MAD FOR MADHURI

As my Filmi Secret Santa recipient is a Madhuri Dixit fan, I also made her a few collages of Madhuri...

... young and adorable in 'Dil'...

... fierce and defiant in 'Beta'...

... warm and elegant in 'Devdas'...

BRING ON THE WOMEN!!

Rajkumar Santoshi’s ‘Lajja’ (2001) is one of those movies that I find frustrating.... Let me start by stating my opinion of the film - which is that overall, it’s not a good film. The script is often clumsy, clunky or corny (and sometimes all three), and the directing and editing are pretty shoddy sometimes. There are elements to the story that are either superfluous or actually detract from the power of the film (e.g. the presence of Ajay Devgan’s character, Bhulwa).

But what frustrates me about ‘Lajja’ is the flashes of radiance in it, the elements that do work, the things that could have made for a really good movie if they hadn’t been overshadowed by the sucky stuff. I really like Rekha’s earthy performance, for example... but I think my favorite thing about ‘Lajja’ is the relationships between the female characters...

... especially the relationship between Vaidehi (Manisha Koirala) and Jhanki (Madhuri Dixit):

Looking over my collection of Vaidehi/Jhanki screencaps got me thinking about girlfriends (the platonic kind) in Hindi films. ‘Bromance’ is a central feature of a lot of Bollywood movies, and has been for decades. Alas, the same certainly cannot be said for relationships between women. I love my girlfriends – I’ve always had great relationships with funny, smart, strong, compassionate women... and I love reading about female relationships. I also love watching vibrant, interesting female relationships on the big and small screens, but that doesn’t happen nearly enough when it comes to Hindi films. Relationships between women are generally skimmed over and sidelined.

Yup, onscreen relationships between women are almost always peripheral in Bollywood – there were really no female equivalents of the two-hero movies that Amitabh Bachchan starred in alongside Shashi Kapoor/Dharmendra/Vinod Khanna/Rishi Kapoor/ Pran in the 70s and 80s. Neither are there female counterparts to contemporary, mainstream movies about male friendship, like ‘Rock On!’, ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ and ‘3 Idiots’. There are plenty of films in which there’s real affection and friendship portrayed between sisters, cousins, or women related by marriage, although again, this is usually peripheral – forming the backdrop to the central story (which is often dominated by a man or two).

But, in stark contradistinction with the many films about friendships between men who aren’t biologically related, there just aren’t many films with similar stories involving women. Probably because the consensus is that such movies won’t do brisk box-office business, and perhaps there’s a little of the whole ‘women can’t stand to share the spotlight with each other’ stereotype in the mix as well. But I figure profitability is probably the key issue.

I have been thinking hard, trying to remember Bollywood movies I’ve seen that have platonic female relationships at their core (with the exclusion of relationships between biological sisters), and I’m not coming up with a whole lot. Apart from ‘Lajja’, there’s the lovely ‘Dor’, of course, with Ayesha Takia and Gul Panag playing two women thrown together by a combination of tragedy and serendipity....

... and there's the gorgeous 'Fire', with Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das burning up the screen in a compelling (and controversial) story about love, sex and self-fulfilment...

And of course this year, there was ‘We Are Family’, which I haven’t seen (and don’t really want to)....

... but there aren’t many more, which is why I’m really looking forward to Vidya Balan and Rani Mukherjee in ‘No One Killed Jessica’ (I know it’s not really about the women’s relationship, but at least it’s a theme), and to Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra’s rumoured two-heroine film.... I really hope these movies do well and open the door to other films with women and their relationships at their centre. I would love to see more –for example, I would love to see something with Madhuri Dixit opposite Aishwarya Rai again – but this time, not converging in concern over a childish drunk à la Devdas, but in a smart film about women balancing (and/or failing to balance) career, romance and family. Or I would love to see Vidya Balan and Mahie Gill star in a good old-fashioned, honest-to-goodness buddy romp with a sparklingly witty script. Or maybe Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi in a movie about two older women rediscovering themselves through their friendship.... And one of my most enduring dream movies is a remake of ‘All About Eve’, starring Shabana Azmi, Konkona Sen Sharma and Aamir Khan. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

... Anyway, I’d love to hear about the Hindi movies you’ve seen that featured interesting female friendships... am I exaggerating their scarcity? Which ones would you recommend? And who would you like to see in your dream Bollywood movie about female friendship?

