"Grey"ve Realizations

So I am just being a couch potato, surfing channels. There are commercials everywhere, so I start watching the only currently-playing show - 'Grey’s Anatomy'. It’s an old episode, and a bunch of people are sitting on Meredith’s dining table; Cristina Yang is whining about her wedding vows. Izzie says something, and Callie looks disturbed. As I watch, and the episode moves ahead, I realize, so much has changed!

Meredith and Derek aren't married. Izzie is in love with- not Alex, but George, who is still alive, and also is married to Callie, which means Callie is still straight. Or closeted, whatever. Addison is still in the picture, Lexie is still unknown. And moreover, the man for whom Yang is writing her vows? He is not her current husband! It's not Hunt! 

That is the moment of truth..... I understand, that Grey’s Anatomy,

is a very crappy, messed up show 

and I should have never started watching it in the first place!

Attempting Adaption

“Nava Gadi ann… Rajya Nava”

The first poster of the play*

This was one play which had success written on its every aspect. The lead pair was one which had gained popularity across Maharashtra post their hit serial “Shubhamkaroti”. The story was wasn’t essentially new, it was about a married couple who face internal problems after a male friend of the wife and an ex-girlfriend of the husband enter the scene. But it was very well handled by debutant director Sameer Vidhwans. It was written by Kshitij Patwardhan and had a fresh and modern outlook. Priya Bapat and Umesh Kamat, the leads were already dating and had an unmatchable chemistry on stage. The fiery dialogues adorned with cuss words, only added to the popularity of the play and it played to packed theatre in the course of its long run of more than a hundred shows throughout Maharashtra as well as in foreign countries.

At the turn of the decade, Marathi Theatre has seen lots of old plays being revived, led by prominent actors-turned-producers like Sunil Barve and Neelam Shirke. More than a dozen old plays have seen a new dawn, with new actors and new directors. The recently staged, “Naandi” sees a compilation of 10 eternally remembered plays. At the same time, plays are being remade into movies, Kedar Shinde’s “Kho Kho” and the adaption of “Shrimant Damodar Pant” being an example. A regional channel, ETV Marathi also attempted making old one-act plays into tele-movies. Now exactly two and a half years after the first show of “Nava Gadi Nava Rajya”, it joins the league with “Time Please”, it’s remake on the big screen releasing on the 31^st of July. 

A poster of the upcoming film*

It’s trailor on Youtube has already crossed 16 thousand views on Youtube and also gathered a lot of attention on Twitter and Facebook. The lead pair returns, now married while the major character of Himmatrao (immortalized by Hemant Dhome) is taken a niche higher by the reigning Superstar of Marathi Cinema Siddharth Jadhav. The role of Ketki (now Radhika) earlier played by many is being rendered by Marathi Cinema’s favorite, Saee Tamhankar. The music by Rishikesh Kamerkar sounds catchy, especially the song Butterfly, which take you back to some hilarious moments of “Nava Gadi Nava Rajya”. The presence of veterans like Vandana Gupte and Seema Deshmukh raises the already high standards of the film.

While the play reached out to a class of the audience, the movie will help the story to reach to the masses as well. I, am certainly looking forward to the movie as I am sure the 16 thousand viewers on Youtube are too.

*No copyright infringement intended

Entertaining Influences

INSPIRATION  

That is something you can find anywhere and everywhere. 

A friend said something strikingly true about me yesterday. I, he observed am very easily influenced by the stuff I watch in movies. And I didn’t disagree even a little bit. Though I would prefer to use the word Inspire. Or maybe not...

When I was a kid, I loved to write stories. No, it wasn’t really my own interest. Once I had found a story written by one of my cousins in her neat handwriting, striking similar to what I read. So when I came home, I managed to produce a piece of paper and a pencil and sat down to write my own story. It was a silly one, about four kids who live in old-time Europe, own a dog and have a club. Of course the club has a password, there are robberies going on in the small town they live in and their parents, though absolutely lovely creatures who provide them limitless food and ask no questions of their whereabouts during the day, do not believe in their theory of the ongoing thefts. So the children set out to prove it.

