It begins in the small Gujarat village of Idar in the 1950s. A young lad called Gurukant Desai (fondly known as Guru) faces the ire of his headmaster father for dreaming big. Yet he succeeds somehow in convincing his father for traveling abroad to Istanbul, where he works in an oil company. The praise and the promotion for his hard work prompts him to return home and invest in his own ‘bijness’ of textile. Upon reaching the dream city of Mumbai with his wife Sujata (Aishwarya Rai) and brother-in-law ‘Jignes’ (Aryan Babbar), he realizes that the textile market has been monopolized by individuals and takes up the fight to free the same from their clutches with the help of a Gandhian philosopher called Nanaji (Mithun Chakraborty) who runs a newspaper called ‘The Independent’. Guru’s labour of love starts bearing fruit and his textile trade expands by leaps and bounds; he decides to build a manufacturing unit of polyester yarn in his home town of Idar. His oratory skills coupled with his intelligence leaves the crowd spellbound at a shareholders meet where he assures them that Shakti Corporation is a big family itself. However the trail of his accomplishment gets smudgy and he takes the ultimate test of his character to clear his name in front of an inquiry commission in a case of misappropriation of funds and custom duties.
hindi film industry
Bhagam Bhag (2006)
The first time in my living memory when actor (turned politician) Govinda and Akshay Kumar have joined hands for a comic flick which is directed by Priyadarshan (Hera Pheri, Garam Masala, Hulchul, Hungama, Malamaal Weekly). Since Govinda is returning on the silver screen after a long break, it explains the hype surrounding the release of Bhagam Bhag (Run Run). The film was embroiled in a controversy when a Malayalam film producer claimed the story of Bhagam Bhag to be a swipe of his original hit Mannar Mathai. The matter was settled out of court by producer Suneil Shetty. Never mind that because the peculiar Priyadarshan rib tickling comedy trait is smeared all over the reels of Bhagam Bhag.
Dhoom 2 (2006)
Bikes, babes and battering blows, machoism and hip music; that’s Dhoom (excitement) for you. But unlike Dhoom, the prelude, which had John and his team modifying their mobikes and going for the loot, the sequel lacks substantially in a convincing plot (the script had inspired a gang of real thieves in Mumbai which were apprehended by the police some time ago). The mantra of the sequel seems to be gadgets and disguise and the story banks on both to move forward (ala The Saint). Therefore we have a hunk called Aryan (Hrithik Roshan), an elusive high profile con man, skydiving on a speeding train in the middle of the Namib Desert which is carrying the Queen’s crown. A few implausible acrobats later, the mission is accomplished successfully. Incomparable with the train dacoity sequence from the movie Sholay, the best in the history of Hindi cinema. But that’s for later.
Don (2006)
I am back from my long vacation and it’s a great relief to have taken this break. The pleasant weather of Nasik has rejuvenated me to take on bigger things in life which I am expecting to be coming my way in the next days (or weeks). The salient feature of this current visit was the discovery of a vibrant and a youthful Nasik city, especially elating for me because Nasik is claimed to be a pilgrimage hot spot in India. The 3M syndrome seems to have finally hit this sleepy city now – the Malls, the multiplexes and McDonald’s, identifiable with the true blue globalized economy of India. Not to mention the other ‘M’ – the powerful Middle-class which was seen shopping at various places and thronging the streets for the Diwali celebrations. So thank god for not making me visit the Godavari ghats and the shrines this time around. BTW, you can view some of my favorite shots from the recent trip here.
Movie of A "Third Kind"
There are films which are remembered for its music. There are some films that have instances of fine performances. And then there is a third kind – like Rang De Basanti. It’s difficult to sum up anything about it. The performances were exquisite; the songs were magical; the storyline is the best in recent times. Then if there’s Aamir in a movie, there’s hardly anything that can go wrong with it (only if the movie is titled Mangal Pandey – The Rising or Mann).
Rang De Basanti presents a nice intersection of the mindset of the youth of 20th century British India and the present generation through 5 friends – D.J. (Aamir Khan), Karan (Siddharth making his debut in Hindi Cinema), Laxman (Atul Kulkarni), Sukhi (Sharman Joshi) and Aslam (Kunal Kapoor). Sue (Alice Patten) comes to India in search of actors for a movie which would be based on her grand dad’s experience in India as a British jailer. She starts to identify the characters of her film in the 5 friends with help from her friend Sonia (Soha Ali Khan Pataudi) whose also a student in the University. The film-making experience becomes more memorable when it helps the cast to recognise their true self and awakens them to do better things for their country. Madhavan (as Ajay in the movie) plays a small but pivotal role in the film as well. The movie, as a whole runs high on emotions and spirit and you’re left thinking in the end about the state of affairs in this country. The music of the film by Rahman is excellent and it’s difficult to single out a particular favorite number but I will vote for Rubaroo, penned wonderfully by Prasoon Joshi. It’s also played at a very crucial point in the movie and the lyrics hit you immediately. If you are free this weekend please watch Rang De Basanti at a theater near you.