THE DIARY OF Z

The success of ‘3 Idiots’ has planted the seed of change in the minds of many people.  The ideas and value system of Aamir Khan’s character can be taken to address several issues that need a fundamental change.

During the IBN7 Bajaj Allianz Super Idols awards, Khan honoured 18 people who have achieved success despite being physically disabled.  Khan said, "Our society barely thinks about the physically handicapped people. It’s necessary. There should be proper infrastructure - be it buildings, theatres, roads - everywhere so that they can too have a comfortable access to every places like a normal person does”. 

According to a recent survey done in Pune, 80 per cent of government and semi-government buildings are not disabled-friendly.  Perhaps with the kind of change a movie like ‘3 Idiots’ has inspired, we can start to improve our infrastructure to accommodate every individuals rights.

Contributed by Prachi Jain

3 Idiots is continuing its dream run. Realistic, funny and with an accent on thinking out of the box, the film deserves all the moolah it’s making. At last count, the Indian box office collections stood at Rs 185 crore after tax. A box office record, making it an all-time blockbuster, even beating the likes of Ghajini, Gadar and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun.

While it’s hard to pin point reasons for its monumental success, some of the reasons for its fantastic opening include:

1. Aamir Khan’s marketing wizardry: In industry circles, he is being called ‘god’ and a marketing maverick. With good reason. The way he disguised himself and played tricks on the ‘aam junta’ and celebrities alike made many heads turn and filled so many column spaces in newspapers and sound bytes on TV channels.

2. The script is king and with a director like Rajkumar Hirani of Munnabhai fame, the story could relate to just about anyone, class and caste no bar. It was as much a multiplex film as it was a single screen film. As much a success in urban and rural areas.

3. The casting was apt. Everyone did their job well. From eccentric professor Boman Irani to the room boy to Sharman Joshi and R Madhavan to even Kareena Kapoor. Very few films have the best cast and crew. Sample this one. It had No 1 director Hirani; No 1 actor Aamir; No 1 actress Kareena and No 1 producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

4. Ladyluck is on Aamir’s side for the last two years. Sample Taare Zameen Par, Ghajini and now 3 Idiots. Everything he touches turns to gold. Midas touch!

Time was when Miss Indias were pretty as a picture. Neat, clean, well-groomed, and quite a joy to behold. But over the years, and particularly after 2000, the quality of Miss Indias have come down and this year is no different. No matter what others say about beauty contests being personality contests, I firmly believe that they are largely about looks. Because if it were brains that they were looking for, then they may as well have started quizzing contests, IQ tests and what not. But no, they have started beauty contests where contestants are made to strut their stuff in swimsuit rounds as well. So there.

This year’s winners are not a patch on the winners of yester years - Juhi Chawla, Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai, Nafisa Joseph, Dia Mirza, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Celina Jaitley, Gul Panag, Madhu Sapre, Yukta Mookhey, Sangeeta Bijlani, Mehr Jessia, Rekha, Zeenat Aman, Swaroop Sampat, Nafisa Ali and so on… All of these winners were easy on the eyes, intelligent, and mature. But this year’s winners may appear to be intelligent and mature through their answers in the personality round (I particularly liked 20-year-old Parvathy Omanakuttan from Kerala for her quotable quote: ‘Marriage is not when one completes the other but when both share their completeness”). However, she didn’t score high on looks. Even my neighbours are much better looking than she is.

After all, what’s a beauty contest if the person isn’t good looking to begin with?

Just when I thought there’s nothing original under the sun, there comes a case which is not only original, but has been stolen by somebody else who calls it their own. It’s called an ‘idea theft’. And it’s rampant in the TV and film industry.

But I didn’t know that an acclaimed film director like Anubhav Sinha (Tum Bin, Dus, Cash) would steal an idea, cast Shah Rukh Khan in the film, and call the story his own. Apparently, Sinha’s wife Ratna heard of the horror story first from Mrinal (Who has written, produced and directed such shows as Dulhann, Mano Ya Na Mano, Movers & Shakers, Kahiin Kissii Roz). But nothing happened. Mrinal Jha, in the meanwhile, had also brought out a book of her story called The Prayer, that became an instant hit on Amazon.com. Promising a money-back guarantee to any reader if the book doesn’t scare, her publishing house, Undercover Utopia, did good business.

Today, things are a bit muddy. Mrinal’s husband Abhigyan, who partners her in the publishing venture, is looking at ways to get his pound of flesh if only to send the right signals to the TV and film industry that you can’t steal an idea and get away with it.

Here are some links that will help you better understand this case.

LINK 1: SRK’S PRODUCTION HOUSE TO MAKE COSTLY FILM
The bottom of the link outlines the premise of the film being made with SRK in the lead.

