The City that was Bombay - My Thoughts on Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008)

Ae Rah-E-Bar-E-Mulq-O-Qaum Zaraa
Aankhen Na Chura, Nazren Naa Jhuka
Kucch Hum Bhi Sunen, Hum Ko Bhi Sunaa
Ye Kiska Lahu Hai, Ye Kaun Mara?

There are some days in your life that you cannot forget ever and then there are some days that never let you forget ever- and still there are some other days that though forgotten never are actually forgotten- they appear so to the untrained eye but lurk silently behind the veil of consciousness and keep us aware by being consistently a part of our nightmares and other psychological incidents.

One may try and try hard but somehow the memories of the days refuses to let go - one such day in the life of Bombay / Mumbai and every man in Mumbai is the day Bombay relived the horror of the 1993 blasts - 11 July 2006

I will never forget this day - this was the day my current career was getting a fillip and I had received a confirmed letter of intent from an employer that I was very keen to join in the capacity that had eluded me for a long time. I looked forward to meeting an old friend and I remember leaving the office premises and travelling downtown to meet him at Churchgate station. We met at Gaylord, a popular restaurant in South Bombay and decided to take a train to Andheri, a suburb of  Mumbai where another friend was waiting for us. Somehow and now I am not sure why, maybe because I wanted to take a bite or maybe because I wanted to call up someone on my mobile and was unable to get a clear signal (it was as bad as today, even then) we got down at Bombay Central.

I remember my friend chiding me and calling me a real fussy character for being so stupid and getting off a seat on a train and that too on the Western Line where getting a seat in the evening locals is like getting a glimpse of God Almighty. Little did we know then that it was indeed God Almighty who was guiding our actions because just a few stations later the bombs kept on the train by those who kill in the name of God blasted in the compartment where we had been sitting just moments earlier and ripped apart that same compartment of iron and steel as if it was made of paper and mud.

I remember going all stunned when I heard of the blasts and rushing all the way to Andheri by whatever transport I could to check if our friend who was supposed to receive us on the station was fine. I will never forget the stress I underwent as phone lines dramatically went dead and all we could hear all over was about the deaths all around us. We never could make it to Andheri - what we saw on the stations between Bandra and Andheri was enough for us to get out of the cabs and start helping the guys around.

All around me was death and destruction; all around me was pain and sorrow; there were people and corpses and it was difficult for me to judge where the people ended and the corpses began.... beneath a pile of corpses, there would be a man still sighing away and similarly among stunned men that were still unfortunate to survive after going through that disastrous and dastardly act lay silent corpses, reminding the ones left to survive both the frustration and happiness of being alive despite all that had happened.

It was not easy for any of us to forget that day; it has not been easy for any of us to make peace with the pain we felt that day but then as they all say - life does not wait. It moves on. Maybe I do not have emotions and so it was easier for me to detach myself from the act and stand confidently and start afresh like the spirit of Bombay that refuses to die - and hence is the subject of abuse by one and all, again and again and then yet again but for others like my friend, it was a major debilitating experience. Hence, when we went to see Mumbai Meri Jaan, what we were doing was not just trying to check the authenticity of the film; but also relive a part of our life that we left that fateful day on the tracks of Western Railways and along the stations of Mumbai and try to exorcise the demons of a fate that befell people whom we never knew but often met in those compartments of steel and iron.

Mumbai Meri Jaan (transliterated as Mumbai my love or Mumbai my life, depending on how you look at it. Transliterating a work of art in Hindustani - Hindi / Urdu is the most difficult thing to try; since both being highly evocative and emotional languages; words have multiple, varied and emotional meanings) is one of the few films that have dared to place that incident in the times and context of the times and studied the impact of the incident on different sections and strata of society. Unlike the classic Black Friday which studies the March 1993 bombings in the causes and effect paradigm and is a well-shot classic that reflects the reality behind the blasts; Mumbai Meri Jaan does not discuss the blasts or the causes of the same -it only delves deep into the psyche of the common man on Mumbai's streets and looks at the impact of that incident on common people.

Mumbai is too diverse of be cast into one colour - if there was ever a true metropolitan city, then Mumbai could surely put up it's hand and lay claim to the same - hence this movie is a sort of a deep look at this incident from the points of view of different characters with different characteristics, culled from the different layers of strata and society that make up what Mumbai is. So we come across different people - like a street tea vendor who ekes out his living by selling coffee and tea on the streets, a TV reporter used to trivializing human tragedy and making them into human interest stories so as to convert it into higher TRPs for the Channel, a man given to extreme disgust and hatred for another community, a man with firm values of patriotism shaken by the aftemath of the blasts and in denial of the circumstances and a motley group of policemen frustrated with both the detoriating circumstances and their impotence and helplessness when faced with forces that make policing a farce.

The first track in the film features the common man on the train who got saved due to God and is battling his personal devils since then. Madhavan has always been a class apart from his contemporaries and he maintains that brilliance in the movie as well. As a man who takes a principled stand on all issues and is patriotism personified to a fault, the slow weaning of his character from his feelings of devotion to his city and country due to the psychological impact and post-event trauma was something that would definitely require a large dose of serious application by the actor and to his credit, the descent is as fluid as can be. The actor is adept at describing the mindset of a man who has been a part of the blasts, experienced it first-hand and seen near and dear ones impacted.

The scene wherein he stands at the station days after the blast, unable to enter the compartment and then takes a cab to office - I remember that scene, wherein he's clutching his bag tightly in the cab while in the background a train is running - shows the actor in complete command of his performance. Equally brillaint are his scenes in the shower, his interactions with his pregnant wife and the final coming to terms with the truth and the gaining of an insight into the dictum that life is ever-changing and keeps moving on.