POLL RESULT: SRK'S Leading Ladies

I was going to finally do my Bollywood-related-stuff-from-my-trip-to-India post next... but erm... it's not quite ready. (If you'd like to check out non-Bollywood photos from my trip, there are loads on my other blog, check them out here, here and here.) In the meantime, it's time to talk about my latest poll.

Thank you SO MUCH to all you for voting in the SRK-leading-lady poll. I loved the results because they were a little surprising in a good way – the margins were slimmer than I thought they’d be, and our winner didn’t cart off quite as many votes as I’d anticipated. Thanks again for voting.

This is the results post… this has been such a fun poll to watch, and a new one will be going up as soon as I hatch a suitable idea… I hope to come up with something radically different (and female-oriented) for the next one.

The question again was which of 11 listed female actors you consider to share the best onscreen chemistry with Mr. Shahrukh Khan…

KAJOL: No surprises here. The unibrowed-one captured 54 of your votes, to win this poll. SRK and Kajol have actually only done a handful of films together, but almost all of them have been super-hits (some have even attained iconic status), with the pair leaving an indelible mark on the minds and hearts of audiences worldwide. From ‘Baazigar’ to ‘Karan Arjun’ to ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ (DDLJ), to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (KKHH)’, to ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ (K3G), this couple has always struck just the right note.

I think what makes the SRK/Kajol work is that they look great together (two unconventionally attractive and interesting-looking people), they are both good at expressing the emotions of their characters, and they have a great vibe between them – so that whether its humour or trauma or passion or drama; they just bounce off each other and make their jodi both believable and lovable. I have loved all the SRK/Kajol pairings that I’ve seen, and I have a very soft spot for the picturisation of ‘Suraj Hua Maddham’ from K3G, a film which (ironically) is not one of my favourite SRK/Kajol films (for me, DDLJ and KKHH are much better films) – I simply love SRK and Kajol in that song.

RANI MUKERJI: Again, this actress has made just a few movies with Shahrukh Khan, but apparently those few movies have made such an impact that Rani has received a very decent score of 32 votes in this poll, second only to her cousin Kajol. I think Rani is a very different kind of actress from Kajol; where Kajol is more instinctive and gives freer rein to the emotions of her characters, Rani is more thoughtful and controlled. But I think SRK is equally adept at creating a vibrant and interesting dynamic between himself and each of the very talented and lovely Mukerji cousins.

In her first pairing with King Khan, Rani played Tina, the third character in the KKHH love triangle. Since then, she’s had memorable performances opposite him in ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ (KANK), ‘Paheli’ and ‘Chalte Chalte’ (as you can see from my screencaps, I love the picturisation of ‘Tauba Tumhare’ to bits). And I should also mention ‘Veer Zaara’ – I think Rani and SRK did a great job together even though they weren’t THE couple of the film.

JUHI CHAWLA: I have to say I love SRK and Juhi together. In fact, if I were to vote alone in this poll, Juhi and Kajol would tie for first place, and Rani would be second. Kyun ki I absolutely love Shahrukh Khan with Juhi. I think they are just excellent together. What I like best about this jodi is the sheer fun and joy that they exude together in most of their films together (with the exception of ‘Darr’, of course, in which SRK’s character basically hunted ‘K-k-kiran’ down – I actually liked them both in ‘Darr’ as well).

Juhi and SRK are so cute together, adorable really; and they always just seem to be laughing and having a blast, making me (the viewer) want to jump right in and join them. Their real-life friendship really shines through. SRK/Juhi have shared the spotlight in films like the oh-so-fun ‘Yes Boss’ (‘Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaon’ is one of my favourite Hindi movie songs ever, and I just think SRK and Juhi are tres cute and charming in the film), ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman’, ‘Duplicate’, ‘One 2 Ka 4’, ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hindustani’ and ‘Ram Jaane’. The cute Juhi garnered 28 of the votes cast in this poll, to come in third… very close to Rani.

MADHURI DIXIT: The gorgeous Mrs. Dixit-Nene grabbed 15 of all the votes cast in the poll, putting her in fourth position. I’m a huge fan of Mads, I think she is so awesome – she’s just a star in every sense of the word. And one of the great things about her is her professionalism, the way she throws herself into every performance and does her best to create the right dynamic between herself and her leading men. Sometimes the chemistry is so convincing that it’s unforgettable, as in the otherwise-unmemorable ‘Dil’ with Aamir Khan; but even when it’s not quite that striking, it’s still thoroughly convincing.

