Babumoshaai!!!!!!!!!

"Babumoshaai!!!"  Probably the most popular one-word dialogue ever uttered in Indian Cinema, with a great visual recall.

Its voice... Rajesh Khanna, the first Superstar of Hindi Cinema, and arguably Indian Cinema.

Rajesh Khanna is not the sort of actor, in my opinion, to have a great recall value, especially when one is not from either of the generations, ones  which idolised him and ones which continued the wake. But a quick survey of his repertoire given in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajesh_Khanna is enough evidence of what he has tried to do as an actor and the euphoria he generated as a superstar. The critical comparison with Kamal Hassan for the same role is even more remarkable (Ref: Sivappu Rojakkal/Red Rose).

What pains even a non-fan of Kaka, as he is fondly called and parodied, is the current ad for Havell Fans. We see a very old Kaka, nattily dressed recalling the days of yore where true Superstardom was defined by the adoration of the fans. A beautiful montage of flashbacks  forms the backdrop for this giant of a Thespian, now old, feeble and perhaps standing on his own legs with the determinism that characterizes true human beings.

 "Mujhse mere fans koi nahi cheen sakta" he summarizes, and the camera pans out to see an auditorium of "fans"...the revolving kind. It looks clever and cheeky at first, and then the disgust sinks in. 

What was the director thinking? What was Havell as a company thinking? Commodification of persona is not new to Indian television. But this plumbs to new low. A new threshold of "Sick".

Why did you do an ad like this Kaka? Is it the pain of watching your greatest rival and successor to the mantle of "Superstar" hawk everything from cultural tourism to chawanprash in every third ad that comes on TV? Is it because someone with a personal agenda massaged your Capricornian ego and said you could do it too, and you gave in? 

Advertisements need to be made in good taste, especially when the person endorsing the product is a little more accomplished than most others around. Else its becomes a pathetic commercialization. Perhaps one of the slickest ad's ever made in India for is BPL TV by Rakesh Omprakash Mehra more than a decade ago and featuring Amitabh Bachchan- your greatest rival and successor. But then, it has been consistently downhill since then for him. Another good set of ad's in the last two years have been by Abhinay Deo, featuring his father Ramesh Deo. Thankfully, he is extremely choosy.

The triangle of Amitabh Bachchan, Ramesh Deo and Rajesh Khanna gave us Anand. In the movie, your candle went out in a blaze that it is one of Indian Cinema's greatest endings ever.

Please remember this Kaka when you say "Theek Hai Re..." to the next advertisement that comes your way. But then, it is your choice, as it is your life and you are its best judge.

I say all this even though I am not a great fan by the yardsticks of fan-dom that you have created..

The Return of the Godfather

Having finished a re-reading of the Godfather by Mario Puzo, I cannot help but think that the cinematic version (by Francis Ford Coppola) is infinitely better than the book, in narration, tautness and execution. The closest tributes in Indian Cinema to the plotline are Dharmatma (Feroz Khan) Aatank hi Aatank (Aamir Khan), Nayakan (dir. Mani Rathnam, starring Kamal Hassan, Prabhu) and Sarkar (dir. Ram Gopal Varma-RGV, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Kay Kay Menon). The plot lines in all of them are similar- a Tom-Hagen-esque friend, a verdict that always hinges on what is right morally for the mistreated/ victim, struggle against fellow Dons to keep drugs out of the Mafia system, a bomb blast that taking away a loved one and so forth.

The difference, is that Velu Nayakan (Kamal Hassan) is killed in the end. Subash Nagre (Amitabh Bachchan) is still seeking vendetta. 

On the subject of Sarkar, its sequel Sarkar Raj sees the Godfather Subash Nagre (Amitabh) lose his second son/ successor (Abhishek), while the elder son (Kay Kay Menon) is supposedly killed by Abhishek for attempted murder on the father. The operative word being supposedly, throws up possibilities of a “what if” for carrying forward the Sarkar/Sarkar Raj storyline, considering that RGV has openly admitted that his attempts are a fan’s tribute to the Coppola trilogy. The way forward hinges on the character of Kay Kay Menon (Vishnu Nagre).

1. KayKay Menon’s character (a mix of Sonny and Freddie Corleone) is not actually killed (it isn’t shown in the movie, no funeral) and that he has actually been playing all along as per the counter-plot orchestrated by Amitabh to seek out and eliminate his enemies. For the third installment, Kay Kay comes back to avenge the assassination of Abhishek.
2. Kay Kay Menon’s son (Chiku) has actually seen his father being shot by Abhishek and hence wants nothing to do with the Nagre empire. So he is the real and reluctant Michael Corleone. Anyways, he is shown being summoned by Subash Nagre at the end of Sarkar Raj.
3. Kay Kay who survives and is told to go far far away from the family by Abhishek comes back and arranges the assassin of Abhishek. Now the Nagre feud becomes a family vendetta. Chiku dies in this in the arms of the Godfather  Subash Nagre a.la. Godfather III.

Another scenario is that of a flashback a.la. Godfather II, where Kay Kay is a much younger Subash Nagre, and one such enemy from the past still haunts the Amitabh character. Whatever be the scenarios, it has always been clear to Sarkar followers that Kay Kay’s character has been the one which has and can take the story forward. 

What is RGV waiting for?

Kurosawa- Rashomon

"Human beings are unable to be honest with themselves about themselves. They cannot talk about themselves without embellishing. This script portrays such human beings-the kind who cannot survive without lies to make them feel they are better people that they really are. It even shows this sinful need for flattering falsehood going beyond the grave-even the character who dies cannot give up his lies when he speaks to the living through a medium. Egoism is a sin the human being carries with him from birth; it is the most difficult to redeem. this film is like a strange picture scroll that is unrolled and displayed by the ego.You say that you cannot understand this script at all, but that is because the human heart itself is impossible to understand. If you focus on the impossibility of truly understanding human psychology and read the script one more time, I think you will grasp the point of it."


Kurosawa Akira on the script of Rashomon.

Kurosawa - Notes

"When I begin to consider a film project, i always have in mind the number of ideas that feel as if they would be the sort of thing I'd like to film. From among these one will suddenly germinate and begin to sprout; this will be the one I grasp and develop. I have never taken on a project offered to me by a producer or a production company. My films emerge from my own desire to say a particular thing at at particular time.the root of any film project for me is this inner need to express something."

