I am a fan of his films, I admit it. I saw Khamoshi 2 years ago and found it mesmerizing right from the moment that Seema Biswas got close to the speaker and the LOUD music came on. AND I finally understood why Salman could create mass hysteria. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was a musical feast full of rioting colors and Aishwarya and Salman had a crackling chemistry.
Devdas was a loud Wagnerian opera, even the tragedy was heightened to an extreme. Black was an OK watch, but almost choking full of issues. A film that should have been sensitive and muted, was set in a “museum” and told in a near caricaturish manner. Then came Saawariya. The sets became other-worldly and there was a complete disconnect with reality. More and more Mr. Bhansali was moving into an unreal world, full of larger than life characters, and outlandish situations.
I think there is something about a song and dance extravaganza that desensitizes us, and makes us more willing to accept what is not real. But if a story tries to be real, then by God we want it to be told in a realistic manner. This is where Black and now Guzaarish lose out. Gone is the inimitable stamp of music and dance that is the hallmark of a Bhansali film. Instead we have a guy who is a paraplegic and really looks like he is in an audition for the next film on the life of Jesus (Hrithik), he has the hair and the beard and he’s got the suffering down pat. His name is Ethan (Mascarenhas) so that we can make a derivation from Euthanasia to Ethanasia. Actually Ethanasia could be the fantasy land where he dwells, in a crumbling castle with a grand staircase, and curtains that billow and swirl around the whole room. And yes there is a drip that falls on the exact center of his forehead, and a fly that sits exactly on his nose.
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I'm scared to watch it. I could barely sit through Black and Saawariya. I did not even like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas upon first viewing. Just about the only one I tolerated was Khamoshi and where that was light in terms of settings and colors, the others I find to be complete eyesores.
ReplyDeleteI remember while watching Devdas, I actually wanted to run out of the theater just to escape feeling claustrophobic. Never have I craved daylight and the outdoors more.
A guzaarish even more heartfelt than mine comes from HERE
ReplyDeletes the opening credits of the film roll, a plate appears, of you dedicating the film to your father. My mind quickly went back to another film, and easily this year’s best so far, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Biutiful. And strange as it may sound, the actor of the film is Javier Bardem. You may not have seen his film The Sea Inside, or may be its difficult to remember what all films you saw before you decided to make Guzaarish, but whoever told you that making the canvas BIGGER creates all the magic, needs to see the film Biutiful.
Black wasn’t The Miracle Worker, Saawariya wasn’t White Nights and ofcourse, Guzaarish isn’t The Sea Inside. I remember a friend telling me that after he interviewed you and left, you called him up and asked him to describe you as an “auteur” in the piece that he is going to write. Over the years, those who have access to you, or say those who are granted access to you, including a certain famous fluffer of Patna, and his tribe, they don’t spare the opportunity to put you into that “Auteur” category. But if possible, look outside, get out of your cocoon, take your film outside and ask any film lover, what do they think of it ? No, not the star lovers. Not the production designers. Not the cinematographers. Only those who love film.
Not sure if you will ever read this post, or even if you get to read, one of your fluffer will surely dismiss it as another smear campaign, by someone who belongs to blah and blah camp, one who has no sense of aesthetics. But if you are happy with all the love and respect of all your fluffers who surround you, who nod all their heads in every word that you utter, only because they are all there to gain something from you, then, sir, the artist in you is dead.
The same happened with another filmmaker. The man who came with his explosive brand of cinema. Bollywood hadn’t seen something like that before. We worshipped him. And then, came the fluffers. He said yes, they agreed. He said no, they agreed. He says anything, they agree. And those who agree, are those who matter to him. Earlier we used to think, he will deliver with his next one. Now, we don’t bother. We will never. Because Ramu is RIP. More than once. Long live the fluffers!
and so much more at the link!
For some reason thatURL was nor processed - here it is again!
ReplyDeletehttp://moifightclub.wordpress.com/2010/11/21/dear-bhansali-wake-up-smell-the-coffee-look-outside-and-fire-the-fluffers-because-big-is-not-always-biutiful/
"Hrithik's look as well as character is pretty similar to Richard Dreyfus's character Ken Harrison. He cracks sex jokes with his nurses and so does Hrithik. Ken Harrison asks his doctor if he will be ever able to walk, move his fingers and toes and the dialogue is literally translated in Guzaarish. Ken falls off his bed when the nurse is trying to set up his pillow and so does Ethan when Omar tries to do the same. Ken is forcibly given an injection when he refuses to take the medicine just as Ethan. Ken asks his girlfriend to go away and marry someone else much like Ethan does. The court conducts the hearing in the hospital similar to the court conducting the hearing in Ethan's house. Now there is a dialogue which goes "Aaakhir Yeh Zindagi Hai Kis Ki" which literally translates to "Whose Life is it Anyway?" during the court scene. It’s probably SLB's way of crediting the original.
ReplyDeleteMar Adentro (The Sea Inside) is a Spanish film which won the 2004 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and was based on a true story. Sam has written a book just like Ethan. Sam uses a long pen in mouth and whistles to call and is in an upstairs room with a window - just like Ethan. Sam files the euthanasia petition after 28 years and here it is 14 years. While Sam was being taken care of his family here he is taken care of by his nurse. Scenes of Sam being driven to the court, the media asking him questions and the court declining to even hear him are similar. The way they get injured is similar too. Sam is abused similar to Ethan. Sam feels helpless when his lawyer Julia falls off and here Ethan is helpless when Sophia is being beaten up by her husband. Rosa offers to kill Sam just like Sofia does in Guzaarish."
"Hrithik puts in a lot of effort but he is over the top as characters usually are in SLB's films. He is not consistent and copies Richard Dreyfus, Javier Bardem, Daniel Day Lewis and even Al Pacino. He even does his mentally retarded bit from Koi Mil Gaya at places. His constant laughing and smiling makes him look like a retard. Aishwarya Rai is dressed in cleavage revealing dresses and wears gaudy make up and dark red lipstick that could put a prostitute to shame. Her face looks bloated and she overacts as usual. Monikangana Dutta hardly has any role and has one line to speak and it looks like she is reading off a teleprompter. Aditya Roy Kapoor' seems to have wandered off from the sets of Action Replayy."
http://www.tanqeed.com/movies/review.cfm?ireviewid=11
Most of what you state is very true. Thanks for sharing. I still feel that despite the garish makeup Aishwarya acted decently for a change.
ReplyDelete