There was absolutely nothing original in this story. But oh, how proud I was by the time I finished it! In reality, I had no idea that the kind of setting my story had had long since vanished from Europe. Actually I had no idea where Europe was!! Yet, my stories remained the same, inspired so I wrote about Magical Lands, Boarding Schools, Brothers who save the world from terrorists, Kids who set out to collect animals(Pokémon) or to complete missions and about Boy wizards. It was years before I actually realized that if I wanted to write, it should be something original.

My activities weren’t any different. I believed that every little question mark was a great mystery. I pleaded day and night to my parents for a pet dog, I started eating Spinach only because of Popeye, yearned to start a band like Archie and even started a couple of investing clubs. I wished for genies for Vicky’s Vetaal, Frooty’s Sonpari or Rohit’s Jadoo and after I drew something, say a Cadbury, I would actually place a Cadbury on it, pretending that I had Sanju’s magic pencil.

I went for my first summer camp after having watched Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. And I went for my first adventure camp after watching Krrish. I made my friends accompany me to the top of a building considered haunted. And another time, me and my friends got into big fat trouble after making crank calls at night. We still laugh over these incidents, and I can say that all these are the best memories of my life. After I watched Wake Up Sid, I knew that I had to do something good out of my life, something I was already good at. I deal with little fights pretending I am in Bigg Boss and the whole country will jeer at me if I don’t handle the fights wisely. So yes, I do get easily inspired by movies I watch; they make every day of my life a memory. So I am proud of that.

“Main Udd Na Chahta Hu Naina, Daudna Chahta Hu, Girna Bhi Chahta Hu… Bas Rukna Nahi Chahta.”

I have said and heard this dialogue a million times since yesterday. We were enjoying the early rains in my town Roha. After we were done, eating cold Bhajji and trying to dry ourselves out, I still was coming up with new ideas. 'Let’s Go Here, Let’s Go There.'. 

That is when my friend Nikunj said- “Kalpak is very easily influenced by what he watch in movies.” Then he continued. “After watching Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, he is full of doing adventurous stuff. Main udna chahta hu, daudna chahta hu, girna chahta hu.” He mocked me.

He was right. Mentally I had already geared up for a snow trek next year. I was actually going to go to the trek this year itself but had to push the idea to next year. But the movie had reminded me of how I liked mountaineering as a kid, and now the idea had become even more concrete in my mind. Ranbir Kapoor’s character in the movie, his thinking, his lifestyle had really inspired me. Stopping to smell the roses is fine, but I’d rather pluck a few and carry them with me. It’s like Barney Stinson says, take life and turn it into a sting of memories. Crazy memories. And did anyone miss Aditya Roy Kapoor’s line in the movie, when he is speaking about how he and Ranbir are gonna rent out an apartment after the trek ends? “Vo TV serial FRIENDS ki tarah.” Inspired!

Original is cool. But inspired is cool too. Ask our filmmakers!

And about being inspired by Kabir “Bunny” Thapar, there’s a line in the song Ilahi-

“Kal pe Sawaal Hai… Jeena Filhal Hai…”

Rapid Reviews - YJHD

I am on my way to Roha. Just boarded the Diva-Roha train 9:40. Just caught it in time rather because 9:40 is when I reached the railway station at Pen. At Pen I was visiting a friend. It’s the 31^st. Last day of the month of May. May is the month that represents the summer vacations and today’s day represents end of vacations.  Yet it feels like the summer is still beginning. It’s been a long holiday. Lots of work and Lots of play, Jack hasn’t yet had a dull day.

More importantly, this vacations have been full of Movies. Movies and IPL. But mainly movies. Chashme Buddoor, Nautanki Saala, Iron Man 3, Ek Thi Daayan, Prem Mhanje Prem, Aashiqui 2, Shootout at Wadala, Go Goa Gone, Aurangzeb, Bombay Talkies and Fast & Furious6. Name it and I’ve watched it.

But today was the last day of movies too. Not a single movie more, not in this summer anyway. I have closed this wonderful string of movies with Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. I caught the 6:30 show and then rushed to catch the 9:40 train. And it was all worth it.

I watched it in the same cinema house where I had watched Wake Up Sid. That was the first movie I watched without adult company. The friend I watched it with, was there for this movie too. I had loved Wake Up Sid and I was expecting a lot from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. No, director Ayan Mukherjee hasn’t failed to deliver this time either. But then again, YJHD is not WUS.