Kurosawa Akira- Notes on Filmmaking (1975). Trans. Audie E. Bock.

Utopia

Utopian cities have always been man's dream. I am glad that many people out there share the dream, though I personally prefer living in an Inclusive City rather than a Utopian one. I find the idea (as advertised in newsprint) of “Utopia+ City+ structure+ neighbourhood +module+ away from the city yet approachable" very self contradictory. My reasons and fears as to why this may lead to myopic or even a dystopic caricature of the term utopia in terms of design responses are as follows.

1- The idea of Utopia: In mythology and history, Utopia has always been a space/ concept which has a high degree of resonance with physical, spiritual and natural elements. These elements occurred in such a mystical combination that mankind found it/ finds it nearly impossible to mimic the same BALANCE that these places acquired over time, much like a patina on bronze. As a word, BALANCE has been neglected in the design of our spaces, atleast in recent times. I feel the inclusion of this word will make a difference to the approach to the topic. BALANCE will dictate "how much"...and this "how much" will be a question between man and land, building and nature, today and tomorrow etc. This is perhaps the reason why architecture like Paolo Soleri's earth displacing ideas of architecture and ecology (Arcology) or Peter Cook and Archigram's Floating City have never taken off, while Ancient Greek Society or Rama’s mythical rule in India is referred to as Utopian.

2. The progression and the boundary: Contrary to the typological module repeated endlessly across a site or landscape and thereby generating a pithy organic urban form, the City-neighbourhood-structure-module as a vital understanding (large to small) allows itself to be better regulated since there is a Masterplan that governs how development can be organic at the smallest level and yet bind with a overall idea. The trick of blurring boundaries using natural units rather than buildings can perhaps be the crux in preserving regional / urban identities( e.g. Auroville- where a form of utopian-cosmic ideals has influenced even the smallest of buildings and revived neglected land by allowing forests to be regenerated first before architecture and therefore the city settings come into operation while acting as 'boundaries'). And yet, such ideas face problems such as lack of committed focus, funding, corruption of ideals over time; factors which cannot be predicted or over-anticipated. How does one prevent the larger idea from being corrupted ?

3- Architecture and urbanity as modules: As an addendum to the above point, whether ideological or physical, the notion of modularity and replication tends to disrespect sites, places and even cultures. An example of this module-based approach is the Metabolist architecture of the '70's perhaps epitomised by Kenzo Tange's work. In such approaches, nothing remains of the "original" land. You would agree that under its skin, Metabolist architecture aspired to utopia. The “Blobtecture” of today is no different, thanks to surface distending softwares.

4- The segregated city: The Corbusian city (famously generated by his theory of the Une Ville Contemporaine, or the city of a million inhabitants), mechanically segregates the city, an idea that Rob Krier has famously decried in his City Vs Anti City diagram (ref. Spiro Kostof, The City Assembled). Rob Krier's observation that the ideal city is a mix, an organic growth generated by needs, stands in direct contrast to the Corbusian model of the Architect-Planner telling the city what it will be. While the medieval city allowed civic spaces, congregation, and leisure to be ingrained, the modern city assigns "zones" for it, under the pretext of organization. Cars calibrate distances. and road widths.

5- The Place Vs The Palimpsest: Memorable architecture and a memorable city are both characterized by change, where the city and the building acquires a patina over time and its vibe is what is generated by its users. The present imagery of all our new towns and cities is that of a fixed unchanging composition. The idea of negating the existing city fabric and allowing Development to go and establish the idea of Utopia someplace else, also advocates the notion that the city as existing cannot be improved or be made more inclusive, and that going someplace else by leapfrogging existing constraints is the solution, rather than turning those constraints into potentials.A city like Bombay with an Urbanization history dating back to 9th Century BC and prior is being dreamt of as a new Shanghai. Why cannot Bombay be Bombay and thereby its ethos dictate its city form, culture and therefore housing as one example of its many parts (my apologies for the pun on Amos Rapaport). Why should a city in the Western ghats be a copy of a European town in spirit as well as form and not something indigenous in root yet aspirational in expression? While most of the ongoing and proposed developments touting themselves as Utopia do not point out such formative thoughts, I feel it can be a vital cue to leading design solutions into the realm of Utopia.

5- The Tactile City: I am at a personal loss to understand whether a Utopian City can be sustained purely on tactile terms such as lush lawns, state-of-the-art finishes and the like. Ironically, the hi-gloss renderings appear colder rather than having warmth considering the amount of glazing and steel that goes into the building elevations. What about the intangible (like the need for solitude...where does one go find solitude in a city? Is a lush lawn or a golf course then the only expression?). I feel by using such tactility as a qualifier, there is a worrisome encouragement of a design process which will overdose on computer wizardry to create lighting conditions and ethereal settings like a beautiful Gurudutt film but miss out on its soul . The soulful Geeta Dutt rendition Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam (Kagaz ke Phool) seems eerily prophetic when transposed in meaning and situation).

To end, "...maybe it is not so much that it is The Game that is short, maybe it is that the field that one is playing on, is just too damn big!" (Triple H, WWE Athlete)

The Dialogue

The battle between the crass implementation and marketing of Green Buildings and the idea of habitat design on Earth was prophetically alluded by the writer duo of Salim- Javed in one of the most dramatic confrontation scenes in Hindi Cinema (Deewar, 1976, dir: Yash Chopra). Vijay (the "Rated Green Building" promoter/ designer), Ravi (the environmentally sensible designer) and Maa (Mother Earth) come together once more even as we speak about Sustainable design etc. Who will win?

Ravi: Bhai…iss kaagaz pe tumhara sign chahiye.

Vijay: Yeh kya hai

Ravi: Ismein…likha hai ke tum apne aap ko Ekistics ke hawale kar rahe ho; Apne saare buildings… townships ke naam aur pata ecological planners ko bata rahe ho.

Vijay: Ravi…tum jaante ho…

Ravi: Bhai tum sign karoge ya nahi

Vijay: Ravi…yeh sab…

Ravi: Bhai tum sign karoge ya nahi

Vijay: Ravi…tum…

Ravi: BHAAAAIII… TUM SIGNN KAROGEYYY YA NAHI???

