The passing away of Chuck Norris on March 19 did not create much of a ripple in Bangladesh.
That’s because most film lovers born after 1980 have either never seen Chuck Norris films or have even heard of him.
But if you belong to the early 70s generation (mid-fifties to be precise) then you simply could not have missed him. Chuck Norris was the Western shadow of Bruce Lee.
He along with Jim Kelly were the iconic 70s martial arts protagonists who had acted with Bruce Lee.
Why Chuck stood apart from the rest
The 70s saw the height of martial arts movies which then reached a crescendo in the 80s to slowly lose momentum in the 90s.
The reason for the rise was simple -- the action was exotic and thrilling to look at.
Whether it’s karate, kung fu, or even judo, the moves are certainly graceful and can easily elicit admiration from the audience.
The 70s was also a time when film directors were looking to the East to add some previously unknown item to mainstream productions.
Bruce Lee, as Kato in Green Hornet TV show, had proved in the late 60s that even with very few dialogues, a character performing super fast martial arts can win hearts.
So, from one side, this sort of action was unique and from the other angle, inclusion of actors with oriental features found bigger markets in the far east, bringing in more revenue.
As they say in the filmdom, if it makes money then just go with it.
Norris first appeared opposite Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon (1972) which featured the famous fight at Rome’s Colosseum.
That ten-minute hand to hand combat is now deemed one of the best of martial arts in the history of cinema.
Norris then went to star in Breaker Breaker (1977), a modest hit but with Good Guys Wear Black the following year, he nailed it.
Nowadays, Good Guys Wear Black receives a lot of attention for its reflection of the post-Vietnam socio-economic dynamics and disillusionment defining mid 1970s US.
The reason why Good Guy made money is because of its intelligent plot. A solid script saves the movie along with the definitive charm of Anne Archer. Norris was a shrewd operator and never went into movies that just put martial arts ahead of a plot.
He chose wisely and made Octagon in 1980, the Ninja based action film, which was one of the movies that triggered the 80s ninja craze.
Norris dominated 80s -- the VCR age
In Bangladesh, the name Norris was known although before the advent of the VCR age, people mispronounced his surname, calling him Noorie.
With the VCR came the Bruce Lee and then Chuck Norris films.
When Enter the Dragon (1973), Bruce Lee’s last movie was released in Dhaka in 1984, the country was already obsessed with martial arts.
Almost every area in the city had a small martial arts coaching school. Girls were impressed by the guy heading home from the dojo, wearing the gi. At family gatherings, parents proudly presented to the guests the martial arts skills of their children.
The price of a VCR was above one lakh in the early 80s, something far out of the reach of the middle class, but soon, a cheaper option, the VCP, appeared and, suddenly, the brand Funai became a household name.
VCR cassette rental shops sprouted all across the city and Chuck Norris quickly became a household name.
In 1983, Lone Wolf McQuade was released and the Dhaka top list of action movies, 1984, looked like this: Rambo, First Blood, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc, Commando, Lone Wolf McQuade and Octagon.
His acting matured with his movie roles and he diversified from pure martial arts to fit into the mega action formula of the mid 80s that propelled the careers of muscle-bound actors like Stallone and Schwarzenegger.
This was also a time when Hollywood boldly went back to the Vietnam period, using movies to showcase the aberrations, complex dimensions of the conflict, and its staggering human cost.
Norris dived into this genre with his Missing in Action films, attracting global attention.
The Norris-Bruce Lee encounter also possibly inspired Bangladeshi film star Sohel Rana to re-enact a similar confrontation, featuring martial arts maestro, the late Jahangir, in his 1984 Dhaliwood blockbuster, Sharif Bodmaish (available on YouTube).
With martial arts slowly fading away to make way for the teen romance-based genre, Norris went and made Walker: Texas Ranger in 1993, a TV series which ran till 2001.
By the turn of the century, martial arts was totally gone from the cinema with the name of Chuck Norris finding a place in the minds of those who once celebrated him.
With his dying, a titan of a forgotten genre bids goodbye; somewhere up there, Bruce Lee is possibly waiting for another round.
Lee and Norris can light up the path of the dragon amidst the heavens. Thanks Chuck for making our teenage years so exciting. Hope Aphrodite fancies your moustache.
Towheed Feroze is a former journalist.
