Circa 1980. At a college ground, a group is seen animatedly discussing politics, smoking cigarettes and consuming alcohol. Suddenly a guy who is smoking weed starts uttering meaningless words. The rest make fun of him and leave saying, ‘Guess he is hallucinating. Let’s go.”
Cut to 2013: A group of youngsters, both male and female, chat over cigarettes, alcohol and weed. They do not have anything serious to discuss but just having a good time, and drugs are on the table just like snacks.
The scenes are from two Mollywood movies, separated from each other by two and a half decades and the difference in approach is tell-tale. Kili Poyi, Idukki Gold and Honey Bee are three that created a buzz among the impressionable youth of Kerala for the way they dealt with the theme of drugs. Honey Bee, in fact, had the tag line, ‘It’s tripping...’ Are these merely reflecting a trend in society or are they glamorising substance use?
“Yes!” says A.B. Vibin, Sub Inspector of Police, Maradu Jurisdiction area, Kochi. “Our society glorifies and encourages drug abuse. Not only in reel life but most of the people involved in creative work are using drugs. Especially the new-gen filmmakers seem to believe that drugs enhance their imagination, inspire novel thought and reduce stress,” he asserts.
The SI draws attention to the recent incident where a scriptwriter, Hashir Mohammed, was remanded on the charge of rape attempt at his own apartment. According to Vibin, he was on a ‘bad trip’ because of the excessive use of a psychedelic drug called acid.
“When sober, he is a well behaved gentleman, highly intelligent and creative. It is sad that he was having hallucinations after using this drug. He was not in his senses when we arrested him but the next day when I met him at seven in the morning he was slowly returning to normalcy. Now he is perfectly fine and feels sorry for what has happened,” adds Vipin.
The inspector reveals that there is a huge increase in the use of such substances in the film industry, where it is taken to be a ticket to creativity. “It is sad that most of the youth who dream of a film carrier are also being mislead,” he says.
Mercifully, though the number of creative people using drugs to achieve a ‘higher’ plane is rising, they are still in a minority. “Creativity is a mental process that is highly dependent on routines. If anyone considers such things as a creativity booster, they should remember that it is temporary. An artist should not use it for inspiration. Even if he uses it for relaxation, it should not be a part of the creative routine,” says national award winning filmmaker Suveeran.
According to Midhun Thomas, scriptwriter of Om Shanthi Oshana, those who consider drugs as a shortcut to creativity are living in a fool’s paradise. “We have enough examples of celebrities like Michael Jackson falling prey to drugs. It might amplify one’s mood but only for a limited period. Since the masses tend to imitate what they see in films, the industry should be intolerant of films that glorify substance abuse,” he says.
Aju Varghees, the actor who is seen smoking weed for stimulating creativity in Kili Poyi, says that the youth should realise that there is a huge difference between films and reality. He says, “It is make- belief! We have been showing murder and rape in films for many years but that does not mean one should copy it in real life. I personally do not support the use of such drugs. I acted in that film because I am an ardent fan of stoner films. But in real life I have never tried it.” As a new gen actor puts it, there is no point blaming films for one’s own weaknesses.
