AGE OF THE FLAWED HERO

 

 

A strangely schizophrenic decade, the 90s witnessed a churn in politics, economics, society and cricket that would often transport Indians to the very edge of despair. Yet, India managed to perform astounding Houdini-like tricks to emerge stronger from each crisis. Indians also lost whatever little innocence they had; the sharp distinction between black and white blurred into hues of grey and the good mated with the evil to spawn a strange progeny. The roles enacted by Shah Rukh Khan in movies like Darr were not sheer coincidence.

The three defining heroes of the decade were Harshad Mehta, Lalu Prasad and Mohammed Azharuddin. Economic reforms in 1991 had made middle class Indians dream hitherto sacrilegious dreams of becoming rich. Consumerism was decisively pushing asceticism to the dustbin of history. It was around this time that the stock market broker latched on to Indian consciousness and taught a very American credo to his fellow Indians – greed is good (even god) and to hell with the consequences.



Top films

Ghayal (1990)

Lamhe (1991)

Hum aapke hai kaun (1993)

Maachis (1996)

Kuch kuch hota hai (1998)

Hum dil de chuke sanam (1999)

Sarfarosh (1999)



Cricket events

Sri lanka defeats india in semi-finals of world cup 1996

Tendulkar replaces azharuddin as captain

India fails to reach the semi-finals in the world cup; is thrashed 3-0 by australia. anil kumble takes 10 wickets in a test innings 1999

Azharuddin and ajay jadeja are found guilty of match fixing; face life ban Lalu Prasad represented the energetic under-class of India that would use political empowerment to bring about a social revolution. In Bihar, his bucolic charm and witty repartees were a source of pride for the lower castes. Tragically, Prasad borrowed the worst traits of the Congress party to perpetuate dynastic rule. He also got himself embroiled in many corruption cases and the halo was lost. Of course, like all Indian politicians, he has not allowed assorted charges to short-circuit his still flourishing career.

At a time when the Ayodhya demolition, the Mumbai riots and the malignant militancy in Kashmir had almost destroyed the Indian spirit, the Indian team led by Mohhamed Azharuddin won a series of famous victories inside India. His love for the good life and his second marriage with actor Sangeeta Bijlani symbolised the unique symbiosis between Bollywood and cricket. And then came the match-fixing scandal that destroyed Azhar’s career, shaking the foundations of Indian cricket. Of course, even within this destruction were seeds of a resurrection planted – Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar were also at their best during this time.

In this strangely schizophrenic decade, it was reality that sometimes helped Indians get over a sorry performance on the cricket field. Cricket fans in 1999 were no doubt unhappy with the team’s poor show in the 1999 World Cup. But then, who cared? Because we were too busy celebrating the victory in Kargil!