BORN TO DIE !!!!!!!
Saw Bole a few months back and have been wanting to write on it since then, but somehow was struck by a writer’s block! Few would have heard about Bole, a Pakistani movie, which in spite of having a very new and relevant issue to discuss, failed to reach the masses
The story of a typical conservative Shea muslim family of Pakistan, of a Hakeem, is in flash back as a narration of the heroin, the eldest daughter of the Hakeem sahab. The girl is addressing a press conference just before being hanged, as a confession of her crime and pleading guilty of a murder.
The hakeem had almost lost all his patient clientele and was living a hand to mouth existence. In spite of the incapacitating poverty, he refuses to use contraception and continues to give birth to kids calling them, Allah ki inayat! After several infant deaths he still has seven daughters most of whom are not permitted to study. The eldest (the heroine)is married off, to a widower, more than double her age, due to lack of money, but she soon returns home .She often objects to her father’s desire to have a son, pleading for her weak mothers deteriorating health, but all in vain. The mother gives birth to her thirteenth child, who is a eunuch, and to avoid shame in the society the old man decides to keep him in doors.
Life goes on with daily struggle for survival, but the man still not relenting to permit the girls to work. With great difficulty the eldest daughter manages to send the second to college. The Hakeem, tries to supplement his earnings by teaching Koran,and when he gets a lucrative offer from a Kanjar to teach his sons, he initially refuses as the kanjar was sunni, but later is forced to accepts it, as a last resort. The kanjar is a pimp who uses his wife for prostitution and is disappointed with life as he has three sons and no daughters. The second daughter falls in love with their neighbours doctor son ,played by the Pakistani singer Atif Aslam. The father vehemently objects to the marriage as they were sunni muslims, but the sisters help them to get married.
The last child is brought up as a son and grows with his sisters and they discover that besides having a great flair for painting he has an altered sexuality towards homosexuality. With an intension to keep him occupied he is sent to work under a profession poster painter, where he is soon molested by men around him and battered and left in an isolated place. A eunuch, who has been following him, rescues him and brings him home. When the Hakeem comes to know about all this he gets wild, and in the rage of anger he kills the boy. The family panics to save the man and the local Havaldar asks for a bribe of rupees two lakhs for the same, by showing the murder as an accident.
Cornered to the wall, the Hakeem approaches the kanjar for help, who agrees but with a condition .He knows about the hakeems tendency to have daughters, so he offers him to be a surrogate father, to make the kanjar’s wife give birth to a daughter, for use in the flesh market in future. In desperation the Hakeem agrees and has a secret nikah with the kanjars wife. The plan succeeds and a girl is born. While the kanjar is happy and Hakeem relieved of his loan, the wife is unwilling to hand over the girl for future exploitation. She asks for help from the Hakeem, but when he refuses, she brings the child to his house and tells the story to his wife and daughters who accept and hide the child, and when the Hakeem tries to get rid of the child, even at the cost of killing if needed, the daughter kills her father and surrenders, for which she is given death punishment. A lady journalist, with great difficulty manages to talk to the President and convinces him to revoke the punishment, to which he agrees, and the hanging is stalled. The two elder sisters help the other sisters to study and the family raises the baby girl as a part of the family.
The movie has a strong storyline and a good screenplay, which have touched a vast range of social evils, mostly in name of religion, like, avoiding family planning, large number of children, gender discrimination, no education for girls, domestic violence, mismatched marriages, flesh trade, socially unacceptable altered sexuality, sexual abuse, intra religion hatred and above all total disrespect to woman and practice of every possible wrong in the name of religion. The songs are good, specially hoona tha pyaar.................The movie was however very weak in cinematography and direction, probably due to lack of expertise and financial limitations, reducing it more like a Tele film.
I wish the movie is remade in India, by some responsible film makers to raise this very relevant question that if killing is a crime, then isn’t giving birth to children without the capability to bring them up and refusing to provide girls a healthy childhood and opportunity to grow, a BIGGER CRIME !
Brig Sanjay Kapoor ,Kolkata
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Monday, September 5, 2011
FIRST TEACHERS DAY
Teacher’s Day!
Teachers Day is always special for me, and I remember most of my teachers from nursery to postgraduate and in fact all who taught me something in life. There are two people, whom I never miss to wish. Since 77 there was Mr Christopher Dass, my English teacher for class 11th & 12th from Lucknow Christian College. He was fond of writing and would write plays keeping me in mind as the lead role. We did several plays in those two years. His handwritten letters, which often ran into over twenty pages, are my most valuable collection. Plan to publish them as a book one day.The tragedy is that since last two years I am unable to contact him. He is in Lucknow, but i have lost his contact number and don’t know his address. Last I met saw him was in November last,when he came for my daughters wedding,by the time i finished the ceremony he had left,as he stays far and doesn’t drive at night.Am feeling miserable, not only because I am missing wishing him, but because I know, he will miss it more. My card and call on Teachers day, were something that keep reminding him, in his retired life that he was and is a loved teacher and he really takes pride in me.Dr R K Zargar,Zaggy,as we fondly call him, is the second. A friend, philosopher and guide and someone as close as a family member.
But celebration of Teachers day dates back to 70,when I celebrated it for the first time and was the first time, when it was ever celebrated in my school ,St Francis. I was in class five and our dear teacher was Mrs Olive D’Souza. (havnt tried to trave her now,She lived in Lawrence terrace,and her son was an year junior to me.On third September,I got the idea that we should give her a surprise.We were 32 in class,but only ten, including me, agreed to contribute. Kamal Khan, Anil Shipley, Pankaj Garg, Arvind Misra, Anil Pandey, Anil Pant, Amit Chatterjee, Mone Zaide and Shridhar Iyer were the others. We contributed two rupees each(a big amount ,when the maximum monthly pocket money was five rupees)and collected twenty rupees. I asked her, her favourite color and she told, she liked pink. We were in a fix, what pink gift we could buy in this low budget .Then I suggested a handbag. Same evening I went with my mom and sis to Aminabad to the purse and bag shop, opposite the main door of the Hanuman mandir (It is still there).Luckily I found a pink, decent sized purse with zip and all, with grey prints for twelve rupees.
We had eight rupees left, and with that we ordered 32 plates of snacks, a Samoa and a pastry each for princely price of 25 paisa , from our canteen man, Habib. We tried to show our magnanimity by catering for the rest of the class too, who had not contributed. During the break we asked her not to leave and surprised her with the flowers, wishes and the gift. The snacks were classroom delivered. She was so touched, her face is still in front of my eyes. She was almost in tears. She felt so proud and hugged each one of us (we didn’t tell her, who all had not contributed!)She rushed and called all the other teachers of the floor. Luckily five of us were absent so we could offer the other teachers snacks too. They felt good but we could see the envy in their eyes.
And then each year the celebrations increased, first to all students to class teachers and then slowly all subject teachers, then all teachers of school would visit all classes, and finally in 11th and 12th we organized central Teachers day celebrations at the college hall, with principle and all teachers ,variety entertainment and high Tea.
Miss all this now, but enjoy when I get cards, calls and smss from my students. Feels great to be a proud student and a proud teacher !!!
sanjay kapoor
Teachers Day is always special for me, and I remember most of my teachers from nursery to postgraduate and in fact all who taught me something in life. There are two people, whom I never miss to wish. Since 77 there was Mr Christopher Dass, my English teacher for class 11th & 12th from Lucknow Christian College. He was fond of writing and would write plays keeping me in mind as the lead role. We did several plays in those two years. His handwritten letters, which often ran into over twenty pages, are my most valuable collection. Plan to publish them as a book one day.The tragedy is that since last two years I am unable to contact him. He is in Lucknow, but i have lost his contact number and don’t know his address. Last I met saw him was in November last,when he came for my daughters wedding,by the time i finished the ceremony he had left,as he stays far and doesn’t drive at night.Am feeling miserable, not only because I am missing wishing him, but because I know, he will miss it more. My card and call on Teachers day, were something that keep reminding him, in his retired life that he was and is a loved teacher and he really takes pride in me.Dr R K Zargar,Zaggy,as we fondly call him, is the second. A friend, philosopher and guide and someone as close as a family member.
But celebration of Teachers day dates back to 70,when I celebrated it for the first time and was the first time, when it was ever celebrated in my school ,St Francis. I was in class five and our dear teacher was Mrs Olive D’Souza. (havnt tried to trave her now,She lived in Lawrence terrace,and her son was an year junior to me.On third September,I got the idea that we should give her a surprise.We were 32 in class,but only ten, including me, agreed to contribute. Kamal Khan, Anil Shipley, Pankaj Garg, Arvind Misra, Anil Pandey, Anil Pant, Amit Chatterjee, Mone Zaide and Shridhar Iyer were the others. We contributed two rupees each(a big amount ,when the maximum monthly pocket money was five rupees)and collected twenty rupees. I asked her, her favourite color and she told, she liked pink. We were in a fix, what pink gift we could buy in this low budget .Then I suggested a handbag. Same evening I went with my mom and sis to Aminabad to the purse and bag shop, opposite the main door of the Hanuman mandir (It is still there).Luckily I found a pink, decent sized purse with zip and all, with grey prints for twelve rupees.
We had eight rupees left, and with that we ordered 32 plates of snacks, a Samoa and a pastry each for princely price of 25 paisa , from our canteen man, Habib. We tried to show our magnanimity by catering for the rest of the class too, who had not contributed. During the break we asked her not to leave and surprised her with the flowers, wishes and the gift. The snacks were classroom delivered. She was so touched, her face is still in front of my eyes. She was almost in tears. She felt so proud and hugged each one of us (we didn’t tell her, who all had not contributed!)She rushed and called all the other teachers of the floor. Luckily five of us were absent so we could offer the other teachers snacks too. They felt good but we could see the envy in their eyes.
And then each year the celebrations increased, first to all students to class teachers and then slowly all subject teachers, then all teachers of school would visit all classes, and finally in 11th and 12th we organized central Teachers day celebrations at the college hall, with principle and all teachers ,variety entertainment and high Tea.
Miss all this now, but enjoy when I get cards, calls and smss from my students. Feels great to be a proud student and a proud teacher !!!
sanjay kapoor
Friday, July 29, 2011
I Am
THE GREY IN LIFE !
While we were all too busy, enjoying the four letter words of Delhi Belly and admiring the return of the angry old ( oops........young)man in Budha Hoga Tera Baap,a lovely art movie from parallel cinema, I Am came and went, unsung, unheard and may be unseen ,like so many other good art films. Like Seven Feathers, I Am too is a collection of four independent stories where the director has touched four burning socio-legal issues which really don’t have a right or wrong answer and are far beyond the Black and White shades of life, but their cause, effects, implications and solutions ,all are grey. The movie has beautifully touched the various aspects of four very pertinent contemporary issues ,Single mother, Jammu and Kashmir issue, Paedophilia and homosexuality.
The first story is of a young Bengali couple, where the wife, played superbly by Nandita Das, is very keen for a child while the husband keeps avoiding the issue till one day the wife discovers that he not only has an extra marital affair but was also going to have a baby out of bedlock. She walks out of the marriage and decides to have a baby ,out of artificial insemination and be a single mother. But she is keen to meet the donor. In medical practice it is ethically not permitted to disclose the identity of the sperm donor but she forces the doctor, as she rightfully felt ,that she should meet the biological father of her child. She even extends the offer to the boy, a medical student who is a regular sperm donor, to feel free later to come and meet the child. Momentarily she reconsiders her decision of being a single mother, but decides to go ahead but she drops the address and number of the donor, so that she may not be able to contact him in future.
The second story is of a Kashmiri pandit girl, played by Juhi Chawla who has been forced to leave her home along with her family and settle in Delhi. After her father’s death and the death of her uncle in Srinagar ,by terrorists, she is going back to sell her ancestral property to an old muslim family, who have been the caretakers. Trying to forget her past, she insists on talking in English or hindi and refusing even to understand Kashmiri .She meets the daughter of the muslim family ,played by Manisha Koirala who is her childhood close friend. Their son ,who is a reformed terrorist, is also there, leading a life of a paralytic and still under close vigil of the security forces. She meets their old grocery shopkeeper, to buy dry-fruits and while comfortably talking to him, suddenly realizes that his son had killed her uncle. She visits her old house with her friend, and walks down memory lane alone, her childhood, the attacks and then the escape in the middle of the night. She is stunned to see the restrictions and loss of privacy of the locals in Srinagar and ends with an emotional heated argument with her friend on the their decisions and those of the two families in life, in the prevailing circumstances.
The third story is of a gay Film director of Bollywood who is accused by his so called girlfriends for using his position to seduce the struggling boys on the casting couch He opens up to one of the girls and tells his story where he was regularly sexually abused from childhood by his step father and how he soon learnt to emotionally(or sexually) blackmail the paedophile, to fulfil all his desires and soon started liking the whole thing. His plight is touchingly summed in one line, when he says, I was a slut at thirteen ! He grows to become a gay and the day he felt he could be on his own he left home and came to Mumbai. He never went home again till he got frantic messages from his mother that the step father wanted to meet him before dying. He reaches after his death and tells the truth to his mother leaving her inconsolable, even though she refused to accept it as truth. I personally feel that if he had kept quiet all these years, he should have kept quiet now too, but probably he felt that his mother knew it all the time and was behaving blind. He was so hurt and considered the mother equally to be blamed, hence he did this, so that she too could feel the pain in the last years of her life.
The fourth is the story of homosexuals in metros .A well placed highly qualified gay, played by Rahul Bose, visits his old haunts and is seduced by a youngster. They go for a ride from the pick up joint, after dinner, and since they didn’t have a place to go they decide to park the car in a shady area and make it in the car. The director has been bold enough not only to depict gay sex vividly but added a hot long smooch too. A Policeman catches them and treats them as the hijras and gays are treated by them in the beaches n streets at night. The policeman not only abuses, beats and threatens them, he extracts all their belongings and money(almost all coming from Rahul Bose) and demands for more cash to hush up the issue. While the boy goes to withdraw money from Rahul’s ATM ,the policeman forces Rahul to oblige him with sexual favours. The boy tries to help Rahul, to prevent his status and agrees to surrender, while Rahul is let free. Quite sometime later, Rahul sees that boy again, seducing a man, and he confronts him ,telling him how bad he had done cheating him that night. On the earlier fateful night, Rahul, after being let free ,didn’t go home, but used his contacts to get a good lawyer and went to the police station to get that boy released, to find ,to his utter dismay that both the boy and the policeman were missing and then it dawns to him that they were in connivance. Rahul admonishes the boy for what he is doing, with any doubtful impact.
In a short duration, the movie has dealt with four major issues ,all of which have a great social and legal consequences but above all play a major role in the development of a person’s psyche. The storyline is strong and the screenplay realistic. The director has artfully used hinglish and the authentic language and dialect, including Bengali ,Marathi and Kashmiri and the dialogues are impactful. There is liberal use of four letter words, especially in the last story which is replete with hindi and Marathi abuses and vulgar language. The background music is soothing and the two songs have very meaningful lyrics. Not only the seasoned actors like Juhi Chawla ,Manisha Koirala, Nandita Das, Rahul Bose and Suri, did wonderful acting ,but even the other actors in minor roles did justice. The flow of the movie was spontaneous and deplete of any monotony and though it had four entirely different stories, they were beautifully merged with no abruptness at any moment. The editing was good and direction, flawless.
Besides subtly touching the increasing prevalence of extra marital affairs and infidelity, the first story highlights the trend of single mothers. In these times of woman lib and empowerment will men be redundant and unwanted soon? Shouldn’t a lady have the right to meet the person who is the donor for her insemination?? This may have an emotional connotation but has great legal implications. What if the gynaecologist does a poor job in matching the physical characteristics of the donor??? Isn’t it advisable never to be able to contact the donor and vice versa, to avoid any chances of attachments ????
The second story has nothing to do with the political aspect of the over two decades old J&K issue. It touches it emotionally. Who is to be blamed for keeping the issue alive at the grass root level ? who has suffered more, the Pundits or the Muslims??Who is better off, those who stayed back or whose who fled???Was it the correct decision to leave your home and business back and become refugees in a new city???? Shouldn’t a reformed terrorist and his family be left alone????? What is being done for the rehabilitation of those who fled and for the terrorists or those who lost their family members ?????? What is being done or rather why something is not being done to bring normalcy to the lives of those who are living in J&K??????
The issues raised and highlighted in the third story are the most important. Isn’t sexual child abuse usually by family members? How to protect children from paedophiles?? Can no one in and around the house be above suspicion other than biological parents(though at times fathers have been culprits)??? How to choose the right man for a second marriage to safeguard kids and property???? When and whom should a child reach out for help and what should he or she should do to prove the truth????? How can they be helped, specially counselling?????? How to prevent the child from developing emotional instability and altered sexuality ???????
