Gulaal's colours unmatched

Kay Kay Menon kicks ass maan, that is how my friend had described the movie ‘Gulaal’. After watching it, I should say he not only kicks, but delivers the knock-out punch. He is a marvelous actor; let me repeat the obvious here, for words can’t suffice how strong his performance in the movie is. He is feisty by nature, as exemplified in his other movies, Sarkaar, Shaurya, Life in a Metro etc, but here his intensity is seeped gradually, drip by drip, on the whole canvas.

Imagine a guy who is roguish but also zealot. He himself is a goon but deep in his heart, also espouses the cause of freedom of the state of Rajputana from the country of India, a seditious act but for him vindictive about the injustice meted out to his forefathers by the founders of this country. He has no qualms though about sleeping with other woman, or killing his brother in a fit of petulance. He advances his motives through other guys but also respects their innocence and purity. You can imagine by now how diverse the characterization of this man should be. Menon matches excellence here.

His work should get double mention because he is the only so-called star in the movie. In keeping with his favour of the unknowns, Anurag Basu has again picked up an almost non-descript cast. The two skinny girls are sexy, but hardly coquettish enough, as depicted in the movie. Abhimanyu Singh as Ransa delivers a brilliant performance and we should be seeing more of him in future. But I don’t want to see that guy, Raja Chaudhary (I had to look for his name), enacting the role of Duleep in the movie, again. The character demanded a feeble character, but he is so wimp that you always feel irritated and angered. May be that is what the director wanted to incite J Two cents for Anurag Basu too. With an intense Black Friday, he had captured our imagination. He has not ventured into mainstream since then, and I don’t think he needs to. If he continues making these solid flicks, he will create an enviable niche of his own. Such varied has become Bollywood.

Not true? May be not for you yet, but for me, now I have the option of watching a slapstick Aloo Chaat, or a soul-stirring Firaaq, or a horrifying ’13 B’ tomorrow. Really I can’t wait.

Billu Barber and Delhi-6 - What is common?

It is tough to give your own perspective when the whole world has already passed its judgement. But it can also be an education. After watching Billu Barber and Delhi-6, I feel they are my case-studies. I don’t want to serenade or shrill on them, but they are so reminiscent of this movie-creativity ethos in Bollywood that they warrant some commenting.

I still remember reading Taran Adarsh’s review on Dil Chahta Hai, when the movie had just landed on the silver screen. Even if I am not literatim in sync, he had said something like this, “These young film-makers think they can uproot the basics of Bollywood by putting a creative, but abstruse, genius into their films, and expecting the average movie-goer to not only appreciate but also lap it up in its entirety. The film has risen only to meet its doom.” Aah, an apocryphal promulgation, it turned out to be! The film was certainly embraced, if not lapped, by the erudite or non-erudite. So, fast forward nine years now. There is a deluge of these films, high on so-deemed cinematic brilliance, and low in so-despised masala content.

I consider Billu Barber and Delhi-6 the apotheosis of this concept, but blinkered in its opinion and misguided in their execution. Why do I say that? Take Billu Barber first. Priyadarshan is a master in narrating and depicting the bucolic aura of mellow rural areas; just watch his Virasat or Malamal Weekly. Here too, he brings out great scenes of rural orderliness or messiness, but fails to let them rule. I think he is not to blame for this though. The blame has to go to SRK, the producer and the (supporting) actor. He must understand that putting irrelevant item songs of his, supposedly meant to attract people, instead attacks and attenuates the main story. Famous clippings from his previous films would have suited the wallpapers in Billu’s saloon, but not in the songs. For a moment, please stop being Shahrukh or even Shahir Khan. Continuing this, did SRK want to take a dig at his political rivals by including those tasteless jibes with school-manager, Dubey? I hope he was not doing so, but you can’t escape the despicable attempt to leverage the medium of movies. Moving away from this SRK influenza, another area where the film fell short was the never-exhibited friendship of Shahir and Billu. The ending could have been more stretched, and simultaneously attached to let their bonding come out naturally. It felt too abrupt when Shahir narrates his story and by quirk of fate, he meets his childhood friend. This should have been a Sudama and Krishna story with some common strands of interaction. These trivial cribs and carps apart, the movie was a joy. It always feels good to be back into the rustic aura of barber shop, gossiping men outside, primary school environs etc. The acting front too was good, with Irfan, SRK and even Larra Dutta carrying their roles with aplomb. But at the end of it, you felt, it could have been a classic, had not the whims taken over. You get this feeling, watching movies like TZP.