LINK 2: http://undercoverpro.abhigyanjha.com/theprayerbook.php#theprayerglimpses
This is the premise of ‘The Prayer’ by Mrinal and Abhigyan.

LINK3: AMAZON REVIEW OF THE PRAYER

This was written by Anubhav’s wife after reading ‘The Prayer’. She had met Mrinal for a script session and was apparently so terrified after reading The Prayer that she took refuge in Archie comics before she went to sleep. What’s more, she ends her Amazon comment with a wish that the book’s story be made into a film soon.

PS: Anubhav says he’s making this film at a budget of Rs 100 crore. Can’t he atleast ‘buy’ the story that’s helping him make his magnum opus a reality?

Just when I thought there’s nothing original under the sun, there comes a case which is not only original, but has been stolen by somebody else who calls it their own. It’s called an ‘idea theft’. And it’s rampant in the TV and film industry.

But I didn’t know that an acclaimed film director like Anubhav Sinha (Tum Bin, Dus, Cash) would steal an idea, cast Shah Rukh Khan in the film, and call the story his own. Apparently, Sinha’s wife Ratna heard of the horror story first from Mrinal (Who has written, produced and directed such shows as Dulhann, Mano Ya Na Mano, Movers & Shakers, Kahiin Kissii Roz). But nothing happened. Mrinal Jha, in the meanwhile, had also brought out a book of her story called The Prayer, that became an instant hit on Amazon.com. Promising a money-back guarantee to any reader if the book doesn’t scare, her publishing house, Undercover Utopia, did good business.

Today, things are a bit muddy. Mrinal’s husband Abhigyan, who partners her in the publishing venture, is looking at ways to get his pound of flesh if only to send the right signals to the TV and film industry that you can’t steal an idea and get away with it.

Here are some links that will help you better understand this case.

LINK 1: SRK’S PRODUCTION HOUSE TO MAKE COSTLY FILM
The bottom of the link outlines the premise of the film being made with SRK in the lead.

LINK 2: http://undercoverpro.abhigyanjha.com/theprayerbook.php#theprayerglimpses
This is the premise of ‘The Prayer’ by Mrinal and Abhigyan.

LINK3: AMAZON REVIEW OF THE PRAYER

This was written by Anubhav’s wife after reading ‘The Prayer’. She had met Mrinal for a script session and was apparently so terrified after reading The Prayer that she took refuge in Archie comics before she went to sleep. What’s more, she ends her Amazon comment with a wish that the book’s story be made into a film soon.

PS: Anubhav says he’s making this film at a budget of Rs 100 crore. Can’t he atleast ‘buy’ the story that’s helping him make his magnum opus a reality?

Here are some more luminaries who stood out during the course of my journalistic career spanning a little more than 12 years.

Karan Johar, filmmaker: This was at the launch of his film, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. I asked him when he cried for the very first time in a cinema hall. “When Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn part ways in the film Roman Holiday,” said the 29-year-old filmmaker. “Now of course, I first think a lot, then cry and then laugh.”

Suneet Varma, designer: He exploded on to the Delhi fashion scene more than a decade ago with his show-stopping Greek collection that showcased, among other things, a brass nipple bustier. Several years later when he came to Bangalore, his eyes were at it again. But he clarified to me that he hasn’t trained his eyes on areas below the waist this time. Instead, he has decided to move his operations from the polluted capital (Delhi) to the salubrious Bangalore. Don’t know if he said it so he could be quoted, because he still hasn’t.

Madhuri Dixit, film actress: For answering all my questions with a deadpan expression; from whether she is planning to open a dotcom (that time every Bollywood type was hopping on to the cyber-wagon) to how much she charged for a live performance. Dixit showed no inflection, no nervous ticks, no display of emotion and no thousand-watt smile. Was it peeved professionalism at work? I would never know.

Celina Jaitley, model/film actress: When asked, what’s weird about fashion shows, she said, “In India, nobody comes to watch the clothes; everybody comes to see the models.” But what beat me was the following tete-a-tete:

Do you believe in spirits?

“Yes.”

Have you met one?

“Yes, when I was living in a haunted house in Ranikhet. It was a 300-year-old British bungalow.”

How did the spirit look like?

“It was a misty human form.”

Was it a person who was long dead?

“I don’t know. Never spoke to it.”

Rahul Dravid, cricketer: For shyly asking me not to give his phone number to anyone other than myself.

Ken Ghosh, filmmaker: For saying, “I am sure the casting couch exists, but I haven’t tried it.” After a pause, he continued: “It exists wherever a woman needs a job and money. It all boils down to the woman. Men like to hit on every woman but it’s really the way a woman responds to the man’s overtures. Eighty per cent of the time, it’s because of the way the woman responds to men. The remaining 20 per cent is rape.”

