Rockstar - A review

Watching the overstretched love saga unfold in three hours confirms one thing - Rockstar is literally Imtiaz Ali’s “labour of love” that everyone will not enjoy. Creative film-makers who want to make money spinners walk a tight rope. On one side is their creative thirst that they have to satify and on the other there are market compulsions that need to be addressed. After watching Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar, I believe the product became a victim of walking on this tight rope. The marketing hype gave a wrong impression of what the film was about.

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Ra.One : Partly In Defense of SRK

For a nation that savors trash such as Ready and Bodyguard, Ra.One shouldn’t be an untouchable. I saw the 3-D version of it and before I get into the details, let me play the Devil’s advocate and argue that Ra.One isn’t as bad as some people are making it out to be. 

If you watch it as any other children’s film, you will not trash it as much as you do it now. In fact you will appreciate SRK for spending so much on a children’s film. The VFX is better than any of the Bollywood films. The action is not juvenile, though watching the romance king SRK in a superhero’s garb is! Ra.One is undoubtedly a film that takes the use of visual effects in Bollywood cinema to another level. The songs are good (a must for Hindi films), SRK and Kareena have acted their parts well and Arjun Rampal impresses in his “cameo” as the main antagonist Ra.One. Several of these pluses helped Ra.One sell its satellite rights for 35 crore and distribution rights in excess of 77 crore. The holiday weekend ensured that Ra.One garnered enough to stay afloat solidly at the BO. On what basis, then, should we trash SRK’s dream project?    

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Dabangg

Hum yahan ke Robinhood hain, Robinhood Pandey

Watching Dabangg was like coming a full circle. I remember watching full-on masala potboilers in the single screen theatres of Patna as a young kid. Theatres in those days had two audience sections. The front stall for the whistle blowing junta and the balcony for the more civilized family gentry. While the hero played to the gallery, the audience played its part by applauding the insane dialogues and situations arising on screen. Bollywood then underwent several transitions and one of them was fuelled by the springing up of multiplexes in big cities and opening up of the overseas market.

The subsequent breed of filmmakers got so much carried away with targeting their products for a particular segment that they unknowingly created a divide between the front stall and the balcony audience. The elite group of filmmakers whose middle class wore designer labels started to make films for the multiplexes and the overseas market while small time film makers stuck to the B and C centers which still had single screens continuing to showcase the hero as the wronged man forced to take revenge.

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Indian Paisa League

IPL has ended on-field, another one just started off it! Despite all the ramblings, IPL has, in the last year three years of its existence established itself as a potent brand. BCCI’s coffers have swolen seven fold in these years and the filthy rich of the country have got an alternate money minting route. Establishing itself among the top rated professional sports league of the world, IPL has had a meteoric rise. Where does that leave the stakeholders of the big league? Let’s have a look.

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News agencies to boycott IPL, Bollywood in focus

New Delhi: News channels in the country have decided to boycott the upcoming IPL as a mark of protest against the new broadcast rules. The news channels are enraged by the restrictions imposed on them by the official broadcasters of the matches. The new rules do not allow the news channels to immediately broadcast footage related to a match.

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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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New York - Review

When you visit the Ground Zero in New York, you can very well sense that quietness amidst the bustling streets of the downtown. Such is the impact of the 9/11 incident. It certainly changed our lives, perceptions and to some extent majority of the World’s outlook towards Islam. New York, is an attempt from Kabir Khan to show the after effects of 9/11 in the lives of people. Coming from Kabir Khan, a documentary film maker, if you think that this one too sounds like a documentary, you need to go and watch the film. It’s your high-end Bollywood flick that carries a message that comes across. Finally one of the better films to end the drought. Friends, the monsoon seems to have arrived in Bollywood!

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The Shocking Case of Shiney Ahuja

As the filmdom rejoiced at the private award ceremony of the Bachchans in Macau, Shiney Ahuja took time off to etch his name in the police records back home in Mumbai. A complaint lodged by his maid-servant put him in the dock for allegedly committing rape on her. It was all shocking to say the least. The supposed victim has spoken and the alleged accused has been caught and preliminary investigations reveal that indeed there was sexual intercourse – consensual or rape is the next question that needs to be answered.

I was reading an article in the TOI that talked about men being at a disadvantage in the current legal system that has clauses to convict a man simply on the basis of the statement given by the victim provided an intercourse is evidenced. What if a woman first gives her consent and then decides to go to the police claiming rape? The possibility of the woman in question consenting to Shiney’s advances cannot be ruled out in this case too.

Before I am counted as an insensitive soul, let me bring in the other perspective. The amendment to Article 114A of the constitution to treat a “No-consent” statement from the victim as evidence to stand in a court of law was made after two policemen were allowed to go scot free by the Supreme Court (Tukaram, 1978 Cr.LJ 1864 S.C) after raping a girl in a police station. The court admitted that there was an intercourse but could not count it as rape. It held that since the girl had raised no alarm and there were no visible marks of injury on her person thereby negating the struggle by her, the accused could not be prosecuted.

I think it is justified to include the clause to treat a “no-consent” statement as a permissible evidence to safeguard the interests of a victim under coercion from people who maybe in a position of influence/power. But what if the accused in question is a common man (unlike the policemen in the Tukaram case) who can’t possibly force the victim to not raise an alarm at all? The chances of misuse remain because even if no physical harm is evidenced on the girl, she can say that she faced a threat on her life and hence did not protest. Even that would fall under the ambit of rape.

