Peepli (2010)

This year, I was introduced to Soviet dramatist Nikolai Erdman’s The Suicide, directed on the Islamabad-stage: the plot focused on unemployed, impoverished Semyon, who contemplates suicide only to find his small apartment flooded with faux-sympathetic visitors [the Intelligentsia, representatives of the business world, the worker class, and the like] all begging him to die for their cause.

Why is this relevant? Well, Anusha Rizvi directed Peepli [Live] takes a leaf out of Erdman’s book [literally]: with an alleged suicide and the subsequent media and political uproar, it’s basically The [Farmer] Suicide. However, similarities [including a much-harried wife and derisive mother-in-law] aside, the film is quite the masterpiece, and a welcome addition to producer Amir Khan’s food-for-thought flicks such as Taare Zameen Par & 3 Idiots [read: India's education system sucks!], mostly because beneath all the satire, the subtext touches a nerve.

The Plot, or Die, Farmer, Die!: On the eve of national elections in the [fictional] Indian village of Peepli, two poor farmers, Natha [Omkar Das] and Budhia [Raghubir Yadav], face losing their land over an unpaid government loan. Desperate, they seek help from an apathetic local politician, who suggests they commit suicide ['Zindagi ban gayi hai bell-bottom aur khudkushi ban gayi hai jeans pant'] to benefit from a government program that aids the families of indebted deceased farmers. When a journalist overhears Budhia urge Natha to “do what needs to be done” for the sake of their families, a media and political frenzy ignites around whether or not Natha will commit suicide.

Alright, first off: do not get this film on DVD, despite the cover promising a Blu-Ray quality print – they lie! The film’s meant to be watched on the big screen, despite an unknown cast [minus Naseeruddin Shah, in a fleeting but effective appearance] and an offbeat premise. The reason? Never has a social theme been dramatized with such tongue-in-cheek humor and audacity; this dark, absurdist tale sure beats cinematic candyfloss, re: Aisha & I Hate Luv Storys. The movie, from its trailers, might lead you into thinking it’s arthouse cinema aimed for the festival circuit [which, well, it is], but you’ll find yourself laughing outrageously [particularly in a scene where a Hindi news reporter attempts to decipher Natha's state-of-mind by examining his…err…feces - it's 2010's equivalent to Omi's balaadkar speech in 3 Idiots], marveling at the similarities of the film with Pakistan’s own tempestuous economic state and the plight of the common man, and left contemplating at the inevitability of it all. Couple that with exceptional cinematography, strong performances all around, and a riveting [whoa, that's a lot of adjectives] musical score – the song ‘Mehangai Dayan’, in particular, sure to bring the house down – and you’ve got a winner of a mockumentary.

What really works for the film is the sheer subtlety of it all – minus the obvious [re: the political maneuverings, the 'will he, won't he?' of it all, the ruthless, TRP-hungry news channels], there are tender, understated moments that evoke compassion: notice a scene where Natha embraces his pet goat after a quarrel with his inquisitive, ‘when-will-you-die-papa’ son; shots of Natha impassively staring off into the distance in the face of a media circus; the arc featuring an emaciated villager digging soil to make ends meet, hell, the entire climax sequence – these are images that will resonate with you long after you’ve left the cinema-hall having reveled in this tragicomedy.

Debutant director Anusha Rizvi seems a connoisseur of Indian neorealism: Entertaining, thought-provoking, and, thankfully, never sermonic, the film will remind ardent fans of Bollywood of the bohemians of Bengal, Satyajit Ray and Bimal Roy [Do Bhiga Zameen, anyone?]

As mentioned, the performances are topnotch: who knew an ensemble of unknowns could put Bollywood’s foremost actors to shame? Omkar Das is only the second actor after Shiney Ahuja in Gangster to have created such an impact on expression alone [he might not have many dialogues, but man, his childlike vulnerability is heartbreaking]. Raghubir Yadav as Natha’s opportunist, scheming brother is equally phenomenal – I loved how both characters remain understated throughout. Shalini Vatsa is spot on as the harried housewife. Malaika Shenoy [playing English journalist Nandita Malik] and Vishal Sharma as her rival [Kumar Deepak], are both outstanding: the former packing a punch when showcasing the darker side of the media, the latter giving a pitch-perfect representation of a sensational and invasive reporting style [hint, hint, 'certain' local news channels]. Nawazuddin Siddiqui [as local journalist Rakesh] is poignant in one scene where he is told off for an awakened conscience. Every actor delivers without going OTT or theatrical [even more interesting given both leads have their roots in theatre]. However, for me, the best performance was by Natha’s ever-nagging, beedi-smoking Amma [Farrukh Jaffer] who chastises her son with gleeful abandon, firing one-liners that’ll have you doubling up with laughter. In fact, the saas-bahu banter is one of the highlights of this indie gem.

