Rockstar - A Review

"Jim Morrison showed the middle finger to the crowd, and they loved it, and here i am trying to entertain people, by singing at the bus stand, and i get beaten by the cops", says Janardhan Jakhar. The scene defines the tone of the movie. Fun times in the present situation and deep suffering ahead. For J.J must face the trials and tribulations in his ascent to the top of stardom. Pain brings out the best in artists. This is the defined truth. So the young man chooses the easy way out by asking out a stephenian in desi style and then trying to experience false pain, little knowing that this will actually turn into unavoidable an skeleton in his closet for life. There is eventual friendship and Heer has J.J as a friend helping her out in her lowly ordeals, as she tries to break out of her high society lifestyle. From watching semi porn in theatres, to gulping desi daaru and till her kashmiri wedding, J.J turned Jordan stays true to her and the friendship, even though we find traces of helpless attraction and love while this part of the act approaches the curtains.

The movie complements it's non linear narrative, with coherent links in the story, thereby giving the audience short spans of time to ponder over the current state of things and then quickly solving their inquisitiveness. This was somewhat a technique shown in Ali's last venture "Love Aaj Kal", although it had two protagonists and hence different stories trying to draw metaphors. This is a different ball game, and it works beautifully. The main catalyst being the wonderful music of A.R.Rahman woven into the story. So that's how we see Jordan crooning to "Jo Bhi Main....." possibly the soul song of the protagonist, at different stages in his life...college auditions, amongst a yuppy crowd in Prague, in the Dargah etc..

So the heartbreak is real, and we see the rise of Jordan. Brilliant singer, unruly by nature, broken heart, harmed innocence ready to strike back at every given oppurtunity and crooning wide-eyed with guitar in hand. "Sangeetkar geetkar kuch nahin hota...bas ek Image hota hai" says the music company owner. Well, our man gets it right !! With new found stardom, Jordan makes it to Prague, to be with his lost soulmate and the two hit it off right where they left. So the junglee jawani days are back, the fun they had as two carefree souls. The longing and desire give way to passion and the eventual separation happens yet again....

The bad boy gets worse from hereon. Further success brings further self destruction. The simple Jat boy is hounded by fans wherever he goes and the fame monster has the better of him, when he visits his friends and becomes a victim of an incessant photo shoot rather than heartfelt camaraderie. So contracts are broken and honest attempts are made to create timeless music collaborating with a legendary musician, which IMO is a fine piece of musical jugalbandi (The dichotomy of fame) and the restlessness continues until fate brings the soul mates together finally trying to spend life together coping with one tragedy and another. It is when Heer comes to Jordan's life, that he sheds the feathers of arrogance and indifference and transforms into the same innocent boy he was when they first met. This happens everytime, baring the phase where Jordan gets into his demanding self and falls prey to his desires for Heer and is thus termed selfish.  Selfish he is not, as we all know, dedicating his life to the woman he loved, lost, won and then finally..........

There is a scene where Jordan confesses his craze for Heer, and gives his reasons of why they should get together. Here too he is restrained and we do not see a hint of pathos or angst, neither a blatant account of his sacrifices. There's another scene, when he is picked out of a brothel and then tries explaining his condition to his manager. He does use terms to describe what he is feeling, why there is no sense of accomplishment...but you get the feel that there is a lot more he wants to say but is not able to. Thus the lyrics say - "Jo bhi main kehna chaahoon ...barbaad karein alfaaz mere" (Words destroy the meaning of what i really want to convey). This phenomena, gives rise to confusion internally. And when the guy is a simpleton, pure of heart and feels wronged as such..his defense mechanisms come into the foray and he gets violent. There are no pangs of drug abuse or self imposed hallucinations. It's all real, and it's all painfully beautiful.

Ranbir Kapoor in one word "excels". Quite frankly, after watching his performance, i cannot believe if any other thespian in the present hindi film industry can portray this role as honestly and execute a flawless performance as sincerely. Watching him wide eyed, tears shining, while he goes into a high pitch during the rendition of Kun faya Kun at the dargah, or Naadan Parindey at the live performance. Feel his angst during Saada Haq or laugh at his lovable mannerisms when he plays the bumpkin in the beginning, the man is tailor made for the role. We also get to see the beautiful and much talked about Nargis Fakhri making her debut. She plays her role with great flair and control. Sheer beauty on screen and decent diction and dialogue delivery make her as one of the actresses to watch out for in the coming times. Good support cast by Kumud Mishra (Khatara Bhai) and Aditi Rao Hyder, whose role from a reporter to a star manager is a little contrived and gets confused in the moving narrative and surely has seen the editing scissors. The music is the parallel lead of the film and Rahman can be praised only as much possible, to give us another complete album after Delhi 6. This one too, has variety, depth and popular songs. Mohit Chauhan is the voice of Rockstar and does full justice to the vocals. Finally, the man Imtiaz Ali, earns another feather in his cap. It takes a director of his stature to give the kind of ending the movie deserved. This one is right on top as his earlier works.

