Girl-friends

I was a cute kid and was a favourite with women – my father’s students or my mum’s friends, my cousin’s classmates etc. Over the years I have had wonderful women in my life. But the surprising thing is that apart from my family, they all have been strictly my friends. I am just wondering about that. I have closest of friends who are women and are indispensable part of my life. Also I have always famously got along with women of all class and creed. Still how come I have always miserably failed with the girls I loved! Not once but many times. It’s the biggest paradox in my life perhaps.

If you fail once, you can put the blame on other side. But if it always repeats eerily the same way, not the highest optimism can save you. Say you believe that every time you choose the wrong girl (By ‘wrong’ I don’t mean bad), the fault is still yours that you choose them or rather fall for them. I have finally realized this fact. Now I am not being able to figure out the point where the problem lies. Do I transform when I fall in love? Do I no longer remain myself? But the truest form of love is when you cease to be yourself. Does it mean true love is never appreciated?

I am not troubled. I am just wondering. I guess I do fine with my girl-friends.

Remaining 'The Other'

Growing up in the Muslim part of Assam, I was like any other Muslim child not doing things that was forbidden. The two things which were prohibited and most emphasized were Pork and Alcohol. These two things were not even available in my part. After I went to school, I started to live in a cosmopolitan atmosphere. By 11^th standard my non Muslim friends started drinking. Since it was done secretly I never really came across alcohol. My first encounter with alcohol happened in Delhi University. Then I would refer to it as wine not knowing there were so many types of alcohol. During my college days, despite my unwillingness to attend those drinking parties, my friends would insist that I accompany them. Though I showed that I didn’t like it, secretly I loved the gesture. It meant I was important in their lives. But no matter how much they made me feel home, the feeling of ‘the other’ was still there. The culture I was acquainted with in Assam was poles apart from what I met in Delhi. It was like the other end of the spectrum. During my stay, the gap was definitely narrowed but some still remained intact. Not drinking alcohol is one of them.

Calcutta is much more conservative than Delhi, so I don’t meet people who give me does-this-kind-of-species-still-live-on-this-planet kind of look when I say I don’t drink. My MBA friends never insisted me on accompanying them to clubs. Even if they did I guess I managed to escape. Recently a close friend wanted to celebrate her birthday and it turned out quite an adventure. We went out to dine but it stopped with wine only. Then we moved to another part of the city to dine. The drama that happened in between was hilarious to say the least. A different self came out in everyone. After dining we went to lounge bar and danced till they closed shop. In college, though I saw friends getting drunk I didn’t see much of drama which I saw here. Though I was having all the fun, I could not deny that I was still the other. I have almost forgotten to live in a culture that I completely belong. Even back home I don’t fit in completely because of my ‘urban-ness’ and here because of my conservatism. Also people back in Assam don’t exactly believe that I have remained as I was.

But I never felt the urge to be like ‘them’. At times it is a bit lonely to be the ‘other’. But most of the times it feels special to be unique.

Sibling Revelry

My siblings are much younger to me. Rocky is five and years younger while Rasna is eight years. Both were very young when I left home 13 years ago. Rocky being closer to my age did spend some time with me but I could hardly spend any time with Rasna. Over the years we stayed together only during my vacations with maximum 2 months at stretch. Being the youngest child Rasna would accompany our parents during my parents’ days. But she ended up spending more time with my girlfriends than with me. She is all grown up now and studies in the same school. Though I make friends easily, she is one person I am yet not been able to be friendly with. May be in time to come we will become friends. Rocky on other hand has always been very pally with me though he is least like me.

In our separate lives, there were hardly any moment we lived ‘together’. However the time is soon coming. Rasna will appear for her class X exam; Rocky for class XII and I will appear for my Masters Degree, all early next year. With our separate lives, hundreds of miles apart, we will finally live the same life. For a little time may be; but we will live our moments together.

Another Year Goes By

I am at a very interesting phase of my life. In less than a month I will complete my 25 years on this planet (Not a day less ‘cos I have never been out of this planet). Twenty five years is seen as the official age of adult though general theories would say by 20 you are no longer a teenager. Whatever, but you become an adult by 25 even if you grow at a slower rate.

Changes are all around me. The way I look at life, my priorities, my goals everything is changing…rather rapidly. I have mixed feelings about it though. I am sad that a great phase of life is going to end and I am happy that a new life is about to begin. Over the years I have realized that whenever you compare your lives at different stages nostalgia always wins. So I would rather not compare. Life has been wonderful till now.

