OK Kanmani: Fell in love with The Mani Sir version 2.0

I am a sucker for films about eternal love and occasional longing. I know that genre is almost on it's way out, but with Imtiaz Ali around, there is hope for this genre. This blog is about how Mani Sir's latest film, OK Kanmani, turned me into a ball of mush, all over again. It is common knowledge now, that I am a mush ball 24X7. It just happened that I watched the trailer of 'The Tale of Tales,' and got GROSSED OUT and lost my mind for a bit.

Now I am back to my normal self - the eternal lover boy, who chooses to overlook anything that's dark, depressing or generally sad. I run miles away from people who reek of any kind of negativity.  Before I lose track of what I was saying, let me announce that I LOVED Mani Sir's reinterpretation of what perhaps was his earlier interpretation of love. Sir is catching up the changing times, and it is such an amazingly cool thing to do. Just like how Gulzar Saab does. The best part of this reinvention, is that the core or the soul is still as innocent. Not corrupted by the way today's generation speaks or thinks. May be I am just too old-school for today's cool.

When I introduce myself as a writer, I am usually asked, what is the genre I love writing the most. My answer usually is - love stories. Having said that, I know there is a dearth of fresh love stories. How far can one go anyway? Boy meets girl / girl meets boy / they love each other / hate each other / end up together / part ways. But in OK Kanmani, Mani Sir twists the conventional equation, and adds the magik of Rumi, the Sufi poet, to his story. I am not telling you how. Watch the film, and you'll know what I mean. I think there are a million love stories hidden in Rumi's works.

A bit random, but I think Dulquer Salman and Nithya Menon, are headed to becoming the proverbial 'Raj and Simran,' for a lot of kids who are coming of age. Especially those who watch regional films. Adding to the randomness, a BIG  shout out to my macha, Sethumadhavan aka Napan seth, aka the Don of Regional Sinima Mafia, who operates out of an underground den somewhere under Aurora Talkies (Matunga, Mumbai). His love for cinema is as epic as it gets. Let's get back to 'OK Kanmani' again. There's not much one can say about it, without taking away from the experience of watching it, just knowing enough from what's there in the trailer, as the makers would want us to...



One of the things that fascinated me among the gazillion others, is the way Mani Sir showcased Bombay. Coming from the man who made a film named Bombay, it came as a pleasant surprise. You don't see Bombay, you see Mumbai. You'll have to watch the film to know where I am coming from. The melting pot of cultures that this city is, there are times when we grin wide, when we hear somebody speak our native language. Aah my love for Bombay... Hope I am able to showcase it in one of the films that I write, but let me save that for some other day, some other blog.

Embarrassing as it may be for some, I don't like animation films, and I just can't stand superhero films where one guy or a bunch of people have to save the earth. I love films that are about normal people like you and me, on a regular day. Films like Anand, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Rocket Singh Salesman Of The Year, Do Dooni Chaar (in no specific order) tug at my heart strings. Mani Sir's OK Kanmani is one such film. Recently, film critic, Anupama Chopra worded my thoughts on films like 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' and the yet to release 'Dil Dhadakne Do'; she slotted such films as the ones that address 'posh people problems,' and I was clapping gleefully, now that there is a genre like that, I can avoid watching altogether.

And what does one say about ARR's contribution to a film that he decides to give music to, and Mani Sir being his mentor, he is obviously biased. I swear even if there were no subtitles, I could feel the words in the music, and that's what music should do - transcend above the words, and still convey the underlying thought. I know I am taking away a lot from those who painstakingly put the words together, but what the hell! Somebody had to say it, so what if it had to be me. Not just the songs, even the BGM is worth being treasured. Special mention for Jr. Rahman, who makes his debut with Mani Sir, like how his dad did, back in the day -



Just to sum up my thoughts on 'OK Kanmani,' I will say that it's a wonderful film that celebrates love in the times that we live in. No cheap gimmickry, no forced swear words, rooted-yet-today, coming of age of a filmmaker, love is enough to get everything done... even if it means just a good film. Power and money are the uncouth devices employed, when love is lacking. Thoda meta ho gaya perhaps, but I am not trolling anybody on the sly. It's just a note to myself. It's strange, but after watching OK Kanmani, I felt like I revisited Gautham V Menon sir's, 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya.'

My 'kanmani' for this lifetime, Rani, thought I had lost it when I told her that I felt like Prakash Raj's look in 'OK Kanmani' was a hat-tip to Gulzar Saab. Watch the film and correct me if I am wrong.

Love, Magik.

