नोव्हेंबर २००६. नुक्ताच् प्रकाशीत झालेला केदार शिंदे दिग्दर्शीत “नवरा माझा तुझी बायको” चित्रपटाला शासनाने टॅक्स्-फ्री दर्जा दिला होता. शेजारीच् उघडलेल्या नव्या चित्रपट ग्रृहात याचे दिवसाला दोन खेळ चालत होते. आजकालच्या मल्टीप्लेक्स स्टॅंडर्ड प्रमाणे २ खेळ म्हणजे पिक्चर नक्कीच् चालत असणार, असं मला वाटलं. साधारणपणे टॅक्स्-फ्री चित्रपट चांगले असतात असं कुठेतरी वाचलं होतं. मला नेमकं काय झालं कोणास ठाउक, पण मी सहज गेलो आणि चक्क २ तिकीटं काढली!

आता प्रश्न होता तो एक बकरा शोधण्याचा. एकट्याने पिक्चर बघणं मला विचित्र वाटतं, म्हणुन मी नेहमीच्या गिर्हाईकांना फोन करू लागलो. अगदी वाईट परीस्थीतीत मी त्याचं तिकीट स्पॉन्सर करण्याची सोय केली होती. एक तासात एक मित्र हा (फालतू) चित्रपट बघण्यास तैयार झाला. या वरून तुम्हाला कळलं असेल की मी किती चांगला सेल्समन आहे!

पिक्चर चालू होउन अर्धा तास झाला तरी मला आशा होती की पुढे काहेतरी चांगलं असेल. माझा मित्र शेजारी बसून माझ्यावर शाब्दिक मारा करत होता. मी त्याला समजावत होतो की ही नोर्मल मार्केटींग स्ट्रॅटजी आहे. मी कधीच् पिक्चर अर्धवट सोडून गेलो नव्हतो, पण आज रेकॉर्ड ब्रेक करायची ईच्छा होत होती. नावावरूनच् कळायला हवं होतं. टप्याटप्यावर टुकार संभाण, बुड नसलेली कथा, पाचकळ विनोद व एकंदरीत तिसर्या प्रतीचा चित्रपट. पैसे घेउनही कुणी हा चित्रपट बघु नये ही विनंती.

मराठी चित्रपटांची दयनीय आवस्था बघून मला फार वाईट वाटलं. खालच्या दराचे चित्रपट बनविण्यापेक्षा काही न बनवलेलं बरं, असं मला वाटतं…

• Dombivli Fast (6)
• Umrao Jaan (6)
• Sahi re Sahi (6)
• Return of the supermen (9)
• Omkara (9)

Just back from the movie “[tag]Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix[/tag]”, and since now-a-days all I do is write executive summaries, here is one for you: This movie was much much better than the previous “[tag]Harry Potter[/tag] and the Goblet of fire”. Firstly, because it showed the important stuff appropriately, secondly, the pace was right, thirdly, the cast was excellent and finally, the special effects were simply awesome.

Now the detailed movie review.

Casting was simply great. Dolores Umbridge was perfectly bitchy and was immediately ‘hate-able’, particularly her smirk. Luna Lovegood’s weird character was played nicely and she was always shown in a higher contrast than the others, so she really ‘stood out’. I especially loved the way she said “We trust you Harry” apart from her other dialogs. The third character I absolutely loved was Bellatrix Lestrange. In the little part she was shown, she did a remarkable job. Of course, Lord Voldemort, Severus Snape, Harry Potter, [tag]Hermoine[/tag] Granger, Ronald [tag]Weasley[/tag], Ginny and the Weasley brothers were good. Dumbeldore was even worse than he was in part 4. Fortunately, he was kept out most of the times.

The movie is perfectly paced. I can imagine the challenge the director must have faced to convert the exhaustive book into a two hour twenty minute movie. Compared to the shoddy work in part four (Goblet of Fire), this part was way better.

Special effects are notable. First, when the Weasley twins create havoc using fireworks and second during the final fight between Dumbeldore and [tag]Voldemort[/tag]. The last scenes could perhaps have been longer, but I think the important elements of the fight were appropriately covered.

For those of you who have absolutely no clue about what I am talking, here is a short summary. This Harry Potter and the order of phoenix’ is the fifth movie in J. K. [tag]Rowling[/tag]’s Harry Potter series (seventh book – ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ is due in few days). Anyway, in this book, Harry Potter, a 14 year old wizard boy who survived the attack of Voldemort the dark lord, starts seeing images that Voldemort is planting in his mind. The whole story revolves around a prophecy that Voldemort wants, but cannot get. Meanwhile, in the school where Harry is studying gets a new headmaster Umbridge, a nasty representative of the Ministry of Magic. She imposes restrictions on the school, and Harry along with a bunch of trusted friends forms what he calls ‘Dumbeldore’s Army’, where he teaches his friends ‘defense against dark arts’. In the climax scene, there is a long fight between the dark forces and the rest of the wizards, including an incredible Harry Potter-[tag]Dumbeldore[/tag] vs Voldemort battle.

