hindi film

“Denzil Washington” in ‘Badla’?

March 11, 2019 Movies
Badla - Movie Review Paper Cutting

Be honest now — wouldn’t you be hysterical hearing the news that the ‘Baadshaah of Bollywood’ is paired with a Hollywood legend on a Bollywood movie, and to watch these stalwarts together on the silver screen, wouldn’t that be amazing? A freaking, Hindi language movie. The moment I read “Denzil Washington” in the cast of a review of Badla by a prominent national newspaper and a renowned film critic, my eyes almost popped out on the keyboard and nearly got squeezed between my dancing fingers. I brought myself back to my sense, and read the names once again. Both, Amitabh Bachchan and Denzel Washington are defining legends of our time’s all credit to their innate competencies, it’s needless to judge that both have garnered a cult following of their own in their respective realms and both have tons of awards to their name — an Oscar, nonetheless, for Washington. Crime & suspense thrillers are my personal favourites, and Badla seemed like one such taut suspense thriller if the Internet was supposed to be believed. This latest offering from Sujoy Ghosh has gained some rave reviews from critics as well, and I am particularly fond of his other creative craftiness such as Jhankaar Beats (2003) and Kahaani (2003), and the Radhika Apte starring short film Ahalya which was truly mesmerising. That Ghosh managed a casting coup of sorts by effecting a collaboration between two gigantic doyens in a Hindi cinematic experience was mind-boggling to read. In fact, it was so mind-boggling, that I didn’t trust the news in the first place, although, Ben Kingsley has acted opposite Amitabh Bachchan in Teen Patti (2010).

So then I checked IMDB, skillfully perused the Wikipedia page of the movie, and it wasn’t long before the shiny tiny bulb in my brain finally glimmered brightly. The actor in question was Denzil Smith, a distinguished Indian stage actor and a producer, not the renowned American legend I had truthfully imagined. No regrets, except, what seemed like a dream-come-true cinematic experience was, in fact, one hell of a typographical error, and faux pas that not only sent me on a wild goose chase, besides smashing my ambition of ever feeling the pride of enjoying Denzel Washington in a Hindi movie on a big screen. But who’s to know the future? Eventually, it did bring me back to my filmy duniya that’s Bollywood!

Chef And A Dil Chahta Hai Moment

November 26, 2018 Movies

Bollywood offers myriad stories & sequences including in refashioning original Hollywood movies for the Hindi audiences for diversion, however, there has also been a crop of official remakes in recent times, such as Bang Bang, Players, just to name a few. There was a moment in one such recent movie with Saif Ali Khan called Chef that caught my attention and which was probably missed by many viewers.

Chef is an official remake of that Jon Favreau 2014 classic of the same name which I probably watched a couple of times, about an uncompromising chef who quits his respectable job at a prestigious Los Angeles restaurant to go back to his roots and rediscover the happiness in his cooking. The remake follows the same course, save for Roshan Kalra (Saif) who embarks on his path to enlightenment from the USA to pristine Kerala, but alas, the movie loses the plot somewhere between Goa, Delhi, and that “Rottza” whatever, that people thronged to relish. In all the munching, the heartwarming, ‘slice-of-the-life’ delight which Favreau’s Chef provided was clearly lost its way in its Indic avatar raising more questions than amusement. As an instance, why do all of Bollywood’s ‘reputed’ chefs come from the UK (Cheeni Kum) or ‘Umrika’ and not from the Taj Mahals or the Oberois in India while experiencing the boredom of metro-life, moving to a rural place in India and rediscovering their true passion? I suppose it’s not prudent to decode Bollywood’s logic of life so regardless I just enjoy or dislike the show.

The Dil Chahta Hai Connection

Dil Chahta Hai - Chef Connection
Saif Ali Khan as Sameer and Beatrice Gibson as Kristine in a still from Dil Chahta Hai.

In the second half, there’s a fleeting mention of the Saif Ali Khan classic Dil Chahta Hai when Roshan Kalra recalls an embarrassing moment to his assistant Nuzrool in Goa about visiting the place twenty years ago with his two friends and getting robbed. Saif’s actually talking about his character Sameer visiting Goa (with Akash & Sid) and succumbing to his desires for Kristine who plunders his personal belongings in an outlandish situation. His mention of 20 years is a tribute to 2001, the year when Dil Chahta Hai was released! Chef may have truly gone south but this tiny detail provided the only bright spot for me.

