Since the news was out that The Dirty Picture was in making, one string was always harped on by its filmmakers, producers, actors and media that the film is based on the life of sex siren of the south, Vijayalakshmi, popularly known as Silk Smitha.
As the movie was close to its release, thousands of TV shows, newspapers and websites were pouring in with the information about the life of Silk Smitha.
After being acquainted with so many of bits and pieces of Silk Smitha’s life, when me and many others like me were at last in the theatre to watch the movie; to everyone’s surprise the movie began with the disclaimer, “This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.”
Well the deviation from the aforesaid claims hardly mattered to me and many others like me while watching the movie because Indian Cinema had really come of (cleav)age.
But after the movie, me and many other viewers like me (besides adulation for Vidya Balan’s performance) left the theatre with one common confusion: what exactly the movie intended to say? Or rather we left the theatre with too many of obscure and confusing messages?
The film begins with an interesting quote by Nietzsche – ‘One must still have chaos in oneself, to give birth to a dancing star.’ If the filmmaker had stuck to the gist of the quote, he would have created a milestone in Hindi Cinema but at the end of the film one realizes that the filmmaker has just missed from creating a milestone.
Of course the reason behind this failure is the flawed script… and the reason behind the flawed script is the confused approach towards the subject of the film. From the beginning till the end the filmmakers remain confused about whether the script should be based on Silk Smita’s life or should Silk Smita’s life be just an inspiration to pen the script ?
At few places in the script there are well-researched elements … (to be continued)
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Zindagi (without ‘soul’) Na Milegi Dobara
After the release Farhan Akhtar on his tweeter account said, “It’s so fantastic that everyone loves the poems in ZNMD. Thank you pa for injecting soul into the film with your gifted hand.”
Undoubtedly, poems recited by Imran and penned by his ‘pa’ ‘inject soul’ into the film, and it’s the poetry in the film which saves the film from becoming a clichéd story of three friends. The poetry in ZNMD certainly gives philosophical touch to the film
Effective, extensive and exact usage of the poems and poetry recitation is quite a rare phenomenon in Hindi films. Largely filmmakers prefer poetry in the form of songs and hardly anyone thinks that poetry recitation can be used as an effective technique in the film.
Indeed the poems in the film take the film to another level but my question here is, do really characters and their respective journeys in the film reach to the level of the messages which poems emanate? Do the characters in Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara inhale the same air which its poem exhale?
The first poem in the film. The poem basically voices the realizations of Arjun after the deep sea diving experience. It’s also possible that poem is voicing the realization of the three friends together. The poem is as follows:
जब जब दर्द का बादल छाया
जब गम का साया लैहराया
जब आँसू पलकों तक आया
जब ये तन्हा दिल घबराया
हमने दिल को ये समझाया
दिल आखिर तू क्यों रोता है
दुनिया मे यूँ ही होता है
ये जो गहरे सऩ्नाटे हैं
वक़्त ने सबको ही बाँटे हैं
थोड़ा गम है सबका किस्सा
थोड़ी धूप है सबका हिस्सा
आँख तेरी बेकार ही नम हैं
हर पल एक नय़ा मौसम है
क्यों तु ऐसे पल खोता है
दिल आखिर तू क्यों रोता है....
Now lets see Arjun’s character:-
Arjun is a financial trader who works with some firm in London. He is basically a young workaholic who wants to make as much money as possible before his 40s. He is so engrossed in his work that initially he even doesn’t want to be a part of the trip his friends are proposing. He is so obsessed with his work that his girlfriend had also left him and finally, Arjun, who can't swim is helped by Laila to overcome his fears.
Now how come the deep-sea diving experience helps workoholic Arjun to reach to the experience (through Imran’s voice) of “ जब जब दर्द का बादल छाया, जब गम का साया लैहराया….”
After watching the film I somehow couldn’t really connect the characters and their journeys to the poems in the film. Somehow the body of the film is not in sync with the soul of the film
Undoubtedly, poems recited by Imran and penned by his ‘pa’ ‘inject soul’ into the film, and it’s the poetry in the film which saves the film from becoming a clichéd story of three friends. The poetry in ZNMD certainly gives philosophical touch to the film
Effective, extensive and exact usage of the poems and poetry recitation is quite a rare phenomenon in Hindi films. Largely filmmakers prefer poetry in the form of songs and hardly anyone thinks that poetry recitation can be used as an effective technique in the film.
Indeed the poems in the film take the film to another level but my question here is, do really characters and their respective journeys in the film reach to the level of the messages which poems emanate? Do the characters in Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara inhale the same air which its poem exhale?
