Showing posts with label rakeysh omprakash mehra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rakeysh omprakash mehra. Show all posts

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Mirzya: Celebrating the fragrance of eternal love

Please note: This is not a review of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's latest film, 'Mirzya', and there are no spoilers of any sort.

A round of applause for actors, Harshvardhan Kapoor & Saiyami Kher - 'Mirzya' doesn't seem like their debut film.


There are two magicians who make this film a thing of beauty, a joy forever: Gulzar Saab & cinematographer, Pawel Dyllus. Needless to say, a hat tip to the director, Mr. Mehra for pulling off a love story in an age when eternal love is a rarity lost somewhere on our digital timelines and limited attention spans.



As a hopeless romantic, it has been my constant pursuit to understand the phenomena that love is, and it will remain so till I am alive. Thanks to 'Mirzya' I have found some deep insights into the feeling of love, as it celebrates the eternal fragrance of love. The only thing I have always wanted is love - this give and take of love has been the most used currency in my life, to the point that I think that I have never worked for the want of money, or have stopped working if I had a lot.

It was always the love I felt from the employer (immediate bosses) and the colleagues.

Give me love, and I will love you right back till death do us apart. For me love is and will always be forever a constant. I discovered my idea of love while watching 'Sadma' as a kid, I still don't know why I cried throughout the entire climax, because I was too young to know anything beyond food and poop. I can only guess that perhaps a love of mine from some other lifetime reached out to me though that gem of a film that 'Sadma' is.

Later in my life I was filled with the fragrance of love when I watched 'Sagar' - I think I was sold by the fact that love makes you do the craziest of things with no expectations whatsoever.  As Gulzar Saab has aptly put, there are only three witnesses of love. Sample this:



The thing about love is that it gifts us with memories galore, and moments of intense passion, to the point of no redemption. There's a quote, "If you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt - only love." This line resonates throughout 'Mirzya,' and I have felt this too. Those who have been reading my blogs would know about Rani, the love of my life, who went through this trauma, just because I had locked up my heart for the longest time, because I knew I couldn't take another heart break.

At least not in this lifetime.

“Doonge dard judaiyan de, kad lende ne jaan…”
[The wounds of separation run deep and take the life out of you]...

Sadly, this 'Hichki' thing really doesn't let you sleep well.



If the love is real, it reaches out to the lover through the sheer power of the universe. Rani found me when she was a popular radio jockey at Dubai, at the prime of her career. I was just a rookie writer-day dreamer, with hopes of becoming a filmmaker. I could understand how in 'Mirzya' the lovers reunite even when they have been away for two decades, the two soulmates will reconnect at some point in time, their geographies be damned, with the same passion as before.

“Gol gol ghoome zameen, aave na jaave kahin…”

For me, 'Mirzya' highlighted the eternity in love which seems to have lost its relevance in our time. The thing is that though the way we dress and talk must have changed, but the concept of love will always have the same fragrance as ever. In a recent interview for The Hindu, Gulzar Saab said -

 "The change is in what you wear, the way you live, in your relationships. A different period means a different culture. So your behaviour pattern will also have to be different. Speed has altered; the rhythm of life has changed. There is such a lot of gadgetry. Earlier, it was like someone has gone to the city, there will be no news, close ones will wonder when he will be back. Now you can talk on the phone anywhere, any time, any moment. You fly in planes. When will you come back from abroad? Well today if you tell someone in the morning to come, they can reach by the evening. This is the speed of life. But the speed of a heartbeat is still the same. Dil aaj bhi usi rafter se dhadakta hai [the heart still beats at the same pace]. That is eternal. Aapke aansoo usi rafter se behte hain, nabz waise hi chalti hai [Your tears fall at the same speed, the pulse moves the same way]."

Dil aaj bhi usi raftaar se dhadakta hai. That is eternal. Aapke aansoo usi raftaar se behte hain, nabz waise hi chalti hai.

I couldn't agree more, Gulzar Saab! 

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag: Laughs, tears & goosebumps!











If I remember exactly, it was on 13th July, 2001, give or take a few days, when me along with a filmi keeda friend watched Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's directorial debut - Aks. Both of us were mindblown by the badassery of Bachchan saab & Manoj Bajpayee and that rainy night we spent about 3 hours discussing the film, despite the fact that nobody else in the theater that we watched the film in got it. They all hated it. But me & my friend loved it. For weeks we would quote lines from the film to each other while others around us thought that we had lost our marbles. Na koi marta hai, na koi maarta hai; aisa main nahin kehta, tumhaari geeta main likha hai... Aah nostalgia!

But this post is about Mehra's latest offering; a biopic on The Flying Sikh - Milkha Singh. Aptly titled 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag', this is undoubtedly one of the best biopics made in this side of the hemisphere. Even those who know the epic story of the sprinter will be pleasantly surprised by the way the makers have chosen to narrate his story. We live in times where an entire generation (or most of it) will get to know of Milkhaji's life and times after watching this inspirational film. At least I knew only things that were a part of the general knowledge portion of our studies, but having watched BMB, I have new found respect for The Man.

The day I first saw the trailer of BMB, I knew it was a winner of a film. The moment I came to know of the special preview, me along with a fellow film fanatic made a sprint for it. From the word go, I was captivated by what was playing out on the screen. Surprisingly, not for one single moment I thought it was Farhan Akhtar essaying the role of Milkha Singh. He had BECOME the character. And then the filmmaker took over with his craft. With a non-linear style of storytelling the biopic sucked me into its universe so much so that I almost didn't mind the asshole beside me (not my friend) who was going on with his live commentary. And then there was a wailing kid. I wanted to kill all of them, but didn't as I was feeling INSIDE the film.

Prasoon Joshi reclaimed his place in the list of 'People I worship' thanks to his magik in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. What a writer & the lyrics are divine too, so double whammy! There were many scenes where my eyes turned moist, but there two scenes that involved Divya Dutta and Pavan Malhotra where I cried like the baby that was crying in the theater when the film began. There is no point in me telling you what happens in the film, you HAVE to watch it for yourself. I wouldn't be surprised if this film is made tax-free and is made a compulsory watch in the next few days.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag has god-level art direction, editing (P S Bharathi), cinematography (Binod Pradhan) & divine music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. The child artist who plays Milkha junior is a revelation. Mehra's tribute to The Flying Sikh is worth its weight in cinema gold! Full respect to the entire team that created this masterpiece and kudos to Sonam Kapoor for being a part of this film where her screen time is almost as much as Abhay Deol in Raanjhanaa, but she still delivers the goods. Please do watch this film at your earliest possible convenience with you entire family if possible. Take your neighbours and assorted friends to watch it too, but please don't be douchebags and talk during the film. Switch off your mobile phones, sit back and watch the story of a legend of our times unfold & spellbind you.

Pairipauna Mehraji...  

Please remember, zinda hai toh pyaala poora bhar le



Note to self: Likh Keyrun Likh