KABHI ALVIDA NAA KEHNA

Today’s movie : KABHI ALVIDA NAA KEHNA

Star Cast : Shahrukh, Rani, Amitabh, Abhishek, Preeti

Story Line : A Family Melodrama..

My Rating : 3 /5

Friends,

It’s already two and a half weeks since its release and if you are reading my blog (which sends me an impression that you are an enthusiastic cinemagoer like I am) it means you have already been to theatres and watched this movie. So for being late in my review, I apologize to you and promise you that next time you’ll be reading the review almost on the day of release.

So, first, I’ll tell you a few things about the movie. Don’t worry. I won’t expatiate much as I suppose you’ve already been to the theatres. Pals, here’s a movie which has added new dimensions to the concepts of family, marriage and conjugal happiness. No surprise, it’s another star-studded film from Karan Johar with exotic locations generously thrown in. By now, you must have guessed that it’s a melodrama with flawless choreography and rocking songs like “Where’s the party tonight”. The characters are intertwined in such a way that it’s almost impossible to adjudge the individual performance and so it doesn’t give any edge to anyone or you can say that everyone has taken an edge. Talking about big B (the most experienced and respected superstar in the movie starcast), his promiscuous role seems a bit odd to his age and Indian society and in my opinion, draws more ridicule than humour.

This movie depicts startling facts of contemporary life. It’s still not in sync with the imagination of an Indian about an institution called marriage. The perplexity of the behavior of characters sometimes makes you term the movie a figment of somebody’s absurd imagination. At times , you feel , like the movie sequences, are going to result into nothing or mere disappointment.

I don’t know if you guessed or not – when big B came to know that her daughter-in-law was in love with somebody other than his son and he had a heart attack, at that time, Rani M. goes to big B seeking some guidelines about the future prospects of her relationship with junior Bachhan, the big B uses just three words –

“Chhod do usko”.

He adds further, “If you don’t leave him he won’t ever be able to find his love of life. So, let him live. Walk away from his life”

Dimensions:

Incontrovertibly, the movie has gone radical on so many fronts and has shown numerous dimensions. I don’t know if I’ll be able to cull out all those in this small piece. I’ve tried my best to assimilate the salient lessons from this movie.

The first and most important one is that you should marry the one whom you want to be married to all your life and beyond.

Second, having married such a person, do all that can be done to keep your marriage alive and kicking. If you’ve taken the first point seriously, taking care of the second won’t be a problem. Besides, I even dare to promote love marriage if you’re not sure whether your arranged marriage will take good care of the first mentioned point.

Third, to err is human but to err repeatedly amounting to infidelity in marriage is a sin in my opinion.

Fourth, conjugal happiness must not be solely based on satisfaction in sex life. I don’t discount its importance in married life but definitely urge couples to show tolerance and have an understanding attitude.

Fifth, the transformation of big B’ character from promiscuity to death bed avidly shows that we, Indians, inspite of being modern in outlook, have clear boundaries in our personal life. Daring to cross them can result in irreparable loss.

Also, a child should ideally be the glue which bonds the couple and not a bone of contention.

Lastly, on a lighter note, I would say that “fight to save your marriage” both literally and against all odds.

I guess you heard all that and if you take relationships as I do, then you perfectly understand what I am saying.

Special Thanks to :

ABHINAV
zoomtoabhinav@gmail.com

CHAMELI

Friends,

Here I start ‘Dimensions’ with a hope that we can bring a few hidden Dimensions alive. By Dimensions I mean the best part of a movie, which tells you something good or imbues you to do something good; which gives you a new vision to look at life from a different perspective; which tells you that that is the way of life you were unaware of…

Today’s movie : CHAMELI

Star Cast : Rahul Bose & Kareena Kapoor

Story Line : It revolves around the life of a prostitute which starts at night and ends by morning

My Rating : 3 /5

You know, I don’t advocate so called ‘openness’ or in straight words “vulgarity in the name of reality” in movies. When my friends came to me after watching this movie (at the time of the release, perhaps I had some work to do and I missed the first show. I don’t remember exactly as it’s way back in ---------), their bla-bla-bla sent me an impression that this was a movie which was trying to portray reality with “openness”!!

So, I planned to drop watching this movie and I did. Time passed and I had been restricting myself for long not to watch it. But one fine night while I was surfing channels, it was coming on Star Plus, I decided to watch it. Not to mention, songs of this movie “Bheegi Hui…” & “Bhage Re Mann” had been one of my favourites since its release. Really beautiful songs!! I appreciate the team, for they have done a fabulous job.

I don’t deny that it’s a movie not for children under 15 or so… Actually, they have portrayed (remind me if I say “They are trying to portray”) a prostitute whose life begins at night and ends by the morning. Character of Chameli has to be bold and specifically a combination of boldness, harshness, practicality and most important “softness of a woman”. I was really mesmerized to see that how could you enact such a character in a movie with such fineness! The perfection for which, even a prostitute will need at least 10 yrs. in the profession. Actress has done it wonderful. The scene still flashes in front of my eyes when she is telling her story to Rahul Bose. With all softness she tells her life story which can drive anyone and then all of a sudden she starts laughing and tells that it was one of those lies which she uses for her customers, to draw emotional support. Then she tells another false story (formula no. 2) and laughs again… it’s really worth watching!

Rahul Bose has acted perfectly as a man who has lost his wife; a man who thinks that it was his fault which killed her. His car broke down in the rain one night at a place where this prostitute looks for customers, and the story starts. There are numerous incidents and dialogues which are just perfect for the story line at times and you can feel the meaning or essence only by watching those scenes.

While watching, I didn’t find any exaggeration of “openness” in the movie except in the song “Bhage Re Mann”. I will count it as the flip side of the movie. I guess it was done just to pull the crowd in theatres. After all it’s BUSINESS!! ;)

DIMENSIONS

Now the question is- “What did the movie say to me - a person who is not a social worker and not much interested in rehabilitation of such people? What did this movie have for me?”

To me, this movie tells that there are numerous difficulties in life, there are numerous incidents which leave a scar (never to be healed) on your heart and generally we don’t have the guts to accept them as we are not as open as prostitutes. They have got deeper scars but you don’t see them because the profession has made them so tough that they are ready to accept the pain any time. If we could gather even a part of that courage, we can deal with difficulties very easily.

This theme has been beautifully portrayed when, in the end, the actor opens his box to open those pictures of his wife which he had closed after her death for the fear of her memories. He rings up his father-in-law with whom he had never talked after his wife’s death. He says-

“That day I opened those pictures because that day I had accepted all the pain and memories of her death. I called my father-in-law and talked to him whom I had not called since her death.”

Movie said to me that don’t fear pain and memories. No matter how deep is the scar on your heart, just keep it inside and laugh, have a few relations and don’t die for those relations, for someone dear to you has died. Live life and Love them all.

I think you can see these Dimensions...

Proofread by: -
ABHINAV
zoomtoabhinav@gmail.com