The first poem in the film. The poem basically voices the realizations of Arjun after the deep sea diving experience. It’s also possible that poem is voicing the realization of the three friends together. The poem is as follows:
जब जब दर्द का बादल छाया
जब गम का साया लैहराया
जब आँसू पलकों तक आया
जब ये तन्हा दिल घबराया
हमने दिल को ये समझाया
दिल आखिर तू क्यों रोता है
दुनिया मे यूँ ही होता है
ये जो गहरे सऩ्नाटे हैं
वक़्त ने सबको ही बाँटे हैं
थोड़ा गम है सबका किस्सा
थोड़ी धूप है सबका हिस्सा
आँख तेरी बेकार ही नम हैं
हर पल एक नय़ा मौसम है
क्यों तु ऐसे पल खोता है
दिल आखिर तू क्यों रोता है....
Now lets see Arjun’s character:-
Arjun is a financial trader who works with some firm in London. He is basically a young workaholic who wants to make as much money as possible before his 40s. He is so engrossed in his work that initially he even doesn’t want to be a part of the trip his friends are proposing. He is so obsessed with his work that his girlfriend had also left him and finally, Arjun, who can't swim is helped by Laila to overcome his fears.
Now how come the deep-sea diving experience helps workoholic Arjun to reach to the experience (through Imran’s voice) of “ जब जब दर्द का बादल छाया, जब गम का साया लैहराया….”
After watching the film I somehow couldn’t really connect the characters and their journeys to the poems in the film. Somehow the body of the film is not in sync with the soul of the film
Friday, October 28, 2011
'Mausam', the story of passive lovers
The story of ‘Mausam’ spans over almost a decade, from Babri Masjid demolition to Gujrat riots. The film starts with the adolescent romance (viewer has to assume the adolescent age of Harry and Ayat though there are no particular references of their age in the movie) of Harry and Ayat which unfolds on the background of Babri Masjid demolition.
A Hindu boy Harry confesses his love to a Muslim girl ‘Ayat’ on the eve of the day before of Babri Masjid demolition. The next day when Harry rushes to Ayat’s house to get her answer to the love he has confessed a night before and he finds that Ayat and her family have just left the village for station because of Hindu-Muslim riots and tensions in the village.
Desperate Harry cycles to the station in great rush but finally finds himself helpless as the train has just left the station.
Cycling towards the station like never before is the only effort Harry takes to retain his newly found love.
7 Years Later…
After seven years, the departed lovers come across each other in Switzerland. Ayat and her family have settled in Switzerland and running a shop. Harry, now an Air Force officer is in Switzerland for some kind of training.
This time they confess their love for each other. Harry asks Ayat why didn’t she inform when she left the village in Punjab, she explains that everything happened in such a way that she could not get time to inform. Harry further explains that she could have written and left a note for him before leaving the village. Ayat in her aristocratic attire and with a luring smile on her face says, “SORRY”.
“SORRY”, is the only explanation Ayat gives of her passive behaviour… and not just this time but during the whole movie Harry and Ayat remain thoroughly passive and refuse to take any ‘extra’ effort for their love. They remain inexplicably passive.
Ayat doesn’t care to send a note when she leaves the village, Harry doesn’t call but also doesn’t care to send a note when he leaves for Kargil war the whole story of ‘Mausam’ is all about Harry and Ayat remaining illogically passive.
A Hindu boy Harry confesses his love to a Muslim girl ‘Ayat’ on the eve of the day before of Babri Masjid demolition. The next day when Harry rushes to Ayat’s house to get her answer to the love he has confessed a night before and he finds that Ayat and her family have just left the village for station because of Hindu-Muslim riots and tensions in the village.
Desperate Harry cycles to the station in great rush but finally finds himself helpless as the train has just left the station.
Cycling towards the station like never before is the only effort Harry takes to retain his newly found love.
7 Years Later…
After seven years, the departed lovers come across each other in Switzerland. Ayat and her family have settled in Switzerland and running a shop. Harry, now an Air Force officer is in Switzerland for some kind of training.
This time they confess their love for each other. Harry asks Ayat why didn’t she inform when she left the village in Punjab, she explains that everything happened in such a way that she could not get time to inform. Harry further explains that she could have written and left a note for him before leaving the village. Ayat in her aristocratic attire and with a luring smile on her face says, “SORRY”.
“SORRY”, is the only explanation Ayat gives of her passive behaviour… and not just this time but during the whole movie Harry and Ayat remain thoroughly passive and refuse to take any ‘extra’ effort for their love. They remain inexplicably passive.
Ayat doesn’t care to send a note when she leaves the village, Harry doesn’t call but also doesn’t care to send a note when he leaves for Kargil war the whole story of ‘Mausam’ is all about Harry and Ayat remaining illogically passive.
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