बदलते चेहरे

May 09, 2020 0 Comments




वह सूरत जो पहले  बिलकुल अपनी सी लगती थी।
अब उसे देख पहचानना बहुत मुश्किल होता  है।

देखती रहती हूँ उन आँखो को में,
जिन में कभी अपना अक्स दिखता था। दिखता था जिन्मे कभी किए दर्द कोई अपने लिए,
उन्न आँखो में अब ख़ुद को दूँढ़  पाना बड़ा मुश्किल है।

मुश्किल तो यहाँ जीना भी बहुत लगता है।
मगर हर वक़्त दिल को बहला के जीने को जीना भी नहीं कहते।

वो जो पहले अपनो से भी ज़्यादा अपना लगता था,
उसकी आँखो में अपने लिए बेग़ानियत अब खलती है।
खलती तो ग्रीष्म मौसम में उसके सीने की ठंडक भी है।
सर्दियों में जिस नफ़रत से हाथ जल जाया करते थे,
उन्ही नफ़रतों से इस दिल को रोशन कर रखा है मैंने।

क्यूँ ऐसा होता है ज़िंदगी के साथ?
की जो कभी  प्यार लगता था, अब वही धोका सा महसूस होता है। 
जिसके लिए दुनिया छोड़ने को राज़ी थे हम,
उसके लिए आज यह साँसे ही बोझ लगती है।

हम जिस प्यार के नाम पर अपने आप को धोका देते रहे
उसकी असली शक्ल देख हम रो पड़े तो क्या हुआ?
आँसूओ से कई बार धूँधली पड़ी नज़र भी साफ़ हो जाती है। 

अब जब हम देख ही रहे है तो फिर भी सब धूँधला सा ही लगता है।
जाने इतनी धुँध कहा से छा आयी है।
हम तो हर वक़्त हाथ में कपड़ा रख साफ़ करते चले गए।
अब वो मैल हम ही पर कालिख बन लगायी है, तो हम क्या करे? 
---------------




0 Visitor's Comments:

Hi Folks,

You heard me...now its time for Bouquets and Brickbats!

Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan is Way Kuch Zyada Film! Review

May 07, 2020 0 Comments

There is a theory that suggests the reason behind a lot of love stories not ending in marriage or facing way too heat is the absence of family consent. A larger part of the Indian family could not digest the idea of their child marrying someone they have not selected and causes many disruptions. While some painstakingly sail through those disruptions, many falter. 

The film Shubh Mangal Jyada Savdhan very diligently sails through all this with a fresh new angle of LGBT marriage/relationship.

The Shubh- Mangal of it

I was quite excited to watch this movie. It has many of my favorite assets- Ayushmann Khurana, Jeetu sir, and cream of an ensemble cast including Neena Gupta and Gajdhar Rao.

The movie had an interesting subject too- an LGBT relationship. That is how a conservative family takes on such kind of marriage and relationship. It has another important satire that a lot of people missed- Goggle's wedding- A plump looking gal whose' uncle by mistake shot her eye with a Gulel and in spite of being a researcher, never thought about an eye transplant. 

Moving ahead- we have the two protagonists- Karthik and Aman who are small-time salesmen, one-time Jodi makers [they help a friend with benefit run away with her lover], and every time an awkward lover on screen. Well, that is the Zyada Savdhan of it.

The Zyada Savdhan of it

The previous Shubh Mangal Savdhan franchise had an interesting take on erectile dysfunction. The subject and the treatment of the film was indeed a worthy watch. So when you learn about a likable project returning with a new and interesting subject, you are naturally curious to watch it. 

Given my limited knowledge and understanding on the LGBT relation, I was quite keen to see it unfold in an Ayushman Khurrana Project. 

And if you have seen TVF webisodes and still do not like Jeetendra Kumar, you are most likely to be not so normal. Sorry but he really grows on you with his consistently good performance. And he was quite good in the film too.

He made the otherwise drab looking film worth watching scene after another OTT scene. I am afraid the same could not be said for the otherwise delightful Ayushman Khurana.

The Zyada of the FILM

There quite a lot of unnecessary "zyada" in the film. Starting from the over spirited performance of Ayushmann Khurana [ at one point it looks as if he is goading an unassuming Aman into the relationship], over spirited Gajdhar Rao and the constant dragging of the subject. The metaphor of Kaali Gobhi goes a long way and feels good only at the climax. Sometimes you feel if the metaphor is for the lead characters or working against them.

