HOW CINEMA CAN PLAY ITS PART ON THE CLIMATE CHANGE STAGE

A closer look at our evolving relationship with the environment is imperative in the era of climatic changes. There is more to it than just warmer temperatures.

- RANJAN TANDON 

It's only to a point that the atmosphere and oceans can absorb or combat weather extremes and natural disasters. The urgency to reverse the damage warrants the adoption of ingenious methods that encourage consequential initiatives at the grassroots level. The performing arts and cinema shape our thoughts and steer our ideologies. Songs entertain and connect people, often with a rooted message conveyed in a popular voice, influencing our perspective of the ecological paradigm. Emotions rise, and reactions follow.

The famous Khoya Khoya Chand, scripted by Shailendra and rendered by Mohammed Rafi in Kala Bazar, is reminiscent of the pristine skies and freshness of the 60s. An infectious positivity in the song, Yeh Kaun Chitrakar Hai, penned by Bharat Vyas for Mukesh in the 1967 film Boond Jo Ban Gayee Moti, emanates obeisance to the grandeur of nature. 

The 70s, however, were a curtain-raiser for "sombre surroundings". Marvin Gaye's song Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology), a 1971 Billboard chartbuster, expressed environmental deterioration with its lyrics: "Where did all the blue skies go? Poison is the wind..." Singers Joni Mitchell, Paul McCartney, and Neil Young, among others, continued to inspire and implore as "ambassadors for environmental awareness".