#Pink is the new #Black

I haven’t blogged for a while this year but sometimes along comes a movie that demands a blog and #Pink is one such movie.

Those who know my writing, or the Bollywood shows I presented on radio or TV in days gone by, will know that I have always been an advocate of meaningful cinema as it is such a powerful medium that it leaves an indelible impression.

Cinema may not change the world but it has the ability to alter perceptions provided the viewer is open to the notion.

Images do that.

And this film makes a very powerful and lasting impression.

#Pink is not a time pass movie. Or one that dabbles in artificial Bollywood glamour. It’s also not a feminist film. It’s an adult subject, that exposes a side of society that is well masked, a side that when it does show its face does not realize how deplorable it is, a side that is steeped in blatant double standards when dealing especially with women.

#Pink is a film about prejudice and bullying.

About dismantling stereotypes because unless those stereotypes are acknowledged, and awareness for such deplorable behaviour is created, it will continue to be perpetuated.

And ultimately as #Pink goes about seeking redemption for its protagonists, it challenges its audience to rethink the way we exist.

By challenging the norm, #Pink suggests the norm is abnormal. That for a woman to achieve anything is doubly harder than it is for men. The fact that it takes a man (Amitabh Bachchan) to bring this point across is not ideal, but this is cinema without a star like him would the message of this film been received as broadly as it has? Would men go and see it? I’m not sure and in time I hope that such notions too will change but that said, such a distinction itself is sexist and if anything #Pink tries to get away from such stereotypical behaviour.      

Men should see it to reflect on it. Women should see it to understand their rights. 

Every adult should make a point of seeing it to know and understand where the line is drawn in any relationship, be it serious or frivolous.  

#Pink won’t change the world, but if it is able to alter perceptions and enter into our consciousness (as it has mine), then it would have achieved something.

Set in suburban Delhi, #Pink deals with three young women trying to put a bad incident involving some guys that they met at a party after a rock concert behind them. But the guys are hell bent on revenge and won’t let the incident pass so easily, and the only way for the women to stave them off is to turn to the law. 

Indian law (in this instance the police more than the actual legal system) is notorious for being under the control of certain influential people so what starts out as the women seeking help, ends up with them being charged for soliciting. And through their battle to clear their names a case that addresses the ills of modern society is made.

“No” means No is the obvious point it makes but how it gets to it, is what makes it so riveting. And there are multiple aspects, the abuse of the legal system is juxtaposed with a clear explanation as to how the legal system can actually provide a positive outcome as long as individuals know and exercise their rights, and I suppose the reality too is that wherever corruption is rife, one needs a lawyer courageous enough to fight the system for those rights. #Pink speaks of consent and that anything outside of it is an act of violence.   

  

This tweet below by Ketan Nardhani highlights some of the powerful legal arguments it makes:

“Unflimy” is the best way to describe the acting especially from the three leads Taapsee Pannu (Minal), Kirti Kulhari (Falak) and Andrea Tariang (Andrea). They exude fear where the script demands, show strength where it is required and display vulnerability where it is needed. It all feels so natural that it seems pretty effortless but must have taken hours of rehearsals to get the nuances right. Taapsee cut her teeth in Telegu and Tamil cinema, her first foray into Hindi cinema came via Chashme Baddoor in 2013 and she also featured in the Akshay Kumar starrer Baby, I hope that after this we’ll be seeing a lot more of her. She essays a very demanding role very convincingly.

And then there is Amitabh Bachchan, and it pleases me no end that this icon of Indian cinema continues to land such well written roles, his court room scenes are out of this world, and that climax sequence is going to become one of those scenes that people will remember and recite by heart as fondly as we remember that classic Deewar dialogue “Mere Paas bangla hai, motor hai gaadi hai, tumhare paas kya hai”?   

For him #Pink is the new #Black (Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2005 movie where he played an eccentric teacher)  

It’s not perfect mind you, in fact some of Bachchan’s parts are overly theatrical, his mask for instance – worn to avoid the Delhi smog and his leering behaviour are red herrings to the proceedings, thrown in for effect that might have been avoided but the overall performance is magnificent, an actor whose prime just seems to keep extending, and long may it do so.   

#Pink's story may belong to Shoojit Sarkar who also produced it, but its telling lies in the hands of director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury who instills it with a certain vulnerability and strength that I doubt any male director would have. 