If the allegations are found to be true, Ahuja deserves all the condemnation and punishment of the highest order. But the point is that even if he is speaking the truth about consensual sex, he might actually end up as the victim here. Hopefully the law would take its course and deliver justice.

Talking of justice, here are some bizarre judicial pronouncements that I came across:

1. The case of Bhanwari Devi, wherein a judge remarked that the victim could not have been raped since she was a dalit while the accused hailed from an upper caste- who would not stoop to sexual relations with a dalit.

2. The case of Sakina from Ernakulam, Kerela: She filed a suit against the upper echelons of the bureaucracy and society of Kerela for forcibly pushing her into prostitution. Her suit was squashed by the High Court, while observing that ‘it is improbable to believe that a man who desired sex on payment would go to a reluctant woman; and that the version of the victim was not as sacrosanct as to be taken for granted.’

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Gulal | Movie Review

Anurag Kashyap is an exciting prospect for Indian cinema. In him we have found a film-maker whose regime starts where Bollywood draws its limits. Angst, rebellion and sensationalism symbolize his kind of cinema. After watching both his ventures in the recent past – DevD and Gulal, I felt that through his characters he makes an extra effort to stand out from the crowd. What you get at the end of it all is a set of dysfunctional characters (let me be strong worded as Kashyap himself) who are not exactly real people. But this is what I call cinematic liberty. The same cinematic liberty that sees Yash Chopra create an imaginary Raj or a Rahul. In that sense Anurag is still a part of the same system.

Now coming to the film Gulal. Gulal is an angry film by Anurag’s own admission. He conceived it at a time when his films were facing problems from the censor board and he was listening to songs from Gurudutt’s Pyaasa (he in fact got so inspired from the song Duniya that he decided to use it in one of the songs in Gulal). The anger comes out in the colors chosen for the film. Choosing Rajasthan as the base of the film, Anurag tells the story of a failed Rajputana revival movement in the backdrop of college politics.

As a director Anurag Kashyap delivers. In this attempt he is ably supported by his cast, the music, the songs, the dialogues and the script. He does stay true to the basic premise of the concept – depiction of resentment but it certainly does not depict reality. Most of his characters appear eccentric and look to hog limelight. There is an illegitimate son of the Royalty who doesn’t talk to his father because he did not give him his name and on the other hand does not think twice before using his sister to win over his adversaries. Having said that, I do not hold this against Anurag Kashyap because nowhere does he state that he stands for real cinema. You cannot blame him for exercising his artistic liberty. The best thing about Anurag Kashyap is that through his films he is able to create an ambience that make you become a part of the film itself. So, when you walk out of DevD, you feel drunk and when you walk out after watching Gulal, you carry that anguish he portrays through the characters. The bottomline is that Anurag Kashyap is a thinking director and technically brilliant. His work shows that he is a true blue cinema fanatic. It is only when he tries being too intelligent and experimental with something as abstract as No Smoking that problems surface.

Another problem with his films is the length. A dark film taxes your mind and if it is over 2 and half hours long, you can imagine what you will be subjecting yourself to when you go inside the theater. I refrained from watching DevD and Gulal earlier precisely due to this reason. I finally watched them both over this weekend. That brings me to a pertinent point that I would like to make. You can watch Anurag’s movies only if you are really in the ‘mood’ to. I recently read Anurag Kashyap saying that his films had a lot of unconnected dots and he left it to the viewers to join them. His movies are not the usual run of the mill stuff that you can casually walk through. The result is that despite getting good reviews Gulal might not succeed at the box office.

Veering away from Anurag Kashyap, we come to another strong point of the film and that is the music and the songs. Piyush Mishra (the guy who played Prithvi Bana in Gulal) is the music director, lyricist and singer of a few songs of the film. He is equally important in the context of Gulal. He lends a strong pillar of support to the film through his music that breathes life into the film. Each of the songs is a gem.

The actors cast in the film are also a formidable lot. Kay Kay Menon, Deepak Dobriyal (Omkara fame), Piyush Mishra (Maqbool, Dil Se fame), Aditya Srivastava (Black Friday) and Raj Singh Chaudhary (Sarkar Raj) set the tone for the film and live through their characters. Ayesha Mohan, Mahie Gill and Jesse Randhawa form the female lead of the film and they show that there is space for actresses to perform as well. A welcome change from seeing most of the ‘actresses’ nowadays happy playing decked up dolls and doing item numbers. Another surprise package is the actor playing Rananajay Singh. He reminded me of Irfan Khan in Haasil. This guy exhibits the same level of arrogance and intensity as Ranvijay Singh of Haasil, though the character is far less cunning.

All in all, Gulal is a film that caters to the multiplex audience. Too many profanities would prevent families from watching it and the number of unconnected dots will keep a lot of others away too. The dark canvas would keep off people accustomed to the bright and snowy Swiss Alps as well :)

Watch Gulal if you:

- are an Anurag Kashyap fan

- liked DevD

- like to experiment

- want to spend some time away from the madding world.

- like solving ‘Expert’ level Sudokus

- want to write a review!

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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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The Curious Case of Alok Nath

I am not sure how many of you have watched or would want to admit watching the Barjatya marriage fares. Amidst all the good people who painted the picture of a happy family in Rajshri’s films, there are two characters that have become their trademark – Prem (the lead protagonist) and the doting uncle/father. The character of Prem changed hands between Salman, Hrithik, Abhishek and Shahid Kapoor but the uncle/father has been essayed by one man who has long been ignored in Bollywood chit-chats – Alok Nath!

