Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Main Zinda Hoon
Was just going through a script on Director Sudhir Mishra when i came across this title. Since it is quite apt for my comeback post, I decided to borrow it for this particular post. My apologies to Mr. Mishra!
So, where have I been??? Nowhere actually. Just haven't got down to writing, mostly because of the lack of time, and to some extent due to pure, unadulterated laziness. My apologies to everyone who has been writing sarcastic comments about this on my blog as well as on their own :-)
This has been one long weekend, with just Monday spoiling the opportunity for getting 5 holidays in a row. And yes, I did not go home for Diwali this year also!!! The idea was to rest in Bombay. But as always, holidays are becoming more hectic than work-days, what with all the socializing, drinking sessions, movie watching et al!
Watched both Don and Jaan-e-mann over the weekend...obviously! Don on Friday evening and Jaan-e-mann on Saturday afternoon. Didn't have too many expectations from either of them, but one of them did manage to surprise me.
Don first, since it came first in the chronological order of my watching it. Frankly, I still haven't got the point- why did Farhan Akhtar make this movie? I am sure that an acclaimed director like him, with an established scriptwriter for a father, would not find it too difficult to find an original script on which to make a movie. But as the great Lord Buddha said,"Vinaash kaale vipreet buddhi"(When disaster is destined, you start making stupid decisions- very loosely)! Did Farhan not know that people will compare this movie with the original at every step? Was he not aware that SRK is no Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka is no Zeenat Aman, and worst of all, Arjun Rampal is no Pran- Koi Chance Nahi! The characters were the same, the dialogues were the same, the songs were the same, so what did Farhan Akhtar have to do for making the movie? This guy seems to be lazier than even me! One twist(a good one, I must admit) does not, and cannot make this movie original. All said and done, it is as good or as bad as a remixed song, and we all know my views on them!!!
Jaan-e-mann, on the other hand, was a revelation. It is a movie that everyone who appreciates and enjoys Bollywood kitsch will absolutely love, and that is the precise reason why my old bete-noire Mayank Shekhar(who, incidentally, does reviews for OUR channel)has given it just 1.5 stars while giving 3.5 stars to Don. He is the same guy who trashed Main Hoon Na on the front page of Mid Day on the day of it's release. IT's all a matter of the right sensibilities. But wait, I digress. Jaan-e-mann is a movie which you should not watch. Yes, you read me right. It is a movie which you should allow the wonder-struck child in you to watch. It is an experimental movie in terms of the treatment, and if the windows of your mind are open, trust me you will laugh through the movie and clap joyfully after every two minutes. It is one of those movies. But I should not forget to mention Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan- they make a great pair, as always. Preity looks old in places. The songs, if you listen to them on a CD, are very ordinary. But within the movie, they are just perfect in terms of the music, the lyrics and above all, the picturization.
That's all for now folks. A belated Happy Diwali and non-belated Eid Mubarak to all of you. May the Force be with you.
p.s. A note for my non-Hindi speaking readers: The title of this post means- I am Alive!
So, where have I been??? Nowhere actually. Just haven't got down to writing, mostly because of the lack of time, and to some extent due to pure, unadulterated laziness. My apologies to everyone who has been writing sarcastic comments about this on my blog as well as on their own :-)
This has been one long weekend, with just Monday spoiling the opportunity for getting 5 holidays in a row. And yes, I did not go home for Diwali this year also!!! The idea was to rest in Bombay. But as always, holidays are becoming more hectic than work-days, what with all the socializing, drinking sessions, movie watching et al!
Watched both Don and Jaan-e-mann over the weekend...obviously! Don on Friday evening and Jaan-e-mann on Saturday afternoon. Didn't have too many expectations from either of them, but one of them did manage to surprise me.
Don first, since it came first in the chronological order of my watching it. Frankly, I still haven't got the point- why did Farhan Akhtar make this movie? I am sure that an acclaimed director like him, with an established scriptwriter for a father, would not find it too difficult to find an original script on which to make a movie. But as the great Lord Buddha said,"Vinaash kaale vipreet buddhi"(When disaster is destined, you start making stupid decisions- very loosely)! Did Farhan not know that people will compare this movie with the original at every step? Was he not aware that SRK is no Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka is no Zeenat Aman, and worst of all, Arjun Rampal is no Pran- Koi Chance Nahi! The characters were the same, the dialogues were the same, the songs were the same, so what did Farhan Akhtar have to do for making the movie? This guy seems to be lazier than even me! One twist(a good one, I must admit) does not, and cannot make this movie original. All said and done, it is as good or as bad as a remixed song, and we all know my views on them!!!
Jaan-e-mann, on the other hand, was a revelation. It is a movie that everyone who appreciates and enjoys Bollywood kitsch will absolutely love, and that is the precise reason why my old bete-noire Mayank Shekhar(who, incidentally, does reviews for OUR channel)has given it just 1.5 stars while giving 3.5 stars to Don. He is the same guy who trashed Main Hoon Na on the front page of Mid Day on the day of it's release. IT's all a matter of the right sensibilities. But wait, I digress. Jaan-e-mann is a movie which you should not watch. Yes, you read me right. It is a movie which you should allow the wonder-struck child in you to watch. It is an experimental movie in terms of the treatment, and if the windows of your mind are open, trust me you will laugh through the movie and clap joyfully after every two minutes. It is one of those movies. But I should not forget to mention Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan- they make a great pair, as always. Preity looks old in places. The songs, if you listen to them on a CD, are very ordinary. But within the movie, they are just perfect in terms of the music, the lyrics and above all, the picturization.
That's all for now folks. A belated Happy Diwali and non-belated Eid Mubarak to all of you. May the Force be with you.
p.s. A note for my non-Hindi speaking readers: The title of this post means- I am Alive!