When I look back into the 25 years, the thing I miss the most is the time I lost to spend with my father. The time that I most cherish is also the times I spent with him. The person, whom I have always looked up to and loved the most, is also the one who guides my way at every crossroad. Today (11 November) will be 13 years since I came away from him. But it was an inevitable aspect of the life. He has become more precious for that, perhaps. Other things come to my mind from my childhood are the wonderful seasons of Assam (may be another post for that), my trysts with different aspect nature that I came to discover.

Coming back to the changes I feel today. The most important one would be the feeling of love. The meanings change with age. At one point or rather most of life, love meant stealing a glance of her. Now it’s no longer like that. Companionship is so important to be in love. Earlier I could never believe why people break after going to different places. May at this juncture I would understand better.

Of the last 25 years, I spent almost half with my family and half with my friends. Who would I chose? Family. Over the years friends whoever I loved have substituted my family by becoming an alternate family to me. Today, they are no less important than family to me.

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani

Director: Rajkumar Santoshi

Star Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Darshan Zariwala, Smita Jaykar, Zakir, Upen Patel and a Superstar in a very special appearance.

Till couple of years ago Rajkumar Santoshi claimed that he never repeated a genre in the films he made. But he can no longer do that as he goes back to comedy after 15 years of making the cult classic “Andaaz Apna Apna”. Well, comparing APKGK with the Salman-Aamir starrer would be blasphemous, but the present film is hilarious and will make you roll with laughter.

The film is about Prem (Ranbir Kapoor) a happy go lucky guy in a hill-town who runs a Happy Club with a bunch of funny morons. He has an adorable family. Jenny (Katrina Kaif) is a simple girl who shifts to the town and Prem falls in love at the first sight. However, the man who helps lovers unite is quite unable to express his own feelings and soon discovers that his lady love already belongs to someone else. However, Jenny does not have a hunky dory love story either because of dushman-zamana. The rest of the film is about Prem’s efforts to put Jenny’s life in order and see her happily married to her beloved.

The film is a welcome change from the crude comedies that have been served in recent times. APKGK is a clean comedy and in our times making a comedy without any innuendo is almost unimaginable for which the director should be applauded. It is a mix of both situational as well as slapstick which results in non-stop laughter. The villains den, kidnapping the heroine – it has everything with super hilarious climax. The film also takes the Bollywood setting to a small town, which is very rare in this multiplex-era. The town has a lot of innocence and purity which makes a great backdrop to the unrequited love story of Prem. All praise to the director. Though he has been making great films, box office success has often eluded him. Perhaps APKGK will end that.

Ranbir Kapoor has pitched in a great performance. He is funny and adorable at the same time. Till now I thought of him as an overrated star but he is the big star material. Katrina Kaif is superb. Finally the girl has ‘learned’ acting. In couple of scenes she will move you to tears. She is convincing as the de-glam girl. But when Prem wants to transform Jenny into ‘Katrina Kaif’, she actually turns super hot in a song sequence. She is in her best form. The rest of the cast has ably supported them.

Music by Pritam is terrific as it is already climbing the charts. Cinematography finely captures the beautiful location.

Overall, APKGK is a hilariously funny film with a sweet romantic track. The film is an ode to a superstar. If you can’t figure out who I am talking about from the title of the film then Go watch it and have a great time. At the box office, the film is gonna rock. Another hit on store.

BLUE - Movie Review

Director: Anthony D’souza

Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Zayed Khan, Rahul Dev and Katrina Kaif (Spl App)

Anthony D’ Souza is a first timer who dons the cap of directing one of the biggest films in recent times in terms of canvas and star cast. The expectations are bound to go high and that’s what goes against the film and most importantly the director. The same thing happened with Kambakkht Ishq which showed that only packaging does not make a film great; you need to have a competent director as well. To Akshay Kumar’s woe the phenomenon gets repeated here. Anthony D’Souza needs to learn a lot before he can handle such huge project.

Post India’s independence its treasure kept in Bahamas, a British colony, was supposed to be returned to the home country which gets lost due to ship wreck. Come to present, Akshay Kumar owns a fishing company but his main goal in life is to find that treasure apart from womanizing of course. But he needs Sanjay Dutt’s (his employee) help to unearth the hidden secret. Both have their secrets and a connection to that treasure. How turn of events lead these two to go for treasure hunt forms the rest of the story, which you will figure out very easily due to poor writing and direction.