If you still can’t make sense of what I am saying, I really suggest that you grab a book and read it.

• Umrao Jaan (6)
• Return of the supermen (9)
• Omkara (9)
• Om Shanti Om (19)
• Movie hall quirks (17)

This [tag]movie[/tag] [tag]Umrao Jaan[/tag] (उमराव जान / امراؤ جان ) is based on the novel ‘Umrao Jaan Ada’ by Mirza Muhammad Hadi Ruswa, and is a remake of the 1981 blockbuster [tag]Hindi movie[/tag] starring [tag]Rekha[/tag]. This is a story of Ameeran, a girl from Faisabad who is sold to a madam in Lucknow and who grows up to be Umrao Jaan, a beautiful courtesan skilled in music, dance and literature. But behind this exterior beauty is a sorry tale of love, betrayal and sorrow.

अब जो किये हो दाता ऐसा ना की जो,
अगले जनम मोहे बिटिया ना की जो ।

(What you have done this time, oh Lord, please don’t repeat
Don’t make me a girl in my next birth.)

Young Amiran from Faizabad witnesses a बिदाई (departure/sendoff) of the bride to her husband’s house after her marriage. Watching the grief stricken family of the bride she tells her mother that she will never go away after marriage.

Indeed, Ameeran, barely in her teens is sold off by a criminal to the bazaar of Lucknow where she is inducted into a कोठा (House of entertainers) managed by Khannum Jaan ([tag]Shabana Azmi[/tag]). Khannum gives Ameeran a new name – ‘Umrao’. Umrao is trained in traditional dance and given education in literature and शायरी ([tag]Urdu[/tag] poetry). She grows up to become Umrao Jaan ([tag]Aishwarya Rai[/tag]), a beautiful woman perfectly skilled in dance and poetry. She is not a conventional prostitute, but is groomed specially to entertain rich and high class men (Nawabs). In very her first मुजरा (dance presentation), she enthralls the entire Lucknow city by her beauty and thus becomes the most sought after tawayaaf.

Nawab Sultan ([tag]Abhishek Bacchan[/tag]) who has a penchant for ghazals, is instantly drawn towards Umrao jaan, while Umrao falls in love with him at the first sight. They connect instantly and take vows never to separate from each other. Alas Nawab Sultan’s father is unhappy with his relationship and disowns him. Thus, unable to ‘pay’ for the expensive services of Umrao, Khannum asks him to leave. This is where the tragic story begins. There’s a lot more I’m not writing here.

And now some opinions.

Aishwarya Rai is very gorgeous indeed. She can perform the classical dances gracefully, deliver dialogs seamlessly and express the feelings beautifully. Her eyes are alive and her gestures are rich and perfect. Compared to this, Abhishek Bacchan is a mess. Never does he look anything close to his role of an elegant prince. Sunil Shetty is apt for his short appearance as a dacoit. Shabana Azmi is always a reliable actress. She is a class apart from the mainstream Bolywood filmstars, and that is evident.

The movie is directed quite well overall. The urgency of situation during the 1875 uprising, the pain felt by Umrao jaan when Nawab Sultan calls her unfaithful, and such emotional moments are remarkably portrayed. However, there are excessive number of songs and unwanted scenes in the movie that gives the viewer a feeling that the movie will never end. Director [tag]J. P. Dutta[/tag] could have edited the movie to a crisp two or two-and-half hours instead of making it three days hours long. Anu Malik, the music director has failed to create any good music, which could have made watching the movie a slightly less boring experience. All the songs sound mundane and there are too many of them scattered in the movie.

The movie is full of shayri’s and elegant dialogs. The use of Urdu is impressive, but sometimes excessive. They could have provided subtitles in Hindi or English to make understanding easier! But at the same time, one line of poetry conveys message worth reels of dialogs and this is a striking achievement. Also, I liked the flash-back concept of story telling. It distinctly highlights the striking contrast of Umrao jaan at old age and during her glory days.

I haven’t seen the earlier make of the movie by Muzaffar Ali. But I strongly feel that if a movie is going to be remade, it should be edited to suit present-day. If the new movie is simply a copy paste of the old one, nobody is going to like it. Had there been some originality with the adaptation of the same story to contemporary times, it would have been much more enjoyable and appealing to the fans.

This folk song however kept lingering in my head for a couple of days…

अब जो किये हो दाता ऐसा ना किजो,
अगले जनम मोहे बिटिया ना किजो ।
कैसा नसीबा जगमें हर बिटिया पाये,
अपना जिन्हे समझत है पर वो पराये,
बाबूल का अंगना छूटे, मैया का अचरा,
भोली चिडिया पाये बस एक पिंजडा,
फिर भी ये सब समझावे तडपा ना की जो,
अगले जनम मोहे बिटिया ना की जो
जो अब किये हो दाता ऐसा ना की जो ।

• Return of the supermen (9)
• Omkara (9)
• Om Shanti Om (19)
• We will rock you (8)
• Reading the sounds (4)