I wish, there aren't any comparisons with Rock-On. I wish people stop demanding more "Rock" out of the music and enjoy the melody. I hope people understand that the title of the movie isn't to be taken very literally. It is about a "Rockstar" indeed, but it is more about the artist behind the image, his life, his love and his story. These are a few things that came to my mind as the audience was leaving hurriedly chatting, towards the exits while the movie had ended and the best romantic number was playing on screen. This movie has enough heart and hope the audiences fathom and reciprocate the same.

Sid Woke up !!!

The promos for Wake up Sid started appearing on newspapers more than a month before its release. It was a new age idea i suppose which definitely worked in attracting people to the whole "lazybones - coming of age" concept of the movie. And when it released, the whole hoopla fizzed out a bit. Because anybody who saw it, realised its just another "coming of age" movie, an attempt which has touched minor aspects if you truely see. Havent we already seen all of that already? Yet the treatment is fresh in whatever little the director gets to exercise his creative prejudices upon.

Firstly, Ranbir Kapoor does well. He takes to the role of a rich spoilt south Mumbai kid, as a fish to water. The innocence, naughtiness, immatureness and lost boy emotions are all at the right place. He along with Konkana make a fab pair who interact pretty well but their whole development of the chemistry is killed rather sacrificed to accomodate Sid's story, which isnt very well handled as well. One cannot help but feel dejected, when you look upon the manner in which the story directs Ranbir Kapoor towards Konkana in the end. Truly, much better was expected outta this. Konkana on her part got a tailor made role, and did justice to it. The glamour part...well you cant have everything, can you? But she still managed to look fairly decent, and me being her lawyer, why are our actreses supposed to look va-va-voomous everytime??

The support cast have done their bit, though this is out n out Sid's movie. However the ever so talented Supriya Pathak must have rubbed the script writer and the screenplay guys the wrong way. They have made a mockery out of the mom in the movie !!! Understood that she has this habit of blurting out broken english, but even in the emotional scenes which require her earthly charm and motherly touch, all we get to hear is bad english. This totally goes down unaccepted and her better presence could have given the movie some relief. Anupam Kher is restrained and compact. The chubby girl is adorable, reminds you of one of your girls in the pack, whom you always treat as a guy buddy. Rahul Khanna as by habit is wasted again (certainly in a more dignified manner this time compared to Love Aaj Kal !!!).

The movie had it's moments though, be it Sid's outburst, or when he comes to meet his mom after landing up on a job, they are definitely well enacted. What leaves you with a sour feeling is when you want more out of it and are left with a half baked product. I mean what was the use of all the retaliation, when the victory was just so small !!! Sid adjusted, but never was faced with a veryyy tough challenging situation to prove his mettle. But who is to be blamed on this then? If you touch a genre as dynamic as "Coming of age" you need to do and show more. The life of a "rich south mumbai kid" might have been left unexplored earlier, but even the best of lazybones amongst the masses will fail to connect with this boy. Is there a "Sid" in all of us? Well in parts yes, but when did you try to show those parts which would connect to the audience !!! All we are subjected to is the fancy cartoon obsession that is reflected in the cute t-shirts (i loved them though !!)

Decent attempt really, nothing like what i would remember until next year !!!

Kaminey - A Review

The best movie of 2009, as the tabloids say. Is this how one would like to remember “Kaminey”? For truly, this has been a year full of duds and movies that have raised expectations but simply did not match up to them. And here comes a movie that sweeps the masses and classes all alike not to forget the highbrow critics. I did not see a review of “Kaminey” where it was rated below 4 stars on 5. And then truly, does it need any ratings, reviews and stars to impress you? The answer is NO. Figure this out, the “stars” of this movie aren’t the lead pair of Shahid and Priyanka, even after pitching in career best performances. It’s the characterization and the plot that takes your breath and the cake away. Take for instance Shahid Kapoor. The guy was a perfect catch for Teeny Bopper romances, slowly tried to get his foot hold into a more adult genre and bombed miserably with “Kismat Konnection” and comedy capers like “Fool n Final”. He however showed promise and a lot of restraint in his recent offerings like “Jab we met” etc. and probably this landed him in this double trouble whodunit. And boy, what a performance. Guddu and Charlie stand out as different as Chalk and Cheese and all the stammering and stuttering is done with perfect elan. Priyanka Chopra provides perfect foil to her Marathi Mulgi character and one can’t help but wonder, how well she gets into the skin of Sweety. She cons, fakes and lies, but all with a positive intention of deep love and desire. The interaction scene in the train between her and Shahid is truly touching.

