2 Films & an Anniversary...

I thought I was supposed to get less busy as I grew older, not more :-)

But hey, considering how I've lived my life till now, on very 'easy going terms', I shouldn't complain about the occasional busy phase. All the same, that's my excuse for blogging after such a long time.

And the reason I'm banging away on my laptop again is right outside my window; the Alistonias are in bloom again in Delhi. They are my olfactory marker for the arrival of winter, pleasurable runs in the forest, a home that's spanking clean for Diwali and seasonal pig-outs on chole-bhature, rajasthani thalis and the like.

This year, the Alistonias are also reminding me that's its been a year since I began to blog.

Would it be pretentious to convey a big thank you to everyone who's logged in to share in my musings? Instead of wasting energy over this question, let me just thank you instead. Many thanks indeed :-)

Now to the post at hand...

I saw two films over the last 10 days; Jhoota hi Sahi (JHS) and Dabangg. I must be one of the few to see the former, and among the last to the see the latter (in India).

Jhoota hi Sahi: ...And that's the only appreciation I can muster

A colleague and I caught the Abbas Tyrewala-directed JHS in Ranchi, at the newly renovated Payal Cinema. The main paisa-wasool was that it brought back the teenage and college-day joy of taking pot-shots at the film as it played out in the theatre.

A quick synopsis before I give you the highlights; John Abraham (Chinese vital element dominating this performance - Wood) plays an Indian nerd nice-guy living in London ,who runs an Indian book store with his two friends (a-la Notting Hill) Raghu Ram (good job) and Omar Khan (so-so).

A telephone number mix-up results in his staying up nights to save people calling a suicide-prevention helpline. One of the callers is heroine Mishka (played by Pakhi, who's also the writer of the film and Director Abbas Tyrewala's wife), who John falls for and the rest is the stuff of all rom-coms.

Two things stood out in the film; one, Pakhi looks tired and like she's pushing 40, a fact that's not made apparent in the film's story. She's not a great actress, her last outing (as a college teacher in Hansal Mehta's Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai) failed to make an impact. Ergo, when you add the fact that her husband is the Director of this film, my friend and I could only come up with 'vanity at the producer's expense' as the casting yardstick.

Two, when a film is first written in English and the dialogues are then translated into Hindi, lines can sound very funny indeed. For instance, the fact that the setting is London still can't justify transliterated lines like "Mera saath raho!" aka, "Stay with me!", uttered by John in desperation, trying to keep a potential suicide victim on the phone line with him, through the long night.

Lucky the original English line wasn't "Hang in there!" or we would have been treated to "Johoolte raho andar!"

Net-net: go only if you have a vicarious vanity streak.

Dabangg: Don't Mind it. Just Enjoy!

There's no great story line or characterization or anything substantial in Dabangg. If you must have these things to enjoy a film, don't go. It's all kitch, all style, all Salman and I believe, an interesting attempt at a comic-book style, full time-pass Indian film.

The film belongs to Inspector Chulbul Pandey, played by Salman Khan. Everyone else is incidental, except for his buxom heroine Sonakshi Sinha, who makes her debut with physical confidence and vitality that's hard to miss even during her short time on screen.

Chulbul Pandey wriggles through the entire film, dancing and fighting with clockwork regularity as everyone else just watches. Within the first five minutes, I wondered if the film was a remake of a south Indian commercial film; surely, that much slapstick fighting, special effects and 'punch dialogue' could not deny its' Quick-Gun-Murugan', "Mind It" pedigree?

"No", I was told, this was an 'original' creation of Director Abhinav Kashyap, who vehemently denies any 'lift', from Kollywood or Hollywood. Well, good for him, I say. He should get the film remade in Telegu and Tamil anyway, with all the songs and fights and dialogues intact, to set the cash registers ringing all the way to Guntur and Kanyakumari.

Salman Khan is at his crazy best, and for those who like his screen persona from early films like Andaz Apna Apna, this is a must watch.

Happy Diwali guys!