These feelings get extended when you watch yet-another-near classic, Delhi-6, the next day. Rakyesh OmPrakash Mehra has been different in both his earlier movies, Aks and RDB. So, it is natural for him to be different in Delhi-6 too. But so different? If the movie would have been named Kala Bander, no noise would have been made. The references-simile or metaphor- need to be depicted in movies too, but one has to decide where and when. What was more important in the movie-the protagonists’ long-lost Delhi’s Indianness or the Delhittes’ fickle goodness and badness, exhibited through Kala Bander? Perhaps both, and that is what the director wanted to show. But he never intertwined them. In one moment, it was the slapped Abhishek Bachchan, and then in the next reel, he was an endeared person. His love-story never appeared to exhibit any love. The Hindu-Muslim unity and fight were too sudden and artificial to like and loathe. In short, it was too esoteric for me sometimes. But at the rest of the places, it was so likable. It brought memories of the narrow alleys, and the ever-teeming life of Delhi. Music, as praised before, had an add-on alluring effect. Acting too, especially of the hot-headed Vijay Raaz, was top-notch. If only, the movie too could have been?

My views are more cynical, when I consider the fact that I liked the movies more than I disliked. But those wisps of wistfulness colour them black; and here lies the catch too. Hope nobody stops attempting these movies, for they are far more a promise than a failure, and if and when we, both the makers and viewers, get it right, it is truly a creativity paragon.

Par excellence music - It is this

A.R. Rahman is making waves for his fabulous work in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and the subsequent Oscar nominations. In the meanwhile though, his best work came out without much tintinnabulation. I am talking about his latest release, ‘Delhi-6’. I generally don’t go on to listen to songs as soon as I have read the Music Review. But this music review was so glowing that I had to leave aside everything and hark to it.

It is just mind-blowing, dear readers.

I have a strong affinity for melodious songs; so when I listened to the Aarti Song, I was presto carried in the indescribable zone of musical completeness. Its lyrics, its humming, its mystic aura – all are so soothing that I listen to it as and when I feel the first bead of anxiety on my face.

Aarti - Tumre Bhavan Mein

The second song that I like the most is ‘Genda Phool’. What a mix of undiluted ineffable music, topping the relevant lyrics! The words of a restive newly-wed could not have come out better.

Genda Phool

The other songs, Maskali, Delhi-6, Dil Gira etc too are extra ordinary. The whole package, in fact, is a possession for the music aficionado. I can’t wait for the film to come out. If it is even half as good as its musical counterpart, it will make many other excellences dim.

'Slumdog Millionaire' - You are everywhere

I had to write about the movie. I can’t escape its ubiquity. A firm favourite for the Oscars now after having gobbled up the Golden Globes, Slumdog Millionaire is a movie in itself.

It is painted on Indian backdrop, and it has unsurprisingly used the chiaroscuro of Indian poverty. It is not news but surely an agitating prop for us righteous Indians. I am ambivalent how to take it. I was struck by the blatant portrayal of Indian poverty and iniquities in the movie but was also helpless not to deny it. My feign sense of Indian emancipation was hit hard, but it only revealed the truth which I already knew and wanted to hide from. So, I won’t be that critical as others have been. Amitabh Bachchan has his views overtly put out, but he too ignores some obvious facts.

But yes, I agree with him on some counts. A cliché – ‘Only Sex and SRK sell in Bollywood’ has its counterpart in Hollywood- ‘Of India, only her poverty and mysticism sell’. Did Indians ever eat monkey-brain? Spielberg never bothered to check this before selling it in ‘Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom’. Even recently, the much appreciated ‘The Darjeeling Limited’ shows many things mystical enough for me to fathom. I can’t hold a feather in desert and be purified by the winds blowing it. Never mind, it worked for the three American brothers and the audience in general. So, I fear there is going to be even more this esoteric Indianness sold in the movies, now that India is more global than ever before. I think India’s male chivalry, feminine beauty, urbane life style, political sanity, military valour etc will have to wait for next century.

In my declamation or rigmarole (whatever you feel) about its Indian connection, I didn’t mention the cinematic aspects of the movie, and it is indeed a shame because the movie ticks almost all the boxes that one can put for a quality movie. Its unique narration, tight story, celebratory exhibition, acute cinematography, good acting and compelling music all lend great finesse to the product. Some of the moments, like the boy jumping in a pool of pooh, the deceitful villain putting oil in a kid’s eyes etc have already attracted much attention and discussion. But what was most remarkable about the movie was its never-to-wither belief in destiny that somehow dots connect in life. Indeed they did connect for the protagonists showcasing a unique celebration of life. The dance routine at the end was unexpected and incongruous, but as already guessed or known by now, it was a tribute to Bollywood. The dancing could have been better, but it seems till now, this type is somewhat mastered by and exclusive to Bollywood actors only.