The last story has once again expressed the plight of the gay community and their fears and dangers and how they are exploited by society, guardians of law and even by gays themselves. Are the gays to be blamed for what they are? Can they be rehabilitated, or rather do they need it?? Can making laws help them ??? Where should they find their partners ???? Can their sexual urge be curbed by treatment or counselling ?????
Should gays be so indiscriminate in choosing partner, time and place for sex?????? Is it justified to exploit and blackmail them ??????? what can be done to encourage them from coming out from their closet and to provide them social acceptance, which may solve most of the issues ????????
I Am is a superb movie which highlights the helplessness of individuals and society in various circumstances where one cannot really decide how to act or react and weather to accept the decisions of destiny or to fight them. The movie has depicted life as it is and its strongest point was the fact that it was non judgemental, it presented the stories in a matter of fact manner, expressing the inability to judge the characters for right or wrong ,as it is the case in life ,where things are often neither white nor black, but just the various hues of grey !As the very name implies, the bottom-line of the movie is that everyone should accept him or herself as they are and carry on with life !!
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Delhi
While we were all too busy, enjoying the four letter words of Delhi Belly and admiring the return of the angry old ( oops........young)man in Budha Hoga Tera Baap,a lovely art movie from parallel cinema, I Am came and went, unsung, unheard and may be unseen ,like so many other good art films. Like Seven Feathers, I Am too is a collection of four independent stories where the director has touched four burning socio-legal issues which really don’t have a right or wrong answer and are far beyond the Black and White shades of life, but their cause, effects, implications and solutions ,all are grey. The movie has beautifully touched the various aspects of four very pertinent contemporary issues ,Single mother, Jammu and Kashmir issue, Paedophilia and homosexuality.
The first story is of a young Bengali couple, where the wife, played superbly by Nandita Das, is very keen for a child while the husband keeps avoiding the issue till one day the wife discovers that he not only has an extra marital affair but was also going to have a baby out of bedlock. She walks out of the marriage and decides to have a baby ,out of artificial insemination and be a single mother. But she is keen to meet the donor. In medical practice it is ethically not permitted to disclose the identity of the sperm donor but she forces the doctor, as she rightfully felt ,that she should meet the biological father of her child. She even extends the offer to the boy, a medical student who is a regular sperm donor, to feel free later to come and meet the child. Momentarily she reconsiders her decision of being a single mother, but decides to go ahead but she drops the address and number of the donor, so that she may not be able to contact him in future.
The second story is of a Kashmiri pandit girl, played by Juhi Chawla who has been forced to leave her home along with her family and settle in Delhi. After her father’s death and the death of her uncle in Srinagar ,by terrorists, she is going back to sell her ancestral property to an old muslim family, who have been the caretakers. Trying to forget her past, she insists on talking in English or hindi and refusing even to understand Kashmiri .She meets the daughter of the muslim family ,played by Manisha Koirala who is her childhood close friend. Their son ,who is a reformed terrorist, is also there, leading a life of a paralytic and still under close vigil of the security forces. She meets their old grocery shopkeeper, to buy dry-fruits and while comfortably talking to him, suddenly realizes that his son had killed her uncle. She visits her old house with her friend, and walks down memory lane alone, her childhood, the attacks and then the escape in the middle of the night. She is stunned to see the restrictions and loss of privacy of the locals in Srinagar and ends with an emotional heated argument with her friend on the their decisions and those of the two families in life, in the prevailing circumstances.
The third story is of a gay Film director of Bollywood who is accused by his so called girlfriends for using his position to seduce the struggling boys on the casting couch He opens up to one of the girls and tells his story where he was regularly sexually abused from childhood by his step father and how he soon learnt to emotionally(or sexually) blackmail the paedophile, to fulfil all his desires and soon started liking the whole thing. His plight is touchingly summed in one line, when he says, I was a slut at thirteen ! He grows to become a gay and the day he felt he could be on his own he left home and came to Mumbai. He never went home again till he got frantic messages from his mother that the step father wanted to meet him before dying. He reaches after his death and tells the truth to his mother leaving her inconsolable, even though she refused to accept it as truth. I personally feel that if he had kept quiet all these years, he should have kept quiet now too, but probably he felt that his mother knew it all the time and was behaving blind. He was so hurt and considered the mother equally to be blamed, hence he did this, so that she too could feel the pain in the last years of her life.
The fourth is the story of homosexuals in metros .A well placed highly qualified gay, played by Rahul Bose, visits his old haunts and is seduced by a youngster. They go for a ride from the pick up joint, after dinner, and since they didn’t have a place to go they decide to park the car in a shady area and make it in the car. The director has been bold enough not only to depict gay sex vividly but added a hot long smooch too. A Policeman catches them and treats them as the hijras and gays are treated by them in the beaches n streets at night. The policeman not only abuses, beats and threatens them, he extracts all their belongings and money(almost all coming from Rahul Bose) and demands for more cash to hush up the issue. While the boy goes to withdraw money from Rahul’s ATM ,the policeman forces Rahul to oblige him with sexual favours. The boy tries to help Rahul, to prevent his status and agrees to surrender, while Rahul is let free. Quite sometime later, Rahul sees that boy again, seducing a man, and he confronts him ,telling him how bad he had done cheating him that night. On the earlier fateful night, Rahul, after being let free ,didn’t go home, but used his contacts to get a good lawyer and went to the police station to get that boy released, to find ,to his utter dismay that both the boy and the policeman were missing and then it dawns to him that they were in connivance. Rahul admonishes the boy for what he is doing, with any doubtful impact.
In a short duration, the movie has dealt with four major issues ,all of which have a great social and legal consequences but above all play a major role in the development of a person’s psyche. The storyline is strong and the screenplay realistic. The director has artfully used hinglish and the authentic language and dialect, including Bengali ,Marathi and Kashmiri and the dialogues are impactful. There is liberal use of four letter words, especially in the last story which is replete with hindi and Marathi abuses and vulgar language. The background music is soothing and the two songs have very meaningful lyrics. Not only the seasoned actors like Juhi Chawla ,Manisha Koirala, Nandita Das, Rahul Bose and Suri, did wonderful acting ,but even the other actors in minor roles did justice. The flow of the movie was spontaneous and deplete of any monotony and though it had four entirely different stories, they were beautifully merged with no abruptness at any moment. The editing was good and direction, flawless.
Besides subtly touching the increasing prevalence of extra marital affairs and infidelity, the first story highlights the trend of single mothers. In these times of woman lib and empowerment will men be redundant and unwanted soon? Shouldn’t a lady have the right to meet the person who is the donor for her insemination?? This may have an emotional connotation but has great legal implications. What if the gynaecologist does a poor job in matching the physical characteristics of the donor??? Isn’t it advisable never to be able to contact the donor and vice versa, to avoid any chances of attachments ????
The second story has nothing to do with the political aspect of the over two decades old J&K issue. It touches it emotionally. Who is to be blamed for keeping the issue alive at the grass root level ? who has suffered more, the Pundits or the Muslims??Who is better off, those who stayed back or whose who fled???Was it the correct decision to leave your home and business back and become refugees in a new city???? Shouldn’t a reformed terrorist and his family be left alone????? What is being done for the rehabilitation of those who fled and for the terrorists or those who lost their family members ?????? What is being done or rather why something is not being done to bring normalcy to the lives of those who are living in J&K??????
The issues raised and highlighted in the third story are the most important. Isn’t sexual child abuse usually by family members? How to protect children from paedophiles?? Can no one in and around the house be above suspicion other than biological parents(though at times fathers have been culprits)??? How to choose the right man for a second marriage to safeguard kids and property???? When and whom should a child reach out for help and what should he or she should do to prove the truth????? How can they be helped, specially counselling?????? How to prevent the child from developing emotional instability and altered sexuality ???????
The last story has once again expressed the plight of the gay community and their fears and dangers and how they are exploited by society, guardians of law and even by gays themselves. Are the gays to be blamed for what they are? Can they be rehabilitated, or rather do they need it?? Can making laws help them ??? Where should they find their partners ???? Can their sexual urge be curbed by treatment or counselling ?????
Should gays be so indiscriminate in choosing partner, time and place for sex?????? Is it justified to exploit and blackmail them ??????? what can be done to encourage them from coming out from their closet and to provide them social acceptance, which may solve most of the issues ????????
I Am is a superb movie which highlights the helplessness of individuals and society in various circumstances where one cannot really decide how to act or react and weather to accept the decisions of destiny or to fight them. The movie has depicted life as it is and its strongest point was the fact that it was non judgemental, it presented the stories in a matter of fact manner, expressing the inability to judge the characters for right or wrong ,as it is the case in life ,where things are often neither white nor black, but just the various hues of grey !As the very name implies, the bottom-line of the movie is that everyone should accept him or herself as they are and carry on with life !!
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Delhi
ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA
Males Bond !!
After a row of nonsensical movies, it was a real respites and a great delight watching ZNMD !
Hindi cinema has come a long way from the time when a simple love story or a love triangle was presented in four hours ending with marriage or death of the second hero, to a time where the stress is not on the story, but on life, emotion and above all inter and intrapersonal relationships. The stories today in good movies are real, which raise questions in one’s mind and give answers to many queries of one’s life. ZNMD is another such movie revolving around the lives of three friends .Based on similar lines of that of Dil chahta hai & Three idiots, somewhere this, seemed to touch the heart more.
The movie is about three friends, Imran, Arjun & Kabir played superbly by Farhan Akhtar, Hrithik Roshan & Abhay Deol respectively. The three, as it often happens in real life are entirely different in nature and outlook to life, but are bound with a friendship band. Imran is a simple man from a middle class family, with a carefree attitude towards life, which masks the pathos within him, after he came to know that he was a child out of bedlock ,and the man with whom he grew up, was not his biological father. Imran has a great desire to meet his real father once, even against the wishes of his mother, enacted by Deepti Nawal. Scared of heights, his style was his simple casualness and lively wittiness laced with outrageous pranks. Hrithik is an upwardly mobile, over ambitious man, a money broker, whose only aim in life is to become rich and is in great hurry to become rich at forty, when he can pack up and take retirement and enjoy life. He is well dressed man, prim and proper, with a good taste and a enviable wardrobe and good collections of accessories. Scared of water and considering fun as waste of life, he has a serious attitude towards life and rarely lets his hair down. He thinks, talks, sleeps and lives work and money, to the extent that he has had a chain of breakups due to his obsession for work and indifference to his personal or love life. Kabir is a rich builders son and a simple man with his head on his shoulders. No style ,is his style and his simplicity in spite of being rich is his plus point. He is compassionate and loves travelling and considerate about feelings of all around him.
The story revolves around a vacation on which the three go, as part of the bachelors party of Kabir who is recently engaged under confusion to his father’s business partners daughter. He brings a ring for his mother on her birthday, and during the party when the two families were together, he shows it to the girl who mistakes it as a proposal and their engagement is declared in the party. Though he was really not willing for the relationship, the gentleman that he was, he couldn’t say no and went ahead preparing for the marriage. He wants the three friends to be together before they enter their married lives ,and hence plans a holiday and with a great difficulty convinces the other two to join and to be together after four years .Kabir was not only busy but wanted to avoid meeting Imran, because of a misunderstanding created by Kabirs ex girlfriend, who was double timing the two of them. They spend some wonderful time, reliving the days when they were young and experimented all, from deep sea diving, gliding, pubs,geting drunk, rides, site seeing, playing pranks and enjoying life to the fullest. They spent these days as if kal ho na ho, freaking out in the crazy tomato festival and daring the bull game of Spain
The holiday proved more than just a break and changed the lives of all three. Imran, tracks and meets his biological father ,played by Nasiruddin Shah, and was crestfallen to know that he ,had no remorse and repentance of what happened, and he had not only had no guilt leaving behind his pregnant girlfriend to fend for herself just because he wanted to be free and to pursue his passions of life, but had never had the desire to met his son, though he knew about his existence. Arjun meets Laila, played by Katrina, who is their diving instructor. He is mesmerised by her beauty, charm and warmth and finds his ladylove in her. Kabirs fiancé behaves like a typical woman, suspicious of what the three were doing alone and actually lands up there to confirm that he is not flirting with Laila. Her plans for the future scare kabir who realizes that neither he is ready for losing his independence in marriage and nor does he love her, and finally breaks his engagement.
All have acted to their best with great exhibition of histrionics. Farhan Akhtar appears a veteran and depicts the complex contrast of casualness and seriousness of his character realistically. His spontaneity is admirable and effortless and the expression of emotions heart touching. Javeds poetry narrated by him moves the soul and forms the essence of the movie. Hrithik is par excellence as always as a meticulously and tastefully dressed live sculpture. Not only the beautifully choreographed dance movements but every action of his body was better than the best of ballets. His husky voice, depth in the eyes and expressions on the face beautifully portray the loneliness within him and the need for love. Abhay Deol is the moderator in the gang and has exhibited the maturity naturally and acted well, as in all his movies. This was probably the best role for Kathrina, ever and tailor-made just for her. She has not only done great justice to the character but has brought glamour to the man dominated story. Kalika, as Kabirs fiancé has suited well, and proved that the Indian audience is willing to accept unconventional faces on screen. Deepti Naval and Nassirudin Shah ,even in their small roles have left great impact.
The movie was a virtual trip to Spain, the virgin locale that has been unexplored by Bollywood till now. The outdoor locations are beautiful and picturesque and the culture of Spain inviting. The pubs, tap dance, tomato festival and the Bull game are all entertaining. The gliding and the deep sea diving adds to the glamour. The underwater scenes are pleasantly colourful but let out the secret of being artificial studio creations, evident due to the uneven distribution of the fish on the screen. The storyline is strong, the dialogues natural and the screenplay smooth, The pace, though a little slow at places, maintained the intensity of the creation. The lyrics were poetic and music melodious and the background score enchanting. Cinematography was best possible and editing fabulous. Zoya Akhtars direction added the professional touch to the movie and proved that talent runs in genes. The movie belongs to the three Akhtars, Javed, Joya and Farhaan!
Outside the wonderful story, the movie leaves a message from each one’s life. Imran learns that many truths in life are better not known, Arjun realizes that life cannot be run by the clock and in immaculate discipline and there is more to life than, work, career and money and it is not possible to survive without love while Kabir experiences that decisions regarding matters of love and marriage cannot be taken in an impulse or under pressure. But the most important message of ZNMD is the glorification of male bonding, which is not only everlasting, but is above all pretensions of life and beyond petty or even major differences. The movie has elevated friendship to its well deserved supreme status in all relationships, where it has no restrictions and limitations and is at times even beyond those with parents, girlfriends and spouses .The movie should actually have been released, two weeks later on Friendship day as it has immortalised friendship on celluloid !
Dr Sanjay Kapoor, Lucknow
After a row of nonsensical movies, it was a real respites and a great delight watching ZNMD !
Hindi cinema has come a long way from the time when a simple love story or a love triangle was presented in four hours ending with marriage or death of the second hero, to a time where the stress is not on the story, but on life, emotion and above all inter and intrapersonal relationships. The stories today in good movies are real, which raise questions in one’s mind and give answers to many queries of one’s life. ZNMD is another such movie revolving around the lives of three friends .Based on similar lines of that of Dil chahta hai & Three idiots, somewhere this, seemed to touch the heart more.
The movie is about three friends, Imran, Arjun & Kabir played superbly by Farhan Akhtar, Hrithik Roshan & Abhay Deol respectively. The three, as it often happens in real life are entirely different in nature and outlook to life, but are bound with a friendship band. Imran is a simple man from a middle class family, with a carefree attitude towards life, which masks the pathos within him, after he came to know that he was a child out of bedlock ,and the man with whom he grew up, was not his biological father. Imran has a great desire to meet his real father once, even against the wishes of his mother, enacted by Deepti Nawal. Scared of heights, his style was his simple casualness and lively wittiness laced with outrageous pranks. Hrithik is an upwardly mobile, over ambitious man, a money broker, whose only aim in life is to become rich and is in great hurry to become rich at forty, when he can pack up and take retirement and enjoy life. He is well dressed man, prim and proper, with a good taste and a enviable wardrobe and good collections of accessories. Scared of water and considering fun as waste of life, he has a serious attitude towards life and rarely lets his hair down. He thinks, talks, sleeps and lives work and money, to the extent that he has had a chain of breakups due to his obsession for work and indifference to his personal or love life. Kabir is a rich builders son and a simple man with his head on his shoulders. No style ,is his style and his simplicity in spite of being rich is his plus point. He is compassionate and loves travelling and considerate about feelings of all around him.