The impact on a common man of a death-enhancing encounter can only be felt and can only be understood - it's practically impossible for one to explain it in black and white terms - this experience is primarily a difficult emotion, not easily given to words and hence only an actor worth his salt can bring life to that emotion - this is exactly what Madhavan does. One can feel the fear that has seeped into his psychosis by the way he tries to reason out with his friends ably played by Narayana Shastri and Gaurav Chopra about whether NY is safer than Bombay. Agreed the track ends somewhat simplistically and in a complete Bollywood fashion but still it's better than many other top blockbusters

Then we have a track that features the world of sensational TV coverage. Soha Ali Khan as Rupali, an ambitious and on-the-move TV journalist who does not think twice before trivializing a human tragedy to a human sob and interest story to garner brownie points and increase TRP ratings is so realistic that you would be reminded of a classmate or a friend who has shown similar traits in the corporate jungle. Bets are on that you yourself may have been viewed in this light at some time of your career as well.

And then as if to prove that Time never stays constant but is constantly changing, Times change and she is suddenly made aware of the feel of the searing pain when she loses her own in the mayhem that surrounded the blasts and finds that she has lost her own fiancée to that incident. In a moment, the shoe is on the other foot and the pain that was just a human interest story suddenly becomes a personal issue.

The sensationalism of the press has been a major issue and often we find realms of pages devoted to that space but the impact as shown by the performance of this young lady brings home the fact much more strongly than a thousand tasteless documentaries and articles on the subject. Soha performs her role with a dignity that can only be imagined and after a point of time, one not only feels her pain but cries with her - specially when the production house she worked with, in a bid to catch eyeballs goes to town sensationalizing her personal pain and proclaiming to the world her personal loss by such an insensitive comment 'Rupali Bani Rudali' (Rupali becomes a tearjerker).

Some of the scenes that one needs to appreciate are the ones wherein she is being asked to give an interview about her loss and the way she breaks down in the midst of it all and the scene when she sees her personal life becoming fodder for TRP wars. Soha endears with a vulnerability that can only come from confidence and faith in one's art. The track does leave a few loose ends towards the end but on the whole is stronger than most.

The third track in the movie is the track that involves one of the gifted individuals to come to Hindi Cinema in recent times - Kay Kay Menon. Kay Kay plays a right-wing fanatic from a community (it can be any community), totally given to hate and disgust at the other community and one who refuses to have any dealings with the other community and is paranoid and hateful to the extent of being a blind chauvinist to the glory of his own religion and community; looked at from a distance, he can be anyone from any community, someone you can meet on the streets of Mumbai or the streets of any other city, proudly proclaiming the supremacy of his race, religion, creed, community, sex, language, caste or whatever it is that he is a fanatic of!

The height of his hatred is when he chides his friend for appreciating a song by Mohammed Rafi stating that it would be difficult to find a man among the Muslims who would appreciate a song by Kishore Kumar! The irony of the situation is the song that's shown as playing in the background - 'Kar Chale Hum Fida' from Haqeeqat - one of the best patriotic songs in the history of Hindi Music

Kay Kay is excellent in his performance and two scenes stand out in the film - one when in a state of drunken stupor he stops a poor old baker and asks him about bombs and then hits out at policemen trying to save that poor man from his grip and the other when he impersonates a Muslim name to find out information about a Muslim guy who has been missing from his home since the bomb blasts.

The manner in which he holds the sweets offered by the mother of the guy, as if they were not sweets but bombs in disguise, speaks volumes for this man's inherent talent - many have performed the fundamentalist but when Kay Kay performs, he performs! Just look at the way he tries to shy away from the mother when she looks at him with probing eyes and you will know the difference between an actor and a star.

The track involving him and how he changes from the fundamentalist to a man open to all influences is well written but there are times when you would feel the transformation very simplistic. Having said that, I would still say that this is one of his best performances and Kay Kay really defines himself in the role

And now we come to the track that defines man and his ability to take advantage of the most saddest of the tragedies. Irfan as Thomas plays a small-time street vendor who makes his life around coffee and tea that he sells in the silence of the night. Sir Charles Chaplin once said that the most difficult performances are those that are performed only with the eyes and with this brilliant performance, Irfan proves that he has in it that quality that separates great actors from good actors.

Thomas belongs to the strata of society that has always been overlooked. This is the strata of society that leaders and statesmen meet once in 5 years and then forget for the next 5 years. These are the people who suffer indignity,  frustration; people who do not exist except in reality; people who are not valued except on paper but people who die whenever there are riots, blasts or any other hooligan activity - whether State-sponsored, whether Party-sponsored or whether Foreigner-sponsored.

Irfan as always is brilliant - he does not have many dialogues but does an actor of his calibre require dialogues? His silence is eloquent and shows his and every emotion of a dispossessed man threadbare.The scene where an emasculated and a frustrated policeman  unable to bear the barbs of common citizenry thrashes him and destroys his livelihood for the day while he bears it all silently is a lesson in performance to young actors. The scene where he is thrown out of a mall with his wife and children and the cry of anguish that he lets out in silent and impotent desperation is as strong as the waves of a tornado that lash on the deep sea on an angry night.

Look at him as he scans his heart for pain that cascades all pains and the way in which he goes about taking vengeance for the humiliations and hurt that came his way for being poor. Feel his anguish as he is thrown out of the mall since he's poor and feel his pain as it all happens in front of his wife and children. No man worth his salt would allow himself to be insulted in front of his wife and children. For him, the fact that the Bombay Blasts have taken away a lot of life does not mean anything - to him it's just another thing that happens in the city, to the rich man for a change and for him, it's only an occasion for vengeance.

The way he goes about making those hoax calls and spreading thin the police force of an entire city and the way his walk mirrors his feel-good factor shows a perfect psychological high for a wronged man and Irfan performs it brilliantly. But the man is not evil at heart; when faced with the consequences of his revenge on others, he repents and his repentance is much more convincing than Madhavan coming to terms with his trauma or Kay Kay coming to terms with his new-found secularism.

But the segment that engages everyone the most and is the most eloquent is the story that combines two brilliant actors in one foil - Paresh Rawal and Vijay Maurya.

I would be lying if I say that this is not the best segment in the film - Both Paresh and Vijay play cops (Havaldars to be precise) but that's where the similarities end. Vijay as Sunil Kadam is a rookie policeman frustrated with the system and sad at being able to do nothing worth mention. He was supposed to be on a vacation with his newly wedded wife but the blasts have forced him to leave everything and come back to work. The double standards in the police force are so well portrayed that you start feeling for the idealism of the young man and fearing for the death of innocence that is his final destination and when it comes, the tears are real - both on screen and off screen.