Movies like #Pink are rarities in Bollywood. They shouldn’t be the norm but when they come around they should be lauded for utilizing the incredible power of cinema, to convey a powerful message.

I'm not rating #Pink, such movies need no ratings, as long as their message resides in the back of our consciousness and alters our perceptions, they have rated highly enough... 

The Jungle Book - As Indian movies go the best one so far this year

There’s a great gag doing the rounds right now, that in the race for the Indian box office, a movie with Shere Khan and a couple of songs has gobbled up a movie with two Shah Rukh Khans and no songs, because while #Fan has under-performed - The Jungle Book has shot out the lights!

The times they are a changing and yet the more times change the more they remain the same.

The original The Jungle Book movie is almost fifty years old and I must have been knee high to a grasshopper when I was introduced to Wolfgang Reitherman’s classic cartoon version. 

Hazy memory and all, I still seem to think it was probably the first movie I saw in a darkened cinema (which goes a long way to explain my magical relationship with a screen lighting up) – and thru time I have owned a copy in virtually every format from VHS to DVD.

The animation back then was nowhere near as slick as it is today, but the joy of watching it, and it’s magical aura has never dated.

It’s the characters that evoke such feelings; the unbridled happiness of Baloo, the eeriness of Kaa, the wisdom of Bagheera, the menace of Shere Khan and the charming impishness of the man-cub Mowgli with his inquisitive mind - and a cute nose for trouble. And who can forget those bored Beatle inspired vultures with their mop tops, who kept asking each other the same annoying question “ere wot you wanna do!”  

Today the animation looks dated and yet the movie retains its disarming charm. The six songs by the Sherman Brothers are as catchy today as they were back then, and the one song that those brothers didn’t compose remains the most memorable of the lot, how The bare necessities of life will come to you, a Terry Gilkyson composition didn’t win the Oscar for best song is puzzling, it is an all-time classic!

Get this - that 1967 movie cost Disney $4million to make and its box office return to date is around $206m which doesn’t even take into account the thousands of VHS tapes, DVDs etc. that have been sold.

The thing about the original is that while it was well loved, it was criticized for not being true to the dark and sinister Rudyard Kipling series of stories on which it was based.

The Jungle Book was the last film that Walt Disney himself worked on before his death and legend has it that after ditching his first script writer who he thought was being too sincere to the book, he gave Larry Clemmons the responsibility of rewriting it. 
He also presented Clemmons with a copy of Kipling’s book and advised him not to read it, just to use the characters and to have fun with it - and oh what fun they had.     

That fun element is apparent in this new version, which starts just like the original did... Buena Vista logo usurped into a green dense jungle..but there is a darker more sinister side that makes it more thrilling. 

And although the animal kingdom is more real, the character’s personalities match the original fun versions; the lovable oaf Baloo voiced by Bill Murray, the world wise Bhageera (Ben Kingsley), Shere Khan filled with a menacing ferocity by Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson’s  hypnotic ssssscene sssssstealing Kaa, and the maternal instincts of the mother wolf Raksha (Lupita Nyongo’o) and then there’s the man cub Mowgli the only real actor in the movie played with impish charm by Neel Sethi.  

Considering he is the one living actor in a movie filled with computer generated characters, it is quite a feat as to how well director Jon Favreau manages to hook and immerse one into this new Jungle Book, turning it into one great big rollicking adventure. The film like its predecessor is a tribute to life in an Indian jungle and as long as those jungles are preserved, our fascination with them and with the wild will never cease to exist. 

Favreau slips in some strong environmental messages; agreement to share water during a drought, the protection of territories, honouring the jungle hierarchy, and the mistrust that beast has towards man but most of all he makes a movie that has the enchanting Disney brand of magic to it.

Pity its already off Imax because it really is a beast of a movie, the kind you want to experience rather than watch, and as Indian movies go - sorry Shah Rukh Khan but frame for frame Shere Khan’s movie is the best one I’ve seen all year.  

P.S. I think it'll be worth buying the Blu Ray / DVD when it comes out as there is a dubbed Hindi version featuring Priyanka Chopa (Kaa), Irrfan Khan (Baloo), Om Puri (Bagheera) and Nana Patekar (Shere Khan). 

#FAN - a double masterclass from the one and only @iamsrk

All hail the king.

The king is alive and well.

Long live the king.

To suggest SRK is back with a bang is a bit disingenuous because it's not like he has ever been away in the first place but for me the 'bang for my buck' went missing from his recent roles so it pleases me to say this role, or if I count properly these roles, are bang on target. 