I’ve liked Madhuri and SRK together in the films I’ve seen in them in together (not as much as I’ve liked either of them with other actors though), and I think that’s down to their hard work, professionalism and star quality. Films which have featured Ms. Dixit and Shahrukh Khan in lead roles include ‘Koyla’ (I really liked them together in this), ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ (which I loved more for the Madhuri/Karisma dynamic than for the Madhuri/SRK jodi, actually), ‘Devdas’ (not a great pairing here in my opinion, but a great performance by Madhuri), the oft-criticised ‘Anjaam’ and the pretty darn awful ‘Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam’.

PREITY ZINTA: As far as I know, SRK and Preity have only co-starred in a movie thrice – they’ve shared the marquee in ‘Veer Zaara’, ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ (KHNH) and KANK. In KANK, they aren’t a romantic couple even though they’re playing a married couple, so I would guess that Preity earned 12 of the votes cast in this poll (placing her in fifth position) on the strength of her memorable pairings with Shahrukh in ‘Veer Zaara’ and KHNH.

I am not a HUGE fan of Preity, but I do think she’s a good actress given the right roles, and I think her performance as Zaara in ‘Veer Zaara’ was one of her best. SRK also handed in a superb performance. One striking thing about this couple is the way they were able to portray such a strong emotional bond so well… there wasn’t too much physicality or even sentimentality about them in the film, but they still made you believe in their prem kahani. Great job by both actors. I am less enamoured with Preity’s performance in KHNH (and with the film in general) – I really liked Saif Ali Khan’s dynamic with SRK in the movie, but I was less taken with SRK and Preity as a couple. I still think that they were still pretty good together in the film – and I actually loved the melodramatic scene in the storm (after Preity’s character discovers the truth).

SUSHMITA SEN: Up next is the gorgeous Ms. Sen, in sixth position with 7 of the votes cast. She and Mr. Khan (in a nice, age-appropriate pairing) burned up the big screen in ‘Main Hoon Na’. I remember thinking how nice it was to see these two more mature characters together, both just enjoying their mutual chemistry and doing the whole silly-serious thing. I also thought they were too cute together with the whole sexy-teacher thing and the spontaneous-bursting-into-song thing… I just thought they were great together and played off each other well. Ram and Miss Chandni were really into each other and they were also having fun. Works for me.

AISHWARYA RAI: In seventh position, we have the poised and beautiful Aishwarya Rai, with 5 votes. The lovely Mrs. Bachchan has co-starred with SRK in films like ‘Devdas’, ‘Mohabbatein’, and ‘Josh’ (in which they play siblings). This jodi also had a very memorable dance number together in ‘Shakthi - The Power’. The thing that struck me about this number was that although both dancers were technically brilliant (two of my favourites, actually) and executed some very difficult moves extremely well, the whole thing just didn’t move me. It was like a very beautiful work of art that just doesn’t speak to your heart. I think this is true of a lot of the work SRK and Ash have done as co-stars – beautiful but sorta ‘soulless’ and just not very interesting or compelling. I think they just don’t make a very good couple for some reason. (But she was great opposite Hrithik Roshan in 'Dhoom II' and Akshaye Khanna in 'Taal' (well the first half of it, anyway)).

There are three actors in eighth position, and each one garnered 1 vote in the poll -

MANISHA KOIRALA: ‘Dil Se’ is a film that is difficult to forget – in addition, it’s not happy viewing, it’s disturbing and leaves you wanting some comfort food or a phone conversation with your mama… it’s very tough viewing – especially at the end. But at the centre of it all, we find two central characters that, when they encounter each other, bring home to us all the pain, longing, angst and suffering that are such a reality of our world. I think Shahrukh and Manisha did some amazing work in this brilliant film – I think Ratnam chose just the right cast for his story. Manisha also acted opposite SRK in ‘Guddu’, which I haven’t seen.

SHILPA SHUKLA: This actress, who played the fiery senior player Bindya Naik from ‘Chak De! India’ handed in a very strong performance. I really liked this young lady opposite SRK, she just did the business and ‘brought it’. No-nonsense acting. Not a single sign that she was over-awed by SRK’s star presence. The scene in the locker room was excellent – the way they eyeballed each other. Loved it! And it seems that at least one of you liked it too.