The Tears of this young man make you remember and draw parallels with our own hearts to that dark, bleak day in our lives that we wish to forever consign to the back of our conscientious mind - the day we made peace with our desire and killed our conscience. For where would be these blasts, if we would not be a part of the corruption that allows it to flourish.

For any gutter to flourish anywhere on Earth, we require people to throw their filth in that running water; so before we get up from our commodes and point a finger to others, let us also note that some filth flows from our commodes too.

But the man who beats all competition hollow is the man we have all grown up on - Paresh Rawal!

As Head Constable Tukaram Patil, Paresh Rawal is magnificent. The regret of a man who's due to retire the next day but has done nothing worthwhile in his 30 years of service; the impotence of a man who has been in the police force but never pulled a trigger once; the frustration of one who has proved impotent or more precisely allowed the system to emasculate his potency; the man who hides his disappointments behind his humour and the man whose only passing advice to his ward is to not live his life the way he lived it is a painful way to look at life. Paresh is the only one who could have pulled it off and he DOES pull it off.

His monologue at the end of his non-illustrious career is something that will always haunt me to the end of my life for in his failure, I can see mine and of many others like me who could have been something more. When he speaks about Bombay being made of 7 islands and being devastated by 7 bombs, we, as the audience get goosebumps.

Everything about Head Constable Tukaram Patil is brilliant- he's common; so are his pains and therein lies the uniqueness of his pain. Impressive Sir! Really Impressive!

Hats off to the direction of Nishikanth Kamat. I salute him and give him a standing ovation. This is indeed a masterpiece and I personally think this man has done an excellent job while executing a film of this standard. The film wisely stays away from heavy-duty preaching but still manages to convey more than has been conveyed by directors who make jingoistic movies but end up with no value added to the menu - only noise!

Each and every scene in the film stands out and tells us of it's uniqueness. The metaphors employed by the director are brilliant and fit the bill well. There may be simplistic answers to a few segments and I am sure both Kay Kay and Madhavan segments could have been stronger; on the whole the film stands tall. His use of the Mohammed Rafi song in the end invokes within each one of us the same emotions that have made the song the Anthem of Bombay

Ai Dil Hai Mushqil Jeena Yahan
Zara Hatke, Zara Bachke,
Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan

Still, we all love you Bombay! Whether you are Bambai, whether you are Mumbai or whether you are Bombay, you will always be Meri Jaan

Bambai Meri Jaan !
Mumbai Meri Jaan !!
Bombay Meri Jaan !!!

Being Muslim - My Thoughts on Aamir (2008)

The Chinese have a very interesting blessing that I have been reminded of after watching a movie called 'Aamir'.

Well- it's not exactly a blessing but then it's not a curse either.... it's something that has overtones of struggle that would make someone like Iqbal proud but may also be a source of frustration for many others in this world.

It goes something like this: May You Live in 'Interesting' Times..... As is the norm with everything Chinese, much more can be read out and interpreted of those simple lines than what is written within those lines. As Iqbal was wont to say:

Khuda Tujhko Kissi Toofan Se Aashna Kar De
Ke Tere Baher Ki Maujon Mein Iztiraab Nahin Hai

What it means in simple terms is that out of Chaos is born a Man with Character, a Nation with Destiny, a Civilization with History and most importantly a Human with Humanity. This is so because a man in chaos will have everything except the support of the world; at every step of life he will be faced with nothing but battles to prove his worth and a war to fight to prove his existence - detractors will challenge his motives and enemies will meet him at every step - Of Course, there will be excitement, for what are battles without excitement but there will be less of support and more of hostility - However, the world is aware of the fact that greatness is often the result of a battle with the difficult and the impossible.

If this be true, indeed to be a Muslim in today's Islamophobic world is nothing short of being in a battle that has but one clear truth - you are bound to be alone.

Terrorism has no religion but the world has been conned to believe and firmly believe that Islam is the religion of Terrorism. Not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims - thus goes a popular adage against the religion of Islam, which detractors would be surprised to learn means Peace!

What those honourable men of pure intentions forget is that Terrorism was neither invented by Islam neither has it been a policy of the state for the Islamic theologians. The IRA was arguably the first Terrorist Organization of the world and it does not include a single Muslim in it's ranks. Ben Gurion, who first took to bombarding hotels in 1948 with his extremist ultra-conservative Jews for the formation of Israel was anything but a Muslim. The LTTE that began with suicide bombing and use of women and children for terrorist acts does not belong exactly to the Islamic school of thought. Neither is the Lord's Republican Army a Muslim Army. Red Guerillas across the world owe allegiance to Marx and not Muhammed. I am not even considering the spectre of State-sponsored Terrorism but still the currency that has gained across the world is that Islam is the religion of war and Islamic Terrorism the only Terrorism in this world.

Being a Muslim at this point of time is then indeed a challenging preposition.

Of course, there are among Muslims a school of thought that has done a lot to humiliate and degrade Muslims than even it's most strindent of enemies. This is the thought of the Salafis, the Taliban, the Wahaabis and the renegades that are spawned by this school of Islam that has nothing to do with Islam.For them and those of their ilk, distinguishing them from real Muslims I would quote Iqbal as he states a verse that seems directed directly at the Taliban and their ilk:

Khud-Kushi Sheva Tumhaara, Woh Gayyuro Khhudar
Tum Akhubat Se Gureza; Woh Akhubat Pe Nissaar
Tum Ho Guftaar Sarapa; Woh Saraapa Kirdaar
Tum Taraste Ho Kali Ko, Woh Gulistaa Ba-Kinaar

How can these be called Muslims then and how can their religion then be compared to the religion of the great messenger of Peace?