D’souza fails to extract even decent performances from Dutt and Kumar who can deliver when required. The climax is abrupt and is quite non happening. The treatment is ordinary. The flaws of Blue are because of flaws of the director.

Coming to the good part, Lara Dutta is super hot in her bikini scenes which are quite a few. A R Rahman’s music as well as background score is outstanding as usual. The canvas is huge and cinematography is excellent but the best part is action. Done by a Hollywood director, action is the USP of the film. Though under water sequences don’t offer much due to the story, the surface action is at par with Hollywood and sets new standard for action films in Bollywood and the film deserves to be seen just for that.

Among actors, Sanjay Dutt’s character needed a much younger actor, younger to even Akshay. At 50, Dutt is anything but convincing as a struggler, who is yet to settle with his girlfriend. Akshay is good but not outstanding. Zayed is still stuck on his Main Hoon Na days and Lara does not have much to do except showing her well toned body which a treat.

Overall, Blue does not belong to its actors or to the director. It belongs to the technicians. Since the length of the film is lower than 2 hours, there is not much scope to get bored despite its mediocrity. For a regular moviegoer it is definitely recommended! It’s a visual treat.

***1/2

WANTED - Movie Review

Star Cast: Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia Azmi, Prakash Raj, Mahesh Manjrekar, Inder Kumar, Manoj Pahwa, Mehak Chahal and Vinod Khanna.

Director: Prabhu Dheva

Story: Puri Jagannath

When your all time favourite actor and actress decide to come together for a film, immediately it becomes the most awaited film for you. At the same time, you would be apprehensive whether or not the film is going to be a memorable one. But if it’s a remake of one of your favourite films, then you are pretty sure about the outcome. So you can’t resist watching the film even if your end term exams are underway!

Wanted is story of Radhe (Salman Khan), a mercenary goon who soon graduates to a criminal working for the infamous Mumbai mafia. With his fearlessness and effective strategy, he soon becomes the dependable man for the Don as he single handedly eliminates his enemies. Jhanvi (Ayesha Takia Azmi) is a middle class girl who works to earn bread and butter for her family of mother and a young brother. After couple of chanced encounters, she falls in love with Radhe despite the fact that he does not fit her dream boy’s bill. But before she could commit herself, she discovers the ruthless side of Radhe. As her repeated attempts to change him fail, she also fails to stop herself from loving him. To add to the mayhem, there is a lecherous cop (Mahesh Manjrekar) who wants to take advantage of Jhanvi’s family condition, there is an over-aged landlord (Manoj Pahwa) pursuing her relentlessly.

But not everything is what it seems. There is a well kept secret which when revealed will bring endless destruction. Sacrifices have to be made. The question is not whether it would happen or not. The question is when!

The film is a wholesome entertainer with a potent mix of action, romance, comedy and tragedy. A great reminder of the films of yore which was all about heroism but done in a very contemporary, slick way without using much of the clichés. Though action is predominant throughout the film, it has a beautiful love story imbibed within and Ayesha Takia makes it much more lovable! It has few beautiful moments between the top actors that you savour much after the film gets over. While action gives the thrill, the comedy laughter, the romance brings the sensitive part of the story. The dialogues are witty and there are plenty of ‘whistle’ moments. Overall, it is a fast paced film which takes you for non-stop entertainment.

Salman Khan hits back after a slew of mediocre films in past two years. He just has to be in the frame to be the character. He looks fabulous, dances great and perhaps this is his best action role till date. When he beats up 20 guys at one go, it is actually believable – the only aspect where Wanted did better than its original. Though the action is same as the original just that he makes it more believable by his sheer presence. He romances Ayesha Takia well too. But in the later part of the film, he shows the same ‘angry look’ which he reserves for his rivals to Ayesha as well which I think didn’t work for the story. There are few emotional scenes and he carries them really well.

To me Ayesha Takia is the best actress ever born and she always stands up to the expectations. Though she is better in subtle scenes, she carries her ‘masala’ part well too. She brings the much needed balance to the film, an opposite of the violent and arrogant Salman Khan.

But the scene stealer is Prakash Raj as Ghani Bhai. The two time national award winning actor is the main villain in the film and he is unlike any you have seen before. He is comical and menacing at the same time. He is the only actor who is part of all three films. Perhaps no one else could have done the role except him. The significant change made is Wanted is that Prakash Raj’s role has been extended and he is effective to say the least.

