3 Idiots - Review

Going by a popular belief, I always had this conception that Aamir Khan must be a pain in the ass for his directors by interfering in the garb of being a perfectionist. After watching Ghajini and now 3 Idiots, I feel the myth is somewhat broken. Both the films have distinct styles of film-making that can be considered the trademark of the directors at the helm and not of Aamir. The other thing I noted was the earnestness with which Raju Hirani makes films. The Munnabhai series and now 3 Idiots use oft seen emotions and clichéd filmi dialogues but they still connect with the audience. It can only be the conviction of the director that can see a film through and Raj Kumar Hirani has come out with flying colors each time.

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Hindi Films | A Historical Account | Phata Poster Nikla Hero

Blessed with the power to survive a mighty Tsunami, heroes in Indian movies are a privileged lot. It takes a lot of conviction to reverse the order of nature and let one bleed profusely through a nerve wrecking climax of a movie and emerge victorious after beating the shit out of a 100 villainous contrivers. But our heroes do it. And they do it with so much of passion that you at times want to believe that it is possible for a man to survive 5 close range gun shots and then come out raging against the enemies and raze them to dust. The bottomline set for the Indian movie hero is - You hit him, you beat him but you can’t defeat him.

Although all heroes fall under the phylum of an all-conquering breed, there is a major difference between the heroes in Hindi films and their regional counterparts. Hindi film heroes change faces rather quickly to keep pace with the changing times unlike in regional movies where they believe in the power of preservation. Regional movies follow the adage of – “ Once a hero always a hero.” South Indian movie industry, for example, is capable of producing a movie and then its remake 30 years down the line with the same hero in the lead.

Anyways, despite calling myself a movie freak, I find myself severely handicapped while discussing regional cinema. So, rather than being all that judgemental and condescending, I will stay put on the safer bastion of Hindi films and the evolution of heroes there. I will choose actors as my reference point to discuss the era. I could be insanely prejudiced in my views so I expect you people to shed some light through your comments as well:

Ashok Kumar era : The heroes were real people then. They even sang their own songs and didn’t fight a lot. They were epitomes of gentlemen-like behavior and stuck to playing the good guy in what could be called escapist cinema. The World was engulfed in the Great Depression and that reflected in the movies. It is strange but true that in the 1930’s when there was hardly any hullabaloo over ‘female empowerment’, most of the movies were female oriented. Sample these top grossers of the era – Ghar ki Lakshmi, Bombay Ki Mohini, Daku Ki Ladki, Miss 1933, Hunterwali, Kisan Kanya , Bhabhi and the list goes on. Ashok Kumar was the first genuine hero of Hindi movies and with his arrival the scene changed. The movies started to focus more on the hero as the central character and then there was no looking back.

Dilip Kumar era : Dilip Kumar led the trio of Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor and himself to emerge as the first super star of Hindi film industry. As the brooding tragedy king, he struck chords with the audience and in the melancholy of the characters he portrayed; he smiled his way to super stardom. The heroes in the 50s-60s remained the gentlemen that they were when it all started and alongside grew another strong class of charatcer called the villain. Villains did exist even earlier on but now they started to get ample screen space. Even though the romantic heroes held sway during this period, movies based on social issues and movies that promoted nationalistic sentiments gained impetus.

Rajesh Khanna era: A very short lived one but important none the less. It marked the arrival of the tantrum throwing superstar whose birthright was to act snooty. Thousands of girls wrote love letters in blood and his popularity achieved enormous proportions before he messed it all up. It was also a time when growing resentment in the youth of the country called for a change in the hero of our movies. The love-dovey roles took a backseat and in came a force that arguably became the biggest superstar that Hindi movie industry ever produced – Amitabh Bachchan.

Amitabh Bachchan era: The angry young man had the backing of two prolific script writers going by the name of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. They were the heroes behind the scene that created the character of Vijay – the representation of the angry youth in the country. This era saw the rise of big blockbusters that captured the fancy of the nation. It was neither escapist nor socially relevant. The movies of this era can be categorized into the larger than life portrayal of situations. There were bandits like Gabbar who wreaked havoc in Sholay, then there was the super successful and wronged hero of Deewar, Trishul and Shakti. Amitabh’s success was so huge that other stars looked a pale shadow of him. Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Shashi Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor did hold on to the second wrung in the stardom ladder in the 70s and early 80s. This period was however accommodating to the alternative cinema that was made on smaller budgets and gave precedence to stories rather than the scale of production. Amol Palekar and Farookh Sheikh who never fitted the bill of a typical Bollywood Movie hero did manage to create a name for themselves during this time.