Whatever, be the case, being a Muslim is today's world is not easy. It's an open invitation to being looked down upon, to be looked upon with suspicion, to be arrested without cause and to be held without conviction. I have seen similar circumstances among near and dear ones and have seen how a Nation often shames it's own citizens to the extent that they may no longer consider themselves a part of the Nation - which is a sad commentary on the Nation because a man who loves when ridiculed for his love turns into an animal who knows only fear and there is no emotion more destructive than Fear

There has been a dearth of films that have been made in India or abroad that look at Terrorism from the Muslim point of view - Not all Muslims subscribe to the path of terrorism - but this is not easily acceptable by the majority who view all Muslims as messengers of death and destruction. Hence when once sees a movie like Aamir, he is impressed with the way the Muslim Question has been raised by an all non-Muslim crew and how well life is shown from the Muslim point of view.

Terrorism is accidental to the plot of Aamir - for Aamir is more a story of an ordinary man caught in exceptional circumstances and how destiny drives him to make choices that normally no man would but how Man being Man, by the grace of that Divine Power we call God and his inspiration, finally does outmaneavour Destiny and in the process proves that Man Creates his Destiny and that Destiny is nothing but a  result of one's actions.That Man has Free Will and any Man who knows how to control his Will and keep it Free form undue influences can change the course of his destiny.

On a deeper plane, Aamir discusses the plight of the pampered Muslim community of India - their abodes, their living spaces, their conditions and their circumstances. Looking at these, one would be 'impressed' to listen that these are the communities that have been pampered by the State for the last 60 years since Independence. There is an interesting scene in the film wherein the hero is asked to look for a clue in a Muslim neighbourhood and the neighbourhood is shocking to say the least. A building as dilipidiated as if it was a relic of the atomic bomb explosions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and to imagine families with women and children residing there, as if in the shoadow of death and still going about their life as if that abode was nothing short of 'Paradise on Earth' - and the washroom - one can only feel what it must be like from the expressions of the lead actor - one interesting tidbit - no one knows the meaning of the word ' washroom'! - Imagine then the conditions and circumstances of the Community!

Rajeev Khandelwal as Aamir is excellent. Here is a guy making début in the big, bad world of movies and not afraid to tackle a subject that even the most seasoned of performers would shy away from - Rajeev's Aamir is natural, simple and ordinary. He is the guy you can meet on the roads tomorrow as you walk your dog down to the park, he is the guy who is most likely to occupy the seat next to yours in the bus as you travel to work or from work, he is the guy your girl-next-door is getting married to or who is being fancied by the girl-next-bench. In simple terms, he's a nobody - he's just another ordinary man whom we all meet on the street and may not even give a second look - This is the hallmark of Rajeev's performance - He is understated and confident and comes as a fresh bout of air in a system that seems suffocated for performance.

Gajraj Rao in the role of the nameless mastermind is terrifying. He plays the role with such a conviction that one can only feel his power through the terror that he inflcits on the others around him. He is soft-spoken but the hatred that burns within him is like a smouldering fire that can become a volcano at short notice. Throughout the movie, we find him through his actions, his speech and his mobile but still he chills you to the bone with a calmness and a detachment that comes from complete identification with the convictions that he carries.

Jhilmil Hazarika as a prostitute is bold, in-your-face and put forth a brilliant performance as a prostitute. She is so natural and effervescent that one tends to forget that this is just a persona and starts feeling as if this must be definitely the true vocation of the gifted actress.She is a complete natural and the manner in which she offers her on body on sale to Aamir with the compensations for the services availed makes one fell for an monemt as if she is not discussing her body and her shame but some wares in the market. A marvellous performance indeed.

I am very much impressed with the scriptwriter (Raj Kumar Gupta) who has drafted the script of the movie that I have nothing but the highest regard for him in my mind. The evocative use of words and the symbolisms is so well-matched that one starts feeling as if the script-writer himself must be a master in Islamic Theology. For e.g., the use of the word 'Qaum' rather than 'Mazhab' while referring to Muslims is possible only by understanding the actuall feelings of a Muslim mind.

Qaum is more than religion; it's very much akin to Community in literal meaning but is also close to the word Civilzation and Nation and is often used interchangably with both of them. This is where the script of the movie scores over many of the movies that delve in similar subjects.

The direction by the first-time director, Raj Kumar Gupta is fabulous. He has not only delved deep into the subject but has also been able to put across his point without lengthy sermonizing or the use of cliche to prove his point. The story steers clear of all the formulaic interventions that have become a matter of common use in films dealing with either religion and terrorism. Also, the fact that the film is so compactly directed, that one feels that after a long time, we have a taut thriller that actually is thrilliang and exciting to say the least. The director also proves his expertise in the use of minimal expressions to portray emotions and the movie is a brillaint exposition of the use of understatements to portray complex emotions.

There have been many movies on Terrorism, some of them formulaicm some of them exceptional; some have broken new grounds and some have been strictly pedestrian; among all this cluster of films this movie stands in a class of it's own for it's brilliant exposition of the circumstances and the psychological interplay with human emotions, how the feelings of 'us' and 'them' are created, deepened and reinforced and how these factors come together to create death and destruction in it's wake.

A movie for all who really wish to look at the current state of the country and do something about it. As I end this post, I am reminded of the words of Sahir from Pyaasa

Har Ek Jism Ghaayal, Har Ek Rooh Pyaasi
Nigaahon Mein Uljhan, Dilon Mein Udaasi
Ye Duniya Hai Ya Aalam-E-Bad-Hawaasi?
Ye Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaaye To Kya Hai!

A deep question - Let's ponder and answer this question!

Songs to Remember - III

Sometimes there are nights that are very different from the others.... some nights are more lonelier, some nights more painful.... And for every night that's different, Hindi Cinema has a gem of a song. Today I will speak of a night that's pregnant with frustration and pain and loneliness and a gnawing realization that dares to spill open a heart.

From the film, Ram Aur Shyam (1967), this was one of the few last Naushad gems that would enthral you. Undoubtedly Naushad is a giant among Hindi film composers, in fact he is more than a giant - he's a colossus and some would say a demi-God for his compositions - and indeed he fits the bill but this is one of the songs taken from the fag end of his composing career and you can still feel the magic of Naushad in what is a definitive song on a man's depressed circumstance.