Mahesh Manjrekar as the lecherous cop is good. Inder Kumar, Mehak Chahal and Manoj Pahwa extend able support to the film. Vinod Khanna in his brief role does the best scene in the film. In fact the pre-climax scene is sure to give you goose pimples.

The person who needs to be applauded the most is Puri Jagannath, the writer of the story as well as the director of Pokiri, the Telugu original. The script is foolproof. The fact that it became super hit in Tamil and now in Hindi gives enough testimony for the script. As a film too, it’s a scene to scene copy of Pokiri which talks volumes about Jagannath’s directorial abilities. Prabhu Dheva did make some changes and he is quite effective in that but it’s too less and insignificant to give him the credit. The film is essentially Puri Jagannath’s dream.

The music by Sajid-Wajid is ordinary. Except Dil Leke, there are not many tracks that you would like to take home though you might enjoy them at that moment. The background music by Salim-Sulaiman is subtle unlike the original which is great. The action is raw and well executed, though a lot has been copied from a foreign film. Choreography is of top notch which is obvious when the director is the best dancer in the country.

Wanted may not be a great film per se but it’s one of the best films made in its category. The tender hearted people might find some action scenes hard to see, but there are plenty of beautiful moments to compensate for that. For action buffs, it’s a sheer delight. Above all, if you want to be entertained, go watch Wanted. The film comes with an invisible tag line – satisfaction guaranteed!

Part III?

The trend of making a series of films with same characters or carrying the story forward is very common in Hollywood. The fourth part of Spielberg’s Indiana Jones series released last year after almost two decades. Harry Potter… series is eagerly awaited each time a new installment arrives. The trend of making sequels is very recent in India. The first director who walked on this less travelled path was Mahesh Manjrekar who made Hathyar (2002) as a sequel to Vaastav, his most acclaimed and successful film so far. But the sequel didn’t work and nobody perhaps even remembers it as a sequel.

In the year 2004, Yashraj film’s Dhoom directed by Sanjay Gadhvi became a huge hit. During the promotion of the film the actors were fondly remembering the shooting and wished if a sequel could be made but the culture was non-existent in India. But the idea struck the maverick producer Aditya Chopra and he decided to make a sequel to the film. After the announcement, two other filmmakers whose films had become huge hits in the previous year also chose the path. Rakesh Roshan decided to follow up super hit Koi Mil Gaya with Krrish and Rajkumar Hirani decided to make Lage Raho Munnabhai as a sequel to the cult film Munnabhai MBBS.

All the sequels arrived in 2006. The first one to come and woo the audience the world over was Hrithik Roshan starrer Krrish which became first successful superhero film in Hindi film industry. Though it didn’t receive the same critical acclaim but it went much ahead in box-office collections than the previous one. It was followed by Sanjay Dutt-Arshad Warsi starrer Lago Raho Munnabhai which became much bigger hit than the prequel. Lage Raho… was not a conventional sequel where story is carried forward; rather two most important and popular characters of the first part were kept and a new story was written for the film. Words like ‘gandhigiri’ became a part of popular culture and many incidents happened in real life which was directly influenced by the film. The last film to come that year was Dhoom: 2 starring Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Uday Chopra and Bipasha Basu which went on to become the biggest grosser of the year despite some multiplex chains not playing the film due to revenue issues. These sequels became the top three grosser in the year.

After 3 years, there are no concrete plans to make ‘part three’ to all these successful films though all the makers are very much keen to make their respective films. Post Dhoom: 2, director Sanjay Gadhvi’s contract with Yashraj films got over and he left the production house to make Kidnap with Sanjay Dutt and Imran Khan which was a flop when released last year. He is now planning 7 days in Paris with Imran Khan and Katrina Kaif. It is sure that he is not returning to Yashraj soon and hence the part 3 of this hit franchisee might not be directed by the original director. There were rumours that Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan would come together for Dhoom: 3 which will be directed by Aditya Chopra (who makes only romantic films as a director) himself. But proving the rumours wrong Aditya went on to make Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi with his favourite actor Shahrukh Khan which became a big hit bringing Yashraj films back on track. Though no formal announcement about the making of the film has been made yet, it is highly likely that Shahrukh will play the glamorous and ever elusive thief in the film. Still there is time till we can see the adrenaline pumping action sequences in part 3.