The story revolves around a vacation on which the three go, as part of the bachelors party of Kabir who is recently engaged under confusion to his father’s business partners daughter. He brings a ring for his mother on her birthday, and during the party when the two families were together, he shows it to the girl who mistakes it as a proposal and their engagement is declared in the party. Though he was really not willing for the relationship, the gentleman that he was, he couldn’t say no and went ahead preparing for the marriage. He wants the three friends to be together before they enter their married lives ,and hence plans a holiday and with a great difficulty convinces the other two to join and to be together after four years .Kabir was not only busy but wanted to avoid meeting Imran, because of a misunderstanding created by Kabirs ex girlfriend, who was double timing the two of them. They spend some wonderful time, reliving the days when they were young and experimented all, from deep sea diving, gliding, pubs,geting drunk, rides, site seeing, playing pranks and enjoying life to the fullest. They spent these days as if kal ho na ho, freaking out in the crazy tomato festival and daring the bull game of Spain
The holiday proved more than just a break and changed the lives of all three. Imran, tracks and meets his biological father ,played by Nasiruddin Shah, and was crestfallen to know that he ,had no remorse and repentance of what happened, and he had not only had no guilt leaving behind his pregnant girlfriend to fend for herself just because he wanted to be free and to pursue his passions of life, but had never had the desire to met his son, though he knew about his existence. Arjun meets Laila, played by Katrina, who is their diving instructor. He is mesmerised by her beauty, charm and warmth and finds his ladylove in her. Kabirs fiancé behaves like a typical woman, suspicious of what the three were doing alone and actually lands up there to confirm that he is not flirting with Laila. Her plans for the future scare kabir who realizes that neither he is ready for losing his independence in marriage and nor does he love her, and finally breaks his engagement.
All have acted to their best with great exhibition of histrionics. Farhan Akhtar appears a veteran and depicts the complex contrast of casualness and seriousness of his character realistically. His spontaneity is admirable and effortless and the expression of emotions heart touching. Javeds poetry narrated by him moves the soul and forms the essence of the movie. Hrithik is par excellence as always as a meticulously and tastefully dressed live sculpture. Not only the beautifully choreographed dance movements but every action of his body was better than the best of ballets. His husky voice, depth in the eyes and expressions on the face beautifully portray the loneliness within him and the need for love. Abhay Deol is the moderator in the gang and has exhibited the maturity naturally and acted well, as in all his movies. This was probably the best role for Kathrina, ever and tailor-made just for her. She has not only done great justice to the character but has brought glamour to the man dominated story. Kalika, as Kabirs fiancé has suited well, and proved that the Indian audience is willing to accept unconventional faces on screen. Deepti Naval and Nassirudin Shah ,even in their small roles have left great impact.
The movie was a virtual trip to Spain, the virgin locale that has been unexplored by Bollywood till now. The outdoor locations are beautiful and picturesque and the culture of Spain inviting. The pubs, tap dance, tomato festival and the Bull game are all entertaining. The gliding and the deep sea diving adds to the glamour. The underwater scenes are pleasantly colourful but let out the secret of being artificial studio creations, evident due to the uneven distribution of the fish on the screen. The storyline is strong, the dialogues natural and the screenplay smooth, The pace, though a little slow at places, maintained the intensity of the creation. The lyrics were poetic and music melodious and the background score enchanting. Cinematography was best possible and editing fabulous. Zoya Akhtars direction added the professional touch to the movie and proved that talent runs in genes. The movie belongs to the three Akhtars, Javed, Joya and Farhaan!
Outside the wonderful story, the movie leaves a message from each one’s life. Imran learns that many truths in life are better not known, Arjun realizes that life cannot be run by the clock and in immaculate discipline and there is more to life than, work, career and money and it is not possible to survive without love while Kabir experiences that decisions regarding matters of love and marriage cannot be taken in an impulse or under pressure. But the most important message of ZNMD is the glorification of male bonding, which is not only everlasting, but is above all pretensions of life and beyond petty or even major differences. The movie has elevated friendship to its well deserved supreme status in all relationships, where it has no restrictions and limitations and is at times even beyond those with parents, girlfriends and spouses .The movie should actually have been released, two weeks later on Friendship day as it has immortalised friendship on celluloid !
Dr Sanjay Kapoor, Lucknow
ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA
Males Bond !!
After a row of nonsensical movies, it was a real respites and a great delight watching ZNMD !
Hindi cinema has come a long way from the time when a simple love story or a love triangle was presented in four hours ending with marriage or death of the second hero, to a time where the stress is not on the story, but on life, emotion and above all inter and intrapersonal relationships. The stories today in good movies are real, which raise questions in one’s mind and give answers to many queries of one’s life. ZNMD is another such movie revolving around the lives of three friends .Based on similar lines of that of Dil chahta hai & Three idiots, somewhere this, seemed to touch the heart more.
The movie is about three friends, Imran, Arjun & Kabir played superbly by Farhan Akhtar, Hrithik Roshan & Abhay Deol respectively. The three, as it often happens in real life are entirely different in nature and outlook to life, but are bound with a friendship band. Imran is a simple man from a middle class family, with a carefree attitude towards life, which masks the pathos within him, after he came to know that he was a child out of bedlock ,and the man with whom he grew up, was not his biological father. Imran has a great desire to meet his real father once, even against the wishes of his mother, enacted by Deepti Nawal. Scared of heights, his style was his simple casualness and lively wittiness laced with outrageous pranks. Hrithik is an upwardly mobile, over ambitious man, a money broker, whose only aim in life is to become rich and is in great hurry to become rich at forty, when he can pack up and take retirement and enjoy life. He is well dressed man, prim and proper, with a good taste and a enviable wardrobe and good collections of accessories. Scared of water and considering fun as waste of life, he has a serious attitude towards life and rarely lets his hair down. He thinks, talks, sleeps and lives work and money, to the extent that he has had a chain of breakups due to his obsession for work and indifference to his personal or love life. Kabir is a rich builders son and a simple man with his head on his shoulders. No style ,is his style and his simplicity in spite of being rich is his plus point. He is compassionate and loves travelling and considerate about feelings of all around him.
The story revolves around a vacation on which the three go, as part of the bachelors party of Kabir who is recently engaged under confusion to his father’s business partners daughter. He brings a ring for his mother on her birthday, and during the party when the two families were together, he shows it to the girl who mistakes it as a proposal and their engagement is declared in the party. Though he was really not willing for the relationship, the gentleman that he was, he couldn’t say no and went ahead preparing for the marriage. He wants the three friends to be together before they enter their married lives ,and hence plans a holiday and with a great difficulty convinces the other two to join and to be together after four years .Kabir was not only busy but wanted to avoid meeting Imran, because of a misunderstanding created by Kabirs ex girlfriend, who was double timing the two of them. They spend some wonderful time, reliving the days when they were young and experimented all, from deep sea diving, gliding, pubs,geting drunk, rides, site seeing, playing pranks and enjoying life to the fullest. They spent these days as if kal ho na ho, freaking out in the crazy tomato festival and daring the bull game of Spain
The holiday proved more than just a break and changed the lives of all three. Imran, tracks and meets his biological father ,played by Nasiruddin Shah, and was crestfallen to know that he ,had no remorse and repentance of what happened, and he had not only had no guilt leaving behind his pregnant girlfriend to fend for herself just because he wanted to be free and to pursue his passions of life, but had never had the desire to met his son, though he knew about his existence. Arjun meets Laila, played by Katrina, who is their diving instructor. He is mesmerised by her beauty, charm and warmth and finds his ladylove in her. Kabirs fiancé behaves like a typical woman, suspicious of what the three were doing alone and actually lands up there to confirm that he is not flirting with Laila. Her plans for the future scare kabir who realizes that neither he is ready for losing his independence in marriage and nor does he love her, and finally breaks his engagement.
All have acted to their best with great exhibition of histrionics. Farhan Akhtar appears a veteran and depicts the complex contrast of casualness and seriousness of his character realistically. His spontaneity is admirable and effortless and the expression of emotions heart touching. Javeds poetry narrated by him moves the soul and forms the essence of the movie. Hrithik is par excellence as always as a meticulously and tastefully dressed live sculpture. Not only the beautifully choreographed dance movements but every action of his body was better than the best of ballets. His husky voice, depth in the eyes and expressions on the face beautifully portray the loneliness within him and the need for love. Abhay Deol is the moderator in the gang and has exhibited the maturity naturally and acted well, as in all his movies. This was probably the best role for Kathrina, ever and tailor-made just for her. She has not only done great justice to the character but has brought glamour to the man dominated story. Kalika, as Kabirs fiancé has suited well, and proved that the Indian audience is willing to accept unconventional faces on screen. Deepti Naval and Nassirudin Shah ,even in their small roles have left great impact.
The movie was a virtual trip to Spain, the virgin locale that has been unexplored by Bollywood till now. The outdoor locations are beautiful and picturesque and the culture of Spain inviting. The pubs, tap dance, tomato festival and the Bull game are all entertaining. The gliding and the deep sea diving adds to the glamour. The underwater scenes are pleasantly colourful but let out the secret of being artificial studio creations, evident due to the uneven distribution of the fish on the screen. The storyline is strong, the dialogues natural and the screenplay smooth, The pace, though a little slow at places, maintained the intensity of the creation. The lyrics were poetic and music melodious and the background score enchanting. Cinematography was best possible and editing fabulous. Zoya Akhtars direction added the professional touch to the movie and proved that talent runs in genes. The movie belongs to the three Akhtars, Javed, Joya and Farhaan!
Outside the wonderful story, the movie leaves a message from each one’s life. Imran learns that many truths in life are better not known, Arjun realizes that life cannot be run by the clock and in immaculate discipline and there is more to life than, work, career and money and it is not possible to survive without love while Kabir experiences that decisions regarding matters of love and marriage cannot be taken in an impulse or under pressure. But the most important message of ZNMD is the glorification of male bonding, which is not only everlasting, but is above all pretensions of life and beyond petty or even major differences. The movie has elevated friendship to its well deserved supreme status in all relationships, where it has no restrictions and limitations and is at times even beyond those with parents, girlfriends and spouses .The movie should actually have been released, two weeks later on Friendship day as it has immortalised friendship on celluloid !
Dr Sanjay Kapoor, Lucknow
After a row of nonsensical movies, it was a real respites and a great delight watching ZNMD !
Hindi cinema has come a long way from the time when a simple love story or a love triangle was presented in four hours ending with marriage or death of the second hero, to a time where the stress is not on the story, but on life, emotion and above all inter and intrapersonal relationships. The stories today in good movies are real, which raise questions in one’s mind and give answers to many queries of one’s life. ZNMD is another such movie revolving around the lives of three friends .Based on similar lines of that of Dil chahta hai & Three idiots, somewhere this, seemed to touch the heart more.
The movie is about three friends, Imran, Arjun & Kabir played superbly by Farhan Akhtar, Hrithik Roshan & Abhay Deol respectively. The three, as it often happens in real life are entirely different in nature and outlook to life, but are bound with a friendship band. Imran is a simple man from a middle class family, with a carefree attitude towards life, which masks the pathos within him, after he came to know that he was a child out of bedlock ,and the man with whom he grew up, was not his biological father. Imran has a great desire to meet his real father once, even against the wishes of his mother, enacted by Deepti Nawal. Scared of heights, his style was his simple casualness and lively wittiness laced with outrageous pranks. Hrithik is an upwardly mobile, over ambitious man, a money broker, whose only aim in life is to become rich and is in great hurry to become rich at forty, when he can pack up and take retirement and enjoy life. He is well dressed man, prim and proper, with a good taste and a enviable wardrobe and good collections of accessories. Scared of water and considering fun as waste of life, he has a serious attitude towards life and rarely lets his hair down. He thinks, talks, sleeps and lives work and money, to the extent that he has had a chain of breakups due to his obsession for work and indifference to his personal or love life. Kabir is a rich builders son and a simple man with his head on his shoulders. No style ,is his style and his simplicity in spite of being rich is his plus point. He is compassionate and loves travelling and considerate about feelings of all around him.
The story revolves around a vacation on which the three go, as part of the bachelors party of Kabir who is recently engaged under confusion to his father’s business partners daughter. He brings a ring for his mother on her birthday, and during the party when the two families were together, he shows it to the girl who mistakes it as a proposal and their engagement is declared in the party. Though he was really not willing for the relationship, the gentleman that he was, he couldn’t say no and went ahead preparing for the marriage. He wants the three friends to be together before they enter their married lives ,and hence plans a holiday and with a great difficulty convinces the other two to join and to be together after four years .Kabir was not only busy but wanted to avoid meeting Imran, because of a misunderstanding created by Kabirs ex girlfriend, who was double timing the two of them. They spend some wonderful time, reliving the days when they were young and experimented all, from deep sea diving, gliding, pubs,geting drunk, rides, site seeing, playing pranks and enjoying life to the fullest. They spent these days as if kal ho na ho, freaking out in the crazy tomato festival and daring the bull game of Spain
The holiday proved more than just a break and changed the lives of all three. Imran, tracks and meets his biological father ,played by Nasiruddin Shah, and was crestfallen to know that he ,had no remorse and repentance of what happened, and he had not only had no guilt leaving behind his pregnant girlfriend to fend for herself just because he wanted to be free and to pursue his passions of life, but had never had the desire to met his son, though he knew about his existence. Arjun meets Laila, played by Katrina, who is their diving instructor. He is mesmerised by her beauty, charm and warmth and finds his ladylove in her. Kabirs fiancé behaves like a typical woman, suspicious of what the three were doing alone and actually lands up there to confirm that he is not flirting with Laila. Her plans for the future scare kabir who realizes that neither he is ready for losing his independence in marriage and nor does he love her, and finally breaks his engagement.
All have acted to their best with great exhibition of histrionics. Farhan Akhtar appears a veteran and depicts the complex contrast of casualness and seriousness of his character realistically. His spontaneity is admirable and effortless and the expression of emotions heart touching. Javeds poetry narrated by him moves the soul and forms the essence of the movie. Hrithik is par excellence as always as a meticulously and tastefully dressed live sculpture. Not only the beautifully choreographed dance movements but every action of his body was better than the best of ballets. His husky voice, depth in the eyes and expressions on the face beautifully portray the loneliness within him and the need for love. Abhay Deol is the moderator in the gang and has exhibited the maturity naturally and acted well, as in all his movies. This was probably the best role for Kathrina, ever and tailor-made just for her. She has not only done great justice to the character but has brought glamour to the man dominated story. Kalika, as Kabirs fiancé has suited well, and proved that the Indian audience is willing to accept unconventional faces on screen. Deepti Naval and Nassirudin Shah ,even in their small roles have left great impact.
The movie was a virtual trip to Spain, the virgin locale that has been unexplored by Bollywood till now. The outdoor locations are beautiful and picturesque and the culture of Spain inviting. The pubs, tap dance, tomato festival and the Bull game are all entertaining. The gliding and the deep sea diving adds to the glamour. The underwater scenes are pleasantly colourful but let out the secret of being artificial studio creations, evident due to the uneven distribution of the fish on the screen. The storyline is strong, the dialogues natural and the screenplay smooth, The pace, though a little slow at places, maintained the intensity of the creation. The lyrics were poetic and music melodious and the background score enchanting. Cinematography was best possible and editing fabulous. Zoya Akhtars direction added the professional touch to the movie and proved that talent runs in genes. The movie belongs to the three Akhtars, Javed, Joya and Farhaan!
Outside the wonderful story, the movie leaves a message from each one’s life. Imran learns that many truths in life are better not known, Arjun realizes that life cannot be run by the clock and in immaculate discipline and there is more to life than, work, career and money and it is not possible to survive without love while Kabir experiences that decisions regarding matters of love and marriage cannot be taken in an impulse or under pressure. But the most important message of ZNMD is the glorification of male bonding, which is not only everlasting, but is above all pretensions of life and beyond petty or even major differences. The movie has elevated friendship to its well deserved supreme status in all relationships, where it has no restrictions and limitations and is at times even beyond those with parents, girlfriends and spouses .The movie should actually have been released, two weeks later on Friendship day as it has immortalised friendship on celluloid !
Dr Sanjay Kapoor, Lucknow
Saturday, July 2, 2011
PYAAR KA PANCHNAMA
Realisticaly Humerous !