As expected, the gem is in the voice of the great Mohammed Rafi - who else could bring the sublime divine to a collection of words? Only one man - Mohammed Rafi

The song begins with a beautiful incantation - The singer in his inimitable and strong taan extols the virtue of the night that has become kind of different from the others - This may also be so because of the fact that today, the singer himself is going through a very difficult situation in his own life - this is a night that he feared for all his night but finally the night has come and the singer, being the Man he is, has to take stock of the situation.

Ye Raat Jaise Dulhan Ban Gayee Charaagon Se
Karungaa Ujaalaa Main Dil Ke Daagon Se

The singer can feel the joy in the air - that the night that's different has become like a bride by the playful luminosity of the small candles that burn in the wind. As if seized with the emotion in the wind, the lover (only those who can love can sing) and understanding the enormity of the night on his simple heart, he says that today he will also spread light in the environment, even though it may be the cost of his own heart

Aaj Ki Raat Mere Dil Ki Salaami Le Le
Kal Teri Bazm Se Deewaana Chalaa Jaayegaa
Shammaa Rah Jaayegi Parwaana Chalaa Jaayegaa

And then having stated the inevitable, he finally asks the night that has brought so much grief and pain to his heart to 'please' accept his regards - He knows that the night is not happy with him - that his emotional outbursts have hurt the night irreversibly and so he tells the night to bear with him for some time more - and then he puts the pain of his heart in his words - The Candle (the beloved) will burn forever but the moth (The Lover) will finally take a bow

Listen to Rafi as he puts the pain in the last two lines - the way he emphasizes on 'Kal' and then on the way he lets the last line go softly

Teri Mehfil, Tere Jalwe Ho Mubaarak Tujh Ko
Teri Ulfat Se Nahi Aaj Bhi Inkaar Mujhe
Tera Maykhaana Salaamat Rahe Ae Jaana-E-Wafaa
Muskurakar Tu Zara Dekh Le Ek Baar Mujhe
Phir Tere Pyaar Ka Mastaana Chalaa Jaayegaa

Only a lover who has loved truly and deeply knows the pain inherent in the words that have been used. No lover who knows what he's talking can ever say that the beloved has hurt him. Here too, the lover still loves and respects the beloved and wishes that her splendour and beauty may not go undiminished - He knows that the one he loved still is worth all the love that he has for her in his deeply-aching heart. He wants her happiness to remain forever and even as he leaves, there's nothing he would want more than to see her smile at him just that once.

The smile of the beloved has it's own value - what does a lover want more from life than the fact that his beloved is happy and is smiling - What can be greater than that happiness; what can be more sought after then that great moment?

Main Ne Chahaa Ke Bataa Doon Main Haqeeqat Apnee
Tu Ne Lekin Naa Mera Raaz-E-Mohabbat Samajha
Mere Uljhan, Mere Halaat Yahaan Tak Pahunche
Teri Aankhon Ne Mere Pyaar Ko Bhi Nafarat Samajha
Ab Teri Raah Se Beganaa Chalaa Jaayegaa

And now, he slowly delves into his own frustrations - into his own pains, into his own grief - Imagine a lover who is being hated by the beloved for whatever maybe the reasons - Imagine a lover who is unable to explain the sanctity of his love to the one he loves the most - Imagine a lover who has failed in the eyes of the one whom he loved - Worse still imagine a lover who has 'fallen' in the eyes of the one he loves!

Only one who has gone through this torture knows what it feels like - only one who has been through it, knows what it feels like

Imagine being forced to walk out from the paths of the one you love, like a stranger and one will understand the pathos and the pain

Tu Mera Saath Na De Raah-E-Mohabbat Mein Sanam
Chalte Chalte Main Kisee Raah Pe Mud Jaaoongaa
Kahkashaan, Chaand, Sitaaren, Tere Chumenge Kadam
Tere Raste Ki Main Ek Dhool Hoon, Ud Jaaoongaa
Saath Mere Meraa Afsanaa Chalaa Jaayegaa

Strangely, and as is expected, within his heart he still pines for that love but finally coming to the inevitability of the situation, he comforts, more himself than anyone else that he will be able to move on - he knows he cannot still he tries to comfort himself, knowing well within himself that the loss is all his and the beloved, being as lovable as she is, she will easily be better-off without him in his life..... He knows the condition of his broken-heart but he also knows that a broken heart is sometimes better than breaking someone else's heart - especially if that someone happens to be the one you love

These are among songs to die for; these are songs to live by.

I hope everyone learns this fact well that one's own heart is never as important as the one that is the cynosure of one's heart

Love in Cinema - My Thoughts on Kaaghaz Ke Phool (1959)

What does Man want most in life? What does Man work for? What is Man's biggest desire? What is the thing that makes Man's life a better life and what is it the lack of which destroys Man's life?

Man is Man only due to love - the only thing that Man desires is Appreciation for Self and Love for his heart - The greatest successes in life and the biggest treasures of riches in this world cannot take away Man from what he wants the most - Love and a sense of belonging. And often this is what Man fails to get in a lifetime - he may get a family but not familiarity, he may get a spouse but not satisfaction, he may live but not know what life is all about and he may spend his entire life living a life of compromise thinking that it's love that sustains him when the reality is that it's not love that sustains him but his mind that forces him to see love even in mundane acts of human consideration - since the heart and the mind have to justify their existence even the untruth is often dressed as truth and accepted as one

Nothing destroys Man and his life more than the knowledge of the fact that what he considers as love is nothing but a feeling of compromise and worse days are ahead in case he find love but due to social sanctions is forced to disown it.

Sometimes all that one wants from life is a second chance - and sometimes all that life will not give you is a second chance!

One keeps pleading and requesting, begging for that elusive chance to set things corrected but Life looks at him and then looks through him and the doomed, unfortunate Man slowly but surely drowns in the sea of his own frustrations and sorrows, defeated and devastated, not let down by the struggle of life but the cruelty of life that decides the fate of Man on a single throw of the dice - a dice that's often loaded against Man right from inception.