Here the king dusts off his cloak, spruces up his crown and reminds his subjects, calm down and leave it to me, leave it to the king!

And my blog is written very specifically around him.

This movie is for those who have seen SRK evolve from anti hero, to romantic hero, but who have frowned at some of his recent roles. In fact this is a movie for anyone (points at self) who has desperately wanted to marvel at a masterful actor, and has become a little irritated (points at self again) because for that person (like me) here is a masterclass times two.

So how does SRK get his mojo back? 

Well take a man who loves a challenge, and provide him with one, then sit back and watch the magic unfold. Give him the chance to play roles that offer light and shade - and all the many hues in between - and allow him to be. Maneesh Sharma does just that, he gives SRK the platform, the space and the freedom to express himself, by removing him from his self imposed comfort zone and lets the sparks fly.

I've said it before when SRK is good he is great but when he is bad he is brilliant and here we are provided with conclusively proof. The best thing about the movie for me though is that Maneesh highlights the actor's tremendous skill without pandering to his image or to his star status, and it's been ages since any director did so. Maneesh harnesses SRK's image and his status to harvest two of the finest roles he has ever tackled, by creating a thriller of the highest order, a movie that takes you on an exhilarating ride with a thrill around every corner, it shakes, it rattles and it rocks. 

The youngster Gaurav Chandna an obsessed fan with his stiff botox upper lip will justifiably steal the plaudits, as it is that kind of role but the other role of the superstar Aryan Khanna is no less intense, a focused professional who understands his worth, a businessman who will do whatever it takes to safeguard his career and his family. 
Sharp writing.

The beauty of plot for me is that it fingers the patronizing stance that stars are known to display, "I am only here because of my fans" stars will tell you when they are enjoying runaway success  but when those very fans request a few seconds of their time, it is often too much to give.

That in essence is the story; a fan who dubs himself The Junior Aryan Khanna - with a remarkable likeness to the real Aryan Khanna travels from suburban Delhi to the superstar's home on the Bandra waterfront in Mumbai, cherishing just one little hope - to meet his idol and to share an award that he has won for three years running for impersonating him - with him. 
His trip from the country's capital to its film capital mirrors the same path his idol followed, even staying in the exact same hotel he first stayed at and insisting on the same room but the moment his idol tells him "stay away from me. You in your place. Me in mine" his world collapses but the movie progresses. 

Every ounce of energy that the fan has thus far invested into this love affair with his idol feels wasted, and as with any instance of obsessive and unrequited love, is that the hurt party experiences an 'if I can't have you, I will make your life so miserable that no one else will' moment and at this point the thin line between love and hatred becomes blurred and once that line vanishes, there really is no coming back from it...
That is one way of looking at the plot, from the fans point of view but director Maneesh Sharma also explores the self made star's side, a human-being whose fears for himself and his family are no different to anyone else'. This allows Maneeh to leave one conflicted as to how will it end, or more like how one would like it to.

The proceedings are powerful and disturbing. The action thrilling. The pace unrelenting. And the performances, both of them are scintillating. 

Powerful because Maneesh has the guts to target one of the pillars that Bollywood stands on - it's dependence on its stars - and disturbing because it also shows how blind faith in that star system is abused, for instance the global entertainment world is known to foster star rivalries in the media, but the fans of those stars are gullible enough to make those rivalries personal.

If you get a chance take the time to read the responses from Salman's fans to SRK's movies and vice versa and the vitriol that flows is scary, never mind that fans do not have any power to control themselves because some still believe they are capable of controlling or at least affecting the outcome. 
Some fans will go to incredible lengths to prove their devotion, some will even push that devotion to the extreme, its a kind of star terrorism carried out by someone willing to sacrifice their own well-being just to uphold their idol's reputation.
Is it wrong? That's not for me to pass judgement on, because its often done out of love. Is it madness, you bet but that's what happens with obsessive love, it displays behavior that borders on madness.

And Gaurav madly loves Aryan.

To make a plot like this work on a variety of levels, needs expert character development, and script-writing which is apparent but just how much brilliance can you cram into one movie without without overloading it?
Going by this movie? Plenty! 