Thanks to my wife Nidhi ,I saw Pyar Ka Panchnama last night and it was a wonderful experience. Don’t remember laughing so much in any movie lately, and that too on blatant realities of life .A blend of Dil chahta Hai & Pyaar ke Funde, this movie is better than both combined. Experimenting with new comers the producer and director have very successfully presented Male Bonding, Love affairs & Life in a chummery
The story revolves around three friends, Choudhary, Nishant alais Liquid, and Rajat alais Rajjo. They seem to be management graduates or software engineers working in the corporate world and living together in a common flat. All of them are desperate to have a girlfriend, and at the very first opportunity each manages to get one and this completely changes their lives. They are used, misused, insulted, and exploited by them in the name of Love using all the methods in the armamentarium of the ladies ,teasing, flirting, tantrums, howling and even seduction. Rajat moves out for a live in relationship with his girlfriend, due to lack of space and privacy, and his girlfriend keeps raving all time about her ex boyfriend. Nishant falls for a colleague who has a boyfriend tucked in, at secundrabad. Choudhary couples up with a girl who had just had the fifteenth breakup in her five years of relationship. As it usually happens in all affairs, where affairs are made for the sake of having a girlfriend, these three too, actually drove the men up the wall. While they plan a stag trip to Goa to distress, the ladies seduce, threat and force their ways too and accompany them making their holiday hell.
The movie very realistically highlighted the desperation of the young men to have a girl friend which gives the girls ample opportunity to have a personal assistant who can be actually treated as a dog ,well highlighted by the title song,patta daal galey mein khud,mein ban gaya kutta.Using the good old attitude of dropping men like a used condome, the three girls use great words and phrases to suit them as, space, individuality, privacy, relationship, we are just friends, don’t take advantage of my sweetness, a kiss is no indicator of love, if i slept with you doesn’t mean you owe me, you don’t care for me ,you don’t love me anymore, I mean nothing to you, what do you know about a relationship, its not easy to walk out of a past relationship, you cant understand women, what do you know about Love when you have never been in a relationship, I am still friends with my Ex, mere parents theek kehtey thhey. Rajats girlfriend behaves as any women in a live-in-relationship ,where she wants the rights of a wife and even more, with no commitment. She even tries to interfere with his financial matters and his relationships with his parents and family.
Nishant spends a whole day, leaving his job, waiting outside a parlour, while his so called girlfriend, gets made up, to go for a date to her ex boyfriend, for a patch-up and to plan the future, and if this was not enough he also shops for her, foots the parlour bill and keeps awake whole night doing her share of work while she cuddled up with her boyfriend. Choudhary’s girlfriends Ex, threatens him of dire consequences if he didn’t stop meeting her and Rajats girlfriend enacts a mock rendezvous with her ex boyfriend, to bring Rajat on his knees. Amidst all this chaos created by the desperation and gullibility of the boys, and the use and throw exploiting attitude of the girls,the boys are turned into puppets in bonded labourers on the verge of nervous breakdown.
In spite of this being their debut films all the six characters, specially the boys did a great job. The story was contemporary and realistic and the screenplay intensive. The pace of the movie was fast and never lost momentum and left no scope for monotony to set in. The depiction of life of three bachelors ,including the clothes, life style and language was a true depiction of a chummery and male bonding. The language is foul, but is exactly what the youngsters use today. Screenplay is authentic and the dialogues impactful. Direction is superb with a very high standard of editing. Songs and music are good and humorous, and fitted the milieu of the film well. The most positive aspect of the movie was its spontaneity, flow, simplicity, naturility and the ability of making every man, who has dealt with a lady, to relate to it. The ten minutes of monologue of Rajat towards the end ,highlighting the nature of the woman, their tantrums, fads and explosions was true to every world and extremely hilarious and beautifully highlighted that men and women are from different planets
The movie, however ends on a very happy note, with all the three men, walking out of the relationships to be back to their blissful state of singleness and free lives of bachelorhood. Every viewer will find him or herself or experiences of their lives in this explicit movie and the movie is a must for all to watch, specially the youngsters.
Sanjay Kapoor ,Delhi
Thanks to my wife Nidhi ,I saw Pyar Ka Panchnama last night and it was a wonderful experience. Don’t remember laughing so much in any movie lately, and that too on blatant realities of life .A blend of Dil chahta Hai & Pyaar ke Funde, this movie is better than both combined. Experimenting with new comers the producer and director have very successfully presented Male Bonding, Love affairs & Life in a chummery
The story revolves around three friends, Choudhary, Nishant alais Liquid, and Rajat alais Rajjo. They seem to be management graduates or software engineers working in the corporate world and living together in a common flat. All of them are desperate to have a girlfriend, and at the very first opportunity each manages to get one and this completely changes their lives. They are used, misused, insulted, and exploited by them in the name of Love using all the methods in the armamentarium of the ladies ,teasing, flirting, tantrums, howling and even seduction. Rajat moves out for a live in relationship with his girlfriend, due to lack of space and privacy, and his girlfriend keeps raving all time about her ex boyfriend. Nishant falls for a colleague who has a boyfriend tucked in, at secundrabad. Choudhary couples up with a girl who had just had the fifteenth breakup in her five years of relationship. As it usually happens in all affairs, where affairs are made for the sake of having a girlfriend, these three too, actually drove the men up the wall. While they plan a stag trip to Goa to distress, the ladies seduce, threat and force their ways too and accompany them making their holiday hell.
The movie very realistically highlighted the desperation of the young men to have a girl friend which gives the girls ample opportunity to have a personal assistant who can be actually treated as a dog ,well highlighted by the title song,patta daal galey mein khud,mein ban gaya kutta.Using the good old attitude of dropping men like a used condome, the three girls use great words and phrases to suit them as, space, individuality, privacy, relationship, we are just friends, don’t take advantage of my sweetness, a kiss is no indicator of love, if i slept with you doesn’t mean you owe me, you don’t care for me ,you don’t love me anymore, I mean nothing to you, what do you know about a relationship, its not easy to walk out of a past relationship, you cant understand women, what do you know about Love when you have never been in a relationship, I am still friends with my Ex, mere parents theek kehtey thhey. Rajats girlfriend behaves as any women in a live-in-relationship ,where she wants the rights of a wife and even more, with no commitment. She even tries to interfere with his financial matters and his relationships with his parents and family.
Nishant spends a whole day, leaving his job, waiting outside a parlour, while his so called girlfriend, gets made up, to go for a date to her ex boyfriend, for a patch-up and to plan the future, and if this was not enough he also shops for her, foots the parlour bill and keeps awake whole night doing her share of work while she cuddled up with her boyfriend. Choudhary’s girlfriends Ex, threatens him of dire consequences if he didn’t stop meeting her and Rajats girlfriend enacts a mock rendezvous with her ex boyfriend, to bring Rajat on his knees. Amidst all this chaos created by the desperation and gullibility of the boys, and the use and throw exploiting attitude of the girls,the boys are turned into puppets in bonded labourers on the verge of nervous breakdown.
In spite of this being their debut films all the six characters, specially the boys did a great job. The story was contemporary and realistic and the screenplay intensive. The pace of the movie was fast and never lost momentum and left no scope for monotony to set in. The depiction of life of three bachelors ,including the clothes, life style and language was a true depiction of a chummery and male bonding. The language is foul, but is exactly what the youngsters use today. Screenplay is authentic and the dialogues impactful. Direction is superb with a very high standard of editing. Songs and music are good and humorous, and fitted the milieu of the film well. The most positive aspect of the movie was its spontaneity, flow, simplicity, naturility and the ability of making every man, who has dealt with a lady, to relate to it. The ten minutes of monologue of Rajat towards the end ,highlighting the nature of the woman, their tantrums, fads and explosions was true to every world and extremely hilarious and beautifully highlighted that men and women are from different planets
The movie, however ends on a very happy note, with all the three men, walking out of the relationships to be back to their blissful state of singleness and free lives of bachelorhood. Every viewer will find him or herself or experiences of their lives in this explicit movie and the movie is a must for all to watch, specially the youngsters.
Sanjay Kapoor ,Delhi
Sunday, February 6, 2011
DEATH WISH !!!!!!!!!!
Sanjay Leela Bhansali is the real and the greatest Dream Merchant,Bollywood has ever had, who takes all the hues of the rainbow to create a painting on celluloid and could give even something as depressing and morose as death, a glamorous presentation.GuZarish was yet again one similar movie of his.
I saw the movie late, and even though the movie may already be off the minds of people, I cannot refrain from talking about it, even though it’s late in the day. In fact I am doing this with a purpose of refreshing their memories again. I haven’t seen the English movie, from which it is rumored to have been inspired or even copied, but no regrets…………am very sure it could not be as good as GuZarish
In Guzarish, Bhansali has touched euthanasia, the very pertinent and burning issue of medical ethics and social acceptance. He has beautifully presented to the judiciary and medical fraternity of the country the earnest demand of those who are terminally ill, to be considered for grant of permission for mercy killing and has indirectly given his opinion and even that of the viewers ,in its favor.
The story of Guzarish, set around Goa revolves around a talented magician, played superbly by Hrithik Roshan.When he was at the peak of his career, another magician, who is his best friend and biggest compititor, tries to kill him, by snapping the wire from which he hangs during a performance. He survives but is left a quadreplegic, with paralysis, of both his arms and legs, confined for the rest of his life in bed or a wheel chair, with movement in his body possible only above the neck. He forces his assistant and girlfriend to get married, and spends twelve years in his house, confined to bed, needing help for everything. The same is efficiently provided by his nurse, played by Aishwarya, who dedicated all her time to him, even at the cost of her house, kids and even marriage. They share a very beautiful bond which can be considered a platonic relationship. Even though he puts up a brave front, continuing to crack his witty jokes and flirtatious remarks, his physical handicap does get the better of him and fed up with his life, he appeals for euthanasia and the story is of the time after this. A student comes to him to learn magic from him, before he takes his talent to the grave, who later turns out to be the son of the magician who tried to kill him. His case is fought by his, close friend, a lady lawyer, and they together convince the court that he cannot survive lifelong like this, and finally win the case. They celebrate the victory with his marriage with the nurse.
Like in all other movies of Sanjay Leela bhansali,one can easily see his great obsession for theatre.The movie looks like a three act play………Mostly indoor, few charecters,few sets and a colour theme. In fact even the dialogues seem as if they are being sung, the movements theatrical and impact poetic. It was almost like a ballet with dim lights, bright make-up, flashy clothes and antique props. A soundless still from the movie can easily be mistaken from that of an English movie of sixties.Aishwariya’s red rose and her bright red lipstick do wonders to clear the gloom of the story, Sanjay has taken poetic liberty of showing a formal court proceeding being held at the petitioners home and even the verdict which is illegal as of now, but has succeeded to convincingly get away with it.
After, Jodha Akbar, this movie once again shows that Hrithik and Aishwarya make the best screen couple. The slim tall body, air complexion, thin skin, sharp features and the agility make them actually complement each other added with their romantic on screen chemistry. Both have done their roles superbly and Aishwarya looks gorgeous doing justice to her global image. My vocabulary fails to find words for Hrithik.He was just outstanding as expected and as is in all his movies. Except for a very short interlude in the flashback, he could use only his face, but the expressions did the trick. They actually overcompensated for the paralyzed limbs. He looked, moved and danced like a Greek god which enhanced his remarkable histrionics. The other few characters have done justice to their small roles to bring the desired impact of the movie.
The story is simple, the theme important, but Sanjay has presented even this most controversial issue successfully in a very effortless manner without any depressive melodrama. The screenplay is good, dialouges simple, fluent but effectual and the flow constant. Even without any masala, the pace of the movie is handled well with no slackening. In spite of his disabilities, the wittiness and romantic nature of the magician has been portrayed excellently and his pure relationship with the nurse projected superbly. Background score is impactful and songs, especially tera zikr hai, ya itra hai, touch the soul and linger in the mind for long. One doesn’t feel sympathetic towards him, but surprisingly, it’s the spark of life put in his dark existence that sounds convincing. A lively character like him cannot live for eternity depending on others for every small act of his. The sets and props create the desired ambiance and the well chosen costumes blend with the flow of the story.Excelent direction, superb cinematography and good editing add to the merits of the movie.
Guzarish is poetry on celluloid and can actually be used in all future discussions and conferences to decide the fate of terminally ill patients and to consider their death with for euthenesia.A must see for all serious cine lovers.
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Lucknow
Sanjay Leela Bhansali is the real and the greatest Dream Merchant,Bollywood has ever had, who takes all the hues of the rainbow to create a painting on celluloid and could give even something as depressing and morose as death, a glamorous presentation.GuZarish was yet again one similar movie of his.
I saw the movie late, and even though the movie may already be off the minds of people, I cannot refrain from talking about it, even though it’s late in the day. In fact I am doing this with a purpose of refreshing their memories again. I haven’t seen the English movie, from which it is rumored to have been inspired or even copied, but no regrets…………am very sure it could not be as good as GuZarish
In Guzarish, Bhansali has touched euthanasia, the very pertinent and burning issue of medical ethics and social acceptance. He has beautifully presented to the judiciary and medical fraternity of the country the earnest demand of those who are terminally ill, to be considered for grant of permission for mercy killing and has indirectly given his opinion and even that of the viewers ,in its favor.
The story of Guzarish, set around Goa revolves around a talented magician, played superbly by Hrithik Roshan.When he was at the peak of his career, another magician, who is his best friend and biggest compititor, tries to kill him, by snapping the wire from which he hangs during a performance. He survives but is left a quadreplegic, with paralysis, of both his arms and legs, confined for the rest of his life in bed or a wheel chair, with movement in his body possible only above the neck. He forces his assistant and girlfriend to get married, and spends twelve years in his house, confined to bed, needing help for everything. The same is efficiently provided by his nurse, played by Aishwarya, who dedicated all her time to him, even at the cost of her house, kids and even marriage. They share a very beautiful bond which can be considered a platonic relationship. Even though he puts up a brave front, continuing to crack his witty jokes and flirtatious remarks, his physical handicap does get the better of him and fed up with his life, he appeals for euthanasia and the story is of the time after this. A student comes to him to learn magic from him, before he takes his talent to the grave, who later turns out to be the son of the magician who tried to kill him. His case is fought by his, close friend, a lady lawyer, and they together convince the court that he cannot survive lifelong like this, and finally win the case. They celebrate the victory with his marriage with the nurse.
Like in all other movies of Sanjay Leela bhansali,one can easily see his great obsession for theatre.The movie looks like a three act play………Mostly indoor, few charecters,few sets and a colour theme. In fact even the dialogues seem as if they are being sung, the movements theatrical and impact poetic. It was almost like a ballet with dim lights, bright make-up, flashy clothes and antique props. A soundless still from the movie can easily be mistaken from that of an English movie of sixties.Aishwariya’s red rose and her bright red lipstick do wonders to clear the gloom of the story, Sanjay has taken poetic liberty of showing a formal court proceeding being held at the petitioners home and even the verdict which is illegal as of now, but has succeeded to convincingly get away with it.
After, Jodha Akbar, this movie once again shows that Hrithik and Aishwarya make the best screen couple. The slim tall body, air complexion, thin skin, sharp features and the agility make them actually complement each other added with their romantic on screen chemistry. Both have done their roles superbly and Aishwarya looks gorgeous doing justice to her global image. My vocabulary fails to find words for Hrithik.He was just outstanding as expected and as is in all his movies. Except for a very short interlude in the flashback, he could use only his face, but the expressions did the trick. They actually overcompensated for the paralyzed limbs. He looked, moved and danced like a Greek god which enhanced his remarkable histrionics. The other few characters have done justice to their small roles to bring the desired impact of the movie.
The story is simple, the theme important, but Sanjay has presented even this most controversial issue successfully in a very effortless manner without any depressive melodrama. The screenplay is good, dialouges simple, fluent but effectual and the flow constant. Even without any masala, the pace of the movie is handled well with no slackening. In spite of his disabilities, the wittiness and romantic nature of the magician has been portrayed excellently and his pure relationship with the nurse projected superbly. Background score is impactful and songs, especially tera zikr hai, ya itra hai, touch the soul and linger in the mind for long. One doesn’t feel sympathetic towards him, but surprisingly, it’s the spark of life put in his dark existence that sounds convincing. A lively character like him cannot live for eternity depending on others for every small act of his. The sets and props create the desired ambiance and the well chosen costumes blend with the flow of the story.Excelent direction, superb cinematography and good editing add to the merits of the movie.
Guzarish is poetry on celluloid and can actually be used in all future discussions and conferences to decide the fate of terminally ill patients and to consider their death with for euthenesia.A must see for all serious cine lovers.
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Lucknow
Monday, January 31, 2011
DHOBHI GHAT
REALITY SUCKS !!!!!!!!!!
Someone asked an artist,which is your best painting,and he replied,the next ! This realy applies to Amir Khan.............he never stops surprising you,with a movie better than his last best! and he has done it again in Dhobhi Ghat.Though the movie is the directorial debut of his wife,Kiran Rao,and even though he has been raving about it being the first movie where a wife,directed her husband,one can clearly see impressions of Amir's direction,besides his mega prescence,all over the movie.
