is like a cage, more like a prison cart, binding every young man with different ideas,
Then they become like their parents.
He challenged India's millennia-old caste system and class solidification.
The poor are always poor, and they are always inferior in the eyes of others.
When his eyes lit up about his dreams, his uncle told him that the son of a servant is also a servant, and this is the law of nature.
When he resigned in anger and returned home, he told his father that he was a servant, and his father said: We are servants.
He worked as a driver for others for his father, and on New Year's Eve, the hotel paper was drunk and gold fans, but he was alone in the car thinking about life.
The rich man in the car argued with his daughter whether to send her to Harvard for further study and asked him: What is your education?
Mallard said: I'm a senior.
The rich man turned his painting style and said to his daughter: You see, now everyone is a college student, do you want to start with him?
Because of money and caste, he lost his personality and dignity.
When it was only RAP, he felt worthy, that he was a personal, dignified person.
Maybe "India Has Hip Hop" tells us about an old-fashioned adult fairy tale.
But the reason why this kind of fairy tale can still touch us,
It is because even if the reality is cruel, the dream will not lose its value.
Dreams are the eternal driving force for people's progress,
Everyone who fights for their dreams, even if they don't succeed, is a bloody warrior.
As Mallard ended up saying —
I will change reality
Make it match your dreams
God gave me talent
I won't go back
If you also live in real pain, I hope you don't give up.
Only in this reality, those shining dreams, remind us of what is right and what is beautiful.
Only to give us the motivation and courage to follow love and freedom, the stars and the sea.
(Rotten Tomatoes Editorial Board: Yang Yang)