Expression 1: Smile

I regard him as the true heir to fill the void created by A.K.Hangal’s retirement. Just as Hangal breathed life into the submissive, sympathetic, old chacha type roles right from his childhood, Nath has left an indelible mark playing the modern avatar of Bhishma Pitamah, Dashrath and all fatherly figures that draw a parallel from their mythological counterparts. The fact that he has survived in the industry for over 25 years with the same set of expressions and demeanor is praiseworthy.

With so many ‘father’ roles to his credit in Bollywood, Alok Nath is the front runner for being awarded with the title of Male Nirupa Roy in reverence. Alok Nath started quite early in Bollywood while he was in his late 20’s unlike Hangal who started at 40. Don’t be amazed to know that he started off as a hero opposite the sultry Tina Mumim in the erotically titled Kamagni. It takes a lot of doing to resurface as the idealistic father material after a start such as Kamagni but the guy did it.

Yes, that's Alok Nath about to kiss the forehead of the heorine in a non-fatherly way

He gained fame with TV Series Buniyaad (1987) where he played a patriarch at the age of 30 and later Maine Pyaar Kiya (1989). He was around 9 years older than Salman and all of 32 when he played a father to a 20 something Bhagyashree. Incidentally he was 14 years younger than Amitabh when he played Amitabh’s father in Agnipath (1990). He then never looked back. Alok Nath took to playing Bauji roles with a vengeance. His ability to flash that sugary sweet smile non-stop and maintain a bald plate with a paunch on which you could draw half the world stood him in good stead and helped him gain acceptability.

There were minor aberrations in films like Bol Radha Bol (1992) where he turned the bad guy but quickly corrected himself with the Kaka type roles like the one in Rajshri’s magnum opus Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994). He understood the fact that people didn’t want to see him change. He remarked in an interview:

“When I played a villain in ‘Bol Radha Bol’, people remarked why have they made such a good man play a negative role? How do you think a director will take the courage to try something different with me again? This way Alok Nath will remain a ready-made father.”

Expression 2: Emotional

Just as Hangal’s image of the Maulwi Chacha breaking the Sannata in Sholay lingers in our minds to date, Alok Nath’s string of acts as the loving father will also find a place somewhere in the history of Hindi Cinema. There will be a day when people will see beyond the frozen expressions of the man to see the actor who overcame an actor's monotony to keep on doing what people wanted him to.

“Again I play the father. I want to play a villain. But no one wants to cast me in a negative role. I wish I were as good in real life as I'm constantly made to be on screen” - Alok Nath.

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Why I will not celebrate the success of Slumdog Millionaire?

"I puked when I saw that kid smeared in shit asking for Bachchan Saab's autograph. What the f...k was that? Does Danny Boyle know what Bachchan Saab means to us Indians? Who would dare approach him like that?" - Aadesh Srivastava (Aadesh Srivastava who..?)

True, the child should have come draped in silken clothing with nothing less than a Parker pen in his hands to get the autograph to do justice to the stature of the superstar in question. Slumdog Millionaire has smeared our faces with the same shit that the young Jamaal had all over his body and we must puke everything out to regain sanity. Let me join hands with those involved in Slumdog bashing and add my insignificant two cents on it.

I will not celebrate the success of Slumdog Millionaire because Delhi 6 has bombed. Big B is upset. That’s one reason for not celebrating the success of Slumdog Millionaire. Slumdog showed the underbelly of Mumbai while Delhi 6 showed the warmth in the heart of Delhi. Its gross injustice to rate one as superior and the other as an average film with nothing solid besides good music and cinematography to back it up. So what if there was no story in Delhi 6? I agree that the audience was left confused whether it was a docu-drama or a movie but it was Indian in every sense!

I will not celebrate a film made by a Western film-maker. As learned men tell you, we have a fascination for white skin and that’s why a film made by a man from the West is rated as brilliant despite being a collection of clichés of a regular Bollywood potboiler. Salaam Bombay too was made on Mumbai’s underbelly but it never got its due. Isn’t that a reason to believe so? It is another matter altogether that when Salaam Bombay was made 21 years ago, there was hardly an awareness in the Global audience about the Hindi film industry (it won several accolades and an Oscar nomination). It was a time when our industry stalwarts were busy making path breaking films like Toofan and Ajooba rather than doing any cinema to catch the World’s eye. Oh, I got it. They were catering to the Indian audience that liked to see its superhero do crazy stuff in bizarre outfits.

I will not celebrate the success of a film made by an English man. Remember we forced them out of India some 60 years back and they still harp that bitterness against us? It is absolutely out of design that an Englishman wakes up one day and decides to make a film called Slumdog Millionaire based on an Indian novel. We have every right to feel that the Slumdog is actually a reference to all Indians.

I will not celebrate the success of Slumdog Millioanire because the court jesters in the film industry who love to call themselves the ‘film critics’ have showered lavish praises on it. We all know how they are sold out to camps in the industry so let us take this opportunity to show them that they mean a whole load of crap to us by disregarding their review comments on Slumdog Millionaire.

I will not celebrate the success of a film that is regressive in comparison to grand Bollywood fares that depict rich men living in castle like homes and having personal choppers for regular pick and drop from home to office. We are used to seeing people dancing and singing on exotic locations and find it comforting. It is totally the demand of scripts to base all our films in US and UK and for characters to be draped in international brands. Its obviously not done to paint a gloomy picture of India by showing a rioting Mumbai with open lavatories and people maiming kids. Depiction of this aspect of our reality should be understood as the sadist and imperialistic mindset of the west. If you think otherwise, you are probably a western culture obsessed freak who doesn't take pride in his culture or roots.