GAYATRI JOSHI: I really liked this elegant actress with a very restrained mien in ‘Swades’. What I liked about the couple in this film was that both the man and the woman were mature – no silly childish mucking around. Gayatri’s character came to SRK’s character when she was good and ready, and she told him exactly how she felt about him – with no hysterics or unnecessary emotion, but quietly and with conviction – like you would expect from her strong, independent character. She knew what she wanted and I loved that. I really liked Gayatri and Shahrukh together in this film. And at least one person agreed, which is cool.

And finally, down at number nine, we have -

MAHIMA CHAUDHARY: To the best of my knowledge, Mahima and SRK have only done ‘Pardes’ (which my mother calls ‘I love my India’ after the film’s super-saccharine signature number) together… ‘Pardes’ is not that bad, but I didn’t like it much either. For me, it was a one-watch-only kinda movie. It was Mahima’s first film, though, and her performance struck me as being quite young and fresh. I think she and SRK were good together, but not memorable, which I guess explains why she didn’t pick up any votes in this poll.

So that’s it… I would have liked to have Bebo in the poll to see how many votes she’d have picked up, but it skipped my mind until it was too late to include her. I actually liked her opposite SRK in ‘Asoka’. Anyway, we’re done with this poll… another will be up soon! Take care…

LESSONS AND QUESTIONS FROM 'HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN...!'

Let's take a seat and listen to Madhuri as she teaches us a thing or two, shall we?

This is one post that’s been in the works for a very long time… it’s the follow-up to my ‘wedding fever’ post, and it’s all about the lessons I learned, and questions I came up with, after my most recent viewing of ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!’ (HAHK)

There may be a few people reading this who haven’t seen HAHK, a MASSIVE Bollywood hit movie from the 90s, so for their benefit, here’s a little bit of background info. Directed by Sooraj Barjatya, the music from HAHK was provided by Raam-Laxman. The songs from the film were even more successful than the movie itself – ‘Joote Dedo (Paise Lelo)’, ‘Wah Wah Ramji’, ‘Dhiktana Dhiktana’, ‘Didi Tera Dewar Deewana’, ‘Lo Chali Main’, ‘Chocolate Limejuice’, ‘Maaye Ni Maaye’, ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun’, ‘Samdhi Samdhan’, ‘Yeh Mausam Ka Jaadu’, ‘Pehla Pehla Pyar Hai’… some of the songs are quiet and romantic, most of them are joyful and playful… and I personally think they are all lovely. And as Alan has noted, one of the really charming things about the music of HAHK is the way the melodies from the songs are intertwined and woven into each other throughout the film.




HAHK stars an effervescent Madhuri Dixit (as Nisha) at the height of her powers, and a younger, actually quite endearing Salman Khan (as Prem). Nisha and Prem are two fun-loving young people who are thrown together when their respective siblings, Nisha’s didi Pooja and Prem’s bhaiyya Rajesh, (played by Renuka Shahane and Mohnish Behl) marry each other. From the engagement ceremony, to the wedding ceremonies (lavishly depicted), to a number of family events thereafter, the film is a veritable deluge of sweet, celebratory songs, and the songs actually tell a great deal of the story. The story itself is simple and can actually be summarised in 5 sentences:



1. Pooja and Rajesh’s families decide to get them married.
2. Pooja and Rajesh get married and live happily together with Rajesh’s family.
3. Nisha comes to visit, and she and Prem fall in love.
4. Uh oh – whip out your hanky, because things get very sad.
5. But everything comes out right in the end… thanks to Tuffy the dog.

HAHK is definitely one of my favourite Hindi movies – if I had a top 20 it would be somewhere on the list. I never tire of the beautiful songs, and I find the characters utterly and irresistibly charming. I recognise members of my family in the fictitious personae of the film, and I immediately warm to the overt emotion – the spirit and heart that the film is unabashedly dipped in. The sweetness of the film, excessive as it is, never seems to cloy for me (I have to say I could do with less of Tuffy the dog though)….