NH10: कातिल रास्ते मिल जाते हैं चारों ओर से

Let's get into the mood first... One road song that I dig - Road ke har mod pe

There was a phase in my life when I was in love with the roads. All kinds of roads - the literal ones and the ones that my thoughts and imagination often took me to. All was good till I met with a road accident. I had become a vegetable for a little more than a year. It left me scarred for life, and my love affair with the roads ended abruptly for good. I am paranoid about hitting the roads, as it had hit me, way too hard for me to reconcile with it.  

Somebody wise had once said, "The middle of the road is where the white line is - and that's the worst place to drive." Kudos to director Navdeep Singh, and female lead, Anushka Sharma for choosing the riskiest place to drive. Riskiest in every sense one can think of. It must have been a familiar zone for Navdeep, who  had last made 'Manorama Six Feet Under,' but you HAVE to see the film to come to terms with Anushka's risk-taking appetite.

There's enough material put out there by the makers of NH 10, to help you decide if you should watch the film or not. Let me just say that if Badlapur was appreciated for all that it was, NH 10 is in a similar league - albeit with more copious dollops of badassery. The timing of the film's release could not be more perfect. India as a country is still trying to cover up the so-called 'shame' caused by the documentary made on the blood-curdling 'Nirbhaya' episode.

The last time I felt a similar adrenalin rush was when I came out after watching Mardaani. I was clapping like a child when the antagonist of Mardaani got what he deserved. NH 10, is another rush altogether, and one can only internalise it. As many words I might try to employ to explain what I felt walking out of NH 10, I know I will fail at the job. I felt that I was devoured by the director's subversion, and that is something that rarely happens. I felt it last when I first watched RGV's Satya.

In the guise of a thriller, Navdeep has packed in a sucker punch in the face of the gender politics that exist amidst us even in 2015. The rot is everywhere - good looking rot in some places, and ugly ones in others. I am not even going to elucidate why I said what I just did. You will decipher it when you see the spectacle unfold while you cling on to your seat, gasping for breath. I suddenly realised the importance of having a machinery to maintain law and order to keep the beasts within us in check.

Also, the idea of the two Indias that we live in now seems silly to me, thanks to this mirror Navdeep has attempted to show us. Deep down we are all but one India... the only difference is that those of us who are educated just about manage to keep our corruptions fiercely guarded. If a couple in the metros is still coming to terms with gender equality, the rural populace has it's own screwed up version of gender politics. 'जिस की लाठी उस की भैंस' is perhaps the unsaid code.

Without revealing more, the thoughts I shared with y'all are perhaps what I will mostly be sleeping over tonight.  I think it would be most appropriate to be wrapping up this piece by expressing my gratitude to the makers of NH 10, for making a film like this. It takes more than just money to put together a project like this. The makers have walked the middle of the road - on the white line that separates the left from the right, the good from the bad, and what an amazing job they have done.

Standing ovation. Hawaai firing.

This song from NH 10 will play for the rest of the night - छिल गये नैना 



  

 

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.


         

BADLAPUR: An eye for an eye...

2015 has just about started, but I don't know why I already think that there will perhaps not be a film better than Sriram Raghavan sir's 'Badlapur' this year. It is a dark, twisted story about revenge, and all those who are clued in to the story from trailers, interviews and other miscellany, know what's coming their way.

You know it all...

As most of you would reckon, this isn't a conventional review of what 'Badlapur' is all about, who acted well in it, and how many crores it might make at the box office; given the fact that it is an 'A' certified film. I have been a fan of Sriram Raghavan sir since 'Ek Haseena Thi'. His third film 'Agent Vinod' did upset the apple cart slightly, but ever since I came to know that he is making 'Badlapur', I was excited to watch it. More so, after I came to know that Sriram sir has pitted Varun Dhawan against Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Chalk-cheese, rum-wine, cake-mutton, Gandhi-Hitler... so many variations struck my mind as far as the casting is concerned. I got to read the rough script of 'Badlapur' from an email address that I didn't know of - I read it as any self respecting fanboy. I was sweating by the time I had finished reading it. Could a film like this be made in Hindi? In my lifetime? In the Hindi film industry?

Quick flashback: I met Sriram sir when he was giving interviews a few days before the release of 'Agent Vinod'. I think I asked the stupidest question ever posed to him... I asked - You look like just another happy person, especially like a conservative middle class South Indian; how do you come up with such twisted stories? He smiled at me, embarrassed at the question... unable to reply to my stupid question. I moved on to the next question. Quick flashback over.

A little less than 20 minutes into 'Badlapur,' I had internalised the central character. Once upon a time I used to be a copywriter who used to wait to work on a condom account. Lingerie account I didn't even aspire for. So I had owned the guy, Raghu - he was me and all the other creative people I knew during my stint in advertising, rolled into one. Definitely not the nice ones. The twisted types. Especially a Malayalee guy, Padma Kumar C.K., who had a long name, who, for us was PKCK. In my first Old Monk session with him, he admitted that he was a Communist, and had killed a few people back in the day. I was scared shitless. That was the first and last time we drank together.