I will not celebrate the success of Slumdog Millionaire just because it has given our talent a chance to showcase itself on the World scene. Rehman’s music in this film or Gulzar's lyrics was not as good as some of his Hindi/Tamil film work (Dil Se and Taal were superior). Similarly why should the success of a guy like Resul Pookutty who is just a sound engineer give us a reason to celebrate? These people are faceless and are rightly shoved away from popular Hindi film award shows and not allowed to even say a thank you after receiving an award. Why should we care if they are given a podium to stand on and speak for their work? For all of us star struck people (ironically portrayed rightly in Slumdog Millionaire by Jamaal's shit laden avtar), the film is full of aberrations. It is about the dark side of our existence, it is sans any Bollywood star and it is made by an outsider. That gives us ample reason to us to scorn it. Hopefully the hoopla will subside after the Oscar high.

Just a couple of days back, my manager who is from the USA asked me the names of a couple of good Indian films after watching Slumdog Millionaire, I did not flinch thinking that he was actually looking for a film that made a caricature out of India. I ranted 10 names in one breath and did that with a sense of pride.

We have a lot of insecurities about ourselves. That is why we go bonkers when someone shows us any of our dark sides. Slumdog Millionaire is defintely not a classy affair but it has done what its predecessors like Salaam Bombay and Lagaan could not. Chances are ripe that it may just have been because of lobbying, bigger reach and biased mindset of the West but you cannot discount the fact that it gave our talent a bigger window to explore. We are the world’s biggest film industry and it is time we came out of that shell and stopped suspecting a foul play in everything. As the world sways to the beats of the Mozart from Madras, Indian film stalwarts should stop bickering about why an XYZ film received negative reviews while an ABC film did not and work on something worth showcasing. It is time to show them that ignoring India all this while was actually the World's loss and not ours.

Jai Ho!

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Delhi – 6 : The Movie Review – and being Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra

Its always interesting to review a movie such as Delhi 6 which has invoked such mixed reactions. So I am sure I am going to enjoy writing this review as much you are going to read it! :P

Being born in the heart of Delhi – 6 (Chandini Chowk / Old Delhi) is no mean feat on its own. Being born there with a name that reads, Rakyesh Om Prakash Mehra makes it all the more difficult.

Rakyesh is the man who has given us Aks and more importantly the iconic Rang De Basanti. RDB made me and probably a good chunk of the youth think and look beyond the oblivion of our lives and made us more responsible, more thinking – somewhere in the subconscious it made me respect the man who got us RDB – a generation awakened. RDB was sorta Classic.

An RDB doesn’t happen every year – agreed. Butt, there is a big one out there! The evolution and thus the expectations just can’t stop. The hunger and the thirst just grow.

Anyways, let’s be modest with our expectations as we all know that Delhi 6 isn’t in the same league – however, it still doesn’t suggest if it’s poor cinema. Let’s see what works and what doesn’t.

No harm in starting with what works. Yes, if something works beyond any doubts whatsoever: that’s Delhi 6’s music. Rehman does a good job sinking in the movie and giving us tracks which is just not restricted to the brilliant Masakali and Dilli 6. If you are sensitive to music you may even find Genda Phool and the Aarti equally enchanting. Rehman very successfully creates music which sounds contemporary, yet is full of old world soul – and interestingly sounds very local. Not to forget, Prasoon pens down lyrics which radiate the vibes of Purani Dilli – trust me its difficult doing so as the place has a culture not really found anywhere else. Enough of discussing Rehman and Prasoon – we surely have come to terms with them – they almost every time pleasantly surprise us with what they come up with. I just hope that they continue with their good work. The movie does not have an anthem number – as it could never have one. It’s difficult to fit a Paathshala here. It’s a fact we must understand as only this would help us appreciate the simplicity and subtlety of the music.

Let’s get into difficult territory now. Music was the high-point where in it is quite likely that there would be consensus of sorts. So let’s explore where that may not be the case. The movie was built on ideas and the Kaala Bandar was supposed to drive things home. As awkward as it sounds is what reflects on the screen too.

Abhishek (a second generation Indian American) gets his Grand-Mom home (Dilli-6) as she is anticipating her death. India is a revelation of sorts form him. He finds a lot of issues around that people need to fix. So he comes as the change agent who eventually becomes the sacrificial lamb for a greater cause. Too idealistic, for some; but this is what the movie is about.

Rakyesh is not just another film maker – we undeniably agree to it; so it does not come as a surprise that he wants to communicate to his audience – he just doesn’t want his movies to remain a monologue. He wants us to think and take his movies out of the theater and to discuss it on the streets and our homes too. He is social revolutionist of sorts. He tries to touch the entire canvas of the contemporary problems in our country - Caste conflicts, communal divide, corrupt political system, dowry, dysfunctional social infrastructure, economic disparities, moral policing, sensationalism in media, sexual repression and exploitation, suppression of the girl child, superstitions and more...

But this time around the revolutionist nearly fails in execution despite the technical brilliance that the movie exudes. The weakest links are the Story, Screenplay and the Lead Actor. The story telling just doesn’t work this time. It fails to keep you glued. It just does not have the moments. Abhishek fails miserably in what he does – all you have his empathy for him as you see him as the nice guy – which just isn’t enough.