The proceedings are embellished with some truly breathtaking sequences; Gaurav's stage show at the fun fair, his attempts to escape the police from the hotel, trying to make himself heard amidst the white noise when he first sees his idol in real life, their first eye-to-eye meeting, the chase through picturesque Dubrovnik, the bonfire of all his favorite memorabilia, his visit to the stars home, the Madame Tussaud's episode and the climax; are stand out sequences, expertly constructed and masterfully executed. 
This is the kind of film that will enjoy cult status. Any retrospective of SRK's career will be incomplete without mention of it, just like it is for roles like the one he did in Swades - but the distinction here is that there is no attempt at all for him to emerge heroic from it, this is not a film where SRK saves the world. 

In this year's Oscar nominated movie Joy, Bradley Cooper advises Jennifer Lawrence that an actors hands and voice speak more powerfully to the camera than the face does, that while the hands express the truth, the voice convinces the listener and the first time Gaurav uses his idols voice to tell a girl that he has a small crush on that if he had to love her it would be "Dil Se" in a deep baritone voice like his idol would, immediately establishing the connection between him and his idol and setting the scene for everything that follows.
And pay attention to SRK's hands, they are fascinating to watch.

 

#FAN pays homage to SRK the actor and SRK the star, it is a celebration of both. That and the fact that both character's are instilled with equal but very different intensity shows just how gifted he is, that he can look into the mirror and there are different people on each side and how blessed we are to experience him giving such deep meaning to his art. 

Almost a quarter of a century after he announced himself in spectacular fashion in Deewana, he is still raising the bar.  


What an actor, what a movie, what a timely reminder as to why this is the @iamsrk we know and we love.

And if the gushing admiration seems misplaced, let me leave you with this thought, kya kare main uska fan hoon, yeh type ka performance mujhe pasand hai, tum nahin samjohge...  

@iamSRK looking competition in the eye

Just days to go before the release of #FAN and a double dose of @iamsrk ...

At 50 Shah Rukh is in a competition with just one person. A person that has scaled the highest of heights, the stardom equivalent of Mt. Everest. Not Salman, nor Aamir, Ranbir, Ranveer, Hrithik or even Amitabh - Shah Rukh is competing with himself. 

And like the plot of #FAN where its SRK vs SRK -this is his toughest competition yet. 

Right now he is being measured against what he himself has achieved in a glittering 24 year career, the very career that now casts a giant shadow over him, a shadow of brilliance that he has to emerge from to enable him to add even more glory to it. 

And it could be as tough a challenge as he has ever faced. 

If Shah Rukh's acting trajectory starts going backwards, the doomsayers will be having a field day.  

Granted the SRK phenomena is about much more than just acting, no one can dispute his popularity, or even his status. 

In December Forbes Asia India described him as The Biggest Star in the World... http://www.forbes.com/sites/ranisingh/2015/12/26/shah-rukh-khan-the-biggest-movie-star-in-the-world/#1b8a8a7a1b8f  

At the same time Wealth X placed him second on the list of the world’s richest actors behind Jerry Seinfeld but above Tom Cruise... http://www.imdb.com/list/ls059147425/ 

He is an industry. He is mega successful. He has been at the forefront of Bollywood's rise around the globe. He tops the all time Filmfare Awards winners list. He is a successful businessman, owner of an IPL championship winning franchise, the force behind a world class graphics hub, a global ambassador, but acting is what got him there in the first place and for an actor - acting is the be all and end all - the rest like bank accounts in offshore Panama are just the perks of the job.

And an acting crisis has afflicted the best of actors. 

From Dilip Kumar to Rajesh Khanna to Amitabh Bachchan. 

The Big B went through the bleakest period in his career during the late 1980’s when his films flopped left right and centre. Jaadugar and Toofan were the subject of ridicule, and although there was the odd hit every once in a while, it wasn’t until he began to play roles that matched his age and not the star image that had been established around him that he realized a second lease of life. 

And only when the audience was prepared to accept him in those roles did the admiration return. 

If it could happen to the Big B, no one, not even SRK is immune. 

Truth is his last two films were diabolical. 

Happy New Year with its cringe worthy humour has its place on the scrapheap of Indian cinema, and Dilwale did his and Kajol's glittering filmography a disservice. 

Both were produced by Red Chillies which he owns and both were designed for just one thing: to print money. 
Yes fans flocked to see both of them but in its aftermath the number of people who enjoyed it and those who ridiculed it were closer to each other than ever before and the danger if that balance tilts increasingly towards ridicule is that SRK's career could hit a downward spiral that would take years to rectify. 

And I think he knows it.  

Fans can be intolerant of failure, ask me I'm a @ManUtd supporter I know...