The only downer is the use of earthy, rustic language; at times, the humor is hard to decipher and you have to resort to the English subtitles, which dilutes the impact of the punchlines. Also, the film takes its time to unravel; those of a more impatient temperament might prefer something more…escapist [Tere Bin Laden], or fast-paced, like Mumbai noir flick Once Upon A Time In Mumbai.

As for Peepli [Live], the movie could be billed as a satirical spin on Mai Azaad Hoon [1989 drama starring Amitabh Bachchan & Shabana Azmi, itself an adaptation of Frank Capra's Meet John Doe]; and make no mistake, that’s a huge compliment. Amir Khan, you continue to do Bollywood proud.

Now, if only you never give us a Ghajini [read: Memento Massacre] again, Bollywood might finally have found the rightful successor to actor-director-producer-and-legend Raj Kapoor.  Shah Rukh, who? – Osman Khalid Butt

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2010, Genre – Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, Director – Anusha Rizvi, Mahmood Farooqui, Music Director – N/A, Cast - Raghubir Yadav, Omkar Das Manikpuri, Malaika Shenoy, Shalini Vatsa, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Farukh Jaffer, Vishal O Sharma

Milenge Milenge (2010)

Nothing ruins my mood and Friday more than a bad movie and Milenge Milenge did exactly that! It made last year’s Kambakkht Ishq look like a masterpiece. At least that was fresh; this one’s just simply ancient. It’s one of those movies which are so sad that after a few scenes, you stop criticizing it and feel sad for the entire crew. The plot of Milenge Milenge revolves around a young girl, Priya [Kareena Kapoor], a complete romantic at heart who expects the love of her life to be a guy who falls into the category of a true good boy, one that doesn’t smoke, drink or lie. Priya gets to meet a tarot card reader [Kirron Kher] who tells Priya about her past and when Priya starts believing in her she tells her that Priya will meet her life partner in seven days at a foreign beach. She also tells her that he will be wearing seven different colors. Immy [Shahid Kapoor] is the exact opposite of what Priya has been looking for but interestingly he comes across her diary and reads what she is expecting in her partner.

He then starts posing like her dream mate, giving her a completely different picture of himself. Like in all Bollywood films, Priya gets attracted to Immy when they go to a festival in Bangkok city and they come closer to each other. Just when they were about to leave Priya finds out about Immy’s reality and they part ways. As clichéd as it might sound, Immy then changes into the man that Priya has always dreamed of while Priya has moved on in life and is in a relationship. The rest [as predictable as it might seem] is something you need to watch the film to find out.

I still haven’t been able to figure out why Satish Kaushik and Boney Kapoor decided to release this movie? I mean it’s understandable that they wanted to recover the production costs but they shouldn’t have at the cost of their reputation and name.

The major issue with Milenge Milenge is that it’s extremely old, which is why it can’t connect to the audience whereas it is very important for a movie to click with its audience. It was made for the youth; college students to be precise, but the college students it was made for graduated a while back. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that it was made for a completely different audience, with their language, their slang, their dressing styles and they have grown up now and hence cannot relate to Milenge Milenge. Today’s audience demands freshness, which is something Milenge Milenge clearly lacks.

Moreover, the screenplay is extremely clichéd – hopeless romantic girl, playboy guy meet and fall in love, guy hides his reality, girl finds out and then the guy suddenly changes altogether. We’ve seen it so many times that bearing it again one more time is just not possible. The music, done by Himmesh Reshammiya is passŽ and doesn’t really help either. Note that it was made at the time when Himmesh was quite the in thing. I doubt the youth listens to him now. The cinematography of Milenge Milenge is just typical and boring as well.

The chemistry between Kareena and Shahid is not something that produces spark on the screen but is not bad either. They are sweet together and probably the only reason why people would want to watch the film. Shahid Kapoor has done an average job, nothing compared to his recent roles though. He looks young and full of life but that’s not enough to rescue a sinking ship. Kareena looks young too but not as beautiful as she looks now. Justice hasn’t been done to Kareena’s wardrobe either.