He irritates you with a faker accent than you can imagine – but it would be very mean and superficial of me to make it the yardstick. He is carrying the movie on his shoulders so they better be capable. Interestingly all the sidekicks (I know that sounds derogatory for the wonderful cast ensemble that the movie boasts of) do more than what was expected of them but they can’t make up for the lead (else why would you call the lead, the lead!!) Taking names would be an injustice to the rest – so I would take all… Sheeba Chaddha, Prem Chopra, Deepak Dobriyal, Divya Dutta, Rishi Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Pavan Malhotra, Supriya Pathak, Om Puri, Vijay Raaz, K.K. Raina, Aditi Rao (oh my my, she is cute in her Sari clad avatar) and Cyrus Sahukar – nearly everyone has a small story which gives movie whatever little it has for the viewers.

Abhishek somehow fails to grow beyond the nice guy who has come down from the US to his roots. He is supposed to be the change agent – but just somehow doesn’t fit too well. Partly it’s his failure; partly it is Rakyesh’s. While Abhishek failed in delivering, Rakyesh failed in developing the lead. I am not competent enough to tell you what it should have been like – but I can surely tell you the ideas just did not get onto the screen successfully. Kaala Bandar has a louder presence than it should have had – it rips the movie of its sensitivities while it gives some of it. Maybe, Kaala Bandar was not the right choice to weave the story around. I don’t know if it were; but it somehow does not work.

I am not considering Sonam to be in the lead, because in all honesty she is not. In my humble opinion, playing the love interest of the lead does not make you another lead. She is a part of the sidekicks - who has been blessed with longer screen presence as she is our Hero’s sweetheart. This is surely not to question Sonam’s performance. She does what she is expected to; and that too at an acceptable level. She is cute, chirpy and a rebel within with her feet on the ground, yet hopes high in the sky.

Binod’s Camerawork is top notch – makes the movie easy on the eyes especially the songs – the simplicity remains the biggest virtue.

The most bizarre part of the movie was the presence of Amitabh Bachchan: you wonder whether Amitabh was the obvious choice or was he forced upon the script.

The movie as a whole is a mixed bag – there would be definitive reasons to like it as would be to find it loose and disoriented.

At the end of everything we tend to feel being Rakyesh isn’t easy. When the entire world is watching, he has to put his best foot forward.

I used to think, to err is Human, but not when your name is Rakyesh Om Prakash Mehra! ;)

The ratings would not be able to give true representation to what the movie deserves [coz for me its between 1 and 4 stars out of 5 on different parameters]. I would want you to rate and reason it. Please leave a comment especially if you have a rating in your mind!

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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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Billoo - The Review

With the world going ballistic over the performance of DevD, I feel a bit like an outcast speaking about the erstwhile Billoo Barber that came out as Billoo. I didn’t find too many takers for this movie either when I proposed to go for it. I now have a growing feeling that brand SRK doesn’t work the way it used to a few years back. Is it the beginning of the end for King Khan or is Billoo not qualified to be called his film? Anyways, without getting philosophical on the reasons behind the rise and the apparent fall of the uncrowned king (which unfortunately becomes the talking point with each of SRK’s release), let’s get down to discussing Billoo, the film.

Priyadarshan is an acclaimed director down south and the highest paid even in Bollywood. He makes some inane comedies that are essentially remakes or re-remakes but is still able to command respect at the box office. He gave a hit in Malamal Weekly with a non-existent star cast. This time around, he plays it safe by casting stars such as SRK, Irfan and Lara Dutta and getting guest appearances from all top notch female superstars. You name them and you have them swaying to Pritam’s foot tapping numbers in the film. Quite sadly, these expected ‘pluses’ are what make Billoo fall short of the mark. I felt that Priyadarshan’s idea of Krishna-Sudama story got mixed and mashed with commercial gimmicks and lost relevance. Amidst the hype and hoopla of item songs and SRK’s extravagant portrayal of the superstar, the theme of the story took a backseat and the effect didn’t come out as it should have.

Of all directors of repute, Priyadarshan is the only one who doesn’t know when to throw in a song in the plot. He falters this time too. If passing off south Indian village setting as a north Indian one was not enough, he decides to show the shooting of Star Wars like scenes in a small village. My question is – Why on Earth will a film crew shoot a high quality action sequence with an amazing set on an outdoor schedule in a village? Defying logic is another name for Priyadarshan’s commercial ventures so let’s just blink and give it a miss.

Despite cribbing about Priyadarshan’s sticking to the same old formula films, one cannot discount the fact that some of his films have good messages behind them. It is this fact that makes him command respect even after delivering some nonsensical stuff every now and then. Billoo too has a very nice message behind its story line that comes to the fore partially despite all other shortcomings. And the person responsible for it is not Priyadarshan but Irfan Khan. The guy is amazing in his art. He gets into the skin of the character beautifully. Just look out for him in the scene where he calls up the guest house and gets screamed at. Some people might accuse him of being repetitive but for me he is a genius. Lara Dutta looks efficient in her deglamorised part. SRK had to play himself and he ended up playing some more. Maybe there was a need to capture the aura surrounding a superstar in loud terms. This is by no stretch of imagination a SRK film. He makes a guest appearance and gives a long sermon at the end. That wasn’t his doing but someone’s got to share the blame.

Music is strictly ‘chaalu’ kind. It sounds good only while it lasts and has little recall value. Pritam is like Rajendra Kumar. He gives hits but will never be remembered for his work. The copycat tag too works against him because you never know when someone will come out telling where he picked his latest tune from. The support cast is the same as in any of Priyadarshan’s films. There is no novelty or a surprise package. Having said that, they all are good actors so they do a decent job but nothing worth mentioning.