This is not an imaginary statement. Often in life, we see merit becoming an also-ran in the race of life and mediocrity emerging as the surprise winner. How many times have we seen Man being destroyed due to a single throw of the dice? As a poet remarked about the power of fate over reality of life:

Zamaane Ne Dekhe Jawaan Kaise Kaise
Zameen Kha Gayee Aasmaan Kaise Kaise

But what do you say about someone whose own decisions, his own acts of omission and commission become a cause of his troubles, sorrows and frustrations. What do you say about someone who in a moment of emotional innocence destroys his life forever and should now forever be at the receiving end of a torturous fate - one that has been the gift of one wrong step. So aptly is it said for a man of that wretched circumstance:

Ek Qadam Galat Uttha Tha Zauq-E-Yaar Mein
Zindagi Tamam Umr Humein Dhoondhti Rahi

Kaaghaz Ke Phool talks about such errors in life that became a millstone in the life and times of people. A classic, this movie which was among the first to delve deep into the cinema world is the first film to speak about lost moments, an erroneous judgement and the destruction of many lives at the altar of one error.

It is a movie that talks about the life of two individuals who have emerged bigger than life and who have found out that they are the only life for each other but still are forced to destroy their own life because they do not have the power or I would say the guts to take life in their own hands and change it the way they want it to change. Indeed, in a way the loss is a result of their own silence and refusal to stand up and change their fortune but it's only the few who can change the fortunes - the brave, lucky few whereas the others are the ones who are changed by the future itself.

After Pyaasa, Guru Dutt delivers another masterpiece of a performance. As Suresh Sinha, the director whose personal and professional lives come together to create a mess for him and his career and most importantly his life, Guru Dutt delivers a tour-de-performance. His fall from the epitome of success to his final destination - death - is all a story of a man's lost battle against fate and Guru shows admirable constraint while allowing for the character's fall into oblivion. This was a performance that could have failed and failed totally but Guru proves that such complex characterizations do not deter an actor of his calibre.

It's known to all that a frustrating and downward spiralling personal life can create havoc in the life and times of the most strongest and sturdiest of people but the manner in which Guru has performed his role is beyond comparison.

A man whose deep emotional attachment with a woman other than his 'legal' wife has not been reciprocated for the sake of social mores and rules, a man whose wife has become more of a cause of his personal destruction, a man who is unable to come to terms with the loss of love - this is what Suresh Sinha stands for and Suresh is not alone in this quest, there are many who stand like him and destroy themselves for the sake of a love that continues to evade them and refuses to accept them.


Waheeda Rehman as Shanti, the woman whose emotional and personal attachment to a 'married' man creates a destructive effect on her lover plays her part with brilliant restraint. The love and attachment between Suresh and Shanti is obvious; the care and respect they hold for each other natural; the emotions and the feelings true but it's her failure to commit that creates a cascading effect on the life of the one she loves, finally destroying him completely at the altar of frustration and anguish.

It would have been easier for one to destroy this feeling and make it uni-dimensional but Waheeda colours her character with a truth that cannot be forgotten; one does not hate her for her decisions since she is not guilty; she is only weak - her weakness may be a cause for the destruction for the other but she is not responsible for it. How can a victim and her actions be responsible even if they create a vacuum that engulfs and destroys another?

What pains us today is to observe that the love the two held for each other could be allowed to become a plaything of a society that never understood that's it primary function is to allow for human love and dignity and not to destroy love that is the cause of all happiness in this world.

Kaaghaz Ke Phool may appear to be a story of a successful director and his equally successful actress and the relationship they share and how it's impacted by the changing equations of the industry, where selfishness rules the roost but if all the trappings of the circumstances and the conditions be removed, at the heart of the story is a simple love story of two people who loved each other more than anything and yet could not commit their love leading to a life-long pain for one and the end of life for the other.

Like flowers made of paper, that have long life but no existence, so is it with people in the industry - they have emotions but have learnt to kill them; they have feelings but they learnt to smother them. They have a heart but they know that for them it's not more than a pump; it doesn't bleed; it doesn't cry - it's a heart of paper

Veena in her role as Bina, Suresh's wife is too uni-dimensional for comfort. One is unable to either sympathize with her or to understand her reasons for her attitude which borders lunacy at times. Her character-development is one of the weakest and I would say personally the only weak spot of an otherwise robust and strong script. Then it's possible that it was necessary to show the estrangement of the two in such decisive colours but it would have been great, if one was allowed access within her mind.

Johnny Walker is effective at times with his comic timing intact. However, there are times when you feel that the track is laboured and could have been done away with. Unlike Pyaasa, where Johnny Walker is a part and parcel of the film, except a few places where Johnny is instrumental in moving the movie ahead, the role that had a lot of promise is wasted.

The only thing that comes out of his characterization is that many a times, the voice of reason is often forced under the noise of tradition - so although Johnny approves of Guru and supports him; he himself often finds himself drowned under the force of opposition by his family and society alike. Bigger is his error, since a man who cannot stand for truth cannot stand for anything else. When life shall decide the final call of error and appreciation - it will be men and women like him who will be considered to have failed for they could have gone beyond the impossible and done the impossible but they would not; since their fear for their own self-esteem was often much higher than their love for the right things.

Baby Naaz has been given a responsible role, much beyond her age and performs it admirably. As a young child, who dreams of getting her parents together and is oblivious of the grim realities of adult life, Naaz as Pammi delivers an exceptional performance. Her's is a role that shows how young minds can be corrupted and mislead at the altar of social realities and as such, she performs her role with an earnestness that cannot be forgotten.

The music of the film can be described in one sentence as - the cry of an anguished heart from the depths of one's feelings. S D Burman as usual is brilliant and puts another claim to being the greatest of the greatest of the composers ever to put forth their wares in the market.

One often feels that the songs could have been better had the legendary Sahir - S D relationship continued and although Kaifi does give us a score of beautiful songs, the songs are not a notch above the songs of Pyaasa which to my mind alongwith Guide is among the top two musical scores of the industry.