PC Sorcar Jr., magician: For saying, he will make the Vidhana Soudha disappear for a few minutes if he was given Rs 50 lakh.

Bangalore-based MG Satya (46) who scripted the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Swades, is back to what he does best: write stories for the big screen. Two of his stories have been bought by producers and one Tamil film is to take off shortly. Another story of his is being considered by Yogaraj Bhat, the director of the super hit Kannada film of 2007: ‘Mungaru Male’.

After 11 years of making TV commercials, Satya has now decided to go back to making films and TV serials. “When I went bankrupt in 1996, I started doing ad films and corporate films,” recalls Satya. “Now I want to get back to fiction work and films in particular.” Satya will be collaborating with other production houses and co-producing films in Kannada, Hindi and Tamil.

About his biggest screen triumph, Swades, he had this to say: “From time to time, new characters emerge from the soil. Bangalore offered me an NRI as a villain which I turn into a hero in my tele-film Vapasi in 1994. This became Swades in 2001 and created a little Gandhi out of Shah Rukh Khan.”

For a writer “where the narration and treatment is more important than the language”, we asked Satya to pick five stories that have stimulated and instructed his take on scriptwriting the most.

‘Mysteries’ by Knut Hamsun: It’s a Nobel-prize winning book that scores in its narration and story-telling techniques. It’s the story of a mysterious stranger who suddenly turns up in a small town one summer and just as suddenly disappears. The obstacles that are created are all in the head… it works on the minds of the characters. The deceptive narration technique makes the reader fall into the trap even if he has experienced the very same situation in real life. Nothing in the story should be taken at face value. By the time, you have formed an opinion on the character based on the way he dresses, talks and behaves, the author surprises you by placing him in a situation where his reaction is entirely different. That’s the mystery.

Chomana Dudi: This Kannada film’s title means, ‘Chomana’s little drum’. Directed by BV Karanth, it’s based on a novel by Shivaram Karanth. It’s all about the new economy soon after the arrival of the British. The story is all about coffee plantation and bonded labour juxtaposed with the arrival of Christianity. It’s the dilemma of the new economy that is brought out here without taking sides with anyone. The film is brilliantly shot and I have seen it 3-4 times when I was a little boy in the late 70s. It’s a contradiction that continues till this day. It was a perfect story and a perfect film. You need to have courage to write something like that. Today, if such a film is made, there will be no takers. Our values have changed.

Saaransh: It’s brilliant direction by Mahesh Bhat. The violence was shown on screen without any gross visuals. The story works on the premise of standing up and saying ‘no’ to injustice. This film shows what everyone wants to do but never end up doing. Today, the media plays a proxy war for the reader and the viewer. In those days, this film waged a proxy war for the viewer who will go away thinking that atleast cinema waged a proxy war on his behalf. The best part is that after watching the film, you feel like going and rebelling in your own little way.

1947-Earth: It’s a story of partition viewed through the eyes of an eight-year-old Parsi girl. Ice candy man Aamir Khan is in love with maid Nandita Das who works in the Parsi girl’s home. It’s also about Aamir trying to learn English because this girl has picked up English in the Parsi household. This happens just during the partition. And then, the bloodbath begins and the characters start dealing with their personal demons. Eventually, some die, some convert, some live and some come through unharmed, but not unscathed. The best part is, director Deepa Mehta doesn’t take sides. The best phrase in the film sums it all up: “Mere Mulk ke do tukde kar diye. Aur Phir bol rahe hai Happy Independence!” (My country has been split into two and they are still saying, ‘Happy Independence!’

Lagaan:  I love the way director Ashutosh Gowariker used the Gandhian ideal of non-violence to get back at the British in their own game of cricket. The best part of the film is that the plot creates the hero unlike most films where a hero manufactures the story. It’s not even coincidence like it happens in most other films. It was a perfect film in terms of the language used. Every song was part of the screenplay and had everything a commercial film needed to make it an absorbing story. He also uses Gandhi’s other issues like untouchability without being too in your face like Lage Raho Munnabhai. That is the triumph of the script.

Quizzing can be very addictive. A new game application on India has been started by my friend Dan on Facebook. If you know about India or want to know about India, its heritage, mythology, culture, tradition, Bollywood, cricket and fashion, this could be your ticket to some interesting information.

Happy quizzing.