Billoo is a film that undoubtedly has a soul even though the purpose is all lost. The oft repeated formula of Priyadarshan would prevent people from going for it. It will probably get average returns at the box office banking on the star value and a good performance by the lead protagonist Irfan Khan and also because the budget wasn't all that high. I will give it a 2.5 out of 5 and I wonder why I wrote this review.

..And would you believe it..I went to watch DevD the other day, walked upto the ticket counter and then decided against it! I don’t know why I don’t want to watch that film despite all the rave reviews.

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Luck By Chance - Review

There is a lot of curiosity for a film that comes from the stable of accomplished film luminaries like the Akhtars. So what if the director at the helm is a debutant. Zoya Akhtar is Javed Akhtar’s daughter and that raises the hope. Does she live up to the expectations is what prompted me to go ahead and watch Luck By Chance primarily. I can’t answer that question in a simple ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’.

The second reason for me going to watch the film was obviously Farhan Akhtar. I wanted to see if Luck By Chance was going to be second time lucky for Farhan as an actor-producer. Is it lucky? The answer is again a confusing ‘yes and no’. Yes – as an actor and probably No – as a producer. But I must stop predicting box office success with Ghajini’s mind boggling business worldwide. When I see a Ghajini poster roaring an unprecedented ‘235 Crores Worldwide’ collection, I pretend to be blind. Hindi film audience is fickle-minded and any prediction on the fate of a film is nothing more than a guessing game founded on individual biases.

Coming back to Luck By Chance, Zoya Akhtar debuts in the movie as a story/screenplay writer and a director. She did not write the dialogues as Farhan did for his first film. That doesn’t mean that she won’t be compared with her accomplished brother. She is indeed quite good in the screenplay department. The story too is very commercial in its form. She did spend the seven years working on this story for some good reason afterall. I can’t say the same about her direction. I found it meandering and confusing at places. What started as a film centered around Farhan Akhtar and kept the focus on him suddenly shifted focus on Konkana in the climax scene. I couldn’t get the sudden shift in focus after relegation of Konkana’s character to the background for most parts of the second half. Maybe being a woman played a part. The film ends on a note where you see Konkana’s character refusing Farhan to enter back into her life and then carving a small place for herself in the tinsel world on her own esteem. I couldn’t understand how that could be the culmination of the film. That was like a dash of Madhur Bhandarkar to me!

Having said that, there are some high points in her effort as well. The way she portrays the Hindi film industry is filled with a dose of intelligent sense of humor. I must say that this is the one of the better films on Bollywood that gives us an inside view of the glamour world. She has deftly handled a few scenes in the film. Notable among those are the two break down scenes. One, when Rishi Kapoor breaks down saying that he commands no respect and two, when Farhan breaks down on the stairs after his fall out with his childhood friend. Another notable scene worth a mention is the one between SRK and Farhan. It could have looked like a discourse on remaining level headed but the director does control it quite well.

In the acting department, Farhan shows us that he is an able actor. He underplays his character and is believable. He doesn’t look out of place except in some dance sequences. Especially the Pyaar Ki Daastan song where he repeats his steps and imitates the oft repeated ‘SRK stretching his hands’ dance move. He can dance but something just doesn’t seem right. Maybe I have a preconceived notion of thinking of him as a director and not an actor. That’s my view, see for yourself.

Konkana’s acting prowess has never been in question. She is top rate as she always is. Rishi Kapoor is unmatchable. Juhi Chawla looks as pretty as she did 20 years ago. Sanjay Kapoor is a revelation. Dimple Kapadia plays the character of a star mom and a yesteryear superstar with perfection. Watch out for her outburst against the Magazine editor in the film. Isha Sharvani is a dancer and not an actress. The rest of the cast is competent. Hrithik is superb in the character of the insecure superstar.

Music is not the high point of the film. It has a couple of very good songs but not a pillar on which the film stands. It’s not a dud but Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio is not in full form here.

Overall Luck By Chance is a good movie that will be liked by the multiplex audience only. No one can deny that the film is well made but that would probably not translate into monetary gains as the pace of the film is lethargic and has no smash hit songs to aid its publicity. Given a choice I will prefer to watch it on DVD rather than in theatre. With Victory and Raaz as its competitors, Luck By Chance can hope to stay afloat for sometime to come. Watch it if you like sensible cinema and want a break from over publicized trash that is served day-in and day-out as BLOCKBUSTER material. The first watchable film of 2009 is how I would describe Luck By Chance. 3 (left hand limit :-P) out of 5 is my rating.

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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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Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi - The Review

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is no DDLJ. It’s not even an Om Shanti Om. But does content make any difference in a film that features SRK? Aditya Chopra is back at the helm as a director (if you don't believe in the rumors of him having ghost directed Dhoom and some other films coming from the Yashraj stable). A lot was expected out of him as this was a long hiatus after which he was returning as a director. He disappoints and not because he is bad as a director in Rab Ne. Screenplay was considered a strongpoint of Adi’s films and this is where Rab Ne flounders big time.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’s story idea does have a soul. It is about the extraordinary achieved by the ordinary for love but the way it is portrayed is too amateurish. By the end of it, you tend to feel that some of these Bollywood directors have started taking the audience for granted. If OSO was stupidity at its peak, Rab Ne dethrones it and sits atop that chart. Having said that I will not say that all is bad with the film. The flashes of Aditya Chopra-SRK combination’s brilliance does show up intermittently. But it is too less to satiate the hunger of a cinemagoer who waited for 8 years to see the pair recreate magic. They might say that Rab Ne has an entertainment value to look forward to. Of course Mr. Chopra, we sure like to be entertained but not get fooled!