(Silence)

Vijay: Haan...Main sign karoonga…Lekin main akele nahi karoonga; Main sabse pehle sign nahi karoonga. Jao, pehle uss aadmi ka sign lekar aao jisne Ward officer se sign liya tha. Pehle uss aadmi ka sign lekar aao jisne meri maa ko gaali dekar site se sab pedd nikaal diye. Jao pehle uss admi ka sign lekar aao jisne mere haath pe yeh likh diya tha!!! (rolls up sleeve to show " sustainable design sirf channd points hain"

...Uske baad…uske baad mere bhai tum jis kaagaz pe kahoge main uspe sign kar doonga.

Ravi: Doosron ke paap ginaane se tumhaare apne paap kam nahi ho sakte. Doosron ke jurm saabith karne se yeh sachchayi nahi badal sakti ki tum bhi ek mujrim ho; Aur yeh sachchayi…tumhaare aur mere beech ek deewar hai bhai… aur jab tak yeh deewar hai hum ek chatth ke neeche nahi reh sakte.Main yeh Green Building design chodd ke jaa raha hun. Abhi. Issi waqt. Chalo Maa.

Vijay: Tum jaana chahte ho jao,lekin Maa nahi jayegi.

Ravi: Maa!! mere saath chalo !!

Vijay: Kaha maine ki Maa nahi jayegi !!

Maa: Maa Jayegi.

Vijay: Nahi Maa! Tum mujhe choddkar nahi jaa sakti.Tum mujhe bahut chahti ho Maa. Main jaanta hoon tum mujhe choddkar nahi jaa sakti.

Maa: Main jaa rahi hoon Vijay!

Vijay: Nahi Maa!!! Tum nahi jaaogi!!

Maa: Woh aadmi jisne BMC mein sign li woh tera kaun tha? Koi nahi.

Woh aadmi jisne teri maa ko gaali dekar sab pedd nikaley who tera kaun tha? Koi nahi.

Woh aadmi jisne tere haath pe likh diya ki "sustainable design sirf channd points hain"…who tera kaun tha? Koi nahi.

Lekin Tu!!..tu toh mera apna beta tha…mera apna khoon!! Tu ne apne Maa ke maathe pe kaise likh diya ki uska beta ek bewakoof designer hai?

Vijay: Lekin maa…yeh sab maine tumhaare liya kiya. Yeh bangla, Yeh township, yeh Green Building… yeh sab tumhaare liye hai. Yeh sab kuch tumhara hai!! Aur tumhi mujhe chhodd kar jaa rahi ho?

Maa: Vijay…bada saudagar ban gaya hai re. Magar ek baat bolun? Apni maa ko khareedne ki koshish mat kar. Tu abhi itna ameer nahi hua beta... ki apni Maa ko khareed sakey.

(Vijay looks down...only to see his laptop screensaver showing images of Shanghai, Dubai, Gurgaon, Mumbai...)

zameen par

kyon iss kadar hairaan tu
mausam ka hai mehmaan tu
duniya sajee tere liye
khud ko zara pehchaan tu

tu dhoop hai
chamm se bikhar
tu hai nadi
o bekhabar

behe chal kahin
udd chal kahin
dil khush jahaan
teri toh manzil hai vaheen…

Take a bow...again Prasoon. :)

Dhan-ta-nann

After 20 runs of "Dhan-ta-nann" in office and at home,the sheer intensity of the song still captivates.The team of Gulzarsaab, Vishal Bharadwaj and Sukhwinder Singh score again. The movie in question is "Kaminey"- a sobriquet that would fit me so well.

In terms of pure energy this song for me,comes second to Misirlou by Dick Dale...the superb guitar signature piece in Pulp Fiction to which Uma Thurman and John Travolta groove. It also features in the Black Eyed Peas' song "Pump It".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misirlou

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIU0RMV_II8 (the video)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Dale (the rockstar)

Coming back to "Dhan-ta-nann", it shares similarities with Dick Dale's piece, which a repeated careful hearing brings forth, atleast in the opening sequence, the lapsed guitar rhythm and the tempo. A more musically learned and discerning ear might be able to compare the nuances too. So will there be a controversy just before the film's release? I dont think so. Vishal-Shekhar were more blatantly "inspired" in their song 'Cash meri aankhon mein' from the flop movie Cash.

Since the movie "Kaminey" features the hero in a double role, and we already have a chartbuster of a song, it remains to be seen whether the song actually plays a crucial role in the movie. For example it could be the setting where the heroine/villain/hero's mother happen to see one of the two Shahid Kapurs in this song. (OK, the hero's mother seeing him in a pub seems slightly far fetched since it is not a David Dhawan movie).

The last song that I recall having created such a wave of popularity was "Ek pal ka jeena/ Ae mere dil tu gaaye jaa" from Kaho Na Pyaar Hai (1995), the debut movie of Hritik Roshan- another fabulous dancer. The song played a vital role in the form of a "Oh! he- looks- like- him- and- I- don't- believe- it!!" sequence where the heroine spots the second Hritik, after the first Hritik is shown to have died in an accident.

Though it is not a particularly brilliant piece of screenplay, the well choreographed song still remains a kind of benchmark in modern day Hindi cinema for a blockbuster entry of the hero in role no 2. Comparing this with other hero-in- a- dual role movie of recent times makes Kaho na Pyaar hai seem like a Classic. Try "Bade Miyan Chote Miyan", "Judwaa", "Ankhiyon se Goli maare" and their ilk and you will know what I am talking about.

Since we are talking about tune rip offs and Hritik Roshan, the catchy number "Krazzy 4" from the eponymous movie comes to mind. Talk about strange correlations.

Also, come to think of it, there aren't many songs in Hindi Cinema which have played a crucial role as identity transfer/ identity giver. Therefore "Hoton pe aisi baat" from Guide perhaps remains the highwater mark in this respect. The song became the starting point in the identification of the true "Jewel Thief" in the climax. But then again, unmasking a villain is not the same as bringing on a identical looking hero.

So are there any songs about an identical looking hero/ dead protagonist coming back to life or being recognized through a song? "Yeh Duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai" from the iconic Gurudutt movie-Pyaasa!!!

