Entertainment in Times of Strike

The battle between the producers and the multiplexes might mean that no films will be hitting the marquee any time soon, but certainly there are a couple of DVDs you could (and should) enjoy from the comforts of your home...hence I am going to do this in more of a 'round-up' format rather than the detailed review to either persuade or dissuade your trip to the local cinema.

The President is Coming

What: One of the earlier and largely overlooked releases of 2009, this hilarious film (adapted from a play of the same name) chronicles a contest in which one 'young Indian' will be chosen to shake hands with President Bush during his 2006 visit to India. Get ready for a lighthearted running commentary on topics ranging from feminism to homosexuality and regionalism to globalization.

Who: Konkona Sen Sharma leads the way as a pretentious novelist whose lyrics poke fun at the likes of Arundhati Roy and Jhumpa Lahiri; acclaimed character artist Lilette Dubey's daughter - Ira Dubey - makes a welcome entry as an Indian version of Paris Hilton. Vivek Gomber (Rohit), Namit Das (Ramesh), Satchit Puranik (Ajay)...everyone deserves a mention, really. Hats off to debutante director Kunaal Roy Kapur for bringing together a quirky ensemble cast that is more than up to the challenge.

Warning: Certainly not a family film by any means...if you are embarrassed easily, watch it with your friends or on your own.

Verdict? The mention of George W. Bush has never spelled this much fun.


Billu Barber

What: It's the stuff child bedtime stories from your nani/dadi were made of: a small town with simpleton people interrupted by the grandeur of a popular but humble king. Albeit here it refers to a barber (Irrfan Khan) and his unbelievable friendship with superstar Sahir Khan (Shahrukh Khan playing a variation of his real-life persona). It's actually made more so with the kids in mind, but adults will find a nice message and perhaps enjoy what is at the film's sweet core.
Who: Irrfan seldom gets it wrong, and here he is able to be his unsuspectingly good self. Lara Dutta is a pleasant surprise in an ordinary role as his wife. And yes, there is Shahrukh who struts in every now and then to perhaps be a little kinder to everyone than he is in real life. But he certainly does a nice job in the climax by keeping his monologue on the restrained side (see what happens when buddy KJ isn't at the helm?).
Warning: Don't be fooled by Shahrukh's item numbers with various members of the industry's elite. Those are about the only aspects of 'commercial' cinema to be found, but rather the film is essentially about an extremely simple tale of friendship. It moves at quite a sluggish pace, so you must have patience.
Verdict? Shahrukh the producer is even smarter than Shahrukh the actor - the film does not promise great heights and therefore doesn't necessarily deliver them. Instead it is what it is: a sweet and simple film laden with a downright absurdly catchy soundtrack and welcome item number insertions featuring Gen X Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor; ah yes, and with a proper moral of the story to boot.

Winner By Chance

It is perhaps one of the greatest tragedies of Hindi film viewers that any seemingly intelligent film, one that invites its audience to use their minds and embark on a truly engaging journey, are immediately branded as a form of parallel cinema, also known as being 'offbeat' or on occasion referred to as 'art films'. As a result, these realistic and often thought-provoking projects - that are so few and far between - seldom get their due. Zoya Akhtar's directorial debut Luck By Chance could very well be a prime example of one such endeavor, a film that is truly a cinematic treat and in any thinking cine-goer's book ranks far ahead of the more commonly-found commercial successes with absurd titles along the lines of Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehke Bhi Aap Se Shaadi Na Kar Paaye (HADMRBASSNKP for simple reference).

With her insight into the trials and tribulations of the world's largest film industry, Ms. Akhtar emerges like a breath of fresh air with a cohesive script, stellar cast, appropriate balance between humor and hardship and, above all, an eye for continuity and purpose. Rather than simply creating an exposé on the inside world of Hindi cinema, Ms. Akhtar rather hits the nail on the head in showcasing the deeper facets on the other side of the camera: the personalities, the aspirants, the networking, the production; you name it, she addresses it.

To aid the director is an outstanding cast that would be a shoe-in for Best Acting Ensemble in a Motion Picture, alas if only such an award existed in the subcontinent. In the lead is Ms. Akhtar's own brother Farhan, who recently made his foray into acting via the cult hit Rock On, and you better believe he does not disappoint. Transitioning from director to actor is no piece of cake, but Farhan truly gets right the nuances of his character and delivers a performance that is both understated and as good as any accomplished actor.

By his side is the wonderfully gifted Konkona Sen Sharma who wouldn't know bad acting if it came knocking at her door. She remains as delightful as ever, someone who achieves the rare habit of silently suffering from the sidelines without ever losing grip of her integral role in the proceedings.