However, if you watch the movie for the second time, some of these flaws may give way to more applauds and regards. 

Overall The Subh Mangal Zyada Savdhaan

The film had all essential elements and successfully nudges many inappropriate practices like patriarchy, the Tripathi's' way of dealing with an uncomfortable relationship- like denial, repulsion, blackmail, shame, overbearing cultural rituals where they conveniently declared their son dead and performs his final rituals just to prove their point. The film very brilliantly accentuated the gimmickry that goes around when it comes to a relationship some of us feel is unacceptable. 

The film has many interesting ironies that if pondered upon, could pave way for better relationships. For example- Aman's father is a renowned Agro scientist who redesigns a popular crop, uses the latest technology, and considers himself superior over his family yet he could not digest the fact that his only son could be gay. He forgets that part of the science conveniently. He is ok if his pointless discoveries could cause riots in the city but any opposition at his home is not acceptable. He is ok if the daughter of the family is missing since her wedding is called off even in the riot driven state, but he is not ok if his son chooses a life partner.



Well DDLJ is passe, SMZS should be the next love bible for all the love birds. 

While there may be fewer "Zyada",  If you can skip the "zyada" part of the film, then this film in all its entirety is an important lesson to learn and understand. The film may not be as crisp as the trailer but it is full of metaphors that you will like watching. 

The film may not work as well on our semi-urban senses as it should do on the lesser sophisticated ones. And that is the battle half won. And do not by what some critics/ viewers have to say otherwise- kyunki like love, jo concept inke dimaag mein fit nahi baithta, yeh usko dabaaa date hai.

Kudos to Ayushmaan Khurana and the entire team. bring more such cinema that challenges a lot of social "fixed in the mind" legacy!

My Rating 4/5 Stars

Numerounity


0 Visitor's Comments:

Hi Folks,

You heard me...now its time for Bouquets and Brickbats!

Is Vijay Deverakonda A World Famous Lover? Review

May 04, 2020 , 0 Comments


I did not felt Arjun Reddy, to be a gross misogynist film, in fact I liked that movie 3000 times better than its mindless Bollywood copy. Post the movie, Telugu actor Vijay Deverakonda got a new fan in the Hindi speaking crowd. 

I kind of liked Vijay D screen presence and performances so much that I quickly end up watching his 2 other Telugu films- Dear Comrade and NOTA. And quite liked them too. And then came- World Famous Lover.



World Famous Lover

After Doordarshan, YouTube, online video streaming like Prime Video and Netflix is the greatest tool for movie lovers like us who may not know the language but we love watching regional esp South Indian movies with subtitles. The dubbed ones are gross injustice and unless you do not have some hold on those languages, their demographies, you may not like/ relate to the concepts. So learn to speak "Ra" in at least 3 different forms or end your statements with "Endi" before you watch a Telugu movie or spend time at these regions, wholeheartedly like I did. 

Thanks to Netflix, I can watch the film [decently subtitled] in the comfort of my bedroom and surprisingly with my husband. My husband does not like watching Regional films unless they are dubbed in Hindi and spells- MASALA, so that's why it was a surprise element. Or maybe my Lockdown Pasta did the trick but we watched this movie.

So, let's talk about this movie- The World Famous Lover. 

World Famous Lover is 3 stories in one [not linked] with a self-absorbed protagonist. The protagonist who is a charming misogynist, almost all through the film. Yes, I used that word. And they have tried to use this adjective, throughout the first half, quite well. They actually showed him as a chauvinist and a self-obsessed person. Even though the two chalk and cheese stories, he lived in. 

The first story set in a coal mine project- Yelladu. I was very fascinated to see a story set in Yelladu mines, there were quite some rustic elements attached to it but when I saw a cheesy Human Welfare officer and the union leader romancing over the mines, lying over the coal grounds- I was like -WTF!

The only saving grace of the story was the lead actress Aishwarya Rajesh -who played the role of Suvarna. Suvarna who had no OTT dialogues or scenes and makes you move with her character. 