Anyways...for the time being I am happy going "til til tara tara mera teli ka tel/ kaudi kaudi paisa paisa paise ka khel/ chal chal sadkon pe hogi tdhen! tdhen!/ Dhan-ta-nann!"

From Dev Babu to Dev D

Devdas is the Indian euphemism for 'loser and goner'. A story of immense pathos, bordering on tragedy, the original story set in the 1900's by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee has been a staple screenplay down the ages from the 'I cant hear you" (silent) era right down to the "iCan so iPod" times.

It had enough fodder and magnetism to be directed thrice (!!!) by the same person -PC Barua. Wikipedia has some other nuggets like this. The Dilip Kumar version is widely regarded as the 'definitive' Devdas, while the recent Sanjay Leela Bhansali-Shahrukh Khan version has been the most extravagant and commercial successful.

...which is why DEV D by Anurag Kashyap, starring Abhay Deol, has a unique advantage of "no baggage", since it aspired to be neither as definitive nor as commercially successful as the other 2 aforementioned versions.
...which is why positioning it in Delhi suddenly makes the story uber-new, instead of the badlands of Bengal and the 'kothas' of UP.
...which is why DEV D packs a punch all the more, with its 'updated' internet age storyline involving Promiscuity, Pornography and Psychedelia all of which are right-in-your face. (Pardon the P's . Remanent of 'Puh' se pareshaani, 'Puh' se pyaar aur 'Puh' se Paaro, from the previous avatar).

Some visuals are striking, especially the 'I-can-drink-more-than-you-think-I-can-drink' sequences featuring Dev and Chunni. Right down the alley of A Requiem for a Dream, one of my favorite movies. And the 3 clubhouse dancers who show up in random scenes- see if you can figure out why. Besides this, Anurag has cleverly inserted Devdas visual references in the movie- SRK's Devdas through a poster and a song (Maar daala), watched by his Chandramukhi, and a tribute to Madhuri Dixit (Main madhuri Dixit banna chahti hoon, anyone?) though 2 of her songs, Maar daala and Ek do teen.

Chunni Babu- a pimp plus thug but with the same Sarat Chandra character's heart of gold in the end, Chandramukhi- "CSW- commercial sex worker...Rundee is outdated" - a prostitute with a sordid past, and a high-on- estrogen Paaro display enough acting skills to make the re-visioning believable.Where the SRK starrer had gems like "Pehli nazar mein dil chura gaye, hum samjhe thei unhe butth, woh dhadkan suna gaye" (Chandramukhi's first meeting with Devdas), our new age Chandramukhi sees Dev D and says "kya hua?" or something like it. Chunni's character has some redemption with dialogue- "Dilli mein billi maaro, billi khaalo lekin billi mat paalo- mehenga pad jayehga", in reference to lust for white skin and an allusion his own life, revealed towards the movie's end.

Deviations from the original story include a healed relationship with the father, sub plots for all principal characters, a less than bitchy family and of course the story's end. Delhi's Paharganj serves well as the pimp alley, and the Delhi fascination towards alcohol and its resultant idiosyncracies- secure-as-a-fort wine shops doing business from behind grilles, and the ever resourceful Badarpur border as the last hope for booze, food etc on a late night, make their presence felt silently, while the BMW hit-and-run case and the DPS MMS scandal serve as cinematic fodder for the screenplay.

My only complaint: Although the binge drinking session at the pub is reeeaally well shot, there are no other scenes or even realisms that leave an impression of the alcohol+cocaine consuming madness of Dev D (his eyes don't turn red or become baggy,neither does he dehyderate with all that drinking)- the original storyline has many. No crisp attitude-filled dialogue either, though this Devdas is more strung out than all his predecessors.Albeit there are some really corny and some guffaw-worthy ones like the "London jaake tera taste kharab ho gaya hai" one.

Worth a dekko in a good theatre; or if you prefer cat calls and whistles then go to a not-so-good theatre. Abhay Deol is very good in his 'what the hell am i doing with my life, can i have it back please? role as Dev. My candidate and vote for matching up to The Joker played by the late Heath Ledger in Dark Knight.
Worth having a personal copy if you are interested in offbeat Indian Cinema. Not all cover versions match up to the original song, but there are some which fade the original into obscurity.

celluloid -1

"I played a heap of snow in a school play. I was under a sheet, and crawled out when spring came. I often say I'll never reach the same artistic level again."

STELLAN SKARSGÅRD

a very gifted actor. pity he isn't seen around as much as he could...if he would.

Jaane Tu...

It's been a long time since I saw it, but why did I enjoy the movie Jaane Tu ya Jaane Na so much?

Apart from the catchy "Kabhi Kabhi Aditi" and other songs I think the movie had a lot of parallel themes intelligently interwoven in the screenplay.

Jai and Aditi "Rats" and "Meow"- appear like Tom and Jerry.

The characters of Bhaloo and Baghera- (Arbaaz and Sohail Khan) and Waghmare (Paresh Rawal) seem to be inspired by Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book. 'Bare Necessities' keeps playing in my head when i watch the Khan Brothers add their 2 bits to the screenplay.

The fights between Ratna Pathak Shah and Paresh Rawal and its impact on Jai (Waghmare becomes his nemesis) is again very Jungle Book inspired, when Shere Khan becomes Mowgli's nemesis simply because Mowgli is a Man Cub. Who saves Mowgli? Bhaloo and Baghera.

The friends' circle of Jai and Aditi seems a take off from the Archies comics, esp. Aditi as an amalgam of the temperamental Veronica and the kind hearted Betty, and the super rich beau of Aditi as Reggie.Of course, Mr Jai would be Archie.

The masked rider of Jai's dreams is perhaps a parodied tribute to Zanjeer.

The three tasks for Jai seem to be a parody on the Seven Tasks of Hercules before he would be allowed into Heaven

The conversation with a dead spouse is present in many movies to name. The best one that comes to mind is Ghost (though it has no similarity with JTYJN)

Mr Godot at the end of the movie, is a subtle hint at influence of Samuel Beckett's work on the overall premise of the screenplay...and perhaps even an acknowledgement to Nasseruddin Shah's efforts at staging the play in Mumbai as a part of his theatre works.

