Whether it is the no-nonsense journalist of Page 3 or the NASA scientist in Swades, films today are reaching out to the youth in a big way. Going by the career choices of youngsters, it seems they are keen to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Mohan Bhargav of Swades, Buddhadev Gupta of Cheeni Kum or even Nishigandha Dasgupta of Corporate.

“Onscreen characters strike a deep chord with the audience and they buy into the idea shown in the films. So, in many ways, cinema acts as the guiding light,” says Chenade Manuel, a third year student of Loreto College, Calcutta.

Hema Bhatia, a psychologist working with school students, agrees. She feels that youngsters are impressionable and cannot escape the influence of the visual and auditory effect of cinema. “The medium is such that if a story is packaged well, it is bound to have an impact. Also, a wish-fulfilment syndrome comes into play,” she explains. Citing the example of Cheeni Kum, she says, “It shows a trendy Bachchan in a chef’s role. A chef’s profession might not have appealed to as many youngsters earlier, but seeing Bachchan play a suave chef on screen, they might be persuaded to take a shot at it,” points out Bhatia.

Rohini Lodge, a third year student of BCom, South City College, Calcutta, who has also been working in an ad agency, however, claims that the influence of movies may not be that direct. “What we see on screen is not the complete picture. In films like Lage Raho Munnabhai, Vidya Balan (see pic) is shown as an ultra-glam successful radio jockey (RJ). However, what we don’t see is the hard work put in by an RJ to get the script ready or the fact that she has to constantly come up with ideas that would sell.”

However, movies have clearly added a glamorous tinge to a few careers, prompting youngsters to check them out. But it works both ways — at times, movies draw on real life. “Why else would the BPO industry be the latest flavour of the screen as evident in Life in a Metro, ” asks Lubna Salim, a first year MA student of journalism and mass communication, Calcutta University. “That’s because it is an industry with a lot of potential.”

Besides, real life heroes also inspire characters on screen. Journalist Barkha Dutt was the inspiration for Preity Zinta’s character in Lakshya. And that, says Asad Rauf, a third year student of computer science at St Xavier’s College, Calcutta, is a welcome change, enough to inspire youngsters like him.