Much Ado about Love –Ek Main aur Ekk Tu

We reached at least ten minutes early for the movie, which was a pleasant surprise considering Simmi and my propensity to arrive at the last minute for movies, almost always. For EMAET we could catch the promo trailers that were run before the screening of the movie – Housefull 2 and Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya. If I were to go by the trailers, then I would think twice, before buying exorbitant multiplex tickets to watch any of the two which seem to be nothing but run of the mill slapstick rom-coms. I had held a similar opinion for EMAET too. But let me get one thing straight – being a hard core Kareena fan, if anything could have dragged me to the movie hall, it had to be only her. Yet the movie turned out to be more than just her. It was a pleasant and refreshing surprise for its genre of romantic comedy. I would regard it as a good experiment as far as story and screen play is concerned. One also has to give it to debutant director Shakun Batra for managing to knit the so often told ‘loser-boy-meets-happening-girl-life-changes’ situation well by demanding balanced performances from each of his actors.

There is not much that you all cannot guess of the story from the trailers and promos except perhaps the ending or the treatment. The story will revolve around Rahul Kapoor (Imran Khan), a 25 year old who is yet to find a foot hold of his own life on his own terms or even come off the shadow of his demanding socially elite parents played by the versatile pair of Boman Irani and Ratna Pathak Shah. The latter by the way plays mother to Imran for the second time post his debut in Jane Tu Ya Jane Na and if you have any hangover of her earlier character, rest assured this new character will exorcise it. So Mr. Loser and ‘uptight’ meets Ms. Carefree –Riana Braganza (Kareena Kapoor) and then one fine day on Christmas Eve they go out drinking. Well picture this, its Vegas, ‘uptight’ protagonist goes drinking with ‘coolest’ girl and then over a drunken stupor gets married. Shocked? Do not be – It is Vegas and then it is Bollywood. You should expect slap-stick. But it is from here onwards to the end that will convince you of the coming of age of bollywood directors in Dharma Productions like Malhotra (Agneepath) and now Shakun, who are treading the ground of intelligent cinema. To begin with they understand and work well with the limitations they are subjected to. If EMAET was treated as a Dil Toh Pagal Hai or Kal ho Na Ho way, then my review would have been much different. This movie is quintessentially sweet because at the end the two hours you feel the story was real. EMAET kind of story happens and it may have already or might happen to you.

In the acting department, I will begin with Kareena as the effervescent Riana Braganza, an unemployed hair dresser in Vegas nursing a sixth broken relationship. Interesting character but with all my biased feelings for her, I have to say that in this role she only reprises the role of ‘Geet’ from Jab We Met in a different setting. She is brilliant in this kind of a role, which is effortless for her to play, but being a terrific actress, that she is, she has to explore more meat in roles that do not typify her as the never forgettable ‘Geet.’

The surprise package is Imran Khan. Many have complained of his cold, emotion less acting in his last role in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. (For heaven’s sake, Simmi expressed that Kat was a better actor than him in that movie. Gee!) But you will love Rahul Kapoor. Imran is convincing in the three avatars of the character – the confused, under confident loser who could not choose for himself which tie to wear, to a lad in love, to finally a confident individual who chooses life on his own terms. The best part is that he does not over do any part and thus when you walk out of the hall you may just feel that he exists in you.

The others, who surprisingly are not many except notable mentions for Boman Irani, Ratna Pathak and Ram Kapoor have limited screen space and rightly so. The movie demanded such a treatment that avoided unnecessary histrionics. So at the end of it all, it is Shakun Batra who in my humble opinion gets the feather for presenting us a pleasant modern romantic tale in the mushy month. The other winner of course is its music. Amit Trivedi and Amitabh Bhattacharya regale your ears with freshly brewed music which gels with the theme as well as the situations. My vote for the most hummable numbers - the haunting Aahetein and the inspiring Gubbare.  Well, what the heck even a metal head like me has a taste for mushy music in this month. ;)

So go ahead this Valentine and watch this movie with your friend or love. And if you do not want to spend precious money on the tickets and the overpriced popcorns, then you can actually wait for the movie to be screened in the local channels. My advice -Whenever it does, do watch it just for the pleasant refreshing experience.

Lathpath, Lathpath, Lathpath - Agneepath

I am a bad audience of dialogues in a movie. There have been very few which I remember or perhaps carry with me for a long period. I agree that dialogues are the real punch of the movie, but blame my love for the visual that precedes cinematography over words; bitter irony for someone like me, who otherwise prefers writing. Yet that is how it is.  But then again, there are scenes of movies that have had the twin effect of registering a commanding visual along with an equally powerful dialogue. Vijay Dinanath Chauhan introducing himself to the inspector in the earlier Agneepath is such an epochal memory. Discounting the number of times the dialogue has been spoofed and narrated across different mediums by different actors, it is one scene that will remain synonymous with Amitabh Bachan’s career. That is what made Agneepath special when Mukul Anand directed it. He took out careful time to etch out each character of the movie, so much so that long after the movie bombed at the box office, it got its due to become a classic and the characters became legends.