However, there are many who would disagree with me. HAHK is often decried as extremely cheesy, sickeningly saccharine, plotless and dumb, strictly for the dead of brain…. On that last point though, when I watched HAHK recently for the umpteenth time, I came away with some lessons, observations and questions that I immediately thought it would be fun and interesting to write about…

1. Love means sacrifice: I’ll start with one of the more serious lessons of the film, and one that I actually agree with. The overwhelming message of HAHK is that when you truly love someone, you’re ready to make sacrifices for them – to even deprive yourself of your own happiness and satisfaction. Kailashnath (played by Alok Nath) is Prem and Rajesh’s old bachelor uncle, who has raised them as his own sons after their parents’ untimely death. We are informed early in the film that at least part of the reason why Kailashnath is an old bachelor is his commitment to his two nephews – i.e. he has given up the dream of marriage and children for his boys, and is therefore left to sing harmless love-songs to married women (but more on that later).

Our lead characters, Prem and Nisha, make the ultimate sacrifice later in the film, a sacrifice that appears to be partly motivated by misplaced but understandable guilt… luckily for them, Tuffy comes to the rescue…. Note: it’s always a good idea to have a wonder dog around when you decide to sacrifice your happiness on the altar of filial love.

Because love, in the world of HAHK, means never having to say ‘Me! Me! Me!’; the character of Aunty (played by Bindu, in an OTT but very effective comic performance), is vilified for being utterly self-seeking and unconcerned with the needs of others.

Like I said, I agree with this message, although perhaps not with the exaggerated version of it that’s presented in the film. But its exaggeration for dramatic effect doesn’t detract from its veracity. I definitely think it’s a lesson we all need to learn and be reminded of from time to time.

2. A woman’s place is in the kitchen: Now this one pops up in lots of Hindi movies, as it does in real life. This is one ‘lesson’ that irritates me and totally rubs me the wrong way. Pooja’s home-making abilities are richly praised in this film (there is the obligatory scene with her slaving away for the family at the stove), and her mother (played by Reema Lagoo) urges younger daughter Nisha to spend time with Pooja so that she can learn how to run her own home efficiently when the time comes. Just in case you missed it, the message is re-emphasized when the spoilt Rita (played really well by Sahila Chaddha) uses salt to make a sweet (instead of sugar) – earning her lots of censure and abuse from Aunty. Yawwwnn…

It’s not all bad, though – HAHK is actually a bit progressive in this regard, because Pooja does get time off from kitchen duty to play a rollicking game of cricket – one in which she thrashes her hubby’s team. More significantly, the character of Professor Siddharth Chaudhary (played by Anupam Kher) loves the kitchen! He even wears a cute apron that proclaims him ‘The World’s Greatest Cook’…

3. Weddings are a good time/place to fall in love: You hear this bandied about quite a bit in the ‘real world’ as well – that weddings are a good opportunity to meet potential romantic partners… Hmmm, I don’t really agree, especially since I’ve been to a gazillion weddings and have never met anyone even remotely ‘potential’ at one…. I’m also not sure this really fits in where HAHK is concerned – Prem and Nisha are definitely attracted to each other during the period of Rajesh and Pooja’s wedding; and there is a lot of teasing and flirting, but they don’t actually fall in love until after the wedding, during Nisha’s visit to Prem’s home.

I really like this about HAHK, by the way – you can actually see the growth and development of a relationship between these two. At first, there’s curiosity – you can tell they’re a bit intrigued by each other, then there’s lots of teasing, baiting, back-and-forth repartee, and flirtation (along with physical chemistry), then a little stroppiness here and there… then finally there’s a deeper understanding between them as they really get to know each and to understand what they mean to each other (hence ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!’) So the deep love they share by the end of the film doesn’t just spring up out of nowhere as it typically does in Bollywood – you can see it evolve as the characters evolve, and I really like that.

Another thing I really like is that in this film, unlike many Bollywood movies, opposites do not attract… it’s more ‘birds of a feather’… so the mischievous, extroverted and lively Nisha and Prem hook up, while the reserved and subdued Pooja and Rajesh end up together. I love this – in so many Bollywood films, it’s a hook-up between the lively, bold, boisterous guy and the quiet, shy, eyes-always-downcast girl. Here Nisha gives Prem as good as she gets, and it’s clear that he respects her for it and would have her no other way.

