Why I Liked MNIK

My Name is Vijay, and I am no great fan of Karan Johar. Aur is Duniya Mein Ache film hote hain, aur Bure film Hoten Hain. Aur pehli baar, Karan Johar and SRK have got the script right, even if it looked a bit naive in parts. KJ has finally grown out of this teens and made a film that he can be proud of. My Name is Khan (MNIK) does not have the thump of Forrest Gump. But it made me sit up with an emotional high several times.

Indeed, it is SRK's most memorable role till date (out-of-the-normal characters suit him better). No doubts, he is the life and soul of the film. The other highpoints: the SRK-Kajol screen chemistry, magical cinematography by Ravi K. Chandran and the heart-stirring number 'Noore Khuda' by Shankar and Adnan Sami. I hope the film's message of tolerance and humanism strikes a chord with people of all religions around the world. Definitely can't miss the film.

Many of my friends found MNIK too long for comfort, and also found it typically filmy (like the scene where only Khan reaches a flood-ravaged church in Georgia). Strangely, I did not find the film long at all. I liked it growing on me. Believe me, I loved SRK's performance (even if he took some liberties with his performance, his dramatics went well with this character). And when the Georgia disaster happened, I remember it took days for help and relief to reach the flood-struck areas, which witnessed rampant murders and robbery, pushing people to the brink. In any case, small exaggerations like these are forgivable in a canvas like this (I am surprised that nobody faulted that silly delivery scene in 3 Idiots..absolutely absurd, I thought) .

MNIK will end up as being one of the most watched films on the DVD circuit, even if it does not become the biggest hits of the year.

What is more important is to understand that Karan Johar has progressed as a film maker. He has climbed the curve (from pop corn love stories and family weepies to something mature as this). MNIK is not a masterpiece by any sense, but it does push the envelope for Bollywood.

I am waiting to see Vishal Bharadwaj's film with SRK in the lead..Believe me, that will be a knockout performance..

Love, Lust and Greed in Ishqiya

My take on Ishqiya: A wonderful debut by director Abhishek Choubey, and a befitting tribute to his mentor Vishal Bharadwaj. The film slowly bares open the underbelly of small town India, in a typical Bharadwaj style. Ishqiya has a bit of everything--comedy, curry Western, thriller, noir, raw edginess and sensuality--in... a cinematic package that is Indian in content yet international in appeal.

Eastern UP becomes the setting, as layers unravel in a plot that teases the viewer with its unpredictability and intrigue. Vidya Balan, Naseer and Arshad look as if they were born and bred in the badlands, even as their characters come alive on a slow simmer. For Warsi, this one is a killer act. He erases Circuit and etches Babban firmly in our collective memory.

Ishqiya will not rock you, but will leave you with mixed emotions about love, lust and greed in the Wild North (our answer for the Wild West). Go watch it. But one spoiler: The 'gaalis' and 'sex scenes' are in short supply (in case that is the main pulling factor)

I would like to let the Ishqiya hangover remain with me for a while. I don't want to spoil it with Rann (i sort of know what to expect from that film), prefer to watch it on DVD. And yes, I also want to visit Gorakhpur and other places in Eastern UP.

Choosing Between Ishqiya and Rann

I want to see both Ishqiya and Rann (released this week). And I don't want to read what the critics have to say about them. I am mighty sure that these will be films (from the production houses of two master directors) worth watching on the screen (in other words, paisa vasool).

But to shoot off without seeing the films, here is my take: I will choose Ishqiya first. There will be more cinema (in terms of narrative), unpredictability and surprises in Ishqiya, which is set in the badlands of eastern UP. Rann will tell us about (what some of us know) breaking news business in Ram Gopal Varma's patented style. After disasters like Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag and Phoonk, RGV will redeem his lost status with Rann.

I am also itching to see Ishqiya since I am dying to hear the gaalis (expletives) in full blast from the speakers in the theatre. I also love watching the audience reaction to such gaalis. I remember watching Omkaara in the theatre. A large family had booked almost the half the row where me and Lals sat. And within 10 minutes of the film, the elders in the group looked stupefied..I almost fell off the seat when one of the the older guys told his wife: 'Ghar chalte hain. Yeh gaali waali film lag rahi hain' And he and several others actually got up and left. I wanted to tell him, asli zindagi mein jo hum sunte hain use parde mein dikha diya to kya aafat aa gayi. Hoping to have a lot of fun watching Ishqiya on the screen next week.

3 Idiots, a Bollywood Masterpiece

In a year, when Bollywood surprised and shocked us with Dev D, Kaminey and Rocket Singh, here comes the master blaster from director Raj Kumar Hirani.

Frankly, 3 Idiots blew my mind off--at least for some days after watching it. Probably, because we don't try to make such stuff in India.