The fact that Bajirao Mastani took on Dilwale without even half the hype and then proceeded to smash it for critical acclaim must have troubled him no end. And not even the consolation of Dilwale overshadowing Bajirao in the global box office race would have appeased his inherently competitive streak.

Winners don't like losing be it at the box office or playing board games. 
And winning is in SRK's blood. 

His upcoming film choices certainly seem to suggest that acclaim is uppermost on his mind. That he wants to prove why he deserves more than the record 15 Filmfare Awards that have gone his way. 


Awards have always mattered to Shah Rukh as this unforgettable dialogue when he receives his Filmfare award in Om Shanti Om reminds us

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1fyfaZOxi1M  

"Itni shiddat se maine tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai ... ki har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai" ("I have desired you so truly, so absolutely ... that the entire universe has conspired to bring us together").

Pause for a minute and digest this, its been five years now, since his last Filmfare Best Actor award. 

Five years since My Name is Khan. 

Five years.

So how is he attempting to fix it?

Red Chillies' next is a co-production with Excel titled Raees about a booze bootlegger in the dry state of Gujarat, and following it is a take on bridging the romantic generation gap where SRK is opposite Alia Bhatt, Gauri Shinde who directed the utterly charming English Vinglish is handling it, both are hardly a conventional choice as they have no sign of the word 'masala' applied as an adjective for entertainment. 

These movies may not necessarily rewrite Box Office records, although I hope they do, but they look likely to highlight and test the actor in him because even all the money in the world wont satisfy the free creative spirit that is Shah Rukh Khan.  

His other prospective projects look as interesting, an Imtiaz Ali film and one with Tanu Weds Manu director Aanand L Rai. 

Two filmmakers who love trying out fresh subjects. 

All the above plus the imminent release of Maneesh Sharma's #FAN - a thriller with a difference.

From what you have read so far you're probably thinking what's with the anti-SRK agenda? 

That couldn't be further from the truth. 

The release of #FAN cant come soon enough. For two reasons and both have to do with Shah Rukh's roles; when he is good, never mind how bad the movie is, he is very good but when he is bad - he is brilliant and in this movie, the bad guy is back looking as young as ever and as wicked as when he was that young. 

My introduction to Shah Rukh the actor will always be that guy who tormented his co-stars in films like Baazigar and Darr, I developed an admiration for the actor long before he became the romantic sensation that we all fell in love with.
This movie brings every one of those guises together along with a superstar, a man with an obsession and a lover. 

As a fan it's right to feel nervous and excited about #FAN's release as it could either be an affirmation of his standout star status or see him being shoved into a direction where he would need to begin a process of reinventing himself. 

The stakes really are that high. 

And the higher the stakes the greater the anticipation. 

in the aftermath of Dilwale articles like these emerged, http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/31483/shah-rukh-khans-career-is-now-officially-over

Most were written by those hoping to sound the death knell to the SRK phenomenon. I for one hope he is able to remind them of that fabulous Mark Twain quote "reports of my death are greatly exaggerated" and shut them right up. 

Aur agar happy ending na hua to picture abhi baki hain mere dost.

Ki & Ka. Kareena & Arjun - role playing Kapoors

Ki & Ka seems an unusual title for a movie until you realize the words are shortened versions of boy and girl or lad-Ki  and lad-Ka.

Safe to assume then that this is a movie about a girl and a boy, or to be more precise about a woman and a man. 

The title and the plot are put into perspective when Arjun Kapoor’s character Ka-bir poses the following question when discussing his relationship with his wife Ki-a (Kareena Kapoor), “why are men expected to perform roles that are classified feminine in Hindi, for instance why are men expected to do the naukRi (work) while women are expected to do the male thing pakhana (cooking)?”

Why indeed?

Because according to him “it would not be out of place for the role to match the gender so men can cook and women work and society should have no issue with it” fair point I suppose and you know modern society will be cool with it… and why should individuals care if society isn’t?

And that’s the crux of this movie, swap the roles get the girl to be the career woman and the boy to be a home executive - a houseband - and see what happens…
So which box does that fit into? 
Is it evolution or revolution?

Neither just a neat concept treated lightly for the most part but still cleverly enough to be different, progressive and meaningful and if none of those words grab you, try this one: delightful. 
This is a delightful movie.

I have a friend who is virtually a houseband; he works when he wants, travels well, eats at the most swanky places and seems fulfilled. So too is his wife who is a wiz in the corporate world, one of the best at what she does, and one of the most fun people to hang out with. 