But what truly separates LBC from your average fare is that every member of the supporting cast more than pitches in with their best efforts. Rishi Kapoor is in full form, downright hilarious at times and walking away with most of the laughs, while Juhi Chawla's return to the screen is a pleasure in the role of his wife. Dimple Kapadia is elegance personified and particularly shines in her character's telling moment toward the climax, whereas Isha Sharvani is miles better than her outings in Kisna and Rocky. Sanjay Kapoor gets into the spirit of his role, while Arjun Mathur strikes a significant chord as Farhan's secretly envious friend.

Hrithik Roshan, although credited as having a Special Appearance, is around for many of the proceedings and is downright perfect for the role. He exudes confidence and charm and, of course, he dances his heart out in Baware. A plethora of celebrities make fleeting appearances, but Aamir and Shahrukh Khan register the most impact, the former poking fun at his perfectionism and the latter sharing his haunting words of wisdom.

Shankar Ehsaan Loy once again come up trumps for the Akhtars, lending a soundtrack that is both catchy and situational, a rather rare feat. From a listening perspective, Sapno Se Bhare Naina is perhaps the pick of the lot, while visually Baware is worth the admission price alone. The homage to all the behind-the-scenes individuals during the opening credits is admirable and beautifully shot.

Verdict? Luck By Chance is a monumental achievement for a first-time director, a film that is simultaneously enlightening and enjoyable, full of character and even replete with an underlying moral message. Hats off to Ms. Akhtar for a welcome entry into direction, and here is hoping for more films of this caliber to come soon.

It's a 'Daag' all right...

Regressive cinema with a capital R is the best way to summarize Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. Coming from the prestigious Yashraj banner and the maker of a gem like Parineeta, it is only fair for one to expect a polished and thoughtful film. Instead we get a hackneyed and misleading waste of time that goes a step further and actually tries to glamorize prostitution, as if it's just another product for perhaps our cricketers to endorse. Personally, I would gladly opt for Om Shanti Om's blatant Maybelline and Pepsi references (Read: Advertising) any day.

Moreover, the film so brutally deceives you. As any innocent and unsuspecting viewer would, you smile as the film's opening reels introduce you to the playful world of two sisters in Banaras, for once shown to be a colorful and inviting city as opposed to its dull and depressing depictions in recent films like Water and Banaras: A Mystical Love Story.

Cut to a few frames later and suddenly Mumbai gets to play the big bad wolf that devoured the elder sister (Rani Mukherjee) for breakfast. In all fairness, she did appear rather plump and thus fair game, so who is to blame here...the hungry wolf or Ms. Mukherjee's personal trainer?

In other words, to save her family from the brink of losing their home to their own scheming relatives, Rani takes off for the City of Dreams to earn the rupees so that her ailing father will give it a rest already about not having a 'breadwinner' son. Of course, when she lands in the city itself she suddenly realizes that there's not much she could do with no degree, zero English skills and...no place to stay. (What ever happened to think before you act?)

Of course, as we know from the previews, she opts to become a high-end call girl instead. So much for the 18 McDonald's branches that now grace the streets of Mumbai...or even the opportunity to clean bathrooms...or pick up trash...oh hell, with looks like hers, she could just pull a Nisha Kothari and start sleeping with Ram Gopal Varma. At least there's a film career to come out of that.

But no, prostitute it is, and what's more is that she is groomed to do so by her "modern, independent" flatmate. After teaching the naive Rani how to apply that liner, walk those heels and flaunt that Manish Malhotra couture, could the roommate not have just pointed Rani in the direction of a modeling agency? In any case, Family Clueless back in Banaras is thrilled that their oldest is somehow raking in the moolah; little do they know that she escorts old, balding men to a suite in the Taj (although Mama dearest, so nicely played by Jaya Bachchan, has a bit of a hunch and chooses to keep mum and drown her woes in ...stitching petticoats).

Of course, Sister No. 2 (Konkona Sen Sharma) turns out to be quite the smarty-pants and lands a great marketing job in the same exact city where her sister leads her clandestine whorish life. Go figure! Somehow, Sister No. 2 also manages to drop the braid and salwar kameez virtually overnight for layers and a power suit. Yeah...right. She also speaks enough English that you wonder why you never heard it before.

To cut a long story short, all's well that ends well. What else is expected when the director decides to pull a Raj Kumar Hirani and have Abhishek Bachchan waltz in as the angelic, do-gooder a la Lage Raho Munnabhai. (In the process, get ready for the most absurd exchange of dialogue you will ever witness in the history of Hindi cinema...do tell me when you will ever find a man who, upon learning that the woman he so dearly lusts after is actually a prostitute, says: "Until today, I thought I loved you. But after learning this, I love you even more" Good God, Abhishek. Did you not see (or count) the men she slept with? The day such a man exists is the day Salman Khan will get married.

Of course, Konkona is given a far more appealing love angle in the form of Kunal Kapoor, who puts on his best "I wish I was Hrithik Roshan" act and comes up trumps as an endearing and more realistic character.