YJHD has a weak story. The content is rather good though, so the story isn’t missed much. Naina(Deepika Padukone) reminisces about the time when she had arrived spontaneously on a trek to Manali. The trek, befriending Aditi (Kalki) and Avi (Roy Kapoor) and falling for Bunny (Ranbir) has been a turning point in her life. But it’s eight years since and the friends are quite apart now. The nimitta becomes a wedding and the story begins…. After the interval. Which is fine, because the first half does an excellent job of setting the story.

Ayan Mukerjee had made a simple film with Wake Up Sid. This one is quite a huge jump for him. But the exotic locations and the angle long shots haven’t made him lose the simplicity. There is a certain earthiness in his story telling and we can see his traces on every scene. WUS established Mukherjee as somebody to watch out for. But after YJHD, he is going to be someone who will be chased by producers. YJHD may not be remembered as a cult, but it shows us what our commercial cinema stands for. This summer, movies like Chashme Buddoor and Hum Hai Rahi Car Ke had us worried if this is what becoming of our cinema, but YJHD relieves us of that worry. YJHD is not about Love, nor is it about Friendship. It is about dreams. It is about four dreams, a fulfilled one, a broken one, a rested one and a dream that is let go. YJHD is a beautiful collection.

Ranbir Kapoor doesn’t seem like someone who was a backbench loafer during his school days. He must have been a sensible kid, really. Deepika Padukone certainly wasn’t a nerd who sat in a corner by herself. Yet, not a minute do their characters feel insincere. Both of them prove their stardom. If people go to the theatres expecting a Barfi performance(which they shouldn’t), they still won’t be disappointed. Deepika Padukone gives her Party Girl act a rest. Kalki does what she hasn’t done before, and yet does it beautifully. However, Aditya Roy Kapoor who was on the industry watchlist, falls short. He doesn’t have much scope and his Avi feels like an Aashiqui déjà vu. Somebody who stands out is Kunal Roy Kapoor in a guest role. He continues his goof act from Nautanki Saala and is just as lovable. Combined with his French beard, we are reminded of Amol Palekar and rightly so. Farooq Sheikh, Tanvi Azmi and Dolly Alluwalia appear in two-scene cameos and remind us why we love them. An appearance by Rana Daggubatti too leaves us surprised. Evelyn plays the blonde brunette and has a memorable role.

The music has topped the charts for weeks. Diverse from his previous flick, where the music was really soulful, Mukherjee has picked catchy numbers which is an excellent decision. The music is really young, apt to the title. YJHD had already found a huge fanbase, weeks before its release because of the music. I’ll bet on the fact, that a YJHD song is playing on at least one music channel at any given time. Be it “Dilliwaali Girlfriend” “Balam Pichkari” “Kabira” “Battameez Dil” or “Ghagra” there is no space for other songs on charts because these songs have occupied all the primary positions.

Speaking of Ghagra, everybody who said that Madhuri Dixit has grown old should see the song in a cinema hall. There is no competition for Madhuri when she flaunts about in the Gold and Red Ghagras. The item number isn’t raunchy, instead it is sweet right upto the last point where Ranbir Kapoor plants a kiss on Mad’s cheeks, leaving the audience (at least me) totally jealous of Ranbir Kapoor. The colour red seems to have a wonderful effect in the movie (the title and credits appear in red) with Deepika Padukone looking not a bit less then sexy in Dilliwaali and Kalki looking great too. Red also seems to be the right colour for Deepika (Remember Cocktail’s red bikini?).

There are quite a few memorable moments in the movie like when Ranbir convinces Deepika to board the moving train, a scared Deepika on the berth, and the big fat Punjabi wedding. Avi and Adi’s story helps in making the movie stronger, it is far more sensible the lead couple’s. The main love story is a bit clichéd, and reminds us of various movies, starting right from DDLJ to Hum Tum. In 2 hours and 42 minutes, the movie feels a bit stretched with not quite a convincible climax, however the last scene of the movie makes it to the list of memorable moments.

All in all, YJHD is a good film, well made and well sold. But then again don’t expect a Dil Chahta Hai or Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

Rating:                       ½ (Three and a Half)