He laughs when asked about his life, so does she and mostly so do we at their expense off course but they’re content and as long as both are doing what they love, so they should be... no big deal, no revolution just an easy evolution…

In this movie, the man Kabir is just a little too perfect. He makes perfect food – including perfectly fluffy omelettes, keeps perfect house, hosts perfect kitty parties for the ladies in the hood, cries perfect tears, gives perfect advice, is perfectly stereotyped. 

Fortunately his wife is not, she throws tantrums, jumps to conclusions, is temperamental, just the kind of woman that you can love before you can adore and she is the more realistic person in the relationship. 
If either of them are in need of our empathy it is she because what she has to deal with is far more challenging, society judges women differently to men, if the guy does something unusual like being a houseband his mates will snigger which is the biggest challenge he will face but questions will be asked of the woman, judgement passed, and that is the strength of this movie, it shows it and without ever labouring the point.           

In marriage as in the movies, conflict is inevitable. For a while in this movie it almost appears unlikely, you wait for something to happen and you wait and you wait some more but it’s a slow burner because once the conflict arrives, it threatens to engulf everything.

Straight off the bat let me admit to not being a big fan or either of the lead Kapoor’s - Kareena or Arjun but I enjoyed watching them, almost enough to become one. 

With Kareena I swing between having massive crushes or just complete indifference, it happens all the time. 

I found myself liking her after Refugee, Ashoka, K3G, Omkara, 3 Idiots, Jab We Met and Bajrangi Bhaijaan but the feeling generally passed. Her spunky performance here though has brought a new found and for me I hope longer term admiration. 

She plays it very admirably.

As for Arjun much as I liked him in Two States and Finding Fanny, stuff like a Gunday and a Tevar irritated me… but he too captivates in a sensitive portrayal and credit for that must go to the way producer, director and screenwriter R. Balki who gets the best out of them.

Wait! The lights have just gone on. I do get it! When you are born R. Balakrishnan and change your name to R. Balki you would naturally be prone to changing ladki and ladka to Ki & Ka, and that explains it, I should’ve spotted that a mile away! 

Balakrishnan, ladki, ladka become Balki, Ki & Ka there is a method to his thinking!

Balki is a filmmaker who regularly goes where others won’t even program their GPS systems to…  Cheeni Kum dealt with an old guy (Amitabh Bachchan) who falls for a younger woman (Tabu) and the older I get the bigger a treat that film is. Paa with Amitabh playing a 12 year old with a rare genetic condition - deservedly scooped awards left right and centre, and Balki’s last Shamitabh was a  novel idea about a mute actor (Dhanush) who uses a hobo’s voice (Amitabh again) to secure stardom but unfortunately it stopped at being just that - a novel idea - plus there’s one other little movie that I can’t ignore English Vinglish which he produced about Sridevi mastering the English language to the utter surprise of her family which sums up just how innovative a filmmaker he is, and how gender agnostic and gender embracing his subjects are.

Amitabh has become a permanent fixture in Balki’s movies even making a memorable cameo in English Vinglish and his cameo here is stunning. 

It's one of those, now I remember why I love the Big B moments.

Balki calls on his advertising background to create a setting that matches the mood of the proceedings, always applying a modern, contemporary feel to it. 

The dialogues are equally snappy, “I’ve got my chums” says Kia raising the red flag. It’s cute. And since the movie unfolds almost episodically there are some memorable moments, the maid scene, the Dharmendra Delhi bus episode, the stairwell scene in the hospital etc etc. 

The one scene that was hilarious but didn’t really answer a key question as to how their relationship would eventually deal with reaching a crossroads was the pregnancy test scene. I am still wondering what would they do?

Admittedly this blog has been written tongue in cheek, but the film is not all tongue in cheek. 
As much as most of the situations have been conveniently set up so as not to over challenge its audience, Ki & Ka still manages to touch on an important issue that ego and jealousy will destroy any relationship not just one where we are wondering about who wears the pants in it.

I’m recommending it. I enjoyed it. It made me feel content. 

And that's it, I'm off to try to convince my wife to set up my man cave to look like a train set or better still the Star Wars Millennium Falcon… 

May the force be with me! 

Kapoor and Sons... Perfectly imperfect.