That Rani, Konkona and Jaya Bachchan play their parts well goes without saying. The three are supremely talented actresses who can pull off virtually anything, but sadly they are undone by the ludicrous concept that surrounds the film.

Yes, prostitution is a huge problem in India (and many other countries at that). It is also true that many girls who enter cities with big hopes are often thrown into it by force, but to show Rani being flown out first-class to Zurich and strutting around in pretty clothing is hardly the face of real prostitution. And for her to get a rishta from a rich and handsome man who knew her for all of 24 hours and decided he would love her regardless of her situation is pure and utter rubbish. To feed that image to young girls and make it an okay "go-to" profession when in need of cash is shameful, to say the least.

The saddest part about the film is that it had all the potential in the world. A quality cast, a capable director (he has to have something if he managed Parineeta, or was that film really in fact ghost directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra?) and a promising beginning...really, the scenes between the mother and two sisters in the first 20 minutes are both lovely and heart-warming. How it turned into such a mess is anyone's guess.

A poor soundtrack doesn't make the proceedings any easier. Barring the introductory song, Hum To Aise Hain Bhaiya, all other tunes are in that all-irritating Hinglish we pray is just a phase that Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya should never have started.

On a side note, Abhishek Bachchan can be as politically correct as he pleases and continue to go on record by saying that his marriage to Aishwarya Rai has caused no friction whatsoever in his equation with favorite co-star Rani Mukherjee, but the painful interactions between the two is perhaps the tale of a failed relationship that wifey Rai clearly disapproves of. Never have Abhishek and Rani looked so void of chemistry.

Verdict? Steer clear of this street corner.

A 'metro' worth visiting...

Correction: It came to my attention that I originally included Shool as a good performance by Shilpa Shetty. I was kindly reminded that Raveena Tandon was the lead actress in Shool. Ms. Shetty's contribution was the item number, Main Aayi Hoon U.P. Bihar Lootne. My apologies for deeming that a performance. (Thanks Roopam)

In my last post I spoke of gathering an ensemble cast and then failing at extracting any good performances or creating a cohesive story. In Life in a...Metro, director Anurag Basu manages to bring out the best in nine performers while simultaneously narrating six different stories. As if that were not enough, Basu manages to weave them into one cohesive unit without ever delving into the contrived coincidences to which the Hindi film industry is so accustomed.

Metro tells the modern-day tale of a metropolitan area, of the interconnectedness of its inhabitants and the deceit that plagues India's upper-middle class. Never once do you feel as though you are watching something implausible or farcical. The plights of each character are such that anyone can empathize or at least admit to have seen before.

Last time I talked of regressive directing, of how Anubhav Sinha somehow managed to take enormous steps backward with his latest release, Cash. Basu, on the other hand, seems to have improved leaps and bounds in the art of storytelling. For someone who made his directorial debut with Kucch To Hai, a cheap I Know What You Did Last Summer rehash, and then went on to plagiarize every other Hollywood film possible, it comes as almost a shock that he is capable of such meticulous direction; especially considering his list, until now, comprised of the disastrous Arthur remake Tumsa Nahin Dekha and the 'why don't we sell some sex' copy of Unfaithful, i.e. Murder. Somewhere in between was a semi-convincing (but still entirely unoriginal) Saaya, until Basu finally struck gold last year with a dark horse sort of film called Gangster.

And now, as if out of the blue, he's made a film on par with international cinema, something that very few contemporary Hindi filmmakers can boast of. Yes, Karan Johar, we still watch your films. But my oh my would we be embarrassed to watch them with our non-desi friends.

Disclosing the actual plot-lines would risk giving away too much, so I will simply talk about the performances and music. Each and every actor comes out a winner. Kay Kay Menon and Irrfan Khan are already seasoned performances and do not let you down. Shiney Ahuja can add this film to his already-growing repertoire of promising performances. He's definitely a talent to look out for. Sharman Joshi is also quite the surprise package - someone who has appeared in the most useless of films, such as Style, Excuse Me and Shaadi No. 1 seems to have finally found his footing in a more serious, not to mention productive, venture.

If you think the ladies are around to provide the romance and dance around trees, you better guess again. Each is as strong as her male counterpart. Shilpa Shetty has emerged into a fine actress - it seems that she is finally finding the roles that showcase her acting prowess, some 15 years after she announced her arrival in the industry. Metro will definitely go down with Dhadkan and Phir Milenge as her career-best performances. Konkona Sen Sharma is another phenomenal talent to look out for. She continues to prove her worth post-Omkara and Page 3. Kangna Ranaut also takes one by surprise - while she definitely showed signs of talent in her earlier outings, one felt she was rather over the top. Here she manages to keep herself restrained.

Dharmendra and Nafisa Ali are as charming as ever.

The music is also outstanding - a great blend of Pakistani and Bangladeshi artistes, with some Indian for good measure. :)

Verdict: A must-watch for everyone!