Movie Review: Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster

Don’t confuse it with the classic original. Guru Dutt’s magnum opus only partially lends the title for this riveting drama. From the feudal Bengal landlords of British India, Tigmanshu Dhulia transports the action to the Hindi heartland amongst it’s relics of decaying royalty. There is this Saheb whose financial clout is tied to the strings controlled by his step mother. And he has a Vodka swigging bombshell of a Biwi suffering from an attention deficit and a roving eye, both of which periodically propel her into hysteria. In steps our laddie from the Jatland and slides his way into the heart and the bed of the Biwi. Wait a minute, he is the lover boy. So who is the Gangster? No prizes for correctly guessing that but actually there was a surfeit of gangsters in the movie, Saheb & Biwi included. The script of the movie is taut and each turn of the story unfolds with effortless ease. The story develops like it should and surprises you with nuances even when you are with the knowledge of what is about to happen. I loved the way the characters have been conceptualized. Jimmy Shergill as the blue blooded aristocratic strongman fits the role to perfection. He sums up the understated violence surrounding his troubled life. A neglecting husband, he kills and debauches with panache. His wife longs for fulfillment and sublimates her desires in alcohol. Mahi Gill looks the part. The political rivals of the Saheb introduce a mole in his household with an intention to eliminate competition but a heady brew of lust & ambition sees the Gangster pursue his own agenda. Randeep Hooda, as the wannabe banker turned jealous lover turned killer only seems to be improving with each movie but he had better come up with some star performances before age catches up with him. Deepal “Kanta lagaa” Shaw surprised me with her natural portrayal of a machinegun mouth village girl. The movie has an irresistible old world charm far removed from the familiarity of the multiplex & internet driven urban madhouse where disputes are quickly settled by a bullet and pursuit of pleasure takes precedence over discretion or propriety. The music is simple and superb, specially the Shreya Ghoshal’s rendition of “Raat Mujhe” which has a mystical & haunting quality which I normally associate with some of the Lata songs of the 60s. As a package the movie is a class by its own and a worthy successor to Dhulia’s student politics thriller “Haasil” but for a diehard romantic like me its stuff dreams are made of.

Speedy Singhs: Bhangra On Ice

First mistake? See the original. Never ever go for the dubbed version of a movie. Never mind “Slumdog Millionaire” which was an honorable exception since no western expletive can a match a vernacular one. And the second one? Never take Chammak Challo for a flick with a Punju story line. Only this time she had a bit of inside support. Two hard core Punjus had accompanied us but were only appreciative of the end title song, “Sheran di kuam Punjabi” belted out by RDB & Ludacris since it has this quality of enhancing the aggressive DNA of all Punjus. Well, Chammak Challo gets to her parochial best whenever good ‘ol Punjus are seen to be winning, which thrills me to no end but gets her goat. These conflicting loyalties usually result into a potentially tense & explosive situation inside the cinema hall and the inevitable fall out is that after furiously slurping away on her cappuchhino (low sugar, if you please) she attacks my Diet Coke and goes on to demolish it. At great risk to my life and future liberty I usually hold my ground and continue to make approving sounds on the antics of the never say die Punjus. After all, sheran di kaum Punjabi !!
The kind of presence the immigrants (read Punjus) have created in Canada and other parts of the world would have been enough reason for Akshay Kumar to encash the potential of the NRI audience. “Of course” says Chammak Challo, “They will do anything for money”. It’s a story of an NRI punju who has ice, sorry.. stars, in his eyes dreaming of being an ace ice hockey player but has a-play-it-safe-in-life father bent upon forcing him into the trucking business. A washed out player ( Rob Lowe, no less) spots the budding talent and decides to turn coach. The resident gora players build obstacles in the Punjus quest for glory. The Punjus lose initially but go on to conquer the world. Everybody lives happily ever after. So what’s new huh? It follows the story line of all great sports movies of triumph over tribulations but what I liked about the movie was that it was sans unnecessary melodrama which is the bane of most Bollywood ventures. It’s also a whacky love story without getting too mushy and replete with classic one liners which must have been more fun in the original version. The heart thumping, adrenalin rising action on the skating rink has been captured most professionally. Probably the firang production team had something to do with it. But the USP of the movie is that it effectively captures daily life emotions of ordinary people with small dreams, professional or otherwise. I would probably watch it again, but this time the English version, for the sheer joy of watching the whole Punju brood descending onto the skating rink and turn it into a bhangra fest of a wedding reception. Go Punjus go !!
On our way back from the multiplex I sneaked a glance at the sulking Chammak Challo and saw the hint of a smile. Ahhh, a chance ! So promptly I gathered the courage to ask if I could get a mutton curry packed instead of eating the ghia prepared at home. She said yes. I blinked. Yessss. She does love Punjus after all. I plan to write to Ludacris & Co to sing a song…. Shera di kaum Garhwali. Does it sound right? It had better !!!

