FAN: Thank God, Shahrukh Khan still can!

Disclaimer 1: Have been a huge Shahrukh Khan fan, just like many others, who discovered love with him, in Aditya Chopra's DDLJ.

Disclaimer 2: I still continue to love SRK, despite his films. His last film that I remember watching like a crazy fan was 'Chak De India' - I watched it at Urvashi theatre (Bangalore) seven times back to back, over a crazy weekend. Have lost count of times that I watched it on TV over the years.

I am few of the lucky SRK fans who watched DDLJ at Maratha Mandir in its 1000th week. It was an evening I will never forget, and like all other good things in life, I only have Rani to thank. Coming back to being a fan of Shahrukh, let me admit I have skipped most of his films post Chak De. India!. I took a leap of faith with Dilwale, but came back embarrassed. The SRK of Chennai Express & Dilwale are not the SRK that I had loved, and still continue to do so.

I don't know how this works, because an actor should be loved for his films, no? May be it is the thing that they call - connection - mera connection bhi solid hai. Post Chak De, India! I have only waited for his films for the interviews he gave (print and video all included) during the films' promotions. I know he has his justified reasons for doing the kind of films that he has been doing, but please count me out. Since Chennai Express was first announced, I thought that I will have to make do with his interviews and inspiring speeches only.



Things changed when Fan was announced, and I was privy to a little more info about the film than normal fans (again thanks to Rani). I thought it would be a game-changer for the Shahrukh the actor, that I loved to bits. After watching Maneesh Sharma's Fan, I can only say that, Shahrukh still can act - like the supremely talented guy that he is. To pull off a Guarav Chandna like he did, you have to be a bloody good actor - it's not every actor's cup of tea.

What do I say about Fan the film? It didn't work for me as a film, but as a fan of SRK, it was an eye-opener. It left my eyes open wide. I could not believe the spectacle that had unfolded in front of me. My Shahrukh had delivered a double whammy, both as Gaurav and as Aryan Khanna too! There is no point nitpicking the flaws of the film, but what I came back with was an actor so flawless, who took jokes at his own superstar image, in a way that only he can, and has been doing all these years.

As a fan it has always been embarrassing for me when friends poked jokes at most of his recent films, but now onwards, his double role in Fan will be my way to get back at haters. Thankfully I am not even a fraction of a fan like Gaurav in Fan, but I still try & defend him whenever I can, but how long could I keep on talking about Chak De, India!? Mr. Maneesh Sharma and Adi sir, thank you for giving us fans this film. We all owe you this one, big time.

Now looking forward to Raees & the Imtiaz Ali film.

Dear Shahrukh Khan, I love you... all over again.

DUM LAGA KE HAISHA: वो तो है अलबेला

For anybody who has grown up in the 90s, it is almost impossible to not like director Sharat Katariya's film, 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha'. Especially for those who have heard Kumar Sanu-Alka Yagnik songs on audio cassettes - on loop, rode Bajaj scooters, wore grotesque sweaters (in my fashion book) that were made at Tibet and sold at roadsides in small towns of North India, and those who are aware of the concept of a now slowly dying ritual - सामूहिक विवाह.

As the trailer already shows, DLKH is about - a mismatch made in heaven. The couple that was never meant to be, but that did become, and a great one at that. Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar play the central parts, Prem and Sandhya - but their lives are not central to their quirk-laden families. Watching DLKH for me was like attending a family wedding - you like some of the attendees and dislike, even hate some, but you only wish well for the couple that is getting married. DLKH stays in the couple's life for a little longer, when things get sour. Very sour.

Watching DLKH was a series of nostalgia attacks for me. I spent a large chunk of my life at Indore, so the lingo used in the film wasn't alien to me. I loved the words employed by Prem, Sandhya, and their respective families - I had heard many such conversations. It was a world I could relate to. Just last evening a friend of Rani had dropped by, and he told me that I should wake up every morning, slap myself and thank God that I found somebody like Rani to be my life partner. I agreed. Compared to the superwoman Rani is, I perhaps don't deserve her.

