Movie Review – Namak Haraam

A salt less soup

It was yet another mistake by me to have watched this soupy friendship tale disguised in the form of a cult classic. Wonder how to choose a good old Bollywood movie to watch. ‘Pyaasa’ was termed as classic and so was ‘Silsila’ but they both were grounds apart. Even otherwise, it is quite difficult to get into any sort of streamlined process to watch a good Bollywood movie of the past. Every time I expect to get something like ‘Sholay’, I only end up being disappointed. Plus the fact that each of these are going to be for three hours is not helping at all.

‘Namak Haraam’ was about a couple of friends. Firstly the entire film happens in flashback mode but the way it starts with Vikram ‘Vicky’ Maharaj (Amitabh Bachchan) coming out of jail, rightly pointed out by Manisha (Simi Garewal) that he looks like some psychology professor, actually got me curious. It was like sitting in an unknown place on a dog day afternoon and feeling something mysterious, yet pleasant about it. How Amitabh comes out so fresh out of jail as if he was in some therapeutic resort is a question which we’re not supposed to act but the feel of it was nice. But the happiness doesn’t last long.

We see a young Vicky and Somnath ‘Somu’ Chander Singh (Rajesh Khanna) in the flashback mode, who were given built up first by a couple of old men in tea shop bench, about how strong is their friendship. If that was not enough, the introduction scene was made cheesier by Somu’s sister “cutely” asking for pocket money from Vicky, Vicky having sweets from Somu’s mom and what’s worse, Somu appears in the same shirt as Vicky does. Why? I mean why were male friendships of the past projected as if they were gay. Even the playful encounter between Abbas and Vineeth looks weird in “Mustafa Mustafa” song. Wonder what the directors were actually thinking.

The movie treads in the same cheesy line throughout. There were various instances of one supporting another throughout the movie. Even though we know eventually sense was gonna prevail, the time taken was too much. The whole of the first half was just fooling around and when Somu gets to know that Vicky has some trouble by the workers. He disguises himself as a worker so that he could take revenge on the union leader.

If first half was about Vicky getting cheesy, the second half was about Somu and his romance. Absolutely abysmal. Even with his charm, it was really hard to digest that part of the story. With songs and slapstick comedies, it was annoying at best.

Sense prevails finally in the climax but by the time it happens it was too late and the sequence of events happen too sudden, which doesn’t give us any time to absorb. The titular dialogue happens just for name sake towards the end and doesn’t appeal at all. We don’t get any time to sympathize with Somu and be confused for Vicky. Conveniently Vicky’s dad ends up being the villain and gets hated by all.

What could have made the film interesting was instead of Vicky’s dad being projected as an outright villain, he could have shared how his ideology was correct. Even if we couldn’t have sympathized by him, there should have been some points were we could have been put into a confusion. The same confusion could have made Vicky vulnerable and not able to choose which the right path was. Plus when it comes to an emotional war between his dad and his best friend, the situation could have been more hectic for him and interesting for us.

Instead around the end, Vicky’s dad becomes the bad guy, Somu becomes the good guy and by the time Vicky could react, everything gets over. May be filmmakers of the past just want to cash in on the opportunity of the big stars but I could see it as only plain escapism because there were movies in the past which had tried to have some emotional value in addition to just being a dramatic slam bang sort of filmmaking. Hope I don’t end up being disappointed like this for yet another yesteryear Bollywood movie.

Movie Review – Anand

Tragedy done right

Anand is supposedly one of the famous films of all time, which would be there in any Bollywood/Indian list. But what I thought to be a Rajesh Khanna movie ended up to be a movie about Amitabh Bachchan. Though Rajesh Khanna was all about charm and sways through the entire movie, its Amitabh’s underplay of a character which was prolific throughout. It was one of the movies which had minimum characters but maximum impact, where each of the characters were such gems. The movie is a testimonial of how good Indian actors are because each character, small or big are prolific in this.

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The movie caught my attention right from scene one and I thought that I was going to thoroughly enjoy the movie. In the first scene, Dr. Bhaskar Banerjee a.k.a. Babu Moshai (Amitabh Bachchan) releases a book and is irritated in the felicitation ceremony and the scene cuts to going to a slum to treat someone, outside a kid is born. He’s a man of irritation. Someone who is helpless with the way the society functions. That reflects in each and every scene. A different version in the same category is Dr. Prakash Kulkarni (Ramesh Deo) who squeezes the one who has money but gives it to the one who doesn’t. May be a modern-day robin hood doctor. His opening scene too is an interesting one. In stark contrast is the character of Anand (Rajesh Khanna) who woos everyone on and off screen.