Dhobhi Ghat flopped miserably at the box office,and wasnt liked much by most, mainly because it was unlike the routine,Bollywood movies,simple.stark,hiting right in the face and sans all masala................even documentaries are more glamorous these days.It was extremely bland with no glamour or melodrama with verything being underplayed,Just a few routine days,potrayed besutifully with innovative methods,with no begining,climax or end...................probably not even a message.It was just a peep in the life of Mumbai dwellers,and their romance with struggle and survival.Hence aptly called,Dhobhi Ghat,Bombay Diaries.
The movie revolved around four charecters,Amir,a divorced painter,the dhobhi boy-the local hunk,a lady photographer and the previous inmate of Amirs house.Amir,a loner ,is a pinter and keeps moving to variou localities in suberbs of Mumbai,to get into a new mood and environement ,and ideas for his paintings.He meets this lady photographer at his art exhibiyion,and she accompanies him home,to spend th night with him.Prateek Babbar has played Munna,the young Dhobi,who came as a child from Bihar and stayed back forever .Besides being the local dhobi boy,he aspires to make it to the big screen some day and is also the popular young stud of the local area,who is used by middle aged housewives,to fulfill their sexual fantacies.The lady photographer moves in the same locality for her photoshoots and befriends Munna to use him as the local guide.She even shoots a portfolio for him,and treats him as a friend to the extent that he falls madly in love with her,but never collects the courage to express it,and in fact even helps her to find Amir, who doesnt seem very interested in her
The fourth and the most important charecter,the previous inmate of Amirs house,is a young village girl,who makes her appearance in the movie only in flashback.Amir finds three vidio cassetes in the house,which are of the previou inmates,nad it turns out that they were letters in form of vedeo recorded narrations,from tht girl to her brother.Its a very innovative method,used in the movie,to highlight the life and fate of innumerable girls who marry and reach Mumbai,to discover that they have been cheated,and have no option but to either live in misery or to commit suicide.The story unfolds as Amir watches the video cassetes,and reveals that this young girl from Malihabad,a village near Lucknow in UP,gets married to a loacl guy,settled in Mumbai,and reaches Bombay,to discover that she is the second wife of this man,who has no time for her and rarely visits her ,pushing her in a state of depressing solitude taht drives her to commit suicide by hnaging from the cieling fan
In a short span of 90 minutes,the movie,ruthlessly bares the underbelley of Mumbai,highlightinf every aspect of the city,from aspiring younsters to shattered dreams,love,romance,marriage, divorse ,sex and one night stands,the mafia,drug pedling,gang wars and murders which always turn into accidants.The life of suberburbs and of slum dwellers,explotation,unexpressed love and fraudulant marriages.Above all this,the movie ,very succesfully depicts the individualistic existance of a bombayite with a each one to his or her own life and sab chalta hai attitude.And all the dark shades of the city,are beutifully expressed in a very subtle,matter of fact manner,with the cries of anguish potrayed as helpless silence.The speechless silence is often so tactfully exhibited,that it is more deafening than the shrillest of cries.
The movie appears as an english movie,not only with the fair amount of english conversation pushed in to bring authenticity,but also by underplaying the complete narration,no sets,natural settings,ordinary clothes,no songs and superb editing and cinematography.Back ground score befits the storyline and direction is good,Amir as always is at his all time best and Prateek Babbar,Has not only done justice to his role,but even to his mother,Smita Patils name.He is probably the next star kid to hit the big screen and has all potentials,in looks,physique and histrionics to do well.The other acters have done thier bits well too and overall ,inspite of being slow and dull at places,the movie succeeds in its mission of highlighting the ethos of life of a common man in Bombay
Dhobhi ghat is a sad story of realities of Bomaby life,where there is endless darkness under all the glamour of the city and the constant struggle for survival and sucess.A city,where life goes on at its own pace and form,at its own terms and price.A must see for all Amir fans and lovers of realistic cinema
Dr Sanjay Kapoor
Someone asked an artist,which is your best painting,and he replied,the next ! This realy applies to Amir Khan.............he never stops surprising you,with a movie better than his last best! and he has done it again in Dhobhi Ghat.Though the movie is the directorial debut of his wife,Kiran Rao,and even though he has been raving about it being the first movie where a wife,directed her husband,one can clearly see impressions of Amir's direction,besides his mega prescence,all over the movie.
Dhobhi Ghat flopped miserably at the box office,and wasnt liked much by most, mainly because it was unlike the routine,Bollywood movies,simple.stark,hiting right in the face and sans all masala................even documentaries are more glamorous these days.It was extremely bland with no glamour or melodrama with verything being underplayed,Just a few routine days,potrayed besutifully with innovative methods,with no begining,climax or end...................probably not even a message.It was just a peep in the life of Mumbai dwellers,and their romance with struggle and survival.Hence aptly called,Dhobhi Ghat,Bombay Diaries.
The movie revolved around four charecters,Amir,a divorced painter,the dhobhi boy-the local hunk,a lady photographer and the previous inmate of Amirs house.Amir,a loner ,is a pinter and keeps moving to variou localities in suberbs of Mumbai,to get into a new mood and environement ,and ideas for his paintings.He meets this lady photographer at his art exhibiyion,and she accompanies him home,to spend th night with him.Prateek Babbar has played Munna,the young Dhobi,who came as a child from Bihar and stayed back forever .Besides being the local dhobi boy,he aspires to make it to the big screen some day and is also the popular young stud of the local area,who is used by middle aged housewives,to fulfill their sexual fantacies.The lady photographer moves in the same locality for her photoshoots and befriends Munna to use him as the local guide.She even shoots a portfolio for him,and treats him as a friend to the extent that he falls madly in love with her,but never collects the courage to express it,and in fact even helps her to find Amir, who doesnt seem very interested in her
The fourth and the most important charecter,the previous inmate of Amirs house,is a young village girl,who makes her appearance in the movie only in flashback.Amir finds three vidio cassetes in the house,which are of the previou inmates,nad it turns out that they were letters in form of vedeo recorded narrations,from tht girl to her brother.Its a very innovative method,used in the movie,to highlight the life and fate of innumerable girls who marry and reach Mumbai,to discover that they have been cheated,and have no option but to either live in misery or to commit suicide.The story unfolds as Amir watches the video cassetes,and reveals that this young girl from Malihabad,a village near Lucknow in UP,gets married to a loacl guy,settled in Mumbai,and reaches Bombay,to discover that she is the second wife of this man,who has no time for her and rarely visits her ,pushing her in a state of depressing solitude taht drives her to commit suicide by hnaging from the cieling fan
In a short span of 90 minutes,the movie,ruthlessly bares the underbelley of Mumbai,highlightinf every aspect of the city,from aspiring younsters to shattered dreams,love,romance,marriage, divorse ,sex and one night stands,the mafia,drug pedling,gang wars and murders which always turn into accidants.The life of suberburbs and of slum dwellers,explotation,unexpressed love and fraudulant marriages.Above all this,the movie ,very succesfully depicts the individualistic existance of a bombayite with a each one to his or her own life and sab chalta hai attitude.And all the dark shades of the city,are beutifully expressed in a very subtle,matter of fact manner,with the cries of anguish potrayed as helpless silence.The speechless silence is often so tactfully exhibited,that it is more deafening than the shrillest of cries.
The movie appears as an english movie,not only with the fair amount of english conversation pushed in to bring authenticity,but also by underplaying the complete narration,no sets,natural settings,ordinary clothes,no songs and superb editing and cinematography.Back ground score befits the storyline and direction is good,Amir as always is at his all time best and Prateek Babbar,Has not only done justice to his role,but even to his mother,Smita Patils name.He is probably the next star kid to hit the big screen and has all potentials,in looks,physique and histrionics to do well.The other acters have done thier bits well too and overall ,inspite of being slow and dull at places,the movie succeeds in its mission of highlighting the ethos of life of a common man in Bombay
Dhobhi ghat is a sad story of realities of Bomaby life,where there is endless darkness under all the glamour of the city and the constant struggle for survival and sucess.A city,where life goes on at its own pace and form,at its own terms and price.A must see for all Amir fans and lovers of realistic cinema
Dr Sanjay Kapoor
Sunday, May 30, 2010
KITES
Kites that did not fly !!
Kites was a great disappointment and an utter disaster.My sincere apologies to all related to the film,but cant resist this remark,as this was probably the only movies,in which I slipped off to sleep !
There was too much talk and pre release drama for the movie.Unique story,Blend of Hollywood & Bollywood,return of Hrithik.stunning Barbara and the works.But all this was actually missing and probably it was the extra pre release hype that added to the discontentment
The story was like a modern day Laila Majnu tale,poorly presented.It revolved around an Indian guy,Hrithik,settled with a green card in Las Vegas.He did odd jobs to earn his living including using his green card to marry girls,temporarily,to help them get an entry in the country.He had great dreams of becoming rich one day,for which he feigned love for a rich girl,Kangna Ranawat ,daughter of the owner of the biggest casino of the city,Kabir Bedi.There he realizes that he is madly in love with the spanish fiancé of the girl's brother.He had met this girl ,played by Barbara for some time once,when he had married her to help her get entry in the city.Their love comes to light,and they are chased and the girl commits suicide.Later ,when he comes to know about it,Hrithik ends his life too.
Hrithik with his six pack abs,rugged looks,macho body,hazel eyes and impressive stubble,has actually looked like a cowboy.In spite of his great looks,brilliant acting and superb dancing,he has failed to bring the movie out of its monotony.Barbara ,has failed to all expectations and to create any oomph or chemistry on screen and any of the Bollywood heroines like,Bipasha,Priyanka or even Kangana would have done better in her place,Kangna has done justice to her short role.The cinematography and locales were excellent but the pace of the movie intolerably slow,making the movie unbearable in the second half.The screenplay was weak and the spanish of Barbara,even though dubbed ,was irritating.The story was unrealistic and unconvincing and one fails to understand how someone can suddenly realize that he is madly in love with a girl,whom he had met only once.
Luckily,in spite of all the bad reviews from the word go,most cine lovers did see the movie,just to see how bad,such a hyped movie can be and how can a Kite become Kati Patang !
Sanjay Kapoor
Kites was a great disappointment and an utter disaster.My sincere apologies to all related to the film,but cant resist this remark,as this was probably the only movies,in which I slipped off to sleep !
There was too much talk and pre release drama for the movie.Unique story,Blend of Hollywood & Bollywood,return of Hrithik.stunning Barbara and the works.But all this was actually missing and probably it was the extra pre release hype that added to the discontentment
The story was like a modern day Laila Majnu tale,poorly presented.It revolved around an Indian guy,Hrithik,settled with a green card in Las Vegas.He did odd jobs to earn his living including using his green card to marry girls,temporarily,to help them get an entry in the country.He had great dreams of becoming rich one day,for which he feigned love for a rich girl,Kangna Ranawat ,daughter of the owner of the biggest casino of the city,Kabir Bedi.There he realizes that he is madly in love with the spanish fiancé of the girl's brother.He had met this girl ,played by Barbara for some time once,when he had married her to help her get entry in the city.Their love comes to light,and they are chased and the girl commits suicide.Later ,when he comes to know about it,Hrithik ends his life too.
Hrithik with his six pack abs,rugged looks,macho body,hazel eyes and impressive stubble,has actually looked like a cowboy.In spite of his great looks,brilliant acting and superb dancing,he has failed to bring the movie out of its monotony.Barbara ,has failed to all expectations and to create any oomph or chemistry on screen and any of the Bollywood heroines like,Bipasha,Priyanka or even Kangana would have done better in her place,Kangna has done justice to her short role.The cinematography and locales were excellent but the pace of the movie intolerably slow,making the movie unbearable in the second half.The screenplay was weak and the spanish of Barbara,even though dubbed ,was irritating.The story was unrealistic and unconvincing and one fails to understand how someone can suddenly realize that he is madly in love with a girl,whom he had met only once.
Luckily,in spite of all the bad reviews from the word go,most cine lovers did see the movie,just to see how bad,such a hyped movie can be and how can a Kite become Kati Patang !
Sanjay Kapoor
Sunday, October 4, 2009
MORNING WALK
A SLOW WALK !
Was waiting very anxiously to watch Morning Walk,since It was bringing my all time favorite Sharmila ,on screen after long.
Though the reviews spoke of it being different,it came and went,almost unsung.I too was a wee bit disappointed
The plot revolves around a retired Professor,played by Anupam Kher,who lived alone,after his wife's death,as he was not very welcome at his daughter-in laws house.He however,after a heart attack,has to move with them,where he tries to adjust with default,and with great support from his loving grand daughter.He is made to pay a price for shifting in,with the son coaxing him to agree to sell his ancestral property to help the son buy a bigger house.
During his Morning walks, he meets Sharmila,who was his old student,and they shared a silent love.Flashback reveals,that after the two are respectively married to different spouses,he meets Sharmila once,at a hill station,during an official tour,and comes to know that she has been the victim of domestic violence,from an in human husband.In trying to console her,he spends some time with her and rest is left to imagination
He now comes to know,that Sharmila's husband died early in life,and she has a daughter ,through their rendezvous,on that fateful night.His surpreesed love for Sharmila and an urge to accept the girl as his daughter,gives him the courage to break the social norms,and declare to both the families about their clandestine affair.While Sharmila's kids take it very sportingly and rather welcomingly,as they wanted to see their mother smile and happy in life,Anupam's son and specially the daughter in law, object very vehemently.
Things become worse,when he decides to use the money from selling his house,not for supporting his legal son to buy a house,but for the education abroad ,of his newly found daughter.The son and bahu,get agitated,as their dream of shifting to a bungalow crumples and is sabotaged by their dads extramarital affair,and the illegitimate daughter.In spite of all scenes created by he drunken bahu and the emotionally blackmailing son,Anupam Kher sticks to his decision,and finally shifts to live with Sharmila,sending off their daughter abroad.
Though a little bold story,it wasn't handled well.The main issue of not only having an affair with a student,and then a daughter through bedlock,but also accepting it publicly in the seventh decade of life,was lost and shifted to the money,for which an amicable solution and mid path attitude could have been used,to equally distribute the money between the two families.The son may have been earning,but as the legal heir,he too had some right on his fathers property and money.The pace was slow,the events unfolded abruptly and the movie lacked spontaneity.The occasional melodrama,added to depriving it from the status of a meaningful cinema.Sharmila was good as always,but Anupam lacked,the metal he displayed in his acting in movies like Saraansh. Other actors were just tolerable .Music and songs were average,and direction and dialogues could be better.
Overall it was a little disappointing,as the movie failed to impress on a very pertinent issue of need of love at old age! But ,no regrets,as it is always a pleasure watching Sharmils,whose few wrinkles,still fail to hide her magical dimples !!
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Lucknow
Was waiting very anxiously to watch Morning Walk,since It was bringing my all time favorite Sharmila ,on screen after long.
Though the reviews spoke of it being different,it came and went,almost unsung.I too was a wee bit disappointed
The plot revolves around a retired Professor,played by Anupam Kher,who lived alone,after his wife's death,as he was not very welcome at his daughter-in laws house.He however,after a heart attack,has to move with them,where he tries to adjust with default,and with great support from his loving grand daughter.He is made to pay a price for shifting in,with the son coaxing him to agree to sell his ancestral property to help the son buy a bigger house.
During his Morning walks, he meets Sharmila,who was his old student,and they shared a silent love.Flashback reveals,that after the two are respectively married to different spouses,he meets Sharmila once,at a hill station,during an official tour,and comes to know that she has been the victim of domestic violence,from an in human husband.In trying to console her,he spends some time with her and rest is left to imagination
He now comes to know,that Sharmila's husband died early in life,and she has a daughter ,through their rendezvous,on that fateful night.His surpreesed love for Sharmila and an urge to accept the girl as his daughter,gives him the courage to break the social norms,and declare to both the families about their clandestine affair.While Sharmila's kids take it very sportingly and rather welcomingly,as they wanted to see their mother smile and happy in life,Anupam's son and specially the daughter in law, object very vehemently.
Things become worse,when he decides to use the money from selling his house,not for supporting his legal son to buy a house,but for the education abroad ,of his newly found daughter.The son and bahu,get agitated,as their dream of shifting to a bungalow crumples and is sabotaged by their dads extramarital affair,and the illegitimate daughter.In spite of all scenes created by he drunken bahu and the emotionally blackmailing son,Anupam Kher sticks to his decision,and finally shifts to live with Sharmila,sending off their daughter abroad.