Dark Age era: 80s was a lull. Amitabh became wayward and dabbled in politics and there was a vacant spot that needed to be filled. Art house cinema gained prominence but it never got the due through commercial success. Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri became the pioneers of this kind of cinema but they didn’t taste monetary success. It was a time when not many dared to dream big. It was a ‘flat’ period or rather a downward slope A third kind of cinema that brought in a lot of talent from South India made merry during this time. The standard however was poor. Jeetendra led the charge with a number of south Indian movie remakes. The oft repeated Juhu beach was replaced with Marina beach that had elaborate sets. 251 dancers shook their booty as the macho hero whose major task by the end of the movie was to avenge the rape of his sister/wife/girl friend sang a Bappi Da tune into the ears of his sweetheart – “Tohfa Tohfa Tohfa..laaya laaya laaya”. The successful heroes of this era looked more like caricatures in their Disco dancer clothes or the embarrassing wigs they donned. There was nothing heroic about them. The only good thing about this period was the rise of Anil Kapoor (the longest serving hero in hindi movies) who was rated as a potent candidate to topple Amitabh from the throne. Amitabh helped in the act by giving movies like Toofan and Jaadugar.

Khan era: Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan ruled the next phase of Bollywood Movies. Shahrukh became the most saleable star due to his popularity abroad. These three catered to different classes of the audience. Salman was a hero of the masses, Aamir was the perfectionist who got the thumbs up from the other section and Shahrukh captured the fancy of the NRI audience. With the dawn of globalization, Hindi movies started to see the light of the day abroad and Shahrukh Khan became one of the most recognizable faces. Each one of them stuck to enthralling their own set of audience until ambition did them in. There was competition in everything – be it in shaping up their bods to incorporate 6/8/10 abs, changing their hair styles to suit the characters they were playing or grabbing lucrative brand endorsements.

With the entry of non-Khan stars such as Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan in the fray, it suddenly seems that there is a war of survival at the top. With media having a field day covering the pot-shots they take at each other, the end of the war is still awaited. I can however say it with a level of assuredness that the public mandate is pretty fractured in this regard. With so much of money in the business, there is room for all of them to exist but there can be no clear cut number 1 now.

In the 80 years of his substantial existence, Bollywood Movie hero has managed to build a mammoth clout. From the days when they were called Bhaands to the present day when they are treated like kings, from the obese looking-mustachioed Pradeep Kumar playing Shah Jahan to the perfectly sculpted Hrithik Roshan playing Akbar, the change has at times been dramatic but many a times for the good. The movie hero is revered and accorded God-like status in our land. The aura surrounding him has been left untouched.

So, the next time you see the bruised and battered and almost dead hero taking the long walk to deliver his monologue in the climax of a movie, remember that it is not about some larger than life portrayal having no bearing on reality. The walk is a ritual and an ode to the HERO who has always won.

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Flashback - RDB Review

With Delhi 6 releasing this week, I couldn't help but remember Rakyesh Mehra's Rang De Basanti - a film that took me comepletely by surprise and a pleasant one at that. I am getting mixed reviews about Delhi 6 and I hope to catch it sometime over the weekend or early next week. Until then, freshen up the memories of Mehra's last outing. I wrote this around three years back and feel a bit differently about the film and my review now. But that's a different story. Here's what one amongst the charged up audience of RDB felt as on Feb 09, 2006.

There are two kinds of movies, some make you feel good, some don't register anything once you get out of the theatre. And then you come across the third kind, the ones which leave you numb. RDB is a movie that will make you think and the thought would linger long after you have come out of the theatres. A highly experimental film which despite its shortcomings succeeds in conveying a message is how I would describe it. Is it all about Patriotism? - Not really. Its more of an interpretation of freedom by the youth of today and as the title suggests - the awakening.

The hero in the film is not only Aamir Khan, its the vision of Rakyesh Mehra - the director who has finally arrived. Its an original work. Though many believe that even Aks was unusual and ahead of its times, I still feel otherwise. For all the Aamir Khan fans, if you feel that it is an out and out Aamir Khan flick, you are in for big surprises. Siddhartha(the new face) has a role of equal standing.

The director weaves two plots into one and what you get is an experimental but seamlessly joined story that sees the present day situation in the context of the Indian struggle for freedom. So you have these bunch of college pass-outs leading a somewhat confused, carefree and flippant lives suddenly discovering Chandrashekhar Azads, Bhagat Singhs and Ashfaqs within them.

The basic difference between RDB and other films of this genre is that unlike other movies, in RDB, the protagonists do not plead with the people to stand up against corruption, nor do they rant about patriotism and preach. This is where Swades, another brilliant film failed. This works for the film as it does not end up being another film with an overdose of nationalism/patriotism. The director seems to have picked up the cue from Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades where SRK says - "Hamara desh sirf hamare kehne se mahaan nahi hoga." The protagonists are unapologetic of what they do and they stand up for it.