So, this is all about the movie from me. I am keen to hear from all what they think about it, and in fact, I have already been reading the opinions at different forums. Good Luck to the movie for the Oscars, and hope it wins many more fans in cinema and life alike.

Ghajini ... Aamir is the real Ghajini

If New Year deserved anything better, I don’t know what. I watched Ghajini today after partaking my breakfast. It was a 3-hour roller-coaster of emotion.

Did I like it? Yeah. Can it bear the tag of the most profitable movie of Indian Cinema? Yeaah. Is it the phenomenon? Yeaaah ….

Is it exceptional? No answers

I don’t have answers, because I don’t want to answer it. It is for you to analyse.

The movie starts off with description of a zapped Aamir Khan. Then he dashes on the screen thrashing a baddie, splashing everything out in the process. As the fighting culminates, he pulls out a tap rod and carves it inside the damned guy …. I cringed. You are not Aamir Khan, or may be a throwback of mid-90’s poor action pretender in movies like Aatank Hi Aatank, Parampara etc

The screen rolls on. We see the names inked on his body to make him remember everything of evil done to him. He doesn’t say much, but conveys everything through his histrionics. Some reels on, we delve into his previous life. The more familiar Aamir Khan arrives, and I enjoy the zippy love story. Asin is vivacious. Where were thou? Hindi film industry needs you. In between, alternate the uber-angry and the more-human Aamir Khans. The story moves on as in a Bollywood flick and climaxes with the slaying of the villain. Too Bollywoodish , or Mementoish, Pearcine …. To heck with Memento or Guy Pearce. This is Bollywood and Aamir Khan.

So, I described the movie with the perspective of Aamir Khan only. The reason: the movie is Aamir Khan and vice-versa; the rest are mere complements. This guy is just fantabulous in the way he reads the pulses of the movie-going industry. In Ghajini, he is not a fake action hero as feared by me initially. He is an obsessed revengeful person having undergone a total personality change. Who can pump in so much body to make the movie real too? He brings out one of his characters not seen by us before. Actually he extends his range of acting oeuvre.

The movie is in line to become the first Indian flick to garner 100 crore rupees inside India. It deserves this recognition because it is a perfect potpourri of masala. My analysis of the movie should end here (as it is for you to analyse), before I draw the creative knife and shred its unAamirness to pieces. For me, the movie is only Aamir, and my theory rests that Aamir did it to remind himself and everyone that he can churn out a mass entertainer too. It has already been a wholesome year for him as producer, director and actor, and if TZP gets nominated for Oscar, it will take him to the pinnacle. He is the best actor; for sure, he will become the most glittering star too of Bollywood then.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

I can't say how good the movie is. It is simply superb.

I had goosebumps listening to this song.



The movie is so corny, so bathetic, so fluffy, in fact, so un-macho (you will get the drift if you have watched the movie). But still it seems the movie has seeped into each part of my body.

Such is the magic.

The real Ghajini

The first Theatrical Trailer of Ghajini is out.

Ghajini Trailer

I was so enceinte with expectancy that for a few moments, I had forgotten what Ghajini was all about. Perhaps I had made a mistake. No sooner had the trailer rolled out than the reality was revealed to me.

I was again reminded or reaffirmed that Ghajini is a copy of Memento. A few scenes, most of the dialogues, cinematography, bloody even photography, seem to have been taken directly out of Memento. Aamir Khan, sorry about being captious. But this is not on. If it would have been anyone else, I would have taken a different view. But it is you, damn it. I hope your movie is not a blatant pilferage, because I won't be able to watch it then.

Your question, ‘Why am I so fretful about this plagiarism, when every 'Wood' in this world copies another?’ I am uneasy, because it assaults Memento-one of the most wonderful movies ever made. First, you may defile its sanctity by hijacking its originality and second, in the process, you may lose out to Guy Pearce, and I consider you the best in the world. Hope you prove me wrong on both the counts.

What am I writing? I myself don't know. I always knew it is a copy, advertised as a sincere Indian avatar of Memento. But after watching the trailer, I feel so ...... ( I am not getting the right word).