There have been many cancer movies in the past and most of it are tear jerkers. So, it’s a topic I hate. ‘Anand’ was one movie where the melancholy was restrained and there is not even a mention of cancer. It’s rather called, lymphosarcoma of the intestine. That by itself was a relief. Like Anand says, just by the name we could guess that it’s a rare dangerous disease and nothing more than that. And another cliché is the love angle in cancer films where one of them, mostly women weep their eyes out for their lover’s death. Being a 1971 film and breaking all this cliché is such a benchmark. It doesn’t even have a heroine. How great is that. I only wish that I had known the songs better. I could have enjoyed it more.

This film could have easily gone wrong with its cuteness but that’s where Rajesh Khanna scores and Amitabh Bachchan role acts as a balancing act. But beyond it, a certain bit of pathos or a little more melodrama would have made it for an emotional viewing or maybe it should have gone in a completely happy go lucky way. That’s where the movie loses a bit of sheen. But still the ending idea was good, where Anand records a conversation with Babu Moshai which gets repeated when he dies. The only disappointment is, for a man who entertained us so much through the movie deserves a more emotional death.

Movie Review – Dedh Ishqiya

Where boys have all the fun, again!

‘Again!’, that’s the main problem with any sequels right. It feels like it here too. Whether the movie was good or bad is another question but is it necessary is the first question that pops up in most of the sequel, especially this. ‘Dedh Ishqiya’ has the same charm of ‘Ishqiya’. It’s not one of those ‘same scenes in different setup’ sequel. It’s a proper sequel with heart where the mood is kept in tact but the situation varies. It’s like how those two would behave in a different setup and the evolution is organic too. But does it really work? It didn’t for me when I watched back to back. Did it for you?

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The initial few minutes feel just like the first movie, the setup is similar. It’s not a hoot and whistle kind of movie but something which make you reminiscent the past in a gradual manner. And once they enter the palace is when the film slowly settles in and makes you forget the past. The template is similar but little less tricky. May be because we know what would happen. Even then the scene where Babban (Arshad Warsi) and Khalujan (Naseeruddin Shah) get back to the ladies bring joy. Except for that scene and the kissing scene, there weren’t much to ponder about in the film.

We could see more of Arshad Warsi in the film and he’s prolific than the first part. He’s the best side kick in Hindi cinema according to me. He was amazing both in ‘Munna Bhai’ series as well as here. Other actors too do a decent job. I guess Abhishek Chaubey belongs to Coen’s school of direction where he’s too clinical, that at times we can’t get him, like how the name of station is, in the climax and various acts belonging to the nativity of the subject.

May be this movie might have been better if I could have given it some time to breathe because ‘Ishqiya’ by itself is not a film which one would go gaga about. It’s a proper film which works as a fine product. So, to watch the sequel is again a learning curve, an experience to be relished rather than something to binge upon. May be that’s why I don’t have much to write about.

Movie Review – Ishqiya

Old school look with new age charm

It was my second watch. I remember watching the first time very hastily without really any interest. I don’t remember nothing of the film, that’s a different issue but it was not a film which settled in me. May be that’s why the impact was less. When I watched it now, the impact was more or less the same. I could appreciate the art but its again not a film where there were standout scenes which one tends to remember when watching a film like this. This film gave me a feel of ‘Finding Fanny’ which many told to be a good film but it wasn’t impactful at all. Even though both films are drastically different, the impact it had on me was similar. Mild and hazy.

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Abhishek Chaubey is an interesting director. It’s a great script. It might not be outrightly whacky like a Guy Ritchie film but it’s a film which is ready to explode but doesn’t do it till the end. It was intentional. But whether or not the audience were able to grasp is another question. Also, the film has a Vishal Bharadwaj feel to it throughout, mainly with the way characters were build, the chemistry between the leads, the love and rage Shakespearean concept and most importantly Naseeruddin Shah, whose character and he himself reminded me of ‘Maqbool’ which coincidentally Abhishek Chaubey was an assistant director. Not only that, he was there as Vishal Bharadwaj’s assistant or writer in most of the films. So, the influence was natural. Luckily for him, it’s a positive aspect. He learnt stuff for good.