Romeo and Juliet's balcony romance is played out in the scene between Jai and Meghana.

The title itself is a tribute to Nasir Hussain- The name of the film is inspired by a song from one of his movies , while the "please-don't-go-I-love-you-so" routine at the airport is present in one of Aamir Khan's biggest movies- Dil. As the film's producer, Aamir has taken potshots at himself through this scene and the in the song "Pappu can't dance" (Papa kehtey hain bada naam karega, mera pappu aisa kaam karega...full on with guitar, waistcoat and pose)

That leaves the curious repeated screen presence of the Victoria. And the voice of conscience- Pratiek Babbar. As an actor, he IS like his immensely talented mother Smita Patil.

Subtle hints to pick the idle mind...Or maybe I read too much between the lines?

Ten Headaches

What is an easy way to spend money, waste time and feel repentant for dragging in a friend to be part of the action? The newest avatar that qualifies for this karma is the Kamal Hassan starrer Dasavatharam.

Given the actor’s talent, it is very tempting to think of it as a contemporary interpretation- perhaps even an outside-of-the-box view of what is the mythological predecessor to Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species. This is an actor who has done it all.

In the past, he has given some sterling performances as a dwarf (Apoorva Saghodarargal) a disillusioned dancer (Salangai Oli), a don (Nayakan), a reluctant patriarchal flagbearer(Thevar Magan), a corrupt politician (Indhiran Chandran), an elderly lady (Av-vai Shanmughi/ Chachi 420) and quadraplets with completely different personalities (Michael Madana Kama Rajan) and ofcourse Saagar and Ek Duje ke Liye.

That’s why, the hype and the expectations. And the fact that Kamal will be out-doing the 9-role starrers of Sanjeev Kumar, Sivaji Ganesan and Dilip Prabhavalkar.

But, the feeling after watch this immensely trashy flick is…"Magar yeh ho na sakaa, aur ab yeh aalam hai ki tu nahi tera gham teri justajuu bhi nahi…" (with apologies to Kabhi Kabhie)

There are good and evident characterizations derived from the mythical Dasavatharam.

The Martial arts teacher who seeks revenge for his murdered sister- is a twist on the origins of Parashurama- the sixth avatar.

The environmentalist who fights the sand mafia, and gets killed while saving the kids of the evil guys from the Tsunami- is Krishna- the Eighth Avatar. The arrow that immobilized and killed Krishna, in this case, is a metal rod which pierces the hero’s foot as he tries to free himself from a submerged car after rescuing kids trapped in it.

The Vaishnava priest who kickstarts the movie is a mixture of the first 3 Avatars with the sea as a strong setting. His role is the best defined, yet doesn’t add any sort of link to narrative till the very end, when the idol to which he is tied and dumped into the sea, washes up on land as a Tsunami flotsam. His story could have been a narrative/ voiceover and the film would have still made as much non-sense. But it would have been shorter.

The best lines in the movie are also for Kamal Hassan- in the role of a patriotic Intelligence officer with a regionalist streak. This role is believable. And a relief.

The last lines of the movie between Kamal and Asin argue the occurence of the Tsunami as a “Divine intervention" adjustment for the potential global catastrophe that could have been unleashed by the mercenary with a bilogical weapon. This is a very poignant sequence debating Spiritual Faith versus Rational Belief, a war of ideologies between an atheist and a religious believer. But by then, no one’s listening in the audience.

Frankly, Kamal Hassan has an “I me myself” hangover that has completely killed a potential new-age re-telling of an old old story. Had he not been egomaniacal, and allowed other actors to don some of the “Avatar” roles, the film would have perhaps been better and perhaps engrossing. Why the hell did he have to play George W Bush, a 90 year old woman, a 7 ft tall giant, a scientist on the run, an ex-CIA turned mercenary and a Bhangra-pop Idol whose throat cancer is cured by a bullet that hits his neck???? I thought that happened in Mithunda’s movies…OR is it an acknowledgement that Mithunda is an AVATAR?

At the end of the day, trying to do 10 roles just to have a one-up on superb actors like M/s Sanjeev Kumar, Sivaji Ganesan and Dilip Prabhavalkar seems like the only reason for this movie's existence.

Verdict…Rajnikant Rocks!! Even with a flop like Baba and music director Himesh Reshamiya sounds very un-Himesh which is good!

Requiem for a Dream

Requiem: a solemn chant for the repose of the dead
Dream: The hopes, aspirations and things left unsaid in life.

It's been 24 hours since I finished this movie.

An over emphasised drug abuse based storyline.

A gripping portrayal of the abyss which we can lead ourselves into when addicted (to a dream , to a hope or just dope).

"Shooting" shot artistically. Mind numbing portrayals by the actors.

Depressing.

Brilliant work.

Books and their Cinematic counterparts: Part 1

Just finished reading my own apna copy of "To Sir with Love" (ER Brathwaithe). Immortalised by Sidney Poitier's acting, the epynomous film has beaten the novel.

This is a rare and difficult feat considering how tricky it is to convert the pauses and punctuations of the story into a screenplay usually lasting an hour or longer. Books allow introspection and leisured assimilation and critique. Cinema- dictated by Box office profits- does not allow comparison via leisurely assimilation.

This set me off thinking about similar examples of Cinematic versions being better than the Novel/ Story.

My list is HIGHLY contestable, but without any emphasis on relative rank or merit within the list.

To Sir with Love (ER Brathwaithe)
The Godfather (Mario Puzo)
Ben Hur (Lew Wallace)
Shatranj ke Khilari (Munshi Premchand)
The Green Mile (Stephen King)
Guide (RK Narayan)
1947 Earth (Bapsi Sidhwa)
Sherlock Holmes:The Sign of the Four (Arthur Conan Doyle)
Forrest Gump (Winston Groom)
How Green was my valley(Richard Llewellyn)...also adapted as Kala Patthar
Pather Panchali (Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay)... English translation
Mckenna's Gold (Henry Wilson Allen). This one's nostalgic.
Where Eagles Dare (Alistar MacLean)
Guns of Navarone (Alistar MacLean)
West Side Story (adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet)
Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrman's adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet)

Jaanta Raja (Babasaheb Purandare)
...ok Jaanta Raja is not a movie. But I am personally yet to see a better mounted theatrical performance. Actually, the heroic and humane Chattrapati Shivaji has been portrayed better on stage and celluloid rather than paper.