I am the kind of guy who feels guilty when the mosquito bleeds on me after I slapped it hard to death. I don't know what would it take for me to kill a human. This is the reason I knew that Raghu's reason to kill humans for revenge has to be strong enough for me to sit through 'Badlapur'. I cried almost through the first half of the film, and that's the reason I thought what Raghu did in the second half was justified. A creative mind that is depressed for more than a decade; in my book, could facilitate a world war, if nothing worse. Here Raghu had lost the two people who he loved the most in the universe.

Blood-spill was inevitable. What I wasn't expecting was who possibly would be the victims of his rage. Who actually is the victim here? Who is the hardened criminal? Was money the motive? Was it just sex? Did Raghu ever feel guilty of what he had done? Did he live happily ever after? Who was he fighting against? Was he angry with the cop/s, or those who ruined his entire existence without even intending to do so? What is justice? An eye for an eye? A life for a life? Two lives for two? Three for three? How will it ever help anybody? What the fuck?

The 'Jee karda' song captures the essence of 'Badlapur'. While many of us might just lick our wounds, and move on in life - not all of us are the same. Will one revenge a random road accident? What about rape? Was SRK's character in 'Baazigar' justified in doing what he ended up doing? What about Madhuri Dixit's character in 'Anjaam'? And Vijay Deenanath Chauhan? Is revenge pointless? What is the point one proves - especially when a life is lost? Somebody said, "revenge is a dish best served cold...," but what about those who like it hot?

SHOLAY


I am certainly not saying that I endorse what path the central character chose, in the process of taking revenge against those who destroyed his universe, just to ensure that he finds peace... or even come to terms with his loss, which only he knows how deep it was. All I am trying to say that I loved Sriram sir's 'Badlapur' to bits, and for some odd reason connected with Raghu and the choices that he made. The world - the mood - the characters - their motivations... somehow I just connected. 'Badlapur' is one of those rare films that manage to find an audience these days. It has its flaws... not denying that.



Any film / scenario that involves innocent lives being lost, for no reason strong enough, will find its haters, but 'Badlapur' is a film about a guy who lost his own plot while he was plotting the rest of it it for a good fifteen years or less. Objectivity, perspective and much more is lost, when the loss is way too personal. May be that woman shouldn't have died, or perhaps he should have given away the spoils to charity... Why is the evil man not evil enough for all us to hate him unanimously? What about the evil guy's sidekick? Why does the evil guy have a loving mother, like the rest of us?

I could perhaps go on and perhaps write another script that just involves Nawaz's character and the one played by Huma... But that's just me... I truly hope 'Badlapur' finds its audience, and then drives home the point that revenge is pointless, beyond a point. What we need to realise is that you can't or shouldn't go all out and become the Gabbar, or the Mogambo when you could be Arun bhaiyya. The ultimate success of Sriram sir's 'Badlapur' depends on the fact that who is the audience rooting for on the way back home.

I personally think that the written material of 'Badlapur' could be made into ten different films at the very least. It all depends on who chooses to make it, and what the intention of the maker is. What I took back from Sriram sir's latest film is that peace is a better idea. Even if we fight till the last person standing has collapsed, what remains is a lonely existence. What does one live off? Memories? They were never enough in the first place. The operative word that makes sense in this zone is - LOVE.

There is enough of it for all of us. It is all about looking for it in the right places.

Aaj sab se zyaada khush hoon main...

A Keyrun Rao original

Maut ke niwaale khaaye bahut,
Zindagi se parhez karta raha,
Ishq ke ghoont tujh se miley they,
Bas zehar ki talaash karta raha.

Rooh mein andhera bhar gaya tha,
Saanson mein meri ghutan si thi,
Raahein bhi chalne nahin deti thi,
Soch par bhi mere gehra saaya tha.

Aaj sab se zyaada khush hoon main,
Aansoo bhi ab khushi ke aate hain,
Ek teri noor mein roshan rehta hoon,
Aaj-kal khwaab bhi achche aate hain.

Aaj sab se zyaada khush hoon main,
Teri raah mein mohabbat ki goonj hai,
Teri lafzon mein mere ishq ki azaan hai,
Lagta hai ke naya ek banda hoon main.

Aaj sab se zyaada khush hoon main,
Lagta hai shayad meri nazar lag jaayegi,
Teri hansi mein meri muskaan rehti hai,
Tere saath meri ye umr bhi nikal jaayegi.