With such a history, Karan Malhotra had a daunting task in choosing to remake Agneepath. Obviously the story could not just be a screen adaptation of the earlier. In the present times one had to concentrate on a larger canvas, without failing to focus on the micro details of each colour that would go on to adorn the canvas. Thankfully, he does. Not in an epic manner but one can feel the genuineness in his attempt which makes up for everything else. Besides, like I said, I am biased towards the visual and Kiran Deohans and Ravi Chandran does not disappoint. Be it, the landscape of Mandwa before and after the entry of Kancha or the Chawl’s of Mumbai where Vijay Dinanath Chauhan will grow and plot the revenge of his father’s death, the film has unlimited shares of visual delights. One particular scene that I would mention to support my case is the panoramic shot across Mandwa when Kancha makes his entry. Along with a long shot of the dark clouds that occupy the sky, symbolically signalling the ominous that is to come, there is the towering presence of Sanjay Dutt, his menacing tattoos and his black ensemble of a dhoti and kurta, a stark departure from the suave suit clad Danny as Kancha in the earlier Agneepath. This is Karan’s Kancha and when I say that the canvas needed to be larger it also meant that the characters had to be larger and more striking. In this Agneepath Malhotra does manage to create such striking characters.

Hrithik Roshan as the brooding Vijay Dinanath Chauhan comes off almost as convincing as Amitabh was in his role. However, the pinch of salt will be that Amitabh played the role when he was in his mid forties and obviously was more seasoned as an actor than Hrithik is now. Amitabh created an identity of Vijay in the earlier Agneepath, whereas Hrithik only manages to give a splendid performance in the remake as much the role demanded. His Vijay Dinanath Chauhan will not be someone you will remember when someone takes the name. Having said so, one cannot take away anything from Hrithik who performs beautifully speaking with his eyes and expressions to the last shot – as a son, brother, friend, lover and even a devious scheming character.

There are no villains in modern cinema, only negative characters. In this Agneepath the audience will experience not one but two such characters, each played to perfection by two very seasoned actors – Sanjay Dutt and Rishi Kapoor. While Sanjay Dutt goes on to re-script Kancha Cheena (someone who will be remembered for the character, as Amitabh will be for Vijay) it is Rishi Kapoor as Rauf Lala, the local Mumbai don, drug lord, human trafficker and an arch business nemesis of Kancha who emerges as a pick among the actors for me. In this new character introduced by Karan, there is enough meat to make it a memorable one. Sinister, scheming and sentimental, his role is not just about the alliterations; his character is shaped to make up for the absence of one played by Mithun Chakravorty in the earlier version. He is nothing near to good but will be instrumental for Vijay to achieve the objective of killing Kancha and avenging his father’s murder. That Ranbir Kapoor has good genes of acting is evident in the ease with which Rishi Kapoor essays this role. He commands screen presence and regales you with the performance. A scene that you might pay special interest to is in the climax of conflict between Rauf and Vijay. I can easily see Rishi Kapoor in 2012’s nominations across movie awards as a best supporting actor or even in a negative role.

Kancha Cheena - Like I said earlier, the character will be remembered for Sanjay Dutt, even though there was nothing less that Danny had put in his performance earlier in the same role. It is just about how the character has been written and played that makes all the difference. Harbouring a bitter memory of his ugliness, Kancha in this movie believes that being ugly is synonymous with being evil and so leaves no stones unturned in his mission of becoming a producer of cocaine within the fortress that he creates out of Mandwa. The beauty of the characterisation is that like many other such characters, one such seen in Rakeysh Mehra’s Aks played by Manoj Bajpai, Kancha has a penchant of quoting from the Gita, of course tweaking the meaning to fulfil his own objective – “Kya leke aaye the, Kya leke jaoge” being one such quote, before murdering anyone. Taran Adarsh mentions in his critique of the movie, that Kancha has the influence of a Kurtz like character played by Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now. I will second that, only to add that Kancha is more sinister. The evil smile and brutality that Sanjay portrays is scary but convincing for the role. His look - massive, bald, tattooed body, soiled toe nails (watch carefully) and a black attire easily fits into someone that the character demanded. Agneepath 2012 is as much of Kancha as Vijay’s.