Shawshank Redemption (Stephen King). Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is a part of the novella "Different Seasons" by King.

The City in the Song part 1: in the Lyrics.

The city of Bombay has played a vital role in the screenplay of many Hindi Movies. Bombay’s character has been portrayed through many songs whose lyrics have usually matched the tempo and pace of the city or its chutzpah or its diversity and chaos.
These songs, many of them containing the word Bombay (or its mutations), are worth listening to, to comprehend how people of those times saw the city.

Vignette 1
Elsewhere, I have already mentioned how Ae dil hai mushkil jeena yahaan zara hatke zara bachke yeh Bombay meri jaan (CID- Mohd. Rafi, Geeta Dutt 1955, lyrics: Jan Nisar Akhtar) remains the quintessential Bombay song.
“Kahin building, kahin tramein, kahin motor, kahin mill
milta hai yahan sab kuchh, ek milta nahi dil…”
“…Beghar ko aawara, yahan kahate hans hans; khud kaate gale sab ke, kahein is ko bizness
Ek cheez ke hain kaee naam yahaan”
Indeed even today many things in the city have multiple names.

Main Bambai ka babu Naam mera mastaana; Englis dhun mein gaoon hindustaani gaana
(Naya Daur- 1957; Mohd. Rafi. lyrics Sahir Ludhianvi) does not really portray much about Bombay. But it seems to be a cleverly veiled attack on "Ae dil hai mushkil"- whose tune was directly lifted from "Oh my Darling Clementine".

As a connection to Urban History, the '50's and '60's saw the influx (yet again) of a new working class into the city. While the song from CID song captures that era, Naya Daur is usually credited as the quintessential cinematic translation of the issues facing Nehruvian India.

Vignette 2
Ek Akela Is Shaher mein, raat mein aur do-pahar mein (Gharonda – Bhupinder 1977, Lyrics Gulzar)
This song on the search for a home is also a euphemism on the hope and the hopelessness of finding one’s personal space in this city. It also remains that rare "arrival song", even though Bombay or its other names doesn't figure in the lyrics

Bambai se aaya mera dost, dost ko salaam karo (Aap ki Khatir- 1977)
Though the song does not describe Bombay in anyway, it can be referred to as a Salute to the appeal of the City. Try singing “Nayee Dilli se aaya mera dost” or “Calcutta se aaya mera dost”, and you will get what I mean. The remaining parts of the song refer to having fun and taking it easy- qualities that have rarely been used to describe Bombay. Still wondering if the lyricist got his cities mixed up. Nevertheless, it remains a great song.

Ei Bambai nagariya tu dekh babua (Don- Kishore Kumar 1978, Lyrics: Javed Akhtar)
Amitabh Bachchan portrays the wonder and amazement of a country bumpkin Tamashawala who finds this city incomprehensible. The lyrics comprise of nuggets like “ Yahan Bandar nahi lekin naam Bandra”, “Bin paani ka Dhobi talao” etc.Though I may be way off mark, this song is possibly the first lyrical reference to Bombay as the City of Gold (Sone chaandi ki dagariya). It celebrates an era when a song had a great impact on the screenplay.

These songs portray the mid and late 70's which saw many areas develop into what are now the suburbs of the city, promising what would become unaffordable "affordable housing" at a time when the work places were beginning to stir under workers' strike and loss of pay issues.It was yet another era of community migrations into the city.

Vignette 3
Yeh Bambai shaher haadson ka shaher hai (Haadsa 1983)
Most people, including myself can’t recollect the picturization or even the hero of this movie. But the song has stayed in the public realm. An internet search has revealed the hero to be Akbar Khan.

Bam bam bam bam Bambai, Bambai humko jam gayee (Swarg 1989)
Personally, I think this a straight lift from the Don song, adapted to the situation where a house-servant (Govinda)comes to Bombay to pursue his ambition of becoming a movie star...and succeeds.

Bom bom bom bom..Bombay meri hai (Rakhwala 1989)
This song had a bus load of kids creating havoc in public places under the patronage of the self styled Bhai character character played by Anil Kapoor.
“jamm ke bajao band-baaja, main toh yaaro Bombay ka raja”

Bombay Bombay (Krodh 1990)
The only noteworthy aspect of this song is its reference to the fast paced city, picturised on Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt.

Tumse jo dekhte hi pyaar hua (Patthar ke Phool 1991)
With Salman Khan and Raveena Tandon cavorting all around, this is one of the quirkiest songs on the city. Its lyrics largely comprise of names of the city's streets/ roads, rendered by SP Balasubramaniam. Sample this:

Tum intey din thi kahan...main dhoondhta hi raha...(Kahan?) Kabhi Linking Road kabhi Warden Road kabhi Cadell Road kabhi Arthur Road.

“Ganpat chal daaru laa” (Shootout at Lokhandwala- 2007, Mika) is an aberration in this time line narrative. But vital as a reconstruction of the city's history.Attempting to be the authentic Gangsta Rap of Hindi cinema, this song uses the metaphor of Bombay being the World and Gangsters the Kings of the World.\
“In the Mumbai, All over India we are the Bhais”, is simply bombastic, in keep with the gangster characters of the movie and is about an era (late eighties early nineties) of the city’s recent history when the underworld had captured the imagination of the city dweller through sheer intimidation.

These songs are representative of the the long period between the early eighties and early nineties which was akin to creative Dark Ages. The cinema of this era true to its role as a mirror of society's taste, remained largely nondescript with the occasional flutter, very much like the growth of the city. Notably, there was much representation on the individual's ability to impact society. Gangsters like Maya Dolas courted headlines regularly. In the entertainment business, this era heralded the arrival of actors without industry godfathers (Shahrukh Khan, Akshay Kumar etc) while the Construction industry saw the rise of individuals like Hafeez Contractor. True life examples of "I believe I can".

