Movie Reading : DilWale

First things first, this will be short. After all, you can’t say anything about the movie which has no sensible beginning and no sensible end. Rohit Shetty’s movies have never been about giving a message, they have bit of comedy, bit of romance, too much of cars, but at least light hearted entertainers to some extent. But ‘DilWale’ stooped down to such a level which I never expected. Perhaps he should work more with Ajay Devgn instead of King Khan, and save us from movies like Chennai Express and Dilwale.

How hard you try, you would not be able to figure out a story in this movie. Varun Dhawan kills with his overacting. (Perhaps they should audition those actors as well who have godfathers in the industry). Sanjay Mishra as Oscar Bhai ends every sentence with a rhyme which becomes too much after a point of time. Why does Boman Irani exist in the movie is incomprehensible. In fact many of the supporting cast have no connection with the story (oops! There is no story), they don’t have any connection with what’s going on in the movie.

And then there are cars, cars and cars, everywhere. They are present in each of Rohit’s movies but you will notice them much more in DilWale. You know why? Coz there is nothing else worth noticing in it. SRK chases Kajol in a car, romances with her in a car, gets cheated in a car, and what not. Even the car’s colour in a scene matches with actor’s costumes on many occasions.

Songs are at random positions, just for the sake of having them, perhaps they have been shot to keep you awake. Gerua is a visual treat, and Janam Janam is a musical one. The only thing that does save the movie is SRK & Kajol’s Jodi. The Dhun of Janam Janam keeps playing whenever SRK & Kajol are on screen. If you are not a big fan of them, the movie is an utter waste of time and money. Even otherwise, the couple does not recreate the magic of DDLJ couple.

The only dialogue you can remember;

“Hum sharif kya huye, puri duniya hi Badmaash ho gayi”

Movie Reading : Tamasha

Each director has his own way of telling a story, and you can find some common threads in all of their films. But only a few provide you an entirely new experience on watching their movie. Imtiaz Ali belongs to that category. The dual personality that Ranvir had in Rockstar, the confused mannerisms that Saif showed in Love Aaj Kal, the separation theme, Tamasha has all in it. But still, it’s new and refreshing.

Not many people know that its’s earlier title was “Window seat” and the idea behind that name was what do u think when you are in a train and see a station pass by? What will you become if you get down there, where no one knows you, and where you know noone. Will you become your true self, or will you continue behaving in same way as you always have.

Each film has a message and how easily it conveys that message to the viewers, determine whether people really like it or not. Tamasha’s message is an 8-minute storytelling by Ranvir. It forces you to think, about what you are doing. Moreover, it tells the importance of “Why?” in people’s lives. Social conventions drive how people behave, what people do.

A line in his story aptly puts it

"Tum nahi jaante kaunsi race hain, toh bhaag kyo rahe ho? Kyoki sab bhaag rahe he, isliye main bhi bhaag raha hu. ”

And what one should really be doing, 

"Tum khud choose karo na apni race, saari duniya pehchanegi "


The separation theme of Love Aaj Kal follows here as well. There Saif realizes the importance of Deepika when they get far from each other. And in Tamasha, it is Deepika again, who causes Ranvir to realize what he is looking for truly.

There is also a scene where Ranvir resists what he is faced with and tells Deepika 

“Mere ghar wale, mere dost, main khud nahi jaanta main kaun hu. Par Tu 7 din Corsica me reh k jaan gayi ki main kaun hu”.

Surely, it’s not about how much time you spend with someone, but about the quality of time that help people know each other really.
The movie has plenty of memorable scenes. Humorous scenes between Ranvir-Deepika in exotic location of Corsica, childhood scenes of Ranvir, the storytelling, and what not. You will also remember the old storyteller, small time auto-wala, and the sardarjis of Heer song.

Overall, Tamasha is a fun movie to watch, while at the same time it has all elements that help you connect with it. And wait a minute, how can you forget the music for which A.R. Rehman has composed. Mix of all kind of songs, each one you can hum around while leaving the theatres.

In the end, some dialogues

“Aao vaada kare hum jo kahege jhuth kahege, aur jhuth ke sive kuch nahi kahege”

“Wahi kahani fir ek baar, majnu ne liye kapde faad, aur tamasha beech bazaar”

Movie Reading : Shamitabh

There aren’t many movies which run entirely on the superlative performances of the actors in it. When the name of movie itself contains name of its cast, it is bound to become such a movie. Shamitabh (Dhanush and Amitabh), along with Akshara, give a spellbound performance and make the movie surely worth watching. After doing Cheeni Kam and Paa with the same director, Amitabh is as best as ever is this very different kind of role. Mr R Balki deserves credit as well, for a great storyline as well as continuing to envision such roles for the superstar.

Shamitabh is a story of having a passion to achieve something, to become something. And being ready to do everything to get or become what one wants. Not being stopped with what circumstances provide us and not getting bogged down by what others tell us. That’s the story of Dhanush, a “dumb superstar” (looks like oxymoron, isn’t it?). One who doesn’t have a good face which women will fall for, neither a good body which make villain afraid (forget 6 packs, he doesn’t have 1 pack). And being born as a dumb is like final nail in the coffin. Still, his persistent efforts make him achieve what he wants.

The other message that comes out is "talent is nothing without passion”. No matter how much talented we are, if we don’t like to do a certain thing, success will be elusive. At the same time, someone who may not be as talented as us, but does the work with all his energy and passion, will achieve much more. In one scene, Dhanush says this aptly,

“Mujhe talent se jyada apni chaahat pe bharosa tha. Jab aap kisi chiz ko bahut, bahut, bahut chaahte hain, to wo mil hi jati hain.”

Shamitabh is also a story of ego clashes between 2 people who are in a relationship. In any relationship, when one has more importance than the other, issues arise. In the movie, Amitabh plays the role of a drunkard loser, who even lives in a graveyard. But in Dhanush and Amitabh’s relationship, Amitabh thinks of himself as whiskey and Dhanush as water. He considers himself much more important when he says,

"Hai koi pani joh chadti hai whiskey ke bina ... pani needs whiskey ... whiskey ko zaroorat nahi kiski."

And

"Jis din meri awaaz finished, us din tu finished."

In many instances, Amitabh shows his pain of not getting recognition as he works only behind the scene and audience sees only Dhanush. Perhaps, that shows our inherent need of getting approval by people, of getting recognized and not just be an unsung hero.

What the movie tries to put across is that in any relationship, differences are bound to happen. However, bringing one’s ego in between to solve those differences does only harm.

Akshara plays more of a counsellor role in the relationship between Dhanush and Amitabh, asking both other stars to make up whenever they fight and make them understand the importance of each other. The best scene is when she teaches both of them ABCD of life and that pretty much sums up the problems and solutions for a relationship.

For a debutante, Akshara performs really well as per her role. She is helpful, understanding and instead of writing Dhanush off at first instance, she gives him time and uncover the talent hidden in him. Perhaps we also need someone in our life who identifies the talent in us and then help us in achieving our goals.

Overall, it’s a movie worth watching. A compelling storyline, the music of Ilaayaraja, superb performance of Dhanush, Amitabh, & Akshara, and an ending worth waiting for. These are enough to give value of your money.

Finally, some nice dialogues,

“Ego ki bible likhne se pehle bottle ka label toh pad liya hota”

“Jab audio ki vajah se video chalta hai, usko picture kaise bula sakte hai, it is not picture, it is mixture”

“Har partnership mein hamesha ek partner ka talent doosre partner se thoda zyada hota hai”