4. Treating people badly makes you scary: It really, really does – I mean, just look at Aunty! 'Nuff said.

Ok, so I have no screencaps of Chacha (can you blame me?), but there she is right at the back of this publicity pic, in orange

5. There are some perks to being a confirmed bachelor: Kailashnath actually gets to sing a sweet love-song to Mrs. Choudhury, paying tribute to the evergreen beauty and grace of his old college-mate. Would Professor Choudhury (and the rest of the crowd) had sat by, smiling benignly and playing musical instruments, if Kailashnath had been married? No way… that would’ve been the height of disrespect, to the wife (or wives), to the professor, to the gathering. Here though, it’s sweet and charming – and completely harmless. Random thought: I guess the fact that it’s considered harmless could make it easier for the bachelor to take things further without arousing suspicion – like, ‘you all think I am too old and crusty to tempt a woman? Ha – now watch me run away with your wife!’ (And watch me run away with this silly random train of thought).

6. Go on and kiss that frog: (remember ‘Kiss the Girl’ from ‘The Little Mermaid’? That was so fun – but I digress). Yes, kiss that frog because he might just turn into the handsome prince you’ve been waiting for (or not – but you’ll never know unless you try…)

Hmm… I’m a bit leery about this one – while I agree that the best things sometimes come in the most unlikely packages, there is no doubt in my mind that under certain circumstances, the frog must never ever be kissed. Luckily for Rita though, it works out for her. The earnest, goofy and actually quite sweet Bhola Prasad falls in love with her at first sight, as Dushyanta did with Shakuntala (in Hindu mythology). In fact, every time Bhola sees Rita, he actually sees Shakuntala. Rita, on the other hand, is irritated by Bhola’s attentions – until one fateful day, when she in turn sees him as Dushyanta – and falls madly in love too. Aww… who knows why she decided to kiss this frog? Perhaps she finally saw the goodness and sincerity of his heart (one scene between them lends credence to this theory), maybe she just got sick of sitting around and watching other people hook up… whatever it was, I thought this was a funny and quite cute little sub-plot.

7. There is nothing, absolutely nothing more fun than laughing, dancing, joking and sharing special moments with your family: So true. And HAHK is big (no, HUGE) on this.

8. There is a time to be born and a time to die: Birth and death are daily realities of our lives – as one lamp is lit, another is extinguished. Anyone who’s seen the film will get this. This, of course, is very true… and it’s directly linked to the next point, which is also my first question:

9. Why do the best people die young? Why oh why? HAHK doesn’t really answer this age-old question, but it does refer to the bit about some people being like angels who bless us with their presence in this world for a while, do lots of wonderful things for us, and then they have to go…. Sad stuff, huh?

10. On a cheerier note, who am I to you? The big question of the movie – so big that it deserves an ellipsis and exclamation point for emphasis (see the title of the movie), but what on earth is the answer? I have no idea – is it ‘the one I love’, ‘my love’, ‘my everything’, ‘my world’, ‘my life’ (I know, how sappy can I get? I can feel myself turning into a giant cheeseball) or what? Some subtitling in the songs (especially the title song) would’ve helped, I think… or maybe the songs don’t answer the question either. Or maybe it’s a rhetorical question… I don’t really care about this, to be honest….

11. This most recent viewing of HAHK did clear up one big mystery for me, though. I finally understand why I am so in love with Bette Davis’s eyes. I mean, yes they are the most beautiful, expressive pair of eyes ever, and will always be (to me), but the intensity of my love for them has always been a bit of a mystery... now I totally get it – it’s the black-and-white! Watch Salman’s big ol’ eyes in the opening credits of HAHK and tell me if you don’t think they’re absolutely gorgeous (which they are - despite my many other criticisms of the man, I’ll admit that he does have truly lovely eyes). So monochrome definitely enhances the eyes… why am I only just getting this? Thank you HAHK, thank you…

Ok... so this photo doesn't quite illustrate my point... will try to find something better.

So who says that HAHK has nothing to offer anyone but the brain-dead, nothing to stimulate that grey matter? I obviously take a contrary view… while some of my lessons might be frivolous and silly (and what’s life without some silliness and frivolity anyway?) there is definitely some stuff in there worth mulling over…. This was fun!!