It was impossible for me to accept Naseeruddin Shah romancing. He is almost always a goofed-up guy in films, which he’s here too but he romances. Whenever it goes serious, it goes off the track. It’s like not being able to accept that Amitabh was ever young. Otherwise his romantic exercise was fun to watch, especially the scenes in ‘Dil To Bachcha Hai’. He was so much fun to watch in those trippy scenes. Something which he was fantabulous along with Om Puri in ‘Maqbool’ but unfortunately, he’s given a serious role with an even more serious look in films like ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ He’s better in full length roles than those few minute impactful roles where he takes too much of toll on himself. The other characters too like Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan are terrific.

The writing of the film is excellent. The film takes a complete circle with the bombing sequence as opening act and ends with the same one. The mood is whacky. The incidents happen at right time. Although it might look like a rural carefree subject, things happen at right time. If a chart for screenplay gets drawn, we would be able to identify the incidents just about the right time and answers in the timeline opposite to it. It’s like two ends of the same hand in clock. Questions in one end and answers in other. That’s how grammatically appealing the product it. It’s like writing a proper prose.

All said and done, I only wish the film was more settling but given the subject and making the intention was understandable. Looking forward to ‘Dedh Ishqiya’ next.

Movie Review – Maachis

An impressive story line but not so impressive screenplay defies ‘Maachis’ from being a great film

This Gulzar film was in my list for a really long time, thanks to the song “Chappa Chappa” which used to be a constant in good old ‘Rangoli’ days. But never knew it’s this serious a movie, all the while. Every time you watch a film on once burning issue and read about it, its irritating to the core. That’s why the war movies of the west work. World War and Vietnam war movies could be watched upon for the glamour and choreography without any guilt. But when it comes to our movies, we can’t help but have to ride with guilt.

‘Sikh insurgency’ is one such concept where its shameful to even admit whatever happened against them. In fact, being in lockdown and thinking of various hiking places around India and seeing the practical threats it looms about, is highly disheartening. If climatic change is a threat which would spoil few treks there are border issues spoiling others. And who ends up being the loser, we the people, who can’t enjoy the place. At least climatic changes are brought back to normal, thanks to Corona. But I don’t know when world leaders are really going to talk proper politics instead of doing politics against each other. Like Kamal told in ‘Vishwaroopam 2’

Leaving off the personal lamentations and talking about the movie, two of the most famous songs “Chhod Aaye Hum” and “Chappa Chappa” came out of nowhere. It’s needless to have employed flashback technique for a film like this. It doesn’t achieve anything by not being in chronological order. The only reason I could think of the director not making it in chronological order was to place the songs with equal gap. What a waste…

Otherwise the film keeps happening in the same tempo, slightly on the slower side. The film gets into the issue right away when Jaswant Singh Randhawa (Raj Zutshi) gets taken away by the police and returns home with serious injuries. That makes Kripal Singh (Chandrachur Singh) agitated and by chance he joins Sanathan’s (Om Puri) gang. All happens by chance and that was the most problematic thing about the film. We don’t get to really see what Kripal is thinking and why he’s wooed to become terrorist. Even the bomb scene by Sanathan doesn’t make any impact. It’s confusing to know what Kripal is thinking all the while.

But Tabu with so less screen space has such clarity of thoughts that whenever she makes appearance during the last part of the film, her appearance is felt. I guess that’s what made her the muse of most of the parallel Hindi cinema directors like Vishal Bharadwaj, Nandita Das etc. If not for the needless songs appearing all of a sudden, her impact would have been even more terrific.

The most interesting character out of the lot would definitely be Sanathan because we know that he’s doing something for a cause but it can’t be straightaway defined whether its right or wrong, we get hint that he killed Kuldip (Ravi Gossain) on his way back to home. What’s interesting is its not explained to the rest, anywhere in the movie. Plus, we don’t know whether he regrets that at least. This event could be taken as something done by a tough task master or by a mercilessly terrorist warlord. We get a glimpse of both through his character and as usual he’s prolific in his acting as well. His part was the masterclass in the whole film.

Another good thing about the film is that it seemed to have been made on location and in harsh conditions. Even though there were so many films made in cold place we tend to forget one common dialogue which many utter there. Saying that it’s cold out there. People who have travelled those places would know about it. So, it felt good to see such a scene there.

But on a whole the film wasn’t really gripping, that too after ‘Maqbool’ just last week, it was not very defiant. Wish the story line had more conflicts than being uni dimensional so that it could have been better.