Though a little bold story,it wasn't handled well.The main issue of not only having an affair with a student,and then a daughter through bedlock,but also accepting it publicly in the seventh decade of life,was lost and shifted to the money,for which an amicable solution and mid path attitude could have been used,to equally distribute the money between the two families.The son may have been earning,but as the legal heir,he too had some right on his fathers property and money.The pace was slow,the events unfolded abruptly and the movie lacked spontaneity.The occasional melodrama,added to depriving it from the status of a meaningful cinema.Sharmila was good as always,but Anupam lacked,the metal he displayed in his acting in movies like Saraansh. Other actors were just tolerable .Music and songs were average,and direction and dialogues could be better.
Overall it was a little disappointing,as the movie failed to impress on a very pertinent issue of need of love at old age! But ,no regrets,as it is always a pleasure watching Sharmils,whose few wrinkles,still fail to hide her magical dimples !!
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Lucknow
Sunday, August 23, 2009
LOVE AAJ KAL
TWO - IN - ONE !!
Luv Aaj Kal,was a double treat,and that too, a real welcome one.After a large number of off beat movies in the near past,on terrorism,abstract themes and Bollywood,it was good for a refreshing change,to see a good old poppy love story.The best part of the movie,in fact was that it had two love stories ,one of present times,and one of yester years running simultaneously.portraying the love is eternal !
The story revolves around an Indian boy,played beautifully by Saif,and a girl,acted by Deepika,who are settled abroad,and are just thick friends. Both are ambitious and want to peruse their careers,but while the boy wants to stay put there,the girl wants to return to India and peruse her passion of rerestoring heritage buildings.Confused as they are,about their feeling for each other,they jointly decide to break-up,and formally do so,before the girl returns to India on her dream project.After the split,they realize that they were missing each other,but were either too dumb to understand it,or too stubborn to accept.The girl falls in love with her boss,and is engaged to him.The restless boy,meets a garage owner,superbly portrayed by Rishi Kapoor,who narrates his three decade old love story,and the problems in delaying acceptance of love and making proposals.the narration,is presented as flash back,with Saif playing the young Rishi,the naive gabru jawan sikh in love with a visitor to his village,from Kalkatta.The role of the heroine of this second love story of the past has been played by a Belgian actress ,Gazella.
The two love stories run parallel and are in sync beautifully.It takes not only Rishi Kapoor,but even a counselor to make the two realize that they are in love,and finally Saif returns to India,and proposes to his lady love just in time,exactly as the hero of the older love story ,had developed courage enough to go to Kalkatta ,and express his love,and when denied approval by the girls parents,eloped with his lady love on the day of her marriage.The plot and story were good and so was the screenplay,in spite of giving a feeling of de-ja-vu ,due to the similarity with,Kuch kuch Hota Hai and Jane tu ya jane na ,where in it takes friends,relatives,family and even psychologists,to convince two youngsters,that they are in love and prove that a platonic relationship is just the period between the introduction and the first kiss !
Saif has acted really well,and has brought the contrast in the two characters he played,superbly and in fact has looked real cute as the young surd of yester years.Rishi and Deepika have done justice to their roles and Gazella looks fresh and petite.Deepika has looked charmingly hot in her sexy dresses . The background score is enchanting and the songs heart touching,specially duriyaan,being the top favorite of all ,these days.The direction and picturisation were of great quality and the best was the tact of perfect synchronization and excellent editing,which enabled the two stories to run ,parrallely,with utmost ease.Besides this newness the movie can boost of an uniqueness,where the hero plays another role,of the past of another character from the same movie.
Overall.the movie was real entertainer,with good story,wonderful acting and above all,soul soothing songs and music.
Dr Sanjay Kapok Lucknoq
Luv Aaj Kal,was a double treat,and that too, a real welcome one.After a large number of off beat movies in the near past,on terrorism,abstract themes and Bollywood,it was good for a refreshing change,to see a good old poppy love story.The best part of the movie,in fact was that it had two love stories ,one of present times,and one of yester years running simultaneously.portraying the love is eternal !
The story revolves around an Indian boy,played beautifully by Saif,and a girl,acted by Deepika,who are settled abroad,and are just thick friends. Both are ambitious and want to peruse their careers,but while the boy wants to stay put there,the girl wants to return to India and peruse her passion of rerestoring heritage buildings.Confused as they are,about their feeling for each other,they jointly decide to break-up,and formally do so,before the girl returns to India on her dream project.After the split,they realize that they were missing each other,but were either too dumb to understand it,or too stubborn to accept.The girl falls in love with her boss,and is engaged to him.The restless boy,meets a garage owner,superbly portrayed by Rishi Kapoor,who narrates his three decade old love story,and the problems in delaying acceptance of love and making proposals.the narration,is presented as flash back,with Saif playing the young Rishi,the naive gabru jawan sikh in love with a visitor to his village,from Kalkatta.The role of the heroine of this second love story of the past has been played by a Belgian actress ,Gazella.
The two love stories run parallel and are in sync beautifully.It takes not only Rishi Kapoor,but even a counselor to make the two realize that they are in love,and finally Saif returns to India,and proposes to his lady love just in time,exactly as the hero of the older love story ,had developed courage enough to go to Kalkatta ,and express his love,and when denied approval by the girls parents,eloped with his lady love on the day of her marriage.The plot and story were good and so was the screenplay,in spite of giving a feeling of de-ja-vu ,due to the similarity with,Kuch kuch Hota Hai and Jane tu ya jane na ,where in it takes friends,relatives,family and even psychologists,to convince two youngsters,that they are in love and prove that a platonic relationship is just the period between the introduction and the first kiss !
Saif has acted really well,and has brought the contrast in the two characters he played,superbly and in fact has looked real cute as the young surd of yester years.Rishi and Deepika have done justice to their roles and Gazella looks fresh and petite.Deepika has looked charmingly hot in her sexy dresses . The background score is enchanting and the songs heart touching,specially duriyaan,being the top favorite of all ,these days.The direction and picturisation were of great quality and the best was the tact of perfect synchronization and excellent editing,which enabled the two stories to run ,parrallely,with utmost ease.Besides this newness the movie can boost of an uniqueness,where the hero plays another role,of the past of another character from the same movie.
Overall.the movie was real entertainer,with good story,wonderful acting and above all,soul soothing songs and music.
Dr Sanjay Kapok Lucknoq
Thursday, March 19, 2009
DEV D
WAS DEV D REALLY DEVDAS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saw Dev D,and have been confused ever since,as to how to react to it.!But am sure of one thing,that except for the Hero named,Dev,who had two woman named Paro and Chanda(Chandramukhi) in his life ,there is nothing really like the original story or the earlier movies,Devdas.
Dev D is definitely an innovative film,very cleverly twined around the backdrop of the original story of Devdas.It has used two recent scandals,the MMS Scandal,of a public school of Delhi and the famous(or rather infamous)BMW hit and run case,to present the lifestyle of the youngsters today.The depiction of the dark side of today's life of youngsters and teenagers is authentic,highlighting,the freedom,disrespect to elders,indiscipline,extravagance,drinking,smoking,drugs,teenage experimental sex,exploitation,flesh trade ,sexual perversions,the liberated woman and the works!What has been shown is probably true,but may represent the lifestyle of limited few,and does seem a bit exaggerated . In trying to do justice,the movie seems to have gone over board,and is obnoxiously intorable at places,specially the explicit unparliamentarily language replete with abuses and even the scenes and acts,to the extent of becoming repulsively truthful and realistically scary!
The story,revolves around Dev,a spoilt brat,who has a neighborhood girl friend called Paro.Dev is sent to study abroad,as a punishment for being indiscipline and disrespectful and returns as a young rich panju eligible bachelor,full of all the prevalent vices,including drugs,drinking and womanizing.Simultaneously there is,a girl called Chanda,(the name is really a misfit for her,in the movie)whose boyfriend,records some intimate La Monica moments with her, while in school and circulates the MMS.She is put under house arrest in her ancestral village home,from where she elopes to grow up and become a high class escort! Dev is stunned and shocked by Paro,after she has a real hot encounter with him in the fields,exhibiting her boldness and the Kamsutra skills,and refuses to marry her,presuming that she would be sleeping around with others too.Dev bangs into Chanda,in the dark alleys of pubs and brothels,amidst drug peddlers,pimps and sex perverts,and they fall in love!Dev buys a red BMW,from the money he gets from his dying father,and under the effect of drugs and alcohol kills few people on the footpath and runs away!Chanda extends her loving support and stands by him,when the world leaves him and convinces him to surrender to the police!
The story is good,and the screenplay very contemporary.Dialogues are strong .but crude and filthy.Direction,editing and cinematography are of a very high standard but what outshines all is the music and the songs.The background score is original and
the songs intriguingingly different,entertaining and befitting!Abhay Deol had acted very well,and so have the two girls in their debuts.
The movie can be seen once,but I wish,it was made as it is,without being related to Devdas.Somewhere,it seems that,we have belittled the sublime soft love between Devdas and Paro,and the selfless support of Chandramukhi.Even though I am not a supporter of Devdas as a lover,but am an ardent fan of the story of Devdas,and wish that the eternal triangle of love between Devdas,Paro and Chandramukhi was not belittled and humiliated by presenting it in this dirty distorted manner,just to fit today's context,
Dr Sanjay Kaps Lucknow
Saw Dev D,and have been confused ever since,as to how to react to it.!But am sure of one thing,that except for the Hero named,Dev,who had two woman named Paro and Chanda(Chandramukhi) in his life ,there is nothing really like the original story or the earlier movies,Devdas.
Dev D is definitely an innovative film,very cleverly twined around the backdrop of the original story of Devdas.It has used two recent scandals,the MMS Scandal,of a public school of Delhi and the famous(or rather infamous)BMW hit and run case,to present the lifestyle of the youngsters today.The depiction of the dark side of today's life of youngsters and teenagers is authentic,highlighting,the freedom,disrespect to elders,indiscipline,extravagance,drinking,smoking,drugs,teenage experimental sex,exploitation,flesh trade ,sexual perversions,the liberated woman and the works!What has been shown is probably true,but may represent the lifestyle of limited few,and does seem a bit exaggerated . In trying to do justice,the movie seems to have gone over board,and is obnoxiously intorable at places,specially the explicit unparliamentarily language replete with abuses and even the scenes and acts,to the extent of becoming repulsively truthful and realistically scary!
The story,revolves around Dev,a spoilt brat,who has a neighborhood girl friend called Paro.Dev is sent to study abroad,as a punishment for being indiscipline and disrespectful and returns as a young rich panju eligible bachelor,full of all the prevalent vices,including drugs,drinking and womanizing.Simultaneously there is,a girl called Chanda,(the name is really a misfit for her,in the movie)whose boyfriend,records some intimate La Monica moments with her, while in school and circulates the MMS.She is put under house arrest in her ancestral village home,from where she elopes to grow up and become a high class escort! Dev is stunned and shocked by Paro,after she has a real hot encounter with him in the fields,exhibiting her boldness and the Kamsutra skills,and refuses to marry her,presuming that she would be sleeping around with others too.Dev bangs into Chanda,in the dark alleys of pubs and brothels,amidst drug peddlers,pimps and sex perverts,and they fall in love!Dev buys a red BMW,from the money he gets from his dying father,and under the effect of drugs and alcohol kills few people on the footpath and runs away!Chanda extends her loving support and stands by him,when the world leaves him and convinces him to surrender to the police!
The story is good,and the screenplay very contemporary.Dialogues are strong .but crude and filthy.Direction,editing and cinematography are of a very high standard but what outshines all is the music and the songs.The background score is original and
the songs intriguingingly different,entertaining and befitting!Abhay Deol had acted very well,and so have the two girls in their debuts.
The movie can be seen once,but I wish,it was made as it is,without being related to Devdas.Somewhere,it seems that,we have belittled the sublime soft love between Devdas and Paro,and the selfless support of Chandramukhi.Even though I am not a supporter of Devdas as a lover,but am an ardent fan of the story of Devdas,and wish that the eternal triangle of love between Devdas,Paro and Chandramukhi was not belittled and humiliated by presenting it in this dirty distorted manner,just to fit today's context,
Dr Sanjay Kaps Lucknow
Saturday, March 14, 2009
SLUM DOG MILLIONAIRE!
DESI MAAL-VIDESHI PACKING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally saw SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and really liked the movie!
There has been much talk about the movie,but in spite of (or rather because of) all the controversies,the movie got an unimaginably welcome international recognition,including eight Oscars,as no movie ,from Hollywood or Bollywood has ever got before!
Adapted from the novel.Q&A,the movie primarily focuses round the slums and poverty of India,twined beautifully around a love story,and how the young hero,a slum dweller,working as a tea-delivery-boy at a call centre,wins twenty million rupees at a TV show,representing the popular Kaun Banega Crorepati,without any formal education or training,and the key to his success being his experiences in life,staying in the slum and working at the call centre.Intermingled in the story,as an inseparable part,is the portrayal of the evils of slums and the underworld,and the miserable exploitation of the underprivileged.
The story is realistic,screenplay authentic and touchy and the pace intriguing! The movie keeps one gripped in its mood,and waiting for the next step.Background score is awesome,cinematography superb and editing par excellence.What stands out most,is the superb direction and the immense effort in maintaining realism and simplicity.A R Rehman's music is mind blowing,melodious and enchanting!!!!!Acting of the slum kids and the young stars is fantastic,but Anil Kapoor and Irfaan were surprisingly ,not up to the mark.
All the noise about the portrayal of the negative side of India is baseless and unwarranted.Poverty of India is an integral part of the country,and if we are keen on our success story to be taken all over the world,we cannot stop the dark side of our existence from being projected too.If the government and those who are objecting to this,really mean concern,then they should have or at least should now take appropriate steps to decrease poverty and eliminate the evils related to it,and the exploitation and the miseries of the poor and the slumdwellers.Danny Bowle deserves a bigger award,for being a social activist by bringing the anguish of these underprivileged,children of the lesser God,to focus.The only objectionable part,which i felt hurt about,was,when the cops bash up the child hero,working as a guide to foriegners and he says,you wanted to see real India,This is real iNDIA! On this the english tourist dools out dollars and tells him,dont worry my child,I will show you,what real America is!This was unwanted and outright racist!
The representation of Indian poverty has been done most realistically,without any exaggeration,and in no derogatory manner,rather in a more acceptable matter of fact fashion,and it is definitely not the first time that it has been done.Traffic Signal,recently portrayed all this and even more! Slums of Mumbai,poverty,exploitation of poor,underworld,organized begging gangs,child labour,child abuse,flesh trade,all were very nicely portrayed in Traffic Signal,but went unnoticed without any reaction,since it lacked,big stars ,big banner and a Hollywood director to break our slumber !One cannot stop feeling happy and proud for A R Rehman and Gulzar for bringing home the much coveted Oscars,but its definitely not for their best.Even Rehman has given innumerable memorable music before,specially in Bombay,Roza,Lagaan,Taal,Rangeela and many more,which were as good as this,if not more.Without undermining the success of SDM,I cannot resist but say,that it required am imported packing for the story of slumdwellers of India and A R Rehmans music,to be catapulted to international fame.
My heartiest congratulations to the complete team of SDM,for their grand success,but the real success will actually come,when this movie shakes the powers to be,and the chants of Jai ho shatter their deafness to the cries of underprivileged and something concrete is done to decrease and end the miseries of these poor people,rather just create a ho-hulla,on a movie based on them.
Sanjay,Delhi
Monday, February 9, 2009
DEVDAS REVISITED
Whose Devdas is it ?
Devdas has been discussed and mentioned in discussions on Bollywood,and in connection with jilted lovers,or failed love affairs,for over five decades now.Besides reading about him in Sharatchand Chatterjees novel,we saw him in four films, two of which went ahead to become almost immortal, the one of Dilip Kumars and the extravaganza of Leela Bhansali,and now we have another adaptation of Devdas,the DEV D. At this juncture, it becomes relevant to introspect and see as to what made Devdas, so important and famous, atleast in Indian folk lure, like Romeo and Majnu! Few pertinent questions that come to my mind are, who is Devdas, whom does he represent or infact, what is Devdas?