Maut ke niwaalon mein swaad nahin tha,
Zindagi bhi kuchh kuchh bujhi si thi meri,    
Tere saath mujhko bhi main raas aa gaya,
Marne waale ko zindagi ka swaad aa gaya.

CineMaa kasam… fully filmi

A new poem inspired by the 'Fillum' song in Shamitabh

Kuchh pal andhera sa tha shuruaat mein,

Koi akela aaya tha, kuchh kisi ke saath mein

Phir ek nayi kahaani shuru ho gayi parde par

Badi taaliyon aur seetiyon ke bauchaar mein 

Har hafte koi ek nayi kahaani, kisi ki bayaani 

Chaahe bachpan ho ya khilti hui aapki jawaani

Jaan chhidakte hain hum, Dil lagaate hain hum

Zindagi ho jaati hai awesome… CineMaa kasam

Koi actor ho ya star, ya phir ho koi superstar,

Sukh-dukh ke hain saathi ye apne kalakaar,

Unki banaayi duniya mein hum sab khush hain 

Ghar ke paas theater hai, why do we go too far?

Andhere se roshni ke beech apni ye zindagi hai

Chaahe jaisi bhi hai, kyon lagta hai ki sahi hai

Jaan chhidakte hain hum, Dil lagaate hain hum

Zindagi ho jaati hai awesome… CineMaa kasam

Har ek kahaani kisi na kisi ko toh touch kar jaati hai,

Kisi se bore ho jaate hain, kuchh achchi lag jaati hain,

Jaane-anjaane hum kuchh waqt saath bitaate hain

Kabhi kabhi anjaani dagar mein khud se mil jaate hain

Kahaani jaane kiski hai, aur kehne waala kaun hai,

Bol jaane kisne likha tha, aur gaane waala kaun hai 

Jaan chhidakte hain hum, Dil bhi lagaate hain hum

Zindagi ho jaati hai awesome… CineMaa kasam

What a joke...

I still haven't managed to convince myself enough to pay people (individuals or groups) to make me laugh. I keep myself amused enough most of the time.  Also, as a struggling film-writer I am usually broke most of the time, so I would rather spend whatever little I make to pay for movie tickets, buy DVDs, and order a book online, once in a while.

Like all those who spend most of the waking hours on the internet, I knew of AIB since they had started doing podcasts. I didn't particularly like them, so I don't qualify as a fan. Thanks to the BIG names involved, I also knew of the AIB Roast well in advance. I didn't whore myself out to buy the expensive ticket, despite the fact that the proceeds would go to charity.

As they say, charity begins at home. In my case it's usually at some dingy bar in the vicinity.

For me it was just another day, when the AIB Knockout happened amidst a HUGE audience, and it didn't bother my piddly existence one bit. I am sure nobody at the 'roast' missed my absence as well. A few weeks passed by, and I saw the teaser / trailer of the AIB Knockout on the official channel. I swear it had grabbed me by my balls. I hadn't seen anything like this, that too at this BIG a scale.

Like every other creative keeda, I was rubbing my hands in wicked glee. WHAT DID I JUST WATCH? Confession: I have ugly, dark and wicked corners in my khopdi ki jhopdi, but this was something else. For once I regretted not paying people to make me laugh. May be I should have attended the AIB Knockout after all. From whatever little they had shown in the trailer, I thought these guys have collectively created history. HAWAAI FIRING!

A few more weeks later the edited version of the AIB Knockout was put out. I was eagerly looking forward to it. Everyone was talking about it; even the Lokhandwala dudes who usually discuss their workout regimes and protein intake were discussing the show in hushed tones. The roast started with a BANG, and I was laughing like a dervish possessed. 30 minutes into it, and I was getting bored. May be it was my mid-life-crisis, or the jokes were getting too repetitive for my liking.

Same old, same old... There were flashes of genius, but they remained just that - flashes of genius. I felt relieved that I didn't pay to watch that stuff. My wallet jumped out of my drawer and hugged me tightly. The 10 rupees' notes in it started doing ghaati dance all over my study table. BUT that's it. I didn't take to the streets screaming that I was hurt and left cheated. Hell, how could I be cheated when I didn't even pay for it. I knew what was coming my way, and I watched it. END OF STORY.

What prompted me to write this piece is the shit I have been seeing floating around ever since some random fungi decided to express their displeasure over the AIB Knockout on National TV. These jokers have saddened me no end. Every time these regressive fossils open their foul mouths, our country goes back a few decades. I wish we could just shut these idiots up. If anybody needs to be probed or punished, it has to be these peddlers of the pseudo 'sanskriti and sabhyata'.  
 
As far as the AIB Knockout is concerned - Guys, well tried with the roast this time, but expecting much more next time - that is, if you aren't sentenced for life or some such.

What a joke...