Is it possible that you shave off your moustache and your family stops to recognize you?

Is it possible that the reticent YOU suddenly gel your hair, wear snazzy clothes and put on an overtly extrovert exterior overnight to appease your lady love?

Show us how it is possible. Come on, you didn’t even give an interview for your film and the character that draws from you on the shyness quotient and moustache, if not on anything else! At least that would have sent a signal that a transformation is indeed possible. It is unfathomable to imagine how you could even think of such a silly portrayal. Did you have a dearth of actors? Couldn’t someone else have played the role of Raj and so that we enjoyed the refreshing change of watching SRK as the commoner Surinder Sahni in your epic saga that stretched endlessly? Why the SRK fixation? The day is not far when you guys would have SRK clones doing every trivial role in the film.

Does that mean that Aditya Chopra, the man who gave us DDLJ has failed completely? The answer is NO! The film’s first and the last 25 minutes are the saving grace. And that is solely because he created the character called Surinder Sahni and got SRK to play it. Aditya Chopra is not a funny man and Rab Ne is how funny he could get is what SRK told in an interview. There are indeed some moments that will bring a smile on your face. That gives a little hope that Aditya Chopra magic is not over yet!

The music is strictly okay. No experimentation by the music director duo of Salim-Sulaiman. They seem to be the next Vishal-Shekhar in the making and I say this because their Fashion scored on the music front. The whole dance item in the climax which forms the background for the entire 3 hour affair is a dud. It looks totally off color and repetitive. But yes, the way the story unfolds before the eyes of the heroine during the climax dance sequence is good. It reminds you of the Adi Chopra magic that I talked of earlier.

SRK is top class as Surinder Sahni, the average middle class man who doesn’t wear designer clothes or mouth filmy dialogues to win the love of his life. But enter Raj - naam to suna hoga, the “seen that 100 times” over-the-top character from so many of Yash Raj Films and boredom sets in. You yawn and wonder when the 20 year old boy Raj would transform into a 43 year old man on celluloid. You really can’t stop time by replacing 30 year old heroines by a fresh crop of 20 year olds. Can you? And by the way, the new girl Anoushka is pretty good. She looks cute and sweet and acts fine too for her first film. I hope she doesn’t end up the way some other fresh faces from YRF banner did (read Tulip Joshi, Preity Jhangiani, Shamita Shetty and Kim Sharma). Vinay Pathak is top rate. There is no one else in the movie that I can remember of.

One of the most enjoyable moments of the whole movie is the end credit. Please do not leave the theatre when THE END sign flashes. It is at this time that Suri ji shares some picture postcards of his honeymoon in Japan. It is indeed these five minutes that save the day for Rab Ne team in some ways besides Surinder Sahni's character because you exit the theatre with a smile rather than tearing the hair on your head.

When the film ended the audience started to move out of the theatre not knowing what was in store in the end credits. Then all of a sudden SRK’s voice over started describing Suri Ji's honeymoon photographs. The whole theatre stood still. Such is the magic of the man. He can hold your attention even after the film has ended. He is called a Badshah for some good reason after all. Sadly, even though SRK does liven up proceedings in parts, his film does not.

My rating is 2 out of 5 for Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

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Dasvidaniya - The Review

Dasvidaniya is a film that you will probably connect with. Vinay Pathak and his team deliver it third time in a row after Bheja Fry and Mithya. As for what makes Dasvidaniya worth a watch, there are ample reasons for that.

When you have a gang of actors like Vinay Pathak, Saurabh Shukla, Rajat Kapoor and Ranvir Shorey the director's work becomes easy. The debutant director Shashant Shah looks in form in the film but I am not too sure if he would be able to pull of something like Dasvidaniya again. Remember Sagar Bellary of the Bheja Fry fame? Last heard he was planning sequels to Bheja Fry. I hope I am not sounding too much of a cynic but this is more of an actor's film rather than a director's. So, I am not going to attribute a larger share of the success of Dasvidaniya to the director.

Vinay Pathak - the actor turns into a producer with this film. Having played character roles so far in Bollywood, I think he must not be having the kind of money a Subhash Ghai has to splurge on something as inane as Yuvvraj. That shows in the film. The production value is very poor indeed. The outdoors are evidently manipulated. What is shown as Russia might as well be some place near the Amby valley. Sure the story is not about Russia but when the title is Dasvidaniya, you ought to show that dude. If money was the problem, we should probably excuse him because the overall product turned out to be good.

The music is refreshingly good. Kailash Kher's music does stand out in the film. It is difficult to compose music in a film that doesn't have too much scope for a song and dance. It is not a Yash Raj movie where situation for songs are created and picturised in exotic locales to add to their value. The movie has three songs and they gel well with the mood of the film. Maa is the better one of the lot because of the sentiments attached.

The story is not well developed. There are no surprises and it toes the "expected" line. A man suffering from cancer decides to do what he always wanted in life but could never do. The team probably wanted to pick a straight forward story of a terminally ill man and give the meaning of life their own interpretation. I must mention here that Dasvidaniya is not inspired from Anand. Anand was about spreading happiness in everyone's lives before exiting the World's stage while Dasvidaniya is about making oneself happy (not in a selfish sense though!). It is inspired from The Bucket List in that sense. The screenplay is good. The characters are introduced in the plot seamlessly. The dialogues are intelligent.