There is not much left for the woman characters in this Agneepath, though Priyanka Chopra does good a Kali, Vijay’s childhood friend and then eventually as his lover in the Chawl of Mumbai. She offers intensity to the emotional scenes but leaves you with nothing significant to carry back. Zarina Wahab as Suhasini Chauhan is a far cry from Rohini Hattangadi of the earlier version. In the earlier version the silence of Rohini Hattangadi was a powerful statement to the last shot, even when Amitabh dies in her arms. Not much justice is done to that role in the present characterisation with Suhasini Chauhan is left as a brooding wife and mother who disapproves of her son’s revengeful attitude. Om Puri as the commissioner of Mumbai Police recognises Vijay’s purpose albeit late but like the earlier Agneepath, in this also he remains as someone who tries to warn and pull out Vijay from the pulpit of revenge and evil that the latter engages with a single minded purpose.

One complain that I have of the present version is the song and dance routine which seems to be one too many, perhaps an extension of the Karan Johar effect as a producer. Though the music is good, it would have been more pleasant if some of the numbers, which occur almost immediately after one ends, were done away with or kept as promo items only. This applies also for the popular Chikni Chameli number, but one must accept this extravagance as this is a commercial and not parallel cinema.

Karan Malhotra has successfully carried the remake of Agneepath and you must watch it once at least. And all this began with a title immortalised by the late Harivansh Rai Bachan’s famous poem:

Vriksh hon bhale khade,

Hon bade, hon ghane,

Ek Patra chhah bhi,

Maang mat, Maang mat, Maang mat.

Agneepath! Agneepath! Agneepath!

Tu na jhukega kabhi,

Tu na mudega kabhi,

Tu na thamega kabhi,

Kar shapath, Kar shapath, Kar shapath.

Agneepath! Agneepath! Agneepath!

Ye Mahaan Drushya Hai,

Chal Raha Manushya Hai,

Ashru, Shwed, Rakta Se,

Lathpath, Lathpath, Lathpath.

Agneepath! Agneepath! Agneepath!

Getting Dirty

In one of the introductory scenes of The Dirty Picture, Vidya Balan in her role as Reshma a.ka. Silk, says to Emran Hashmi playing Abraham, a reticent I-hate-Silk director “Filmein sirf teen cheezon ke wajeh se chalti hai. Entertainment, entertainment, entertainment. Aur main entertainment hoon.” If the dialogue was not a punch enough, the poise with which Vidya delivers it, is a coup-de-grace for the audience. The wink, which I have always felt, no actor had done enough justice to post Madhuri Dixit gets a fresh patronage under Vidya. Throughout the movie Vidya as Silk would enthral the viewers with this signature gesture post delivery of any key dialogue. The wink imparts a new meaning to the dialogues, almost as if it never meant what it was supposed to mean; more often establishing Silk’s symbolic pun at her two faced fans, friends or foes.

In Ishqiya, if a feisty Vidya was a revelation, in this movie, she goes on to establish herself as an unparalleled actor beyond the league of any of her contemporaries. And how - not just by choosing a role that already had character written all over it, not by deciding to get into the skin of the character through a methodist school of acting - putting on weight, smoking or wearing what the character was needed to, but the real achievement lay in the ability to confidently carry the role of a sultry southern seductress who got a raw deal from the industry that created her, adulated her and then let her slip into an oblivion death, ironically only to reprise her much later in this story. Milan Luthria’s choice of subject is a winner and there are no second thoughts about it. What would have been a pity is if this fine script, camera work and cinematography had met incompetent acting - the movie would have met doomsday instantaneously. The real winner therefore is the casting director followed by the actors themselves. Each role have had a glove like fit in its respective actors. Naseruddin Shah as the never ageing, womanising, super-star who has no qualms of ‘tuning’ with every co-actress during the night and then avoiding them with equal nonchalance in the day, does what he does best - act. It is a treat that we are present in an era to see fine actors like Shah present their craft over and over again tirelessly. Bravo.

Tushar Kapoor plays the second fiddle brother to the super star, a role he must have by now gained an excellence over considering the number of such roles he so convincingly plays. I have always argued that he is a fine actor, if only he knew to select his roles. As Ramakant, Tushar does not disappoint - he is the weakling who despite all his good intentions for Silk can never muster the courage to side step society and wed her.

The other male lead - Emran Hashmi is an actor who has really come of age from the only kiss-and-kiss days. One could not miss his stellar performance in Once upon a time in Mumbai (again a Milan Luthria movie). And once again in this movie he does poetic justice to the role of Abraham, Silk’s arch detractor from the beginning and yet ironically perhaps the only one who empathised in the true sense with her predicament. As a character of a director who lives in the arrogance of his film making abilities not believing that cheap ‘sex’ (read – Silk) can actually ever sell movies Emran is more than convincing. The bitter sweet irony is that by the end of it all when Abraham finally meets a commercial success he admits that movies sell only because of three things - ‘entertainment, entertainment and entertainment,’ thereby coming a full circle by quoting the woman he so loved to hate - Silk.