The same delay happened to other two films as well. Vidhu Vinod Chopra announced Munnabhai Chale Amerika and even released a trailer with Eklavya (2007) but the makers decided to go ahead with 3 Idiots with Aamir Khan in the lead. The film will release by Christmas this year and the director can start working on part 3 only after that. Rakesh Roshan announced Krrish 2 but nothing more has been done to it. Meanwhile he produced Krazzy 4 (2008) and Kites (yet to release). Hrithik Roshan who works on one film at a time is shooting for Sanjay Bhansali’s Guzarish which means Krrish 2 is not happening anytime soon. Meanwhile Ram Gopal Varma paid his tribute to The Godfather with Amitabh-Abhishek starrer Sarkar (2005) which became a moderate hit. It was followed by Sarkar Raj (2008) which couldn’t become a huge box office success either. Varma has no immediate plans to make, if at all it happens, the part 3 of his Sarkar series either.

There is no doubt that part three of at least one of the series will release, but it is taking too long a time and it doesn’t seem to happen soon either. As viewers we have to wait for sometime till our favourite Munnabhai-Circuit make us roll with laughter or desi super hero taking on bad guys to save the world or a cool cop with his buffoon assistant chasing the shadows of an elusive thief.

Kaminey

Written, Music, Directed by: Vishal Bhardwaj

Lyrics by: Gulzar

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Amole Gupte

When Vishal Bhardwaj does not make films about children (Makdee, The Blue Umbrella) he ventures into the murkier side of human character and society (Maqbool, Omkara). He doesn’t see world in black and white. His world is grey, so are its characters and its colour. Kaminey is no different.

Charlie and Guddu (Shahid Kapoor) are identical twins with physical disabilities. Charlie lisps while Guddu stammers. But the similarities end here. Both are very different in their characters and outlook towards life. They dislike each other and hence live separately. Sweety (Priyanka Chopra) is a young, headstrong Marathi girl who will go to any extent to get her love (Guddu) even if it means not telling him that her brother (Amole Gupte) is a gangster with political aspirations. The problem is that the brother is contesting election from a party which stands for Marathi chauvinism so he can not marry his sister to a North Indian. On Charlie’s part, he has just lost his entire money in Horse racing because whoever he had fixed double crossed him. Accidentally he lands himself in the middle of a drug deal between corrupt anti narcotics department and Mafia. Now, both have to run for their lives simultaneously. Their paths are inevitable to cross and they cannot escape from revisiting their intertwined history.

The film is essentially a ‘Satire’ with element of ‘Absurd’ throughout the film. It is a satire on the divisional politics, law enforcement departments, inter-racial marriage (there is very witty reference to Rizwanur Rahman case), relationships and above all society’s double standards. The director explores the sibling relationship in different milieus. Apart from Charlie and Guddu, there are three Bengali Muslim brothers who are big bookies, two corrupt brothers at anti narcotics department, the two African brothers who smuggle drugs and of course Sweety with her brother. The dynamics between them actually determines the proceedings of the film.

The lead actors deliver their best performances till date. Shahid Kapoor has done so well in the double role that you will feel that two different actors are playing those roles. Priyanka Chopra is superb and greatly convincing - whether she claims to know “Home Science” or when she pleads to save her husband’s life. Amole Gupte (The writer of Taare Zameen Par) is excellent as the opportunist politician.

But the film belongs to Vishal Bhardwaj. Apart from the credits mentioned above, he has also written the dialogues, co-written the screenplay, done the background score (which is superb) and sung the title track. This is proof enough of his versatility as well as completeness as a filmmaker. The characters are very real yet they are entirely new. His understanding of complexities of characters and society is amazing. The film is like an onion with multiple layers in it. You need to keep all your senses open to explore it. He is arguably one of the best filmmakers in the country we have today.

The person who stands tall to him is the lyricist Gulzaarsaab who never seems to resort to ghisa-pita lyrics that we come across in every other film. His lines are extraordinary as expected from a distinguished poet. The music of the film ably supports the lyrics and takes the soundtrack to a different level. No wonder it is ruling the charts.

Finally, this is amazing piece of cinema which will go into the annals of Bollywood as outstanding work. But the only hitch is that as viewers we are so much fed with escapist cinema that it will take some time till we get the hang of Vishal Bhardwaj’s dark yet real world. But keep patience, the experience will be wonderful.

Rating ****1/2

Goodbye, Sweetheart

When you came you conquered

The damage you did was irreparable

I ask forgiveness

For I failed to resist you

I forgive you

For your unintentional tyranny

As you leave

Pick up every rubble and go

Let no sign remain

Of your footsteps