DLKH is also mostly about that feeling - what is a perfect match? Who is the right person who you should spend your life with? Is there really something called the perfect match? We are all imperfect, but the best part is that we find love and peace with our imperfections. Prem and Sandhya in DLKH are that - perfectly imperfect. They make up for each other's shortcomings, and life goes on. Just how simple a love story can get. No doubt it takes a lot of effort for Prem and Sandhya to get together, but when they do, they can move mountains.

I connected to Prem, played by Ayushmann - he is a prick. I was one, not very long ago. But he is also ALL heart. I also suffer from the same problem. If I love you, I will go as far as Raghu in Badlapur went. If I don't, there is a very thin chance I will waste even a minute with you. I just might - if you are Rani's friend or her guest.  Prem in DLKH is a closet lover boy - the one that I am, and the one that used to be the soul of Yashji's films. He is a mush-ball but slightly apologetic about it. It is just about arriving at the magical moment when Prem falls in 'prem'. Thereafter ho gaya kalyan :D

I don't know why, but the character Prem also reminded me of the Sunil played by Shahrukh Khan in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa... वो तो है अलबेला... हज़ारों में अकेला... सदा तुम ने एब देखा, हुनर को ना देखा   

I think the reason Aditya Chopra greenlit this film is that it is the closest to Yashji's school of romance. Something perhaps he would have been proud to produce, had he been alive. DLKH celebrates pristine love as it is meant to be. With a little bit of family banter thrown in. Director Sharat Katariya has done a great job, both with writing and directing this film. His passion and earnestness come across in every frame. The attention to detail is... GOBSMACKING!

AND THEN THERE IS KUMAR SANU.

Watch this song NOW.



I don't want to take away more from what you will discover in the film after watching it yourself. We can share notes after you've watched. Ayushmann as Prem in DLKH is not just carrying his wife on his shoulders, he is also shouldering the film itself. DLKH is not your regular romcom or braindead entertainer, it is an experience - An endearing tribute to an era that was. The one that I grew up in. The one where I first fell in love. The one where I experienced heartbreak. The one where Kumar Sanu was the voice of love and longing.

Please watch Dum Laga Ke Haisha this weekend. Thank me later.


         

Aur kya maangega re bande..,

A Keyrun Rao Original dedicated to Yash uncle's Jab Tak Hai Jaan...

Ek apaahij ko dekh kar kyon shukrguzaar hota hai,
Ek anpadh ke angoothe pe tu aaj bhi toh rota hai
Mat ro ke bataa ke tujhe kya mil gaya hai bande
Sab mila hai jisey, uske baare mein hi tu sochta hai

Aur kya maangega re bande, tere aansoo kahaan hain
Jitna bhi chhipa le tu, tere dard toh aaj bhi yahaan hain
Shaayad lahoo hi nahin bahaa hoga tera kuchh utna
Jitne saare ghaanv aaj bhi mere sard is seene mein hain

Tujhsa udaas koi nahin hai yahaan paar, aaj tu maan le
Tere ghaanv se gehra kisi ka nahin, aaj tu yeh maan le
Jitna zulm chaahe ho tujh pe, jhukna mat kisi haal mein
Chhoti si sabak hai par, yeh tu bas aaj kaise bhi jaan le

Aur kya maangega re bande, tere aansoo ab kahaan hain
Jitna bhi chhipa le tu, tere dard toh aaj bhi yahaan hain

Tera saaya rehta yahin tha, par tu aaj jaane kahaan hai

Ek jawaab chhod gaya tu, sawaal itne saare yahaan hain

Ghaanv tha toh kya, uski nishaniyaan bhi toh hain aaj

Saaye rahey tere, rehta hai un mein bhi toh tu hai aaj

Duur hai tu toh kya, baat aaj bhi teri hi toh rehti hai
Tanha reh gaya tha tab, bheed mein akela hoon aaj...