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)

[tag]Omkara [/tag]is not not commercial sugar-candy movie, nor is it conventional [tag]Hindi cinema[/tag]. The movie Omkara is a dare swim against the currents. It does not have glamour or predictable happy endings. This is some serious material; real people, real emotions and disturbing realities. The movie is laced with generous usage of swear words and bold dialogs and is meant for a mature audience.

This keenly anticipated movie, released on July 28th, is an adaptation of Shakespere’s not-so-famous play [tag]Othello[/tag]. Directed by the talented [tag]Vishal Bharadwaj[/tag], the plot develops in the heartland of Indian politics – Uttar Pradesh. The movie is shot primarily at Wai, Maharashtra and has picturesque scenes, esp the temple of coronation.

The movie is based on the directionless, caste ridden political wars in UP, however this issue is not highlighted explicitly. It also takes a solemn note the male chauvinistic attitude which culminates into the movie climax. Suspicion and jealousy are the prime drivers behind the storyline and the plot, which is a shocker at times. There are vivid scenes of violence and sensual portrayal of love and lust.

Things look slow and routine in the early parts of the movie, with abductions and killings – nothing that we are not used to seeing in movies. Soon, the story leads the curious viewer into a messy affair of rustic cow-belt political gang wars where [tag]Ajay Devgan[/tag] (as Omkara or Omi) and his two trusted aides [tag]Saif Ali Khan[/tag] (as Langda Tyagi) and [tag]Vivek Oberoi[/tag] (as Kesu Firangi) work for Omkara’s political mentor Nasseruddin Shah (Bhaisaab). Creeping into this macho cauldron is a tender love story between Omkara and [tag]Kareena Kapoor[/tag] (Dolly). The other women – [tag]Konkona Sen Sharma[/tag] (Indu) and [tag]Bipasha Basu[/tag] (Billo) have significant roles to play.

The story really begins when Omkara appoints Kesu as his chief lieutenant (bahubali) instead of Langda. Langda swears to ruin Kesu and plots strategies to isolate and destroy Kesu. This process culminates into a tragedy at the end of the movie, something that is unusual to happen in [tag]Hindi movies[/tag], and that’s what gives the ‘it’s different’ feel about Omkara.

Director Bharadwaj has extracted the best out of all the characters. Ajay Devgan and Konkona Sen are at their usual best and for the first time I think, Kareena Kapoor has performed a mature role. However Saif Ali Khan steals the award, for his expressions and body language are simply outstanding; notably the at the appointment ceremony. Bharadwaj’s music and background is apt and blends perfectly with the scenes.

Omkara has a very strong character but apparently cannot see shades of grey. His leadership and authority is rightly assumed but could have been dealt with better. I feel Ajay Devgan was under utilized. Also, Bipasha Basu is better suited for sophisticated movies.

Overall I would strongly recommend the movie. It is one of the finest adaptations of contemporary society and has a straightforward, but powerful storyline and characters. This movie has all a rare combination of elements – drama, romance, emotions, songs and dance – working in fine balance with each other. All human emotions – love, hate, jealousy, joy, mistrust, determination, etc are superbly portrayed A welcome break from the conventions, the movie has motivated me to read Shakespeare’s Othello. Don’t miss it.

• Umrao Jaan (6)
• Return of the supermen (9)
• Om Shanti Om (19)
• We will rock you (8)
• Reading the sounds (4)

Superman Returns

Have you seen the trailer? Well I think that’s sufficient. The plot is woven as if the trailer was made before the movie. Expect no more action scenes other than the shown in the trailer. Brandon Routh, (as Clark Kent) the new Superman returns to Earth after spending five years looking for his home planet Krypton. Immediately, he saves his sweetheart Kate Bosworth (as Lois Lane) in some great mid-air action that redefines Newton’s laws. 5 years back, newswoman Lois was pissed off at Superman for leaving (her) abruptly and she’d writtn an award winning article “Why the world doesn’t need superman”. Suddenly, (her) hero is back.

Meanwhile Kevin Spacey (as Lex Luthor), the villan is free from jail and has discovered the supposedly unguarded wealth of Kryptonian knowledge. He intends to ‘grow’ new land on earth by displacing present continents and killing billions of people in the process. He does manage to grow lands of dark ice, and the idea of civilization on that land looks preposterous. Predictably, Superman fights the villians, lifts the whole island and launches it away into space.

The movie should have ended there, but the director chose to be theatrical. Krypton elements from the island he just lifted have affected him and he comes crashing down to earth. They treat him in a hospital, but what really cures him is a tender kiss from Lois and another peck from his son. There are plenty of such melodramatic and overdone romantic scenes which at times make you wonder if the movie is called Superman or Loverman.

Superman Returns is a disappointment, especially when Spiderman and Batman sequels have done really well. The only thing I liked is superman’s blue eyes and Lois’s soft lips.

Krrish

Krish: The Indian superhero

Rakesh Roshan directed “Krrish” stars his son Hritik Roshan (as Krishna Rohit Mehra) and Priyanka Chopra (as Priya). Nasseruddin Shah (as Siddhant Aryan) plays the villain. In this movie, which is a sequel to the erstwhile superhit movie “Koi Mil Gaya”, Krrish is shown as the son of Rohit Mehra and inherits the alien powers that his father possesses (minus the mental underdevelopment).

I don’t know why the director has projected Krrish as “Superhero of a third world country”. He is so poor that he can’t afford a zipper on his costume, or a razor to shave his stubble. His powers don’t give him the ability to fly or spin a web or resist bullet shots. All he does is take really long jumps while he ‘runs in air’ with facial expressions akin to that of an ‘angry man’ of the 80’s who is about to say ‘kutte…’.

Superhero Krrish is present in the movie only for about 40 minutes. For the initial 2 hours, he is just Krishna, the lover boy who goes to Singapore to meet Priya, after falling in love with her when she was holidaying in India. Add to this the cheap humor, terrible music, silly songs and absurd dance sequences and you’d guess it has typical elements of hindi movie.

Several brands have sponsored the movie and they are endorsed every now and then. Roshan has continued his age old Bournvita, but now additionally there is Navaratna, Lays, Hero Honda, Samsung, Fairever and so on. Have you ever seen Siyaram’s travel bus or anyone pouring spoons of Tide detergent to wash a bucketful of clothes?

Wait a minute, there’s still some hope. Director Roshan has spent lavishly on technology, probably for the first time in Hindi cinema. Some effects in the action scenes are awesome, though not breathtaking. Even the story is kind of ‘visionary’!

I believe the sequel (Krrish II) will be better if he focuses more on superhero qualities and technology instead of second grade elements of Hindi movies.

To conclude: Neither movie is must-watch. They are rather watch-once-only type.

• Umrao Jaan (6)
• Omkara (9)
• Om Shanti Om (19)
• We will rock you (8)
• Reading the sounds (4)