Up next… I’ll be bringing in September with a return to my first love – the next post is all about ‘Apne’… the Deol-fest.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

This post is about some of my favourite Bollywood movers and shakers… and I don’t mean the moguls and power-brokers of the industry – I mean the actors and actresses who know how to move and shake their bodies…

I am a huge fan of dance, and dance in Bollywood movies certainly provides a lot of entertainment. It’s a mixed bag, from the subdued to the extra-extra-EXTRA-OTT, from the traditional to the contemporary, from the solo to the group dances, from the elegant to the wacky, from the talented dancers to the terrible (Rishi Kapoor or Sunny Deol, anyone?) and just about everything in between. There are of course, certain ‘staples’: the ‘item numbers’ (often involving ‘nautch girls’) that show up in a lot of movies, the romantic dances for two in the hills or by fountains, the huge ensemble numbers, the contemplative/introspective numbers that are often used to move the plot along… and so on.

Sometimes I enjoy a particular actor’s dancing because (s)he is simply a good dancer, but this isn’t always true. Sometimes it’s just because the actor is clearly enjoying the number, sometimes it’s the facial expressions, sometimes it’s the emotion, sometimes it’s even the fact that the actor can’t dance to save his/her life (which can be very very amusing).

Anyway, to get to my list… I figure fifteen is a good number – I can probably think of more than fifteen, but I’m just going to put up my very favourite dancers. Also, I think there are going to be, by necessity, waaay more women than men on my list. I’m going to see if I can have at least five males, but it just might be an uphill task.

I should probably also note that choreography is a big factor in a viewer’s perception of a dancer’s skills – in the sense that a really good dancer can’t do very much with really crap choreography, while really good choreography brings the best out of an average dancer.

So, with those caveats, here, in no particular order, are fifteen of my fave Bollywood dancers…

MADHURI DIXIT: Madhuri is a very gifted dancer. Her style is very interpretive and graceful, and she’s very good at using her facial expressions to complement the movements of her body. She can do the more traditional (‘Devdas’) as well as the more contemporary dances (‘Dil to Pagal Hai’) very well. I haven’t seen one of her most famous dances (‘Ek Do Teen’) yet, but I’ve really loved her dancing in just about every one of her movies I’ve seen.

SHAH RUKH KHAN: I think SRK is an excellent dancer. He has such flair for it and seems to look equally good doing just about any type of dance. He also always seems to be enjoying himself. I recently read a Farah Khan interview in which she said that SRK never executes choreography exactly as he’s taught it – he always adds his own style to it and ends up creating a different dance, which the rest of the dancers are then forced to adapt to so that they don’t look out of place dancing with him. I like that.

AISHWARYA RAI: I am not a huge fan of her acting, but Ash can really move. Her dancing is very expressive and elegant, and technically, it’s really hard to fault her. It’s hard to believe that, according to Saroj Khan, Ash was not always a great dancer. She is really good at both traditional (‘Nimbooda’ from ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’) and contemporary (‘Dayya Dayya Dayya Re’ from ‘Dil Ka Rishta’, 'Crazy Kiya Re' from 'Dhoom II') styles, but I personally think she has more of a flair for the more traditional pieces – but maybe that’s just because I always think she looks better in traditional clothing.

AMITABH BACHCHAN: Purists will probably be appalled to find his name on my list, but I LOVE watching Big B dance. It’s not so much the technical ‘correctness’ of his dancing (although I certainly don’t think he’s a bad dancer, he’s definitely not the most flexible or fluid or accurate) – for me, it’s the sheer joy, energy, exhilaration and ‘abandonment’ of his dancing. For him, dancing really is about expression, and he REALLY enjoys expressing himself with his body. It’s palpable when you watch him dance – his energy, his ‘flow’ with the music – I just adore watching it, even when it doesn’t look quite ‘right’. For a really good example of this, two dances from ‘Laawaris’ really stand out in my memory: ‘Jiska Koi Naheen’ in which he really expresses the defiance and anger of his character in his dancing, and another number (the last one in the film, don’t know what it’s called) in which he really lets it rip and does a fun, very enjoyable dance IN DRAG! For anyone who hasn’t seen that dance, it’s well worth a watch.

REKHA: Rekha is a pleasure to watch – I haven’t seen a lot of her work, but she’d make it onto my list purely on the strength of ‘Umrao Jaan’, in which her movements are exquisite and simply beautiful to watch.

HEMA MALINI: While I’m still on the ‘stars from yesteryears’ tip, I should mention Ms. Hema Malini, who is also always a great pleasure to watch. Her dance training is evident in the precision and elegance of her dancing, and I always adore watching her.