"It's all about loving your parents" read the tag line from Karan Johar's super duper family blockbuster Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, now a decade and a half later a slightly more grown up, perhaps a slightly more cynical Johar has realized - as all grown ups eventually do - that life isn't perfect nor is it simplistic but that giving meaning to its many challenges, can still be rewarding and fulfilling.

Like this movie, the reality of life is that it is perfectly imperfect, anyone who says otherwise is lying which means a tick next to their name in the imperfect column.

We are defined by our imperfections, those imperfections determine perception, mould parts of our personalities, builds character, and as much as we would like to think we know everything about people we are closest to, how can we even begin to think that when we don't even know the dark secrets and hidden fears and hopes of those very people we live with day in and day out?

Kapoor and Sons established 1921 is a family that is as dysfunctional as most of our own, and no less lovable but what's it about?

Well... Granddaddy (Rishi) Kapoor feigns death so often that his family turn a blind eye every time he keels over and plays dead, until one heart attack too many forces his family to be summoned from different parts of the globe to be with him.

His two grandsons are furthest away. The eldest (Fawad Khan) is an award winning, best selling writer, while the youngster (Sidharth Malhotra) is struggling to make ends meet doubling up as a bartender while pursuing his own writing interests.

A mutual interest in writing is the only thing these two brothers share as the younger brother resents his sibling, and the older brother is just too perfect to even bother finding out why.

Still Grandfather Kapoor's pull is strong and both return to the family home, in evergreen Cunoor, to be greeted by their parents who are having their own issues.

Father (Rajat Kapoor) has fallen on hard times, and is forever bitching about the high cost of living, which has heaped pressure on his wife (Ratna Pathak Shah), who has a scheme that could help her hubby but a lack of encouragement and her own willful procrastination means nothing really comes of it.

On top of that she suspects her husband of having an affair, and displays behavior that borders on paranoia.

Crazy stuff!

Cunoor may be a pretty setting but this home is not a pretty picture, which in reality is all that Grandfather Kapoor wants, he wants just one happy family photo that will have pride of place above his mantle place.

Oh wait there's another spanner to add into the works - the romantic interest (Alia Bhatt), a carefree spirit who sparks something with both the brothers, she leads the elder one on by telling him that she thinks he is "hot", while flirting outrageously with the younger guy.
As if these two already didn't have enough to make them want to wring each other's necks.

Plus there's a body builder with rippling muscles. A likable if highly frustrated photographer awaiting the happy family shot, and the father's supposed mistress, and my sincere apologies in case if I've left anyone out, because the last thing this family needs is to be burdened with more issues. 
They have enough to deal with as it is.

It's actually a simple story, filled with complex situations which all come together to create a perfect storm; a kind of emotional tsunami that wreaks havoc with each and every character and it is skillfully executed in a style that is more akin to Finding Fanny director Homi Adajania than anything that the avoiding fanny Karan Johar has ever done!

I'll stop with the rude jokes, KJo produced it, but it's the director Shakun Batra who should get the kudos for doing a marvelous job in nailing it by giving his cast warm eccentric characters to work with, and the most chaotic situations in which to do so.

This is filmmaking with a wicked edge, and yet it comes with an emotional tug that is unrelenting. It's like a Hollywood film with a Bollywood soul except that's not as flattering as the way I would really like to describe it and that is as a French film with a Bollywood heart, because this film is deserving of flattery.

The cast are exceptional, Rishi Kapoor is made to look 75 with the heart and the libido of a 17 year old, Chintu Baba is now Chintu Dada but the masti hasn't disappeared, he is adorable.

Consumate actors that they are Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah deliver to their usually high standards, and are thoroughly convincing.

Real life lovers Siddharth and Alia have a great chemistry and both delight, while Fawad Khan is exceptional, under played and on the money, what an astute performance.

Kapoor and Son is the kind of movie that'll make you laugh and sniff and giggle and get angry and want to rage at someone and want to cuddle someone but it'll leave you with a reassuring glow that the art of story telling is alive and well, all it needs is to be in capable hands and when it comes to the art of family no one does it better than Karan Johar's Dharma Productions.


Go see it. It's imperfect but perfectly so and so well worth seeing!

#Jai Gangaajal - Arresting movie or just another cop show?

 Priyanka Chopra had a top release last week; Series 2 of #Quantico. 

It’s on DStv and it’s a winner. And from her weekly tweets, episode by episode, it’s obvious how dearly PC wants it to work.