The movie then moves to Paris with a cliche written all over. And by this time you are already bored with the film and want it to conclude asap. 

From this point of time, you really do not want to tug along. But the film drags, unfortunately, scene after scene. All your hopes are pinned for the climax.

Climax sigh came after quite a long time and in spite of how respondent it was, you were happy that this over finally. It saved you from the guilt of finding the faults in the lackluster film thoroughly when it was actually a gem. No, it wasn't. Even though it intended to, the end result was disappointing. 


The climax is a modified version of Arjun Reddy. Arjun Reddy a film so cult that even a bad copy of that film (Kabir Singh) sold like hotcakes. No Vijay D we expected more from you.


World Famous Lover is a complete formula-driven film. It tries to encash almost the same formula it used in Arjun Reddy, with more grandeur but it failed for me, failed miserably. I feel Arjun Reddy was a cult classic in spite of many disturbing elements it was accused of.

World Famous Lover is a story of 2 modern-day lovers- Gautham and Yamini with 2 interwoven stories set at 2 different places and 2 different classes.

The film is not about the writing block but the mental block that one parter often develops in a relationship. The writing is good- missed with fresh approach and cliches alike but somehow it does not stitch that well.



The movie had quite some aggressive moments esp the one where Gautham dents a stranger's car unapologetically and ends up thrashing him with the stone. It was unnecessary heroism and makes you despise the character even more. Besides, it sends the wrong precedents without any rhyme and reason, just to bring the jail angle to it.

There are too many loopholes- like Vijay claims to have written many books but have not taken for publishing cause he believed they had no souls. And I wonder how that Paris story suddenly grew a soul and sells 5 million copies and yet is termed- incomplete. Maybe I missed the piece somewhere but it didn’t link to me how the story of Paris and Yellandu had an unfinished climax to Gautham and Yamini’ story? Anyways. The breakdown scene was unnecessary, the emotional outburst was moving but stretched too far. Unfortunately, The world-famous lover begins to isolate and scares you with his shenanigans.


Let's talk about other actors who made this movie worked, for whatever charm it had.


The movie had 4 different lead actresses. Rashi Khanna played Yamini and was such a delight to watch. Given her supremely good looks I for once mistook her to be the late Vinod Khanna’s daughter. Her acting was subtle n styling was a charm. Aishwarya's Suvarna was brilliant indeed. Paris was cliche but it was nice to watch Izabelle on celluloid after a long time.



Overall all the actresses were great and looked beautiful.

Maybe they were overcompensating for his not so inspiring, not so impressive look or demeanor throughout. No, he did look reasonably good in the Yellandu union leader role but it was the flawless Suvarna who stole his thunder. Actually, why complaining, it was meant to be that and that's when you applaud Vijay Deverakonda who is not insecure to play the "wrong" cameo.


Unfortunately, Vijay D is typecasted in this role, in a film so lackadaisical, so OTT that it will take a real good character and plot for him to emerge back. And please no psycho lover with the pseudo path of self-destruction leading to self-discovery. Maybe a stronger man like we see emerging in NOTA.


The film indeed has few charming stuff like air diving which was superbly shot. Overall I feel that the movie really had a soul but it goes juxtapose here and therein the transition. 

Here is what I liked about the film-

1) The Yelandu story- beautifully written and shot.
2) The lead actresses
3) A scene where Gautham cries that he has no one in the world- makes you feel empathetic and angry at the same time.
4) The sky diving scene was breathtaking and inspiring.

What I disliked
1) Unnecessary aggression
2) Idolizing Smoking even in the face of pain.




And in spite of its dull treatment, it felt better than the utter chauvinistic/misogynist films like PKP and sweetie Titu sagas which have only one track approach towards cliche women and non-respecting men and makes someone else pay for your entertainment. But living a society, you need to evaluate all stories unless they create unwarranted havoc. Unfortunately, I wonder if WFL is somewhat a waste of all efforts. Go watch to have your own opinion.

PS I have heard that KJO has bought the remake rights of the film, so you may never know that it becomes next PKP ver 3 of Bollywood or yet another Kalank. Wait and watch, Bollywood ripping another good movie.


My rating 2.5/5 stars.

0 Visitor's Comments:

Hi Folks,

You heard me...now its time for Bouquets and Brickbats!

My Social Media Channels