Hmm.. coming on to the other “leads”. Amol Gupte as “Bhope Bhau” is superb. It actually doesn’t seem like his first movie at all. He is a complex character but all his actions positive or negative meet at a common denominator of his leverage out of the whole situation. The scene when he toys around with Mikhail is brilliantly executed. “Tashi” the suave smuggler is another likeable character. He lives large and parties hard but you can see is rough and unpolished side once he is rubbed the wrong way. This leaves us with the 3 bong brothers, uncanny, insane and completely off the hook, they remind you of the Madcap gangs you have seen in umm..well..some Hollywood movie..but which one?? Actually, they can fit into any of the legendary gangster movies you would have seen, they are as wild as any of Tarantino’s characters and their depiction in “Kaminey” is outstanding. Mikhail is immediately likeable as the stylish and angry young bong with a soft heart and great love for his friend Charlie. Their camaraderie looks very warm and natural. The entry of the veteran bong bros in the open jeep with the newly bought Automatics and Mikhail’s corpse in the side seat during the climax is min-boggling. For me, it is the scene that truly stands out amongst everything else in the movie. As and by the movie progresses you realize you are getting pulled into a quagmire of many stories running parallel, yet you keep asking for more, your interest keeps dwelling in deeper and deeper. Slowly the stories converge and a befitting climax to end it well…I’d say.

The songs help in the progress of the story rather than acting as deterrents. I was literally caught in a trance while watching “Dhan Te naan..” on the big screen even after having heard and seen the song so many times on the idiot box. The red lights, the mood and the energy…mind blowing…evil. However the romantic number by Mohit Chauhan went chop chop under the editing table and possibly that is the reason why you get to see it after the end credits. Sad but acceptable.

The director has his moments of artistic glory. You see Charlie from a camera angle, where he is caught in a net and the next moment the other angle shows him sitting beside a fisherman who is actually entangling his fishing net. Charlie’s flashbacks, the young Guddu throwing money on the present Charlie’s face, Charlie’s depiction of a race horse, are all motion pictures that can be conceived by a genius as Vishal Bharadwaj. These pieces of cinema are not ones you come out of the theatres and say “Paisa Wasool”. They are beyond it.

Love Aaj Kal aur Hamesha !!!

One of the movies that was eagerly expected for in this season, finally made its way to the screens, and the proud producer will have all the reasons to laugh his way to the bank, cause Love aaj Kal has indeed met with glorious reception from the audiences. Imtiaz Ali has now taken a position where in his reputation precedes him, a credibility, very few directors possess in our industry of cinema. The movie had all the necessary ingredients to arouse and catch your attention. So they got their basics right !!! Good foot tapping music that topped charts, interesting starcast and the whole modern look and feel to the movie. But how does one feel after watching the movie? Read on...
The subject of the movie, isnt daisy fresh. Infact you can put it in the "commitment-phobia and end mein sab theek ho gaya" category if you may like. Its the treatment to the subject that is novel. The director draws parallels in relationships of the heart, in different eras. First up we see the dapper Saif playing his usual heady concoction of the metrosexual uber cool "Dude" with the right (30%naughty, 10% confused, 30% charming, 30% cocky) expressions. He now defines the word "Perfect" for this stereotype even with new blokes like Ranbir Kapoor breathing down his neck for competition. We see heady flashes of two people fallin in love and drifting apart and everything seems to happen and decisions are taken in split seconds after listening to the brain and not the heart. Deepika Padukone almost spoils it with her Ice maiden demeanour and mouths dialogues rapidly without a flicker of emotion. However her efforts show considerable results as the film progresses and you are fine at the end of the day to accept her as this practical modern lady. I think the director packs a killer punch when Deepika calls saif right after the wedding to speak to him. Saif delivers all the lines and does that scene brilliantly, deepika is left stranded, and thereby Imtiaz Ali hides the leading lady's handicap of non-acting in her most crucial scene and you are ok with it to see her with tearful eyes and Saif stealing the cake!!!
Rishi Kapoor narrates the story in the retro mode and you are subjected to the Sardar Saif who abandons everything for True love and shows the purest of devotion for the same. The dude does a good job but clearly doesnt look 100% convincing as he did in the langda tyaagi (Omkaara) mode. I wished Ranbir Kapoor played the retro character, it would have been absolutely thrilling then. And why did they settle for brazillian Giseli Monteiro, to play the meek punjaban with hardly any dialogues and credited with the worst song in the movie, if they at all had to prove a point to anyone??? However the second half did run a few reels unnecessarily with some continued elaboration on Saif's "Golden Gate" plans !!! Finally realisation struck, the parallel lines met at a commonality of Love triumphing over everything else and the narrative ended well.
I was shocked to see Rahul Khanna's condition in the movie (Let God not put my best of enemies in this situation !!). Another sad part was the under utilisation of such a powerful resource as Vir Das, the stand-up comedian.
Things that really stood out in this movie are casual interaction scenes between Saif and Deepika, they seem very comfortable, and you are left with a happy feeling when you walk out of the movie halls. All in all this isnt another Jab we met types roller coaster, but is definitely recommended for its fresh appeal !!! 3 cheers Mango people !!! As Harleen's father says "Decide ho gaya !!!" :D