Devdas is no longer a character from a novel or just a hero in a movie.He has come out of these and has broken the boundaries of social classes and the norms of society.He may be a jobless slumdweller smitten by the love of the dark,sharp-featured,thinly-clad girl of the neighbouring hutment or a rich megastar in love with an universal beauty.Devdas is an emotion,a phenomenon,-may be a loser or a winner,but is love personified. Time has immortalized Devdas as an expression of silent, unexpressed love
All remakes are compared with the previous ones .and hence this is also an appropriate time ,to re-visit Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas which did well at the box-office. The megastarrer cost over 50 crore rupees., Did the silent love of Devdas,really needed such a loud and extravagant expression ?Did he actually need to heap Paro with tones of gold to highlight her helpless,or dress Chandramukhi in outfits costing 15lakhs each to bring out the sensuality or support of a nauchgirl for a jilted suffering lover ? Could the dazzling sets correctly portray the sadness in the eyes of Devdas or the darkness in his life ?The viewer probably got lost in the sets,costumes,choreography and the cinematography and missed Devdas totally. Devdas went unnoticed and unrecognized like we miss the forest for the trees . Bhansali succeeded in making a grand entertainer but failed in portraying the complexity of his simple love or the strength of his weakness
For those who have seen both the previous DevDas, the one with Dilip is remembered more, and now its time to judge, what the latest version-Dev D has in store for us
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Lucknow
Devdas has been discussed and mentioned in discussions on Bollywood,and in connection with jilted lovers,or failed love affairs,for over five decades now.Besides reading about him in Sharatchand Chatterjees novel,we saw him in four films, two of which went ahead to become almost immortal, the one of Dilip Kumars and the extravaganza of Leela Bhansali,and now we have another adaptation of Devdas,the DEV D. At this juncture, it becomes relevant to introspect and see as to what made Devdas, so important and famous, atleast in Indian folk lure, like Romeo and Majnu! Few pertinent questions that come to my mind are, who is Devdas, whom does he represent or infact, what is Devdas?
Devdas is no longer a character from a novel or just a hero in a movie.He has come out of these and has broken the boundaries of social classes and the norms of society.He may be a jobless slumdweller smitten by the love of the dark,sharp-featured,thinly-clad girl of the neighbouring hutment or a rich megastar in love with an universal beauty.Devdas is an emotion,a phenomenon,-may be a loser or a winner,but is love personified. Time has immortalized Devdas as an expression of silent, unexpressed love
All remakes are compared with the previous ones .and hence this is also an appropriate time ,to re-visit Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas which did well at the box-office. The megastarrer cost over 50 crore rupees., Did the silent love of Devdas,really needed such a loud and extravagant expression ?Did he actually need to heap Paro with tones of gold to highlight her helpless,or dress Chandramukhi in outfits costing 15lakhs each to bring out the sensuality or support of a nauchgirl for a jilted suffering lover ? Could the dazzling sets correctly portray the sadness in the eyes of Devdas or the darkness in his life ?The viewer probably got lost in the sets,costumes,choreography and the cinematography and missed Devdas totally. Devdas went unnoticed and unrecognized like we miss the forest for the trees . Bhansali succeeded in making a grand entertainer but failed in portraying the complexity of his simple love or the strength of his weakness
For those who have seen both the previous DevDas, the one with Dilip is remembered more, and now its time to judge, what the latest version-Dev D has in store for us
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Lucknow
Saturday, February 7, 2009
HEROES OF INDIAN CINEMA
BARE and DARE !!!!!
Movies,besides being the fashion statements for India,have always also,indicated the mood and trends of the society.The present change in the Heroes of Bollywood,from the chocolate guys to the tough he-men who bare and dare,is a reflection of the present day image of a ladies' Dream man!(Out of Flavor-THE WEEK,Feb. 8,2009)
This change from the gentlemanly heroes,to the chocolate lover boys,followed by the metrosexual males,and now the rough and tough macho men, is the story of the changing attitudes of a woman towards her man,and her expectations from him,including the changing sexual trends,over the last few decades.The petite shy woman,of sixties,feared that they may get pregnant even by holding hands,and hence the soft spoken,gentlemanly heroes like Devanand,and AshokKumar survived on the screen,From mid seventies for almost a decade and a half,the girls started getting out of their homes,and dreamt of romance and fun,giving birth to the chocolate heroes,like Rishi Kapoor who would ride a bike and sing around the trees.The liberated woman of late nineties and early twenties,graduated further,to discos and dance and invented the metrosexual males,who dressed colorfully,used make up,gelled hair,and even experimented with accessories and jewelery.Salmans,Akshays and Sharuhks were the pioneers of this league but their life span was short lived,due to several reasons . They gave the heroines a tough competion,and the women became bolder and more vocal of their desires,and demanded titillation and their share of flesh,to ogle at!
Heroes obliged,starting with Salman,to bare their chest and assets ,followed by almost all,including Akshay,Sharukh in Om Shanti,Hrithik in Kris and Dhoom,John in Dostana,Amir in Ghajini and so on,each one bared whatever he could,and some like Ranbeer bared it all in Sawariya!
The ever powerful,independent,liberated and financially empowered woman of today,wants actually a He-man, as her Prince Charming!And this drove the heroes to six pack and now eight pack Abs! If the men can ogle at women dancers,women have all right to see the men strip,to whatever extent,and these men are doing it well! And at times even going overboard,like Hritikh in Luck By Chance,where he can claim to be the male icon,of what Katy Mirza,was for women ,once!
Ask for it,and get it on a platter !why should men alone,have all the fun !
Sanjay Kapoor,Lucknow
Movies,besides being the fashion statements for India,have always also,indicated the mood and trends of the society.The present change in the Heroes of Bollywood,from the chocolate guys to the tough he-men who bare and dare,is a reflection of the present day image of a ladies' Dream man!(Out of Flavor-THE WEEK,Feb. 8,2009)
This change from the gentlemanly heroes,to the chocolate lover boys,followed by the metrosexual males,and now the rough and tough macho men, is the story of the changing attitudes of a woman towards her man,and her expectations from him,including the changing sexual trends,over the last few decades.The petite shy woman,of sixties,feared that they may get pregnant even by holding hands,and hence the soft spoken,gentlemanly heroes like Devanand,and AshokKumar survived on the screen,From mid seventies for almost a decade and a half,the girls started getting out of their homes,and dreamt of romance and fun,giving birth to the chocolate heroes,like Rishi Kapoor who would ride a bike and sing around the trees.The liberated woman of late nineties and early twenties,graduated further,to discos and dance and invented the metrosexual males,who dressed colorfully,used make up,gelled hair,and even experimented with accessories and jewelery.Salmans,Akshays and Sharuhks were the pioneers of this league but their life span was short lived,due to several reasons . They gave the heroines a tough competion,and the women became bolder and more vocal of their desires,and demanded titillation and their share of flesh,to ogle at!
Heroes obliged,starting with Salman,to bare their chest and assets ,followed by almost all,including Akshay,Sharukh in Om Shanti,Hrithik in Kris and Dhoom,John in Dostana,Amir in Ghajini and so on,each one bared whatever he could,and some like Ranbeer bared it all in Sawariya!
The ever powerful,independent,liberated and financially empowered woman of today,wants actually a He-man, as her Prince Charming!And this drove the heroes to six pack and now eight pack Abs! If the men can ogle at women dancers,women have all right to see the men strip,to whatever extent,and these men are doing it well! And at times even going overboard,like Hritikh in Luck By Chance,where he can claim to be the male icon,of what Katy Mirza,was for women ,once!
Ask for it,and get it on a platter !why should men alone,have all the fun !
Sanjay Kapoor,Lucknow
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
LUCK BY CHANCE
REALISTIC AND REFRESHING !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Heartiest Congratulations to Zoya Akhtah for her marvellous direction of LBC.It was pleasure indeed watching Luck By Chance!
The Akhtar family is proving beyond doubt that talent runs in blood and is passed through genes.Farhan and Zoya Akhtar are not only making Javed proud,but are showing great promise and potential,and one expects more of such and even better work from then in future
Though the story of LBC is nothing new,and its all heard and all seen,still the presentation is great,refreshing and revealing!The movie bares the underbelly of the harsh Bollywood industry,but subtly,emphasizing more on the struggling of aspirants in filmdom,in the ruthless city of Mumbai.and meshed in this struggle is an unsuccessful love story.Farhan Akhtar plays a struggling star,who falls in love with a small time extra artist,who is waiting for a big break ,played by Konkana Sen Sharma.While she keeps waiting,Farhan,gets a break,luckily by chance,when,a superstar,played by Hrithik,leaves a movie,and the producer ,looking for a new face grabs him.The film has very naturally and undramatically depicted the change that comes in Farhans attitude to life and people around him,where he wants to compromise with nothing that may hamper his rise,even his one time girl friend and support.
Though the plot is old,and gives glimpse of many such movies on the Mumbai Film Industry,like Khoya Khoya Chand,Mein Madhuri Dixit banna chahti hoon,Last Lair,and many more,it still appears fresh,due to the lack of melodrama and the underplaying of events.The muck under the dazzling glow of the tinseltown and the shattering blows of the venomous pangs of the dream-merchants have been portrayed naturally and realistically.LCB has vividly portrayed the struggle in the film industry,the tough competition,the long wait for a break,the false promises,shattered dreams,exploitation,long and unhealthy working hours,intolerable work conditions,bitching,politics,facade,farce,disrespect for individuals,insensitivity to feelings,man-eat-man attitude,casting couch,power game and above all the ,thee success mantra of being at the right place,at the right time,with the right person and with the right attitude!
The story and the screenplay are entertaining and in spite of the slow pace of the movie,manage to steal the attention of the audience.Cinematography and picturization are good,with excellent music and songs.The background song bagia bagia,is not only touchy but also very apt for the movie and the situation.The choreography of the dance on the enchanting number ,Jhoomo re Jhoomo re,jhoomoo reaaa,picturised on a circus theme,and performed almost as an item number by Hrhitik,is really colorful,enchanting and melodious and reminds of the folk songs of Rudali and Paheli.Rishi Kapoor has done justice to his role,as the producer of the film,in the movie,and so has Juhi Chawla,as his wife and a typical rich punju lady from Mumbai.Dimple has looked ravishing,even at this age,as the superstar of yester years and proves that old wine always tastes better! It was nice to see Sanjay Kapoor on screen after we had almost forgotten his existence.
My vocabulary fails in finding words to describe Konkna.Her performance is par excellence and she definitely deserves all the possible praises and awards for this movie.Her husky voice,reminiscent of that of young Jaya Bhaduri,gives that real perfection to Konkanas histrionic talents.She is probably the only actor,whose moods and emotions are reflected not by the face,or the look,but by the overall appearance.She actually manages to look admirably and repulsively ugly when she is sad or dejected,bringing the scene and the character almost to life,something that I think none of the Indian actresses have ever managed to do.Farhan has really looked fresh and young and has acted as a novice with seasoned expertise.Though I have already become a fan of his acting,in just two movies,I have my doubts if he can diversify his versatility later.Though Hrithik is my favorite,I was disappointed by him in LBC,since he seems to have worked very hard here,to grab the lead role in Karan Johars next film,looking quite gayish in costumes and mannerism and noticeable effeminate in his dance on ,jhoomo re,Jhoomo re.In fact Farhan has looked and danced better,in the small part of the same song done by him in the end.
Kudos to Zoya Akhtak for her great direction,which has gone a long way,in helping the movie in earning the well deserved rare reviews ranging from three and a half to four and a half stars.We look forward to more,from the Ahktars!
Col Sanjay Kapoor VSM
Heartiest Congratulations to Zoya Akhtah for her marvellous direction of LBC.It was pleasure indeed watching Luck By Chance!
The Akhtar family is proving beyond doubt that talent runs in blood and is passed through genes.Farhan and Zoya Akhtar are not only making Javed proud,but are showing great promise and potential,and one expects more of such and even better work from then in future
Though the story of LBC is nothing new,and its all heard and all seen,still the presentation is great,refreshing and revealing!The movie bares the underbelly of the harsh Bollywood industry,but subtly,emphasizing more on the struggling of aspirants in filmdom,in the ruthless city of Mumbai.and meshed in this struggle is an unsuccessful love story.Farhan Akhtar plays a struggling star,who falls in love with a small time extra artist,who is waiting for a big break ,played by Konkana Sen Sharma.While she keeps waiting,Farhan,gets a break,luckily by chance,when,a superstar,played by Hrithik,leaves a movie,and the producer ,looking for a new face grabs him.The film has very naturally and undramatically depicted the change that comes in Farhans attitude to life and people around him,where he wants to compromise with nothing that may hamper his rise,even his one time girl friend and support.
Though the plot is old,and gives glimpse of many such movies on the Mumbai Film Industry,like Khoya Khoya Chand,Mein Madhuri Dixit banna chahti hoon,Last Lair,and many more,it still appears fresh,due to the lack of melodrama and the underplaying of events.The muck under the dazzling glow of the tinseltown and the shattering blows of the venomous pangs of the dream-merchants have been portrayed naturally and realistically.LCB has vividly portrayed the struggle in the film industry,the tough competition,the long wait for a break,the false promises,shattered dreams,exploitation,long and unhealthy working hours,intolerable work conditions,bitching,politics,facade,farce,disrespect for individuals,insensitivity to feelings,man-eat-man attitude,casting couch,power game and above all the ,thee success mantra of being at the right place,at the right time,with the right person and with the right attitude!
The story and the screenplay are entertaining and in spite of the slow pace of the movie,manage to steal the attention of the audience.Cinematography and picturization are good,with excellent music and songs.The background song bagia bagia,is not only touchy but also very apt for the movie and the situation.The choreography of the dance on the enchanting number ,Jhoomo re Jhoomo re,jhoomoo reaaa,picturised on a circus theme,and performed almost as an item number by Hrhitik,is really colorful,enchanting and melodious and reminds of the folk songs of Rudali and Paheli.Rishi Kapoor has done justice to his role,as the producer of the film,in the movie,and so has Juhi Chawla,as his wife and a typical rich punju lady from Mumbai.Dimple has looked ravishing,even at this age,as the superstar of yester years and proves that old wine always tastes better! It was nice to see Sanjay Kapoor on screen after we had almost forgotten his existence.
My vocabulary fails in finding words to describe Konkna.Her performance is par excellence and she definitely deserves all the possible praises and awards for this movie.Her husky voice,reminiscent of that of young Jaya Bhaduri,gives that real perfection to Konkanas histrionic talents.She is probably the only actor,whose moods and emotions are reflected not by the face,or the look,but by the overall appearance.She actually manages to look admirably and repulsively ugly when she is sad or dejected,bringing the scene and the character almost to life,something that I think none of the Indian actresses have ever managed to do.Farhan has really looked fresh and young and has acted as a novice with seasoned expertise.Though I have already become a fan of his acting,in just two movies,I have my doubts if he can diversify his versatility later.Though Hrithik is my favorite,I was disappointed by him in LBC,since he seems to have worked very hard here,to grab the lead role in Karan Johars next film,looking quite gayish in costumes and mannerism and noticeable effeminate in his dance on ,jhoomo re,Jhoomo re.In fact Farhan has looked and danced better,in the small part of the same song done by him in the end.
Kudos to Zoya Akhtak for her great direction,which has gone a long way,in helping the movie in earning the well deserved rare reviews ranging from three and a half to four and a half stars.We look forward to more,from the Ahktars!
Col Sanjay Kapoor VSM
Monday, February 2, 2009
GAJHNI
DOUBLE IMPACT !!!!!!!!!!!!
GAJHNI left me dumb and numb,by its double impact!The softness of the romance and the harshness of the violent revenge,both were intense,touchy and effective! It was a great movie,and proved once again that Amir Khan's dictum of concentrating on quality,really gives grand results,and the movie has proved beyond doubt that any project,attached with Amir,is an outright winner!
Amir not only takes pain,in conceiving the movie,but also in the minutest details in its creation.His involvement is commendable,and he not only eats,drinks,sleeps,but actually lives,the movie or the project he has on hand,during the production.And the best part is,that his involvement doesn't stop there,his campaigning and marketing are so beautifully planned,that the masses feel as if thy are a part of the movie and the production team,even before the movie is released.I think Gajhni had one of the largest , finest and most successful launch,and it actually deserved all the hype,and may be more
The movie is a love story - a simple La Bollywood,types to start with.A small time,model,accidentally spreads the news that she is in an affair with a great business tycoon,played by Amir,who meets her as a struggling model,on hearing this,and falls in love with her simplicity.innocence and beauty.When he is about to disclose his identity,and propose,the story takes a horrid twist.The heroine while travelling in a late night train,saves a few girls being transported,for flesh-trade,by an underworld Don-GAJHNI.The heroine is subsequently,ruthlessly killed by Gajhni and before dying could reveal the name to the hero,who too,is battered badly,but escapes,with severe head injury and a memory loss,where in he can remember things for only 15 minutes! The mission of the hero for the rest of his life,and the remaining movie is to take revenge,which he finally does.What makes this second half,special or rather different is the modus operandi of the hero to take revenge,in spite of his mental disability of almost total amnesia,while living alone and to complete his mission,single handedly,with meticulously planning,photographs,tattooing,chits and an incomprehensible intricate system.Joining with him,here was a medical student,who wanted to study the hero as a case of amnesia,and gets involved in the chase.