Although she tweeted about this movie, it’s not really received the kind of attention that some of her other work going on at the moment has, but then there’s plenty of exciting happenings in her life right now; The Oscars, Baywatch and a burgeoning Hollywood career.

Thankfully PC is still dabbling in some Bollywood and long may that continue, because with every Hollywood move she makes - we’ll be watching her, and with every move westwards a little more focus will be directed eastwards towards Indian cinema, and that's good for Bollywood's place on the global cinema map.

So to Jai Gangaajal a follow up (not a sequel) to the 2003 movie Gangaajal which had Ajay Devgn in it, and there are similarities. Ajay played a police officer posted to Texpur district in Bihar to restore law and order, Priyanka is posted to the Bihar town of Bankipur, where law and order has been compromised.

The similarities pretty much end there but I've seen this plot somewhere before..

A wannabe chief minister is corrupted by two brothers, who use him to drive their own evil agenda. The brothers have the local police force on their payroll, and their main man BN Singh (Prakash Jha who is also the director) has thrived to such an extent that he literally enables them to get away with murder, in return he lives way above his pay grade, the kind of life that only the mega rich or the mega crooked can afford.

Police chief after police chief is dispatched until a young graduate Abha Mathur arrives to sort things out. Her arrival is a catalyst that sparks a revival of morality in her own department but it also coincides with the public finding its voice, however reconciling the two is not so straight forward. 
The public want to take law into their own hands, while the police who the public has lost all faith in want to hold onto law and order. 
But can they re-establish the faith?

The plot in the beginning is as predictable as the EFF causing a ruckus in parliament but then comes the twist as Mathur challenges Singh to right his wrongs, and to turn honest cop. 
From this point onward the plot focuses more on him battling his inner demons, and although it drags on for way too long it is the more interesting part of the movie. 
Prakash Jha's performance stands out.

As for Priyanka well she is just too honest an actor not to give her all for any role and while her investment into it is noticeable, her character is completely one dimensional, and on top of that way too smooth, too sophisticated to make it career defining.  There are more nuances to her part in Quantico and thats down to just one thing, writing.  

This role could have been and should have been career defining as I can't remember too many female cop roles that stand out, and here’s the strange thing it is so one dimensional that it could easily have been played by Ajay Devgn. I know I’m entering a dangerous territory here as I may be accused of being sexist on the one hand or anti-Ajay Devgn on the other so let me explain myself…

Strong female roles are the flavour of the month in Bollywood right now, which is fantastic in this period of the film industry’s evolution, but a strong woman’s role doesn’t need her to do what a man does, it requires the essence of her womanhood to be the basis of the strength that is required to portray overcoming whatever situation confronts her.

Take the example of Deepika Padukone’s character Piku, she is single minded, a bully, back chats her old man, abuses the taxi company for what she considers as their being tardy. She’s a strong character with a great amount of determination but the essence of her womanhood never disappears, the depth of emotions are always apparent, her empathy, her concern, her stress, her grief, everything about the way she reacts to situations differs from how a man would react. 

Deepika’s role is so well written and performed that it dispenses any stupid notion of the so called ”weaker sex”, in fact it speaks of an incredible depth of character, the kind that effortlessly evokes respect.

Now what if the role in Piku had been written for Ajay Devgn? He would have beaten up the taxi driver, ordered his father to pass his motions or else… and carried him all the way from Delhi to Calcutta. 
And the knife scene would have been a fight scene.

That’s the difference and that is why I am suggesting Ajay Devgn could just as well have played Priyanka’s role because seeing her beat up multiple goons single-handedly pushes the whole plot towards the realms of the improbable if not the impossible. 
The show of anything resembling emotion is limited. 

And yet Priyanka is an actor I am full of admiration for, and you can see why - she struts through the part brimming with confidence, and although it’s a one costume, light make up, hair tied back into a pony tail kind of role there’s hardly ever a hair out of place even though such perfection amidst the dust and blood and gore looks contrived. 
She's good in the role but I can only imagine how good if it was better written.  

I recently heard Nouman Ali Khan say to one of his classes, “If you want to survive in the world you must understand the genius of evil politicians, the corruption of regimes, their tyranny, their deeds, the best of them and the worst of them.” Jai Gangaajal demonstrates that, what it fails to do is to afford Priyanka Chopra a chance to show why the strength of a woman and all the unique skills that she possesses are enough to make a difference in carving out a better world, and that’s either a real pity or me just having too high expectations of an arresting movie rather then just another cop show.