The movie however unabashedly belongs to the character and actor- Silk and Vidya Balan respectively. I have mentioned earlier that the real winner is the casting director and the cherry in the pie of casting is Vidya Balan. It is not my biased interest in Vidya speaking in this section, but if you have watched the movie, you will agree that reprising the role of a character who moves from rags to riches to rags in her own terms, compromising with morality and satiating the hunger for success, she is utterly fantastic from the first to the last shot. A good director can only do as much as set the plot to a perspective but a good actor can take a perspective to new heights. Vidya does exactly this. She defines the role Silk in a quintessential manner leaving an indelible impression on the viewers. People have written about her ability to confidently feature a more than voluptuous character with ease. I shall regard that second to her ability to impart a unique trademark to the character, which will remain with you as a viewer long after you have come out of the cinema halls. Hence, I began talking about the wink. The manner how Vidya delivers it, almost makes me feel as if it’s aimed as a symbolic pun at her critics and detractors who may have written her off for not being the quintessential size zero, hour glass heroine. Oh - she is not all of that and I thank God for this. She is, well, she is ‘entertainment’ ;)

The Dirty Picture certainly qualifies as one of the hundred-movies-to-watch-before-you-die. Don’t Miss it.

Movies

It's been sometime that I have been wanting to write about some movies , I have watched recently. It actually began with Taare Zameen Par, a movie I ended up watching three times and not once felt let down. TZP deserves a complete entry and not just a few words of appreciation. That I will soon. But for now it's the other flicks I shall opine of. (Gee!! I sound like an English critic of the 18th century)

Om Shanti Om- What's this doing here? Well my friends I watched the movie. Found it to be ridiculously stupid without much of a plot and yet was guilty of wearing a smile of a satisfied mind at the end of the movie. Sigh! I am, at the end of the day, a masala greedy, spicy curry loving Indian. OSO had it all and hence the guilt of satisfaction. If the infamous adage that "Sex and Sharukh sells" is to be proved true, believe me it does not need much but a small sting op on the people who shrieked (six pack) and laughed (include me also) at the slapstick and cliched humour of the movie. In retrospect today I guess the kudos should go to Farah and Sharukh for providing what the Indian mass required- the daily dose of spice with a pinch of salt. I will not delve into the plot or characters but will certainly pick up Vishal and Shekhar for being inspired by The Phantom of the Opera for the climax song. When the song began I was racking my brain to identify the familiarity of the tune. Bingo! the ambience gave it away- Phantom of the Opera. Inspired- My good friends- Well a long time since the Musu musu haasi inspiration.
OSO gets ***1/2 (which implies watch it at least once)

Jodha Akbar - Aha! Opulence has a new name- Ashutosh Gowrikar. Mr. Gowrikar's tryst with magnitude after Lagaan is on a different scale of history and fiction. Lagaan was fiction against the canvas of history. It did not pick on any character, living or dead and hence escaped the ire of a reticent and politicized public. Swadesh was completely based on history with shades of fiction, but the protagonist was not someone who occupied the mind of the public and hence the movie escaped public display of affection of any sorts. (Oh Yes! the pun is completely intended). Jodha Akbar is a tryst with history and an attempt to recreate the missing strands of an association so less talked about, yet by far a very important association that went on to shape a political dream of an emperor. If Akbar married Jodha as a part of a political alliance, then all Haider Ali and Gowrikar tries to do, is to provide a fictional element of a love story that by all possibilities may have bloomed in the courts of the Mughal empire. If we question this tale of love then I guess we must question the tales of all the iconic lovers like Laila-Majnu, Heer-Ranja who like this tale also is a perhaps only a song of the wandering minstrel. However, history does suggest that there was an emperor Akbar and indeed there was a princess Jodha bai. Then, Jodha Akbar is indeed a great tale featured by AG on the silver screen. The canvas of the movie is opulent and so is the performance of Hrithik Roshan as Akbar and Aishwarya Rai as Jodha. What struck me was the restrain of expression in love and the pine between the characters, which was very well executed by Hrithik and Aish. Keep in mind that the movie is 4 hour long and yet I did not notice the audience being bored. Keep away from what 'professional critics' of the movie have to say. You must watch it for the sheer grandeur and performance of all involved- from actors, director to the cinematographer.
**** (beat this Mr. Kazhmi)

Ok Next to follow are the following Elizabeth-The Golden Age, No Country for Old Men, The Bourne Ultimatum. Keep reading this space for more