One place where the film scores heavily is acting. And that again was expected when it comes from the stable of competent actors like Pathak and Co. They are all good actors but it is easier said than done. Vinay Pathak plays two characters - one of the seedha Amar Kaul and the other of his hidden shaana Amar Kaul. It is unbelievable how he convincingly plays both of them. They look two distinctly different people. Very few actors besides Vinay Pathak can portray that. You have to look minutely to witness the subtleness with which he changes expressions on his face.

There is a scene where he gives a lift to his childhood sweetheart and she gets a phone call. He thinks its her boy friend and gets sad but the very next monent when he realises that it was her mother, his expressions change to being happy suddenly. Very natural! Another scene that needs a mention is the one where he expresses his love to her. There is no dialogue exchange but the emotion is conveyed. Though it is cliched to say I Love You in films, this one scene would probably count as one of the better ones among the lot that capture the moment.

Rest of the cast supports Pathak ably. No one has a lengthy role but they make their presence felt. Saurabh Shukla as the inconsiderate boss, Gaurav Gera as the estranged brother, Sarita Joshi as the mother, Ranvir Shorey as the Chunni Babu (of Devdas fame) reincarnation and Rajat Kapoor as Amar Kaul's childhood buddy. Everyone gives the film the support it requires.

Dasvidaniya will not be an Anand that will be remembered in the years to come. Probably because the story is not novel and has oft been retold in different ways. It will at best be remembered as a profitable attempt catering to the taste of the urban audience that watches films in multiplexes. But it will always be a film that will probably cheer you up and tell you that life is a bigger deal than death is!

Though its quite late in the day, go watch Dasvidaniya if you haven't. My rating 3.5 out of 5.

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Deshdrohi - The Preview

"Jitni nafrat tumhare dil mein hamare liye hai..utna hi pyaar hamare seeney mein tumhare liye hai" - Ladies and Gentlemen, join me in applauding the rise of another cult movie that will join Mithun starrer Gunda in Bollywood's top list of Avant Garde films. The fact that I too belong to the land of Bhaiyyas creates a greater sense of attachment to this film that I wish to spread amongst you all.

Deshdrohi is not just a film. It is a smart business venture to cash in on the topicality of the Maanus-Bhaiya controversy. KRK, as the oppressed protagonist packs a punch and leaves everyone stunned with his confidence. He is an inspiration to all sons of the soil who are now afraid to land in Mumbai fearing attacks against them. Their mental agony is very well depicted by KRK when he vents his ire in front of the goons before unleashing some fiery flying kicks and some more verbal jabs - "Aaj tumhare dar se Mumbai choroon. Kal kisi aur ke dar se Dilli chorun. Phir ek din kahoge Hindustan chor do"

The film projects KRK as the modern age Gandhi with a violent touch. Mahatma Gandhi was pushed out of a train in South Africa. That incident saw him transform from a regular guy to a man who changed a nation’s destiny. KRK in turn is thrown out of a BEST bus. He then metamorphoses into a Haan Main Bhaiyya Hoon avatar to give everyone a good understanding of UP-Bihar culture – “Kabhi UP Bihar aake dekhna, mehmaan ko bhagwan samajhte hain hum”. When they don’t seem to understand, he doesn’t shy away from punishing the errant through violent means single handedly. This is where his character departs from the Mahatma’s line of thinking. His is ably supported by 4 of his heroines and 22 actors (as he proclaimed in an interview) in this epic saga that has shaken the throne on which Kundan Shah’s Gunda sits unchallenged for all these years.

Such has been the growth in stature and popularity of KRK post Deshdrohi that even SRK has started to feel insecure. It is rumored that for this very reason, he decided to copy KRK's look in his forthcoming movie Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Is it purely coincidental that SRK too sports a similar hair style and moustache as KRK does in Deshdrohi? What a film like Asoka couldn't do to Shahrukh (Didn't Asoka look like SRK rather than the other way around in the movie), KRK's reputation has done. Way to go Khan. I mean Kamaal Rashid Khan. This film has also resulted in a shift in style statement. The pan-chewing, flashy jeans and sunglasses sporting, manly-mustachioed look that was once looked down upon is in. It also propagates that it is the strength of will rather than those muscular abs that can help you beat the hell out of a whole gang of anti-national elements. The fight sequences have been well thought out and are brilliantly executed on screen. Just look at the sliding punch that our hero delivers in the most sensitive part of a male anatomy. You don’t need a six-pack abs to do that, do you?

Besides KRK and the nature of the subject chosen, it is the dialogue delivery that creates an impact. When an inspector asks the hero why he turned a beggar from a king, KRK displays loads of attitude in his reply -

“Aye Inspector..Mera naam Raj Kumar Singh Yadav hai..aur Yadav sirf raja hota hai, bhikhari nahi”

Perhaps he is referring to the likes of Mulayam and Laloo Yadav in making a generic statement about the community. But his arrogance sets adrenalin rushing and people watch with utter disbelief as this man of unimaginable courage sings in the deserts with his sweetheart and then returns back to clean the society of all traitor elements.

The film was made for a modest 5 crore INR but KRK decided to invest further 7 crores in its promotion. He released it alongside KJo’s gayish Dostana. You have to give credit to this guy for daring. This film has done what none could ever do. In an age where Hrithiks and the Rampals sway the entire nation with their orthodox Greek good looks and urban touch, KRK has given respectability and confidence to people from the Hindi heartland to go ahead and dream big despite coming from unconventional backgrounds. Don’t believe it? Watch this mesmerizing performance where a KRK wannabe tries some awesome dance moves.

And..before I sign off, here’s another strong statement..Kaa Bujhla Tu

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