Vignette 4

I am MumBHAI (Bombay Boyz 1998)
Aaneka Jaaneka; naachneka gaaneka
nahaneka dhoneka; hasneka roneka
bohm nahi maarneka; bhai se poochneka
Kasa-kai bara-aahe I am Mumbhai

This Gangsta rap with Bombaiyya street lingo saw Javed Jaffri resurrect his mimicry acts of “Abdul Cutpiece”, “Future Furtado” , “Kamala” etc from his VJ-ing days at Channel V. Nothing matches this song for its sheer bravado. Many of its dialogues became cult “one liners” in college campuses at the time.

Abe aasmani kabootar balcony se nikal kar ishtoll mein aa ishtoll mein Khopche mein leke deun kya kharcha pani ?

Yeh Shaher (Shanti Shanti) (Raaz 2002, Bali Bharmbhatt, Jolly Mukerjee; Lyrics: Sameer)
Yeh Shaher hai Aman ka
Yahaan ki Fiza-en nirali
Yahaan pe sab Shaanti Shaanti hai
This is another song whose visuals are lost on me. But it seems to be a Bombay Song.

The Nineties saw the period of civic disharmony, terrorism, the rise of the underworld, the reconcilliations between fractured communities. There was a pressing need for the city to heal itself and move on.The city's Diversity, heterogeneity and multi-culturalism came to aid.The whole process took about 15 years, with undercurrents still visible.

Vignette 5
“Boom-bai nagariya”- the crownstone song from the movie Taxi No 9211 (2006, Bhappi Lahiri, lyrics-Vishal Dadlani), is one of the latest entrants with an ode to the City of Dreams.
The opening lines aptly reflect the city’s obsession and impatience on matters of Time.
"yeh bombay hai yaha time ka matlab hai paisa samjhe? mujhe tees minute ki journey teen minute mein puri karni hai"
The epithets of City of Gold and City of Dreams make their comeback.

laakh laakh roz aake bas jaate hain
iss sheher is dil laga ke phas jaate hain
sone ki raahon mein so-ney ko jaaga nahi
shola hai ya hai bijuriya dil ki bajariya boom-bai nagariya

A representative of the Mumbai attitude c.2000, which has seen the city at the forefront of fast paced growth at the individual and collective levels and yet another migrant influx.

Wonder if all this is remarkable enough to be regarded as “urban poetry “ - these vignettes of popular media.

Looking forward to discover more.

Cinema and the Teacher- Hollywood

These are movies which attempt to portray the effervescent chemistry between teacher and student, and perhaps contain the answer to the question- Why, in this world, are very very few people actually worthy of being called "Teacher", while the larger lot will forever be relegated to the titles of "sir/ ma'am/ professor/Dr etc".

These are examples from Hollywood.

To Sir, With Love: (1967 Sidney Poitier) The story follows a black man named Mark Thackeray (Sidney Poitier), a jobless engineering graduate. He ends up taking on a temporary job as a teacher in a rough part of east London. The school he starts working at is known for having lawless classrooms where the kids disobey the teachers and do their own thing.

He immediately lays down the code of conduct in his classroom but when the regular methods of instruction in literature and poetry fail due to lack of intreset by students, he decides to teach them about the value of being educated and thus cultured in manner and conduct.

This earns him the respect of students and skeptical colleagues alike. The ladies in the classroom go from "sluts", in his own words, to proper ladies, and the men go from ruffians to gentlemen. The transformation is quite impressive and inspires his school to believe that there actually is potential in these lower class students.Suddenly, he finds a job with an engineering firm and is faced with a difficult decision. Should he abandon his respectable teaching profession for a higher-paying job as an engineer? Or should he continue reforming the youth that appear to be corrupted beyond repair?

This is one of Sidney Poitier's best roles.

Other movies that walk this way include:

Mona Lisa Smile ( 2003 Julia Roberts)- as an Art teacher in a Women's College in the 1950's, who questions and awakens the possibilities that lie before them, and there is more to LIVING than "conforming to society" and "conforming to life as usual".
During the first day in class the students taunt and humiliate her by showing off that they already have mastered the contents of the entire textbook. They sense she is a challenge to their conventional values and seek to dominate her on her own subject.

She challenges the students by presenting them with Modern Art and asking them to think for themselves instead of spouting what they have read in the textbooks. The students respond to the challenge and lose their arrogant hostility.

She records the highest advance enrolment for the next academic year, and simultaneously gets an offer for a longer contract from the college if she curbs her initiatives towards empowering the mind. The most memorable scenes in the movie are the one with the newspaper clips of the "the modern housewife" and the last scene where she discovers that the whole class had been quietly following her on bicycles as she drove away from college after her last lecture.It signifies that she has been successful in delivering her message and the attitudes she has germinated will continue, even in her absence.

Dead Poets' Society (1989 Robin Williams)- Williams plays an English Literature professor, whose unorthodox methods of inquiry into the very notions of how things are done and why should they so, earns a fan following within his class, once the blinkers are off. The internal rivalry among students and crossing of ideologies with the Principal, sees him being kicked out. Incidentally a Hindi movie, Mohabatein with ShahRukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, is based on this screenplay.

Finding Forrester (2000 Sean Connery)- Connery plays the epynomous role of William Forrester- author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. He becomes a recluse after that for decades until tracked down by an Afro-American school kid Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown), aspiring to a future as a writer.

The theme of the movie- a writer in his last days mentoring a writer in his formative days about the need to challenge one's beliefs forms the setting for a rivetting series of crisp dialogue interludes as each one challenges and changes the other's notion.

"That...young man... is not exactly a soup question" - a dialogue that has struck to one's head. :)

Jodhaa Akbar

The controversies surrounding the recently released Jodhaa Akbar range from the banal to the ridiculous. Whole regions across India have erupted in agitation over the portrayal of the Rajput princess called Jodhaa; namely her existence as Akbar's wife. The director, smartly, has inserted a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie regarding the "unknown" Jodha....but many other boats of historic inconsistencies have capsized the movie for history buffs.

Notable ones include:

1- The voiceover by Amitabh Bachchan mentioning the advent of Mughals in 1450. This is factually incorrect. the year 1450 (19-4-1451, to be precise) saw the ascendance Delhi as the capital of the Lodi dynasty under Bahlul Lodi. The Lodis were Afghans. the Mughals as we know them, were Chugtai Turks.The closest a Mughal comes to acquiring a mention in the 15th century is the year 1494- when Babur inherited Ferghana, which is in Uzbekistan and never was a part of "Hindustan" incorporating parts of modern day Afghanistan, Pakistan , Bangladesh with the modern Indian sub-continent.Babar is said to have mounted conquests into India from 1512 onwards before finally succeeding in 1526.Thus the moviemakers are off by 75 years!