Romancing The Tune

The Wind Flute, a traditional musical instrument of the Garhwal hills, played by a renowned exponent in his inimitable style

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Movie Review-Yeh Saali Zindagi

Sudhir Mishra is not your usual run of the mill director and neither are his movies. If nothing else they do have a different flavour. They might not have the repeat watch values which used to define a hit but in any case in the age of multiplexes it’s a redundant concept. So herein is the paradox. You may not want to watch them again but his movies have a tendency to grow on you. The more you think about them the more you may like them. Having said that I do not consider ‘Yeh Saali Zindagi’ a worthy successor to ‘Khoya Khoya Chand’ but like I said it’s a completely different flavour.
From the romantic, chivalrous, moony eyed 50’s Bollywood Bombay, Mishra has shifted his canvas to the cussing, foul mouthed, criminalised, dog eat dog labyrinths of Delhi. And amidst all the uninhibited abuses of which there is a surfeit (I could see some red ears in the dark) there is an unrequited love which promises to bloom into a romance. But wait a minute, that’s not just the main plot. There is a romantic hero and a swinging heroine but the heroine is involved with a guy who is engaged to another chic who is the daughter of a corrupt politician who is the estranged master of an imprisoned gangster who engages a fellow inmate to avenge himself and kidnap the politician’s daughter and the guy involved with the swinging heroine but the fellow inmate (let’s call him the side hero) mistakenly kidnaps the swinging heroine which is witnessed by the romantic hero who decides to intervene and save his unrequited love. Whew! And that’s not all. In the sub plot this side hero who loves the easy money and thrills that the life of crime gives him is insecure about his pretty wife. So in between the killings and kidnapping and gangsta whirl he tries to find time to kiss and make up with her and probably in a convoluted display of affection gets slapped hard repeatedly. Sigh, so much for the macho gangsters of Delhi.

Powered by: Chakpak.com	Yeh Saali Zindagi

The movie has a racy narration. In fact it is so rapid that at times both the director and the audience lose track of what’s going on. It’s a situational thriller masquerading as a romance. There are the old fashioned flashbacks and then flashbacks from those flashbacks. It’s just after the interval than you will be able to put together the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle and may be enjoy it too. I think most of the charm (if one call it that) for the audience was in the earthy dialogues. The debate on the use of profanities apart, the audience seemed to be quite thrilled on the prolific usage of the nouns and adjectives of the words describing the nether parts of human anatomy in chaste vernacular. There was this lady sitting in front of me with a child in her lap who would throw up her arms in animated applause and shout “So cooool” every time one of the onscreen goons let loose one. I am not sitting in judgement here but it got me thinking if the audience tastes are finally changing and there is after all an acceptance of the cinematic licence to show the perceived reality. However in the department of profanity this flick wins hands down. The likes of Omkara, Peepli Live and No One Killed Jessica seem like soap water compared to this heady brew.
It’s unfair to judge the movie on only one aspect, howsoever all pervasive it may seem, so I will leave it at that. Make up your own mind. Chances are if you are a Delhite or from thereabouts you might love it. Those who mind their Ps and Qs need not waste their time. And those who enjoy their language mixed with the colourful hues of the Haryana heartland are in for a rocking time.

Movie Review-No One Killed Jessica

Powered by: Chakpak.com	No One Killed Jessica

A soul satisfying movie after a long time. Jessica’s story has been in the sub conscious of almost every news paper reading ordinary run of the mill , you hit me and I say sorry crowd and of course the couch potatoes who were for once stirred into something other than pressing the next channel button on their telly remote. It was easy to expect the routine tear jerker that everybody has read, heard about. I was surprised.
It ought to be the maturity of cinema development which showed restraint where the Manmohan Desai/Chopra Inc could not have conceptualised. Just when you expected an emotional outburst was a cut clip and a statement of what has transpired. Beautifully done was the deglam look of Vidya Balan and the outspoken, bad mouthing, in your face (that’s what the hot shot journos do) Rani Mukerjee. Some guys could have a problem with vernacular abuses but I and a horde from the Hindi heartland don’t. The narrative is understated and based on facts, which brings to the disclaimer of the story being a mix of fact and fiction. Legal issues could have been a factor but I could not identify the fiction apart from the christening of the characters. Hey, even the villain’s father looks very close to Vinod Sharma, the Minister. Of course the dilemma of a delinquent child’s parents could have been more realistic. However that’s a minor issue considering the gravity of the offence. Not to dilute the efforts of the media to highlight the miscarriage of justice I have to give credit to the makers of the movie for giving credit where it is due. Rang De Basanti happened to be released at the relevant time and was largely responsible for generating the public show of sympathy and demand for a retrial. For a change people reacted and the State responded and the rest is history.
The craft of the movie is appreciable but here it is the issue which needs to be procrastinated upon. Do we a need a Jessica to be killed before our collective conscience is roused into action? And do we need the stimulus of a Rang De Basanti to come to the streets over a blatant injustice? Why is it that we nod in acceptance over the daily and ordinary incidents of corruption which gradually dull our sense of righteousness? The end result of the sum of all this acceptance results into an environment wherein we prepare a world where human life becomes a remote entity. Easy to play with and easy to snuff. This is a way to sure disaster. The movie ought to be an inspiration of sorts. The fight for truth and justice has hiccups and trials of patience but the path is true. Pursue what is right. If we believe in the Devil then logically God is there too.