In short Milenge Milenge tries to be funny at times but fails miserably. I thought China Town and Chupke Chupke were two disasters in which Kareena and Shahid worked together, now I know none of them was the real disaster. Watch this movie, only if you are craving more of the duo together. I assure you after this, you will never want to watch them together again. Also, a piece of advice, don’t spend money on the ticket, just watch it at home because it doesn’t even deserve the ticket price and I doubt you will be able to survive till the end – Hafsah Sarfraz

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2010, Genre – Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Surinder Kapoor, Director – Satish Kaushik, Music Director – Himesh Reshammiya, Cast - Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Satish Shah, Delnaz Paul, Aarti Chabria, Kiron Kher, Himani Shivpuri, Satish Kaushik, Sarfaraz Khan, Panini Rajkumar

I Hate Luv Storys (2010)

I Hate Luv Storys is the latest ideal candy floss offering for the young generation with scenes thrown in from Bollywood classics like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayen Gay, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dil Chahta Hai, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and the likes. The plot of the film is simple and clichéd; Imran Khan as Jay [mind you it's pronounced J not Jai and is quite the "it" name in Bollywood these days; remember Hrithik in Kites] is a playboy who does not believe in love and sappy love stories but is working as a set designer with one of the biggest filmmakers of Indian cinema, Veer Kapoor. He is an extremely messed up and laid back man, who comes to work late, drinks before work and trashes women. Loyalty is just not his cup of tea.

On the other hand, Simran [Sonam Kapoor] is a hopeless romantic who thinks her own life is no less than a perfect love story. She is organized, disciplined, and extremely professional and in short, the exact opposite of Jay. With an ideal job and a perfect fiancé, Raj Dholakia [see, the name's filmy too] played by Sameer Dattani she has no idea how her life’s going to change when she starts working with Jay! As predictable as it might sound, conflicts occur between the two but eventually they become friends and Simran falls in love with Mr Wrong [Jay] forgetting about her perfect Mr Right. Jay rejects her giving her no option but to return back to Mr Right.

Clearly the plot has been done way too many times in the Indian cinema; the film is full of clichés and you experience the feeling of déjà vu several times but there’s something in the film that makes the audiences love it. The actors have done a superb job. Imran Khan fits the role ideally and plays it even more perfectly with such apparent ease that it makes his acting look very natural. However, he still needs to learn how to cry, or act so! His emotions and body language are commendable. Imran’s facial expressions added a lot of life to his acting and a fun element to the character.

Sonam plays her age and that’s one of the reasons she seems apt for the role. She has improved greatly if you compare her acting in I Hate Luv Storys with her previous roles. She also looks beautiful and very stylish throughout the film. Imran and Sonam absolutely complement each other and can be a promising jori for future Bollywood movies.

The costumes are done by Manish Malhotra and Sonam’s dresses are beautiful. She has carried off those clothes very well too. The contemporary stylish girl avatar really suits her. Various characters wear tees with witty statements and graffiti which are really unique, funky and make you laugh. Such small things show how much effort has been put into a film.

Kevin Dave who plays the role of Imran’s best friend is hilarious. Sameer Dattani delivers his dialogues in an extremely monotonous tone but then his role was of a boring boyfriend so we can’t really criticize him. Aamir Ali who is performing the role of the actor is another worthy mention and Bruna Abdullah is great eye candy in the film.

Even though the content is not fresh at all, the dialogues and one-liners are still witty and sarcastic. There’s so much fun in the film that you will spend half your time laughing without bothering about where the story is going. However, the first half of the movie is slow in terms of the plot; a little more editing would have made it better. Debutant director Punit Malhotra’s (in case you are wondering, yes he is related to Manish Malhotra) writing could have been much better considering the amount of resources he had. Throughout the film, he talks about Bollywood’s clichéd love stories but then makes another himself. Maybe he could learn doing parodies while giving tribute to Bollywood from Farah Khan as she did in Om Shanti Om. Speaking of Farah Khan, she was terribly missed during the dance on the title track. The song was perfect, the kind that makes you want to tap your feet as soon as it is played but justice wasn’t done to its choreography at all! Or maybe it’s just that pappu (really) can’t dance!

I Hate Luv Storys also teaches that at times one needs to let go and have fun in life and that perfect does not always mean happy! It teaches that Mr. Right will not necessarily bring happiness to your life and at times happiness and fun is with Mr. Wrong. [I so hope mum's not reading this].

Despite the lack of a strong story, the crowd at the cinema cheered and clapped at a number of scenes. There’s no denying that the target audience of teens and young adults will surely enjoy it – Hafsah Sarfraz

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2010, Genre – Comedy/Drama, Country – India, Language – Hindi, Producer – Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar, Ronnie Screwvala, Director – Punit Malhotra, Music Director – Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani, Cast - Imran Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Sammir Dattani, Sameer Soni, Kavin Dave, Khusboo Shroff, Bruna Abdullah, Pooja Ghai, Ketaki Dave, Anju Mahendru, Shirish Sharma, Aamir Ali