The story is for you all to go and see but let me give you 5 reasons for watching this film:

The screenplay and the crisp editing - Rakyesh Mehra has brought out his imagination brilliantly on celluloid. Tout screenplay by him and Renzil D'Silva. The script did have loopholes( you can’t just go and shoot a Home Minister at his home and get away without harm, comparing the lathicharge incident with Jallianwala Bagh tragedy and finally handling the climax) but then lets give him the allowance of cinematic liberty to give an entertaining/inspiring climax to his film within the 2.5 hours that he had. If he had gone all by logic then the message that the film conveys couldn't have come across. Though there are actually two plots running together, the transtition from colourful palletes to sepia tone does not look disjointed.

Peformances - First rate! So you have Aamir Khan in yet another stellar act enthralling you with his antiques. He is hysterical, sensitive, headstrong, insecure and even breaks down after gulping down a few bottles of beer. A welcome respite after Mangal Pandey - the dud. Soha Ali Khan is a revelation. She surprises you with her acting for sure. The rest of the cast is equally good and you also have veterans like Anupam and Kirron Kher, Om Puri and Waheeda Rehman besides the head-line makers of the movie.

Music - Its like a comeback for Rehman as well after Mangal Pandey. The way these songs are interwoven into the narrative adds to their quality. While the title track gives you that earthy feeling, the song Ru-ba-roo takes you into a trans. The background score is also great. To get the best music for his film, the director and his music director have to know exactly what they expect of each other and hats off to Mehra and Rehman for getting their efforts bang on target.
Dialogues and cinematography - Prasoon Joshi's dialogues exude a youthful exuberence and Binod Pradhan's camerawork is top class.

The Moments:
- The scenes where these guys whizz past Kiron Kher taking her dupatta away in boyish naughtiness and where Aamir speaks his heart out to Sue.
- The improvisation on 'Choo kar mere mann ko' when the band of boys gets to meet Sue for the first time.
- Aamir Khan mugging up his dialogue lines - "Bismil ka sandesh hai.." and the one where he gets embarassed when he comes to know that Sue understood Hindi.
- The camaraderie that all of them share in general. The 'Pathshala' song needs a special mention here.

Rang De Basanti paints you in its colors. It surely does..

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Ghajini: The Movie Review with a twist!

One more “Ghajini” review? I know, we are not interested. Then what is the need of having one – probably to explore the “what if” phenomenon, and then to discuss how did the movie fare. So don’t expect this review to discuss the story and its aptness, music, cinematography and a whole lot of other stuff that a typical review is expected to cover.

Ghajini is one of those rare movies wherein we like the characters and performances and the direction and the technical brilliance and the concept (although copied) and the action and the romance and a lot more, yet feel that something somewhere was actually missing to create the magic of Cinema that we are used to associating with someone like Aamir Khan – the multitalented actor, director and producer who is known to look beyond the oblivion in his movies – irrespective of it being his own production or not.

Ghajini works in portions – the highpoint being not the revenge but the easy to eyes and heart love story as was told in the flashback. Asin more than just makes you smile – she has a character which talks oodles about the potential that this new kid on the block (for Bollywood) has and is hard to miss on the screen. Her biggest achievement lies in the fact that she has been able to leave an impression and is in no way overshadowed by the convincing performance that the “thinking” Khan delivers yet again. Part of the credit also goes to the way her character has been developed – Jiah certainly did not have the luck and luxury of such an evolved character and delivers an uninspiring performance which is a culmination of the failures.

It being a review, it would certainly rate the movie – yes a very generous 3/5 and let’s dwell upon why. First things first – the movies isn’t about bringing a social revolution – so stop comparing it with TZP or RDB right away; it just won’t be a fair comparison. It is not meant to change our worlds.

If you want to understand that why did the movie deserve an extra point instead of a 2/5 – please think and picture this. Sanjay Singhania – the entrepreneur could have been equally well played by Shahrukh Khan; though his performance as Singhania in life after Kalpana would have been disastrous to an unimaginable extent. What Aamir did to his body and mind makes you respect him – there was no other way you could have imagined a man with the mind and strength of a wild boar. That is exactly what he was supposed to be to do what the story expected him to.  Compare this to SRK’s six pack abs and more importantly its need in the movie – Om Shanti Om and you know how cheap rest of the Bollywood can get for publicity – and mind you, it went on to become the biggest hit of 2007 – shame on us!

That apart – Singhania post the memory loss is a man of few words – it’s his eyes that do the entire talking – try finding a Bollywood contemporary who would be able to deliver anything even close to what we see in Ghajini – and you know why the movie is special. (Let me not even think about an Akshay Kumar or Sunny Deol for that matter).

Asin as Kalpana edges out the cute-girl-next-door Anoushka as Taani in a memorable performance. (Sorry, but this comparison was obvious: Anoushka as Taani was actually convincing enough in RNBDJ – although the two characters were entirely different.)

Ghajini is a classic example of less than perfect Cinema which still makes a compelling watch – as it dares what others feel shy of – unless you appreciate an effort, you can never expect it to ever reach where it should have been. There isn’t a point being stuck up with clichéd ideas – let’s dare to watch and let Bollywood dare to produce “different” cinema. Someday, different would also be great! Cheers!!!

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