The movie actually seems to have two complete stories amalgamated into one.Even if it ended, after the initial love story,with just a last shot,where he reveals his identity as the multimillionaire eligible bachelor and they live happily ever after,it would have been a successful complete romantic love story.And had it started with the death of the heroine,then the revenge alone would have been able to carry the movie as a hit action cinema.Its the union of both,and the stark contrast between the two half's,ranging from the poppy love to the most ghastly violence,that gives the movie its uniqueness and the stunning effect.The portrayal was so realistic,that one felt sad,at the end of the first half,at the death of a great romance!
The story,plot and screenplay were excellent and beautifully presented,to involve the audience at every moment.The Cinematography,locales and photography were exemplary and direction and editing reaching the highest zenith of perfection,at par to the best of Hollywood movies.The movie has been superbly directed and the background scores , lyrics and music reach the heart.Choreography is great,especially of the number bahka yun bahka! Amir acting is better than his best,and Asin,the south Indian actress,doing the lead,has performed excellently,in the lead role,and has not only looked,cute,beautiful,realistic and charming but has done wonders to the role,considering this was her debut hindi film.Jiah Khan,the Lolita of Nishabd,has acted well too,as the medical student.In spite of the excessive violence,probably the most that has ever been shown on Indian cinema,the movie was a double treat to watch.
After having said that,I cant resist,bringing out a few drawbacks too.Firstly I don't think there is any such medical condition,as depicted in the movie,and if it exists,it would be short term memory and not short term memory loss,as it has been repeatedly called .Giving The movie the Title on the villains name.some how doesn't appeal to me,and being a remake of a south Indian movie,deprives it of some amount of credit.and lastly,the very concept of the movie is against my philosophy.Just like I found Devdas ,a weak personality,I somehow cant accept a dynamic person,ruining his complete life,to take revenge.Without undermining his love for his fiancé,and his passion to avenge her death,I feel nothing in life,is bigger than life,to bring life at a stop !
Gajhni is a movie that has impressed , touched and moved me,like very few have done in my life,and shall always be in top list of my favorite hindi movies
GAJHNI left me dumb and numb,by its double impact!The softness of the romance and the harshness of the violent revenge,both were intense,touchy and effective! It was a great movie,and proved once again that Amir Khan's dictum of concentrating on quality,really gives grand results,and the movie has proved beyond doubt that any project,attached with Amir,is an outright winner!
Amir not only takes pain,in conceiving the movie,but also in the minutest details in its creation.His involvement is commendable,and he not only eats,drinks,sleeps,but actually lives,the movie or the project he has on hand,during the production.And the best part is,that his involvement doesn't stop there,his campaigning and marketing are so beautifully planned,that the masses feel as if thy are a part of the movie and the production team,even before the movie is released.I think Gajhni had one of the largest , finest and most successful launch,and it actually deserved all the hype,and may be more
The movie is a love story - a simple La Bollywood,types to start with.A small time,model,accidentally spreads the news that she is in an affair with a great business tycoon,played by Amir,who meets her as a struggling model,on hearing this,and falls in love with her simplicity.innocence and beauty.When he is about to disclose his identity,and propose,the story takes a horrid twist.The heroine while travelling in a late night train,saves a few girls being transported,for flesh-trade,by an underworld Don-GAJHNI.The heroine is subsequently,ruthlessly killed by Gajhni and before dying could reveal the name to the hero,who too,is battered badly,but escapes,with severe head injury and a memory loss,where in he can remember things for only 15 minutes! The mission of the hero for the rest of his life,and the remaining movie is to take revenge,which he finally does.What makes this second half,special or rather different is the modus operandi of the hero to take revenge,in spite of his mental disability of almost total amnesia,while living alone and to complete his mission,single handedly,with meticulously planning,photographs,tattooing,chits and an incomprehensible intricate system.Joining with him,here was a medical student,who wanted to study the hero as a case of amnesia,and gets involved in the chase.
The movie actually seems to have two complete stories amalgamated into one.Even if it ended, after the initial love story,with just a last shot,where he reveals his identity as the multimillionaire eligible bachelor and they live happily ever after,it would have been a successful complete romantic love story.And had it started with the death of the heroine,then the revenge alone would have been able to carry the movie as a hit action cinema.Its the union of both,and the stark contrast between the two half's,ranging from the poppy love to the most ghastly violence,that gives the movie its uniqueness and the stunning effect.The portrayal was so realistic,that one felt sad,at the end of the first half,at the death of a great romance!
The story,plot and screenplay were excellent and beautifully presented,to involve the audience at every moment.The Cinematography,locales and photography were exemplary and direction and editing reaching the highest zenith of perfection,at par to the best of Hollywood movies.The movie has been superbly directed and the background scores , lyrics and music reach the heart.Choreography is great,especially of the number bahka yun bahka! Amir acting is better than his best,and Asin,the south Indian actress,doing the lead,has performed excellently,in the lead role,and has not only looked,cute,beautiful,realistic and charming but has done wonders to the role,considering this was her debut hindi film.Jiah Khan,the Lolita of Nishabd,has acted well too,as the medical student.In spite of the excessive violence,probably the most that has ever been shown on Indian cinema,the movie was a double treat to watch.
After having said that,I cant resist,bringing out a few drawbacks too.Firstly I don't think there is any such medical condition,as depicted in the movie,and if it exists,it would be short term memory and not short term memory loss,as it has been repeatedly called .Giving The movie the Title on the villains name.some how doesn't appeal to me,and being a remake of a south Indian movie,deprives it of some amount of credit.and lastly,the very concept of the movie is against my philosophy.Just like I found Devdas ,a weak personality,I somehow cant accept a dynamic person,ruining his complete life,to take revenge.Without undermining his love for his fiancé,and his passion to avenge her death,I feel nothing in life,is bigger than life,to bring life at a stop !
Gajhni is a movie that has impressed , touched and moved me,like very few have done in my life,and shall always be in top list of my favorite hindi movies
Thursday, January 22, 2009
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
MIXED REACTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We Indians are known to go aboard with our reactions and over-reactions to many a things but reactions evoked by Danny Boyle's latest film,from India and abroad have probably been the most that any movie has ever earned,not only in numbers or magnitude but more significantly in the wide range of difference in opinions,swinging from one end of the pendulum to the other,and including great admiration and outright condemnation( All It Boyles Down to-OUTLOOK,Jan 26,2009)
It evoked mixed emotions in my mind too,and frankly speaking,even including few thoughts like comparing it to Satyajit Rays,portrayal of poor India ,though not as intense as expressed in the Big B's blog.I also reacted the way I did to Water,a movie which though shall be in top ten of my favorite movies,disturbed me,as it appeared to me not only like washing our dirty linen in public,but that too in foreign waters,literally.
What amazed me more,were the intense articles published over last one week,which ranged from suggesting to the government to encash on our poverty,by selling it as Hamari Garibi Mahan,to the depressingly shocking revelation of the fact,that certain foreigners are actually including Dharavi,in their entourage of Mumbai Darshan,for firangi tourists.to show the life of slums! The latter shamelesslesly added that they did so,taking their clients in small groups and not very close,so as not to disturb the life in the slum,so much akin to our visits to wild life sanctuaries!
At the end of the day I reconciled with all the hulla bulla and settled the unrest in my mind with the following realizations
It is not an Indian movie,but a movie on India
Am thrilled at A R Rehman ,being awarded the well deserved Golden Globe,as I am his die-hard fan
Respecting the freedom of art,we should appreciate the movie for its cinematic excellence
Poverty and slums are a crude reality of our country and all out efforts should be made to eradicate them rather than have heated and outrageous discussions on their depiction or exhibition by Indians or foreigners.
Being a great cine lover,I,for one am eagerly waiting to see the movie,with great expectations !
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Lucknow
We Indians are known to go aboard with our reactions and over-reactions to many a things but reactions evoked by Danny Boyle's latest film,from India and abroad have probably been the most that any movie has ever earned,not only in numbers or magnitude but more significantly in the wide range of difference in opinions,swinging from one end of the pendulum to the other,and including great admiration and outright condemnation( All It Boyles Down to-OUTLOOK,Jan 26,2009)
It evoked mixed emotions in my mind too,and frankly speaking,even including few thoughts like comparing it to Satyajit Rays,portrayal of poor India ,though not as intense as expressed in the Big B's blog.I also reacted the way I did to Water,a movie which though shall be in top ten of my favorite movies,disturbed me,as it appeared to me not only like washing our dirty linen in public,but that too in foreign waters,literally.
What amazed me more,were the intense articles published over last one week,which ranged from suggesting to the government to encash on our poverty,by selling it as Hamari Garibi Mahan,to the depressingly shocking revelation of the fact,that certain foreigners are actually including Dharavi,in their entourage of Mumbai Darshan,for firangi tourists.to show the life of slums! The latter shamelesslesly added that they did so,taking their clients in small groups and not very close,so as not to disturb the life in the slum,so much akin to our visits to wild life sanctuaries!
At the end of the day I reconciled with all the hulla bulla and settled the unrest in my mind with the following realizations
It is not an Indian movie,but a movie on India
Am thrilled at A R Rehman ,being awarded the well deserved Golden Globe,as I am his die-hard fan
Respecting the freedom of art,we should appreciate the movie for its cinematic excellence
Poverty and slums are a crude reality of our country and all out efforts should be made to eradicate them rather than have heated and outrageous discussions on their depiction or exhibition by Indians or foreigners.
Being a great cine lover,I,for one am eagerly waiting to see the movie,with great expectations !
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Lucknow
Sunday, December 7, 2008
SWAMI
SWAMI
While the dream-merchants of Bollywood leave no leaf unturned to bring out more and more lavish movies every week,the true cine-maker never seems to be deterred by these vulgar extravaganzas,specially on baseless stories.
Swami is one such example of a parrarel,art or low budget movie,whatever you may call it.
Made with a simple story,a simple plot,simple cast, the movie has a powerful presentation,strong message and a fair amount of clean entertainment for family viewing.
Built around a simple story of a village couple who dare to dream to send their son to America to study and work,the movie brings home a sigh of relief for the common man.
The story very clearly and encouragingly conveys that even in today's time of wealth and rich people,a common man can have his simple dreams and they can be achieved without any miracle or unfair means,just by simple dedication and determination.
Juhi chawla and Manoj Bajpai have played their roles of the village couple beautifully and though the movie gets slow at times,one never looses interest
Swami is an encouraging movie for every common man,with small dreams and who believes that inspite of all its sham and drudgery life even today is worth living
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Delhi
While the dream-merchants of Bollywood leave no leaf unturned to bring out more and more lavish movies every week,the true cine-maker never seems to be deterred by these vulgar extravaganzas,specially on baseless stories.
Swami is one such example of a parrarel,art or low budget movie,whatever you may call it.
Made with a simple story,a simple plot,simple cast, the movie has a powerful presentation,strong message and a fair amount of clean entertainment for family viewing.
Built around a simple story of a village couple who dare to dream to send their son to America to study and work,the movie brings home a sigh of relief for the common man.
The story very clearly and encouragingly conveys that even in today's time of wealth and rich people,a common man can have his simple dreams and they can be achieved without any miracle or unfair means,just by simple dedication and determination.
Juhi chawla and Manoj Bajpai have played their roles of the village couple beautifully and though the movie gets slow at times,one never looses interest
Swami is an encouraging movie for every common man,with small dreams and who believes that inspite of all its sham and drudgery life even today is worth living
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Delhi
Saturday, October 11, 2008
BACHNA AEY HASEENO
GOOD ENTERTAINER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bachna ye Hasseno,lived up to its expectation,of the great prelaunch hype it got.Even tough it was nothing too great,but overall a good entertainer.
talking of the movie,is basically talking of Ranbir Kapoor,as the movie,seems to have been created to catapult him,to the heights of success
Revolving,around a youngster,played by Ranbir,and his three affairs.One at the age of 18,when he tries to patao a girl,played by Manisha Lamba,for a night stand and she genuinely falls in love,second when he has a long live in affair,with his neighbour,played by Bipasha,but here too,he is not serious,and ditches her on the wedding day.Lastly he genuinely falls in love with a lady taxi driver,played by Padokone(Ranbeer's real life girl freind)but she refuses his proposal as she was not ready to get married,and wanted to live her life,her way.
Crestfallen,he realizes that he has been payed back,for breaking two hearts,and hence goes ahead to undo his wrongs.Manisha is married,with two kids,but the spark is missing in her life,as she has not overcome the shock of her first broken dream.Ranbeer clears all misunderstandings between her and her husband,played by Kunal Kapoor,and brings back happiness in their lives.he then traces bipasha,who is a great model,but a man hater.He takes the job of her assistant and faces all insults hurled by her,as his punishment,and decreases her pain,making up for the wrong that he had done.And as predicted,he is blessed by cupid,and gets his lady love,Padukone,back in his life,and settles with her,happily for eternity!
The story is simple,with reflections of several movies on love stories of the pats,specially DDLJ.The direction,dialogues and cinematography along with choreography are good complimented by great locales.Music is melodious and some songs,specially Ahista Ahista and Khuda Jane have become super hits.Besides DDLJ,the movie has scenes from movies of Rishi Kapoor,like Bobby,Dapliwala and Khel Khel Mein.The title song of the movie,too has been taken,from Dabbus old movie,Ham Kisi Se Kam Nahin.Bipasha has looked sizzling,as always,and has dazzled her assets well,specially in the item number Lucky Boy.The other two ladies have acted well too.
Ranbeer has acted well for a beginer,but has real tough competion,not only from the stablished stars but also from the other beginers like Imran Khan.In the title song,he has succesfully imitated not only Shammi,Randhir and Rishi but also,Sharukh,salman,Rhitik and Akshay and danced well.He voice resembles his dads,and even of randhir,and he could do with some more finesse classes to attain some more polish and even with some diction coaching.He has a long way to go and has to work very hard to take back the RK Banner on the male shoulders,which ofr the last 15 years has been held high by,Karishma and Kareena
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Delhi
Bachna ye Hasseno,lived up to its expectation,of the great prelaunch hype it got.Even tough it was nothing too great,but overall a good entertainer.
talking of the movie,is basically talking of Ranbir Kapoor,as the movie,seems to have been created to catapult him,to the heights of success
Revolving,around a youngster,played by Ranbir,and his three affairs.One at the age of 18,when he tries to patao a girl,played by Manisha Lamba,for a night stand and she genuinely falls in love,second when he has a long live in affair,with his neighbour,played by Bipasha,but here too,he is not serious,and ditches her on the wedding day.Lastly he genuinely falls in love with a lady taxi driver,played by Padokone(Ranbeer's real life girl freind)but she refuses his proposal as she was not ready to get married,and wanted to live her life,her way.
Crestfallen,he realizes that he has been payed back,for breaking two hearts,and hence goes ahead to undo his wrongs.Manisha is married,with two kids,but the spark is missing in her life,as she has not overcome the shock of her first broken dream.Ranbeer clears all misunderstandings between her and her husband,played by Kunal Kapoor,and brings back happiness in their lives.he then traces bipasha,who is a great model,but a man hater.He takes the job of her assistant and faces all insults hurled by her,as his punishment,and decreases her pain,making up for the wrong that he had done.And as predicted,he is blessed by cupid,and gets his lady love,Padukone,back in his life,and settles with her,happily for eternity!
The story is simple,with reflections of several movies on love stories of the pats,specially DDLJ.The direction,dialogues and cinematography along with choreography are good complimented by great locales.Music is melodious and some songs,specially Ahista Ahista and Khuda Jane have become super hits.Besides DDLJ,the movie has scenes from movies of Rishi Kapoor,like Bobby,Dapliwala and Khel Khel Mein.The title song of the movie,too has been taken,from Dabbus old movie,Ham Kisi Se Kam Nahin.Bipasha has looked sizzling,as always,and has dazzled her assets well,specially in the item number Lucky Boy.The other two ladies have acted well too.
Ranbeer has acted well for a beginer,but has real tough competion,not only from the stablished stars but also from the other beginers like Imran Khan.In the title song,he has succesfully imitated not only Shammi,Randhir and Rishi but also,Sharukh,salman,Rhitik and Akshay and danced well.He voice resembles his dads,and even of randhir,and he could do with some more finesse classes to attain some more polish and even with some diction coaching.He has a long way to go and has to work very hard to take back the RK Banner on the male shoulders,which ofr the last 15 years has been held high by,Karishma and Kareena
Dr Sanjay Kapoor Delhi
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