2- The First battle of Panipat-1526- is not mentioned in the movie (which directly jumps to the second battle -1556- between Hemu and Bairam Khan + Akbar).That decisive battle between Sikander Lodi and Babur, saw the establishment of the Mughal rule in India.The years between 1526-1556 were important for the establishment of the supremacy of the Mughal rule and the emergence of Persian and Western Islamic cultural influences in India.

3- In the movie, Bairam Khan is asked to voluntarily retire from governance and proceed to Mecca after his continious high-handed attitude and misuse of powers vested in him as the regent to the thrones. Historically, Akbar quelled a revolt by Bairam Khan in Jalandur, as per the wiritngs of Badauni.A dialogue in the movie hints this when Akbar mentions that he can see the seeds of revolt in Bairam Khan's eyes.

4-Akbar's decision to oversee Mughal rule himself and not through Bairam Khan was actually a result of Maham Anga's political machinations.This would have been a great way to introduce Maham Anga into the movie instead of the Ekta Kapoor type evil matriarch.

5- The capture of Chittaur, a long drawn-out affair which finally cemented Akbar's sovereinty over Rajputana, is not even mentioned.

6- Raja Bharmal (Behar Mal) ceded his kingdom of Amer to Akbar in 1562, after which one of his daughters (let's call her Jodhaa) was married to Akbar. Now work out the math......The palace of Amer shown as Jodhaa's
maternal home (and which is visted by a young Akbar to take Jodhaa back to Agra) was actually constructed in 1592 by Raja Man singh I. Akbar was born in 1542 and died in 1605. So if he visted the palace that was shown, he would have been atleast 50 years old!

7- the gardens show a frivolous attempt at parterre-making. this art did not materialize in India before shah jahan's time.Mughal gardens were copiosly planted with herbs, aromatic plants and fruit-bearing trees, right from the time of Babur. ...And what is the flat parapet minus railings doing there at first floor level on a building which does not have a noticeable plinth nor chajjas??

8- the architectural authenticity leaves much to be desired. the domes in the palace complex are 'saucer' domes i.e. Tughlaq styled, thus Non Mughal. bad research.

9- the bedroom of Jodhaa has a ibadatkhaana(prayer space) which she converts into a temple area. Islam's ibadatkhaana faces Mecca, thus being west-sided in India. But the movie shows the lattice screen sending across rays of sunlight in the morning hours when she sings a bhajan and interrupts the Diwan-i-Aam. Nitin Desai could have checked this fundamental boo-boo.This is futher corroborated by the sequence where Akbar and Jodhaa finally express each other's love verbally.

10- The Pishtaq (elevation around the principal arch of a facade) does not show the insignia of Akbar.The mughals by the time of Humayun had their own insignia. K Asif got this right in Mughal-e-Azam.

11- The paving patterns, wall dado and gilding, are inconsistent with what is seen at fathepur Sikri, Delhi, Agra. the scale of inlay work as shown would make its presence felt in Jahangir's time and reach its epitome in Shahjahan's. Akbar's Jodhaa was not even pregnant in the movie, so i guess Mr Jehangir wasn't around. Clearly, the challenge of out-doing Mughal-e-Azam weighed in the set designer's mind. (Ek laundiya Hindustan ki maleka nahi ban sakti!!!)

12- The lattice screens and jaalis are clearly lasercut metal/ plastic! Atleast some care in showing the thickness of the material could have been taken. Technically, the thickness and porosity of the jaali defines its use in Islamic space.Aesthetic is thereafter.

13- Buildings with semicircular arches in a region known for trabeate construction and bengaldhar roofs in hot and dry climatic zones are unpardonable.(Jodhaa's palace)

14- Again in Jodhaa's palace, columns shafts are in yellow stone and bases and capitals in red. Such liberties indicate frivolousness.

15- for killing Atgha Khan (Raza Murad) Adham Khan is thrown from the terrace of the residential quarters into the courtyard. The historic narrative is that the event occured on the ramparts of Red Fort- Agra.

16- Maham Anga is asked to leave for Haj after her malicious intentions come to light. Again, history records her as the mother who became insane upon learning of her son Adham's Khan's death at Akbar's hands, and in trauma, died within a couple of months therefater. Adham Khan's tomb in Mehrauli ...the only octagonal mughal tomb to be constructed after Humyaun's era is testimony to this.

17- The sequence leading to the attempt on Akbar's life by an assasin is chalked out so badly that viewers were actually laughing it off.PUHLEEEZ! it was so devoid of imagination.

18- The fight sequence between Akbar and Jodhaa were so wannabe 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' .

i guess ashutosh gowarikar must rephrase his comment that the movie is 30% fact...that's too high a figure.

Despite all this... the movie is watchable till the end...

...though the end itself is very tepid and depends completely on the Bachchan baritone to salvage it.

I salute the courage of the people involved with the movie in mounting something as grand as this, thus subjecting it all the more to deliberate, petty and sometimes intense scrutiny. I dont know where mine lies, but i regard my ticket as "full paisa vasool".

Hritik is very good, esp. as the entranced Akbar in the song "Khwaja mere" and in the elephant fight sequence. His urdu diction is well toned and commands complete attention because he delivers his lines so well.

There was some controversy regrading the "transparent" sarees and teeny blouses worn by Jodhaa in the movie and how such representation is a slander on the Rajputs. I guess ANY body could've played Jodhaa if she had her face tucked into a thick veil/ ghunghat. The choice of Aishwarya Rai as Jodhaa would have mattered little then. But who else could have played Jodhaa? do any other names come to mind?Nopes.It was a role written for Aishwarya, and her strength as an actor are her eyes.

AR Rahman's music, as usual, takes its time to grow. right now Khwaja mere is playing on. Javed Akhtar saab's urdu has made me scramble for a dictionary.

"tamanna aur behta paani...inki taaseer hai aage badhna..." waaah!!!

Tameer kiya jaaye. :))