Here is, at last, a film that throws a dynamite on our decrepit educational system and tell us to look at career choices in a different way. And Hirani does it in his inimitable way in weaving a tale (inspired by Chetan Bhagat's 5 point Someone).

He is helped by commendable performances, eye-catching camerawork (in some parts) and a background score that works well to heighten the impact.

If Aamir does a reasonably good job as Rancho, others like Madhavan, Sharmaan Joshi, Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor and Omi (a sensational debut as Chatur Ramalingam) do justice to the script.

Right from the first frame, the film never leaves you off the hook. Hirani, who co-wrote the story with Abhijit Joshi (of Lage Raho Munnabhai fame), builds up a tempo that makes you ask for more as the story progresses. What I liked particularly about the narrative was its pacing--just the right dose of fun spiced with the heart-tugging condiments.

3 Idiots blends hard-hitting truths and humour so beautifully that the story never falls hard on the viewer. Hirani, undoubtedly, is the superstar of the film. He has set such a high benchmark for himself, that it is going to be difficult to scale a notch higher with every next film of his.

And if you are one of the many who always felt like an idiot in academics and work, this film will perhaps open your eyes and mind.

3 Idiots deserves to be seen by every parent, student and people caught in the career-trap.

Don't miss it for anything.

Rocket Singh, A Film with a Heart

I am sure each of you would have his/her favourite film(s) of the year.

But for me Rocket Singh--Salesman of the Year is somewhere on top of my favourites list. This year-end offering from Yashraj Films left me surprised, shaken and stirred. It is a film about basic values that one normally forgets (or is forced to forget) in the normal course of life, work, career and business. Wonderfully scripted, narrated and performed (minus the Bollywood frills), this film has a heart. Don't miss it..

With this film, Ranbir Kapoor once again proves that he is becoming a director's actor. For Yashraj Films, this is another high point after Chak De! (again by director Shimit Amin's and writer-scenarist Jaideep Sahni). Both these films are as different as chalk and cheese. But both of them have a high dose of positive and feel-good emotions that can inspire viewers with a thumping high.

I only hope this film has a decent run at the box office. It deserves a wider audience than those of metro cities and towns. To quote a line from the film, "even Spiderman has to take a risk, and I am just a salesman." Well done Yashraj Films, Shimit Amin and Jaideep Sahni and the ensemble cast of Rocket Singh. You took the risk, and made a film that will become a classic of sorts in the years to come.

Here Comes the VB-SRK Combo

Post Kaminey, Vishal Bharadwaj is becoming a director icon of sorts. Anything he touches has the makings of a classic. In an industry, nurtured by inanities and formulas, this man is re-scripting the meaning of cinema and success.

For me, it is great news that Vishal Bharadwaj and SRK have patched up and getting ready to work on a script. For SRK, this could be the big opportunity to let go of his old baggage of acting skills and begin afresh with a film maker who believes in breaking the rules and redefining the limits for actors. He needs to break out of the Karan Johar/Aditya Chopra/Farah Khan schools of film making, and dig deep inside to stretch the acting envelope. If not now, when?

Bharadwaj's Omkaara (adaption of Shakespeare's Othello) saw Saif Ali Khan tread new ground in playing Langda Tyagi--so much so that he stole the limelight from others in the film.

I can't wait to see the raw energy of SRK bursting on the screen under the baton of a auteur like Bharadwaj.

But till that happens, I would be waiting expectantly for Ishqiya, Bharadwaj's next venture as producer. If the trailer is any indication, this film set in rural India is going to be a riot of bawdy humour laced with profanities. I enjoy listening to asli Indian gaalis coming full blast on the big screen.

Compromise to Conquer the Box Office

Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahaani will go on to become Raj Kumar Santoshi's most successful film, in terms of box office returns. But I don't think Santoshi will be proud of this film. The director, who made both entertaining and sensible films (in the commercial format) like Andaz Apna Apna, Ghatak, Ghayal, Damini, Khakee, Bhagat Singh to name a few, has at last realised that it is better to make a light-hearted, hare-brained entertainer and have a rolling hit than make something more sensible and not get the big bang effect.

APGK reminds you a bit of the Andaz Apna Apna humour, but it lacks the flow of that Santoshi masterpiece. But for the all the failings in the film (script, continuity and story), there is one person who redeems the film in every frame. Ranbir Kapoor is a revelation, and a lot of credit should go to Santoshi for believing in this young actor to deliver the big P. After seeing Ranbir in APGK, I feel he is immensely more talented and spontaneous than SRK in his younger days (this comparison is going to be inevitable, even though they are poles apart in their acting styles).

APGK proves beyond doubt that Ranbit has 'acting' in his genes, but I thought I also saw sparks of Kishore Kumar and Raj Kapoor in some of the scenes. So even though Ranbir has all the makings of becoming a superstar as big as SRK (as I said in my earlier post) he will chart his own path to get there.