Bollywood Has Embraced Content Cinema

November 16, 2018 Movies
Badhaai Ho - Bollywood Movie Poster

There’s Hindi cinema with content, and then there’s ‘candy floss’ entertainment bereft of sanity & imagination. ‘Content’ is what connects you emotionally with the characters and keeps you glued to the screen, it subsumes your inner desires & notions by presenting a totally different perspective. Although, content is considered hard to be digested by the audience & hence is assumed to only reach a certain class of moviegoers. In Bollywood where brilliant scripts have turned out to be virtual duds because the film lacked technique or the filmmakers handled the idea shoddily it failed to make an impression. While on the other hand, stories that have been picturised a million times previously generated more interest at the box office because the content got a different context to thrive. Take the case of Marathi film Sairaat which set the box office rolling as a prime example of content that struck a chord with the audiences with its nuanced acting and music, despite being a story about teenage love and patrimonial furore being rehashed several times in countless movies. Content requires a conscientious effort in juggling the myriad dots in designing a vision that enthrals the audiences through its characters & script while the actors fade in the veneer of the narrative.

Continue reading…
Tu Hai Mera Sunday

Friends & Football – Tu Hai Mera Sunday

March 10, 2018 Movies

I spent my Saturday afternoon watching ‘Tu Hai Mera Sunday’ which turned out to be a nostalgic ride! Despite Bollywood breathing and thriving in the embrace of ‘Amchi Mumbai’ there are only a handful of films that have captured the ethos and the charm of this metropolis on celluloid, not just with their urbane settings but also by showcasing the common citizens entwined in their everyday wanderings. Where the characters are uncomplicated, not vying for attention or fighting for screen space, yet leaving audiences enthralled with their storyline alone. A few weeks prior I came across such a film, Netflix’s ‘Love Per Square Foot’, and today it was time to catch up with another ‘Made in Mumbai’ movie with ‘Tu Hai Mera Sunday’. Released last year, it was critically acclaimed and well-received, but as usual, it was buried deep within the debris of its box-office performance.

‘Tu Hai Mera Sunday’ revolves around an ensemble cast of 5 fun-loving buddies who reckon Sunday isn’t about getting comfy within their homes. So they routinely engage in a game of football at Juhu Beach, one of Mumbai’s characteristic destinations where locals assemble to escape the drudgery. However, on one such fateful trip, the group is joined by an ‘Appa’ who boots the ball harder to whack on the head of a local dignitary decisively ending their sporting sojourns on the beach. Would it bring an end to their passion? I believe not. Because football defines their urge to chug along, it’s their only chance at redeeming their spirits be it from an unruly boss, abject solitude, a cacophonous family, or mundane life in general. So alongside Appa, the group begins scrambling for a new playground, and from within that emotional journey, they discover their true personalities. I wouldn’t miss this fun-filled outing, even if it’s a Sunday!

Pondering Over The Lyrics Of ‘Ghar’

December 21, 2017 Movies

Like most verses of my time, I pondered over the use of a ‘home’ (Ghar) in a romantic song like ‘Ghar’ because, in isolation, the lyrics seemed detached from a plain break-up scenario. This melancholic song penned in Hindi by Irshad Kamil is a melodious composition by Pritam from the movie  ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’, and the lyrics go something like this:

[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]खाली है जो तेरे बिना में वो घर हूँ तेरा,
घूमे फिरे तू चाहे सब शहर तू है मेरा |[/perfectpullquote]

I am that home you own which lies desolate without you,
You may roam cities far and wide, but you are only mine.

Home Is Where The Heart Is.

I had seen the movie and thought to connect with the lyrics of this particular (awesome) song, and I did. The protagonist “Harry” (Shah Rukh Khan) is a tour guide perpetually on the road, and (perhaps) yearning to return to his home. The pain of this separation and deep love is likened to the emotions felt by Sejal (Anushka Sharma) for Harry as they are breaking up, and Kamil symbolically combines their despair using the metaphor of ‘home’. It’s a wonderful instance of how lyrics could be subtlely & creatively intertwined with a movie script.

Link to the YouTube Video of ‘Ghar’