Play the India Quiz

The good news. After a dismal first weekend, Jodhaa Akbar seems to have rocked on its second weekend in big centres like Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore. And industry experts feel that the film has salvaged its reputation after all. Which is good news for director Ashutosh Gowariker. What’s more, after watching the film, I feel he deserves all the crores coming his way. He has managed to create a visual testament of a bygone era. Even if you didn’t understand Hindi or Urdu, you would be able to make sense of the proceedings. The film is shot for the big screen. So if you haven’t watched it yet, go before it goes out of the cinema halls. And try to sit in the centre isle for maximum effect. And not far back to make the most of the larger-than-life canvas of Gowariker that stretches from one army camp to another.

The film is larger-than-life because he’s talking about a supreme Mughal emperor like Akbar who ruled his citizens’ hearts and minds with his shrewd mind, a strong will and a lovely soul. By having a Hindu wife like Jodhaa, he became religiously more tolerant, and created goodwill among his subjects, caste no bar. It’s this message of religious tolerance that appealed to me most. And the fact that Gowariker spared no rupees to make it as grand as it royally deserves, makes me support him through and through this magnum opus.

I have never seen any historical Hindi film made at this scale. Impressive would be an understatement. The story is good, too. It’s about a valiant king who had to push aside his arms and ammunition and fight his way to win the hearts of his Hindu wife and his Hindu subjects. It’s a historical cry for peace and love. And it’s loud and clear.

On two occasions, tears well up in your eyes - one is when Jalaluddin Mohammed finally wins the hearts of his people who celebrate with a song and bestow him with the title of ‘Akbar’. The other is when Jodhaa prays to her demi god Krishna in restoring the health of an ailing Akbar after an assassination attempt.

Talking of performances, it takes time for Hrithik to step into the armoury of the Shahenshah of Hindustan. But he does learn all the things that go into making him truly royal in the second half. Aishwarya Rai as the defiant princess glows particularly when she shows her disdain for the Shahenshah through her simmering eyes. But otherwise, her performance is just about average. A better actress would be Kajol or Madhuri Dixit. Similarly, Hrithik lacks the charisma of an emperor, particularly in the first half. Someone like Shah Rukh Khan who has charisma in oodles could have done a better job. If you liken the last fight between Hrithik and his adversary (some unknown but bulky actor) to Troy (between Brad Pitt and Eric Bana), SRK would have been a better bet. Why? Because the six-pack Khan may not have the body or height of a Hrithik Roshan, but what he possesses is this larger-than-life persona that translates supremely well on screen. And I am not alone here. Even a critically-acclaimed director like Shyam Benegal has said publicly that among today’s actors, only SRK has the charisma that is expected of a superstar. You might hate him or love him. But you can’t ignore King Khan. That’s screen presence. That’s superstardom.

I have just one small quibble with Jodhaa Akbar. The ‘Khwaja mere khwaja’ number that was meant to be a Sufi song, didn’t sound like one. Most Sufi songs immediately connect to your soul, this didn’t come even close to it. But the song that gave the film the grandeur it deserves is ‘Azeem o shaan shahenshah’. The range, the different dance sequences, the Hindu-Muslim solidarity… all came through brilliantly and took the film to a new cinematic high. The other song that you keep humming long after the film is over is “Kehne ko jashn-e-bahaara hai”. Lyrical and ballad-like, it travels straight into your heart and stays there…
Take a bow, Gowariker. You deserve our ‘buksheesh’ for a job well done! Never expected such a grand outing from you. Honest!

PS: The best part of the film is its 3.20 hour duration. You won’t feel like it’s too long because it’s a pleasure to be on this elegant journey!!!

(This review also appears on mouthshut.com)

Call it miscalculation or a blinkered view of how films should be produced in India, director Ashutosh Gowariker has become his own nemesis with Jodhaa Akbar. By spending a lot of money on the unsung love between Muslim emperor Akbar and his Hindu wife Jodhaa, Gowariker has ended up with a weighty flop on his hands, according to IBOS Network, that claims to know box office receipts first hand. However, others like Indiafm and boxofficeindia claim that the film is a hit in Mumbai and a super hit in Mysore. Whatever be the case, one thing is certain. The gross misrepresentation of history was the film’s undoing as it has been banned in crucial states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana, parts of Bihar and Panvel in Maharashtra. This by itself is a huge loss for the producers of the film. IBOS Network claims that this film could well take the distinction of being the worse All India opener in the last six years, with opening week collections standing at an abysmal Rs 23 crore. However, big centres like Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore reported a good second weekend. So observers feel that it’s not really a big flop as was previously forecasted. However, the moral of the story still remains. Don’t tamper with history. It can get back in its own way.

PS: The latest is that, the film is a hit in India and a blockbuster overseas.  After having watched the film, I feel Gowariker deserves a hit.