Still the songs of this movie stand hands and shoulders above many others due to two timeless gems - one, among the greatest songs ever sung by Geeta Dutt and the other, one of the most beautiful and scintillating songs ever by the 'Voice of God' - Mohammed Rafi

The song that is the pick of the album has to be 'Bicchde Sabhi Bari Bari' by Mohammed Rafi - only Rafi can bring power to a song that is so depressing as this. Just catch the lyrics of the song and you will know what I mean:

Dekhi Zamaane Ki Yaari, Bichhde Sabhi Baari Baari
Kya Leke Mile Ab Duniyaa Se, Aasoo Ke Siwaa Kuchh Paas Nahi
Yaa Phool Hi Phool Thhey Daaman Mein, Yaa Kaanton Kee Bhi Aas Nahi
Matlab Ki Duniyaa Hai Saari, Bichhde Sabhi Baari Baari.....

This is a song that pains you utmost and on the top of it is Rafi and his lilting vocals that bring not only grief and anguish but also a sense of loss while listening to the song

And of course, you have Geeta and her inimitable song 'Waqt Ne Kiyaa Kya' to put pain in the minds of the painless, tears in the eyes of the tearless and anguish in the hearts of the heartless

Be-Qaraar Dil Iss Tarha Mile
Jis Tarah Kabhi Hum Judaa Naa Thhey
Tum Bhi Kho Gaye; Hum Bhi Kho Gaye
Ek Raah Par Chal Ke Do Qadam

What else can signify that pain, that heartache; that tear, that anguish more than these words - "Tum Bhi Kho Gaye, Hum Bhi Kho Gaye" - that's what love is all about - the feeling, the pain, the understanding and the song - just too good

Guru Dutt in his last official directorial effort is majestic as ever - however, the strains that his relationship with Waheeda were making on his relationship with Geeta can be felt in the movie - there are times when the pace slackens and there are distractions at times but on the whole, the direction is fabulous - the cinematography by V K Murthy is faultless and there are many gems of scenes that make you go wah-wah over the great director that Guru was, is and shall always remain

Do watch this movie - it is important for it deals with love in it's pristine nature. As Gulzar would say

Hum Ne Dekhi Hai Inn Aankhon Se Mehekti Khushboo
Haath Se Choo Ke Innhein Rishton Ka Ilzaam Na Do
Ek Ehsaas Hai Ye, Ruh Se Mehsoos Karo
Pyaar Ko Pyaar Hi Rehne Do; Koi Naam Na Do

A movie crafted in love; a movie made in love; a movie sculpted in love; And yes, it's true flowers of Paper exist forever but their life has no charm; their beauty no intoxication

The Father and The Son - My Thoughts on Shakti (1982)

Shakti is a special movie - one that is both the bridge that unites two different eras of Hindi Cinema and also a chasm that seperates one illustrious era from another; so in a way, Shakti is both the harbinger of new tidings from an era that's approaching and the last stand of the final glorious epoch of a golden era.

Although, it's true that the sparks of the coming era had started illuminating the horizons more than 9 years before this event with Zanjeer and Abhimaan in 1973 and the past would still give off illustrious sparks for 9 years more with Karma in 1986 and Saudagar in 1991, this is the moment that can be said to define the confluence point of the two distinct eras.

The first era was the era of the greatest actor ever to grace the screens of Indian Cinema - Dilip Kumar and the second era was the one dominated by the most able follower of the great Dilip Kumar - Amitabh Bachchan - and what was more interesting was to see these two peerless and matchless performers together in the role of an estranged father and son.

A father-son relationship is always special and different from all the other relationships in both the scope and nature of the relationship. It’s a relationship built on the edifice of mutual hopes and aspirations, aims and ambitions and bounded by awe and respect on one hand and hopes and ambitions on the other. The son is the legacy of the father;for the father is the clay that nurtures the mind of the son. The son, then by corollary is the final shape of the efforts of the father - where the father is the sculptor, the son is the statue - the Statue shines in the world as a reminder to the world of the art and talent of the father.

Like the Taj Mahal which is in spirit both a monument to the creator's desire and the sculptor's imagination, alongwith being the monument of love that it is, the son is also the stamp of eternity of a father's dreams and aspirations - or at least some part of what a father may rightly or wrongly believe. Who remembers the name of the sculptor? Hardly any. Who remembers the sculpture? Almost all

What can be then more amazing than to witness a son repudiate the philosophy of a father!

As the poet, Sir Mohammed Iqbal declared once:

Baap Ka Ilm Naa Bete Ko Agar Azbar Ho,
To Pisar Qaabil-E-Meeraas-E-Pidar Kyoonkar Ho?

Every son looks up to his father with awe and respect and hopes to replicate in word and deed the example of his own father. The father is the first role model the son ever had and hence the faith and belief in him is complete and innocent. None is more unfortunate than the father who fails to keep his respect intact for than we have a son disillusioned, a father devastated and a home destroyed.

Equally, a father looks at a son as one who would carry forward his legacy, as someone who will realise those dreams and ambitions, which he could not …. One who will take his hand and proclaim to the world that he could have done a lot more than he could but could not due to reasons far beyond his powers. Nothing is more devastating than the sight of a father who carries in his heart the grief of a son lost due to death or any other reason. Indeed, there is no sight more painful than the pain of a young son on the old, frail shoulders of the father.....

What then, if the father and son are forced to move on lines, wherein destiny has nothing but confrontation for them and nothing else? What if both the father and the son are forced by life and destiny to confront each other for their own values and feelings rather than complement each other in their own ways? Indeed, one can understand the emotions and the frustrations of both the beings involved in this high-stakes, no gain drama - and of course the loser is often the woman caught between the two - the mother of one and the wife of another!

Unlike Hollywood, wherein a father-son relationship has been the plot behind many interesting classics, very few films in India have tried their hands at tacking this love-hate relationship. Shakti (1982) is one of the few films that have tackled this aspect of life beautifully. Shakti is the story of a father and a son caught in a cesspool of duty to the family and duty to the community, commitment to family and commitment to duty and above all the expression of love to a son and to an ideal.

It boasts of one of the greatest coups of Indian Cinema. For the first and last time, we have the greatest actors of Indian Cinema – Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan pitted against each other. Not surprisingly, since such great coups requires brilliant and inspired characterizations, strong and well-defined roles and a powerful script; sadly, the lack of such scripts is a lacuna that's deeply imbibed in the Hindi Film Industry

Look at the actors -

One – the King of Tragedy; other the Angry young Man. One – The Emperor of Acting; the other the Big B. The end result is a movie that stands heads and shoulders above all, in terms of performance quality. Where Amitabh scores with flamboyance, Dilip scores with understatement…. Where Amitabh performs with intensity, Dilip performs with depth and maturity.

Both of them complement each other completely in terms of loyalty and integrity to the character, making the confrontation all the more worthwhile. The matching of minds and understanding of each other’s requirements of both space and silence has been perfected to an art and it’s no surprise that both the actors appear to be in compete harmony with each other – something only possible with those actors who are comfortable with their art to a point of perfection and not insecure about their potential. It’s unfortunate that no other director ever had the guts to match these two perfect actors ever again on screen and no script-writer could think of a script to get these two titans together again.

Dilip Kumar as Ashwini Kumar towers over all with a performance that fetched him his 8^th Filmfare Best Actor Award (the highest number of Best Actor Awards in Hindi Cinema). The role of a father who has fallen in the eyes of his son, the role of a man whose redemption lies in his standing in the way of his own son’s aspirations and who is forced to save the very person who killed his wife asks for a lot more than what an average actor, nay person too, can deliver.

Dilip, the thespian proves why he is still considered as the greatest actor to ever perform on the Indian screen with a performance too scintillating to even comment. Although he stands out in each and every scene, among his best scenes are the ones in which he tries out to reason out the reasons behind his losing his son to his adversaries, the climax (Amitabh’s death scene) and the funeral scene. Each and every scene of this actor conveys the truth of the expression “ Still waters run deep”. Throughout, he is like an ocean waiting for a tsunami to be unleashed.

I still remember the pain and frustration inherent in the following lines of dialogue after losing his son forever to the hands of his opponents and the depth and anguish in the actor's eyes as he says it all:

Kucchh Log Aaye, Mere Bete Ke Boli Lagaai Aur Mere Bete Ko Meri Aankhon Ke Saamne Kharid Ke Le Gaye.... Aur Sujata Main Kucch Na Kar Saka

Only an actor of Dilip's calibre could have done the impossible - only an actor of his calibre could have said these lines while sitting in a chair and the camera not even facing him and still had the desired impact - only an actor of Dilip Kumar's calibre.

Amitabh Bachchan as the son (Vijay) shakes you out of your slumber. The anger and agony of a son, who has lost faith in his father is so powerfully conveyed that you cannot but marvel at the man behind the performance. Although, he scores in every scene, few of his outstanding scenes are the one where he’s trying to explain the reason behind his displeasure to his wife, the funeral scene and the final death scene. No lesser actor could have brought into broad relief the feeling of disenchantment as portrayed by this great actor. Right from the opening scene, where he kicks a can purposelessly on the streets, you know you are confronted not with a person but a boiling volcano with the tip intact.

There is a dialogue in the film wherein he's trying to explain his stand to his wife and the dialogues are just awesome

Mere Baap Ki Do Biwiyaan Hai .... Ek Meri Maa; Doosra Vardi ... Ek Ka Bata Main Hoon; Doosre Ka Kanoon ..... Mere Iss Sauteli Maa Aur Sautele Bhai Ne Meri Maa Ko Bandi Bana Diya Hai

The pain of a son who hates his father but cannot stop loving him too is not an easy one to perform and only Amitabh could be strong enough to take this burden on his shoulders. A great performance, undoubtedly.

Raakhee as the mother caught behind the father and son gives one of the best performances in her life. In a role that threatened to be destroyed or atleast marginalized due to two super-actors, Raakhee surprisingly not only manages to hold her own in front of both the thespians but also actually impresses with a performance as restrained as any and as eloquent as any.

Her most memorable scene is the one, where she tries to convince both son and husband of the futility of their antagonistic actions. The sense of authority in the scene wherein she comes to Amitabh and is trying to pack her bags, only to be ticked off and the bewilderment in her eyes is just unbelievable. No one thought that Raakhee could stand up to the twin titans of the Indian Marquee but Raakhee does not only stand, she stands tall. Unfortunately it took a long time for Indian Cinema to recognize the talented actress that Raakhee is and still she has hardly been utilized to her maximum potential.

Smita Patil as Vijay’s wife is commendable. Although, the director has failed to do justice to her calibre and employed her in a more subdued fashion, Smita is the perfect counterfoil to Amitabh’s intensity. Her restrained performance ensures that she is noted in a galaxy of actors, however the heart pines for more. Smita could have definitely been utilized more but for the fact that the film was more geared up to show the clash of the titans and I personally think she could have been utilized better.

Amrish Puri is all meanness personified whereas Kulbhushan Kharbanda is competent in his performance. Anil Kapoor impresses in his cameo, giving glimpses of the nascent future in his earnest performance while Ashok Kumar is as usual effervescent in his own style.

Salim-Javed come up trumps with yet another classic to their name. Although, the film may lack the intensity of Deewar, the success of Sholay or the depth of Trishul, what stands out in this movie is maturity. No other movie of recent times has displayed the same level of maturity in their scenes as Shakti. Their greatest success lies in creating a movie that could match Dilip's depth with Amitabh's fury; Dilip's maturity with Amitabh's rage; Dilip's intensity with Amitabh's pain; many have tried thereafter but none have succeeded. This is where the duo stand apart from their fraternity.

Ramesh Sippy impresses yet again with this beautiful movie on a father and a son. It was no mean task to manage a film with two towering personalities but to his credit, Ramesh has done a great job. In fact, this film has proved that Sholay was no flash in the pan and the director knows how to make a film worth its name in gold.

On a more cautious note, R D Burman disappoints. Although the film has a few hummable numbers, there is nothing to do justice to his calibre and his name. This is not to state that the music is bad but then with a talent like R D and a past record of hits like his, I refuse to accept any mediocre compositions from him. Nothing is expected from R D short of excellence and so when I see anything that's even a shade lighter, I feel that it could have been better. Having said that, I like the semi-ghazal "Humne Sanam Ko Khat Likha", ably sung by Asha and the Kishore - Lata duet "Jaane Kaise Kab Kahan Iqraar Ho Gaya"

In short, a movie for all who want to see a titanic explosion of performances on screen