HRITHIK ROSHAN: Back to the present day, and here’s one name no-one will be surprised to find on my list. Mr. Roshan is a fantastic dancer – although at first I didn’t get it, I have to say. When, after his debut movie (‘Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai’), Farah Khan went on and on about how great he is and how he should be on Broadway, I was like ‘he dances ok but…’ But watching him dance in ‘Lakshya’ totally convinced me. Hrithik really can move, and his timing is excellent. He says he’s no great dance talent but is just very hard working – I think he’s far too modest, which is rather refreshing, actually.

KARISMA KAPOOR: Karisma is a really skilled dancer – she’s particularly good to watch in more energetic numbers. I really enjoyed her work in ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ (the number in which she and Madhuri do a dance-off is fantastic to watch) and ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’, and have also liked her dancing in several other films.

AAMIR KHAN: I’m kind of ambivalent about this choice, actually, because I don’t really look forward to Aamir’s dancing in the same way as I look forward to other guys on this list – I’m more interested in his acting. Having said that, though, he is a good dancer, technically-speaking, and I guess I do like watching him dance (just not quite as much as I like watching others). What I really like to see him do is gentler, more 'story-telling' numbers, not 'busy' or frenetic ones - he's a very expressive actor so it's good to see him emote through dance. So for that reason, and also because I’m kinda short of menfolk to add to the list (I'm tempted to add Mr. Mithun Chakravarty but he's soooo 80s!), Mr. Khan stays.

HELEN: The actress who’s often regarded as the greatest movie ‘nautch-girl’ ever, Salman Khan’s stepmother (thanks, Carla!), really had the moves in her heyday. She’s great to watch. My favourite Helen numbers so far are ‘Yeh Mera Dil’ (‘Don’) and ‘Mehbooba Mehbooba’ from ‘Sholay’.

RANI MUKHERJEE: Rani is a little bundle of energy, and I think she really does best in energetic, fast-moving numbers. I always enjoy watching her dance.

TABU: Tabu is on my list because she does elegant and graceful very well, and also manages to do totally wacky (I’ve seen her do very very silly numbers in ‘Vijaypath’ and ‘Hera Pheri’) very well too. Very entertaining.

KAJOL: Okay, I guess at this point it looks like I’m just putting my favourite actors on the list – but I guess that’s because I love watching their dancing just as much as their acting. Kajol’s style is less about technical precision and more about interpretation and emotion. Young and funky, dramatic and poignant, she does it all well. I love watching her dance.

SAIF ALI KHAN: I always enjoy watching him dance, he has really nice energy although he isn't great technically-speaking – really enjoyed his dancing in films like ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’, ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ and even (I wasn’t too keen on the choreography) ‘Salaam Namaste’.

So I managed to get my self-imposed minimum of five guys onto my list – which means I am free to have a person of either gender as the fifteenth person on my list.

I choose: Priyanka Chopra and Bipasha Basu (yup, a tie). I chose Juhi Chawla earlier and then realised that I must've been on something when I made that choice, because much as I love Ms. Chawla and think she's the cutest woman ever, she cannot dance at all. So Priyanka and Bipasha win the day - Priyanka for her dancing in films like 'Salaam e Ishq', 'Don', 'Krrish', 'Dosti', 'Waqt' and 'Bluffmaster'; Bipasha for 'Beedi Jaila Le' from 'Omkara' (that performance alone is enough to get her on this list) and for other performances like those in 'Dhoom 2' and 'No Entry'.

So that’s my list… which of your favourite dancers have I missed out? I’m sure I haven’t seen enough Bollywood movies to be able to add some of the best dancers… I’ve heard Govinda is a great dancer, but I’ve never seen a Govinda movie. Same goes for Sridevi.. never seen her dance. I also like other actors’ dancing (examples are Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babi, Sushmita Sen and Sonali Bendre), but haven’t yet seen quite enough of their dancing to add them to my list. And while I haven’t seen Vinod Khanna dance a whole lot, I quite like his showmanship (as in, “look at me, I’m so cool and groovy. I'm not a great dancer but I'm so cool anyway”) in the few numbers I have seen him do. I think I’ve seen quite a bit of Preity Zinta’s dancing, and, while I think she’s good, I don’t REALLY look forward to watching her dance. That might well change though, because I can recall that until I watched her performance in ‘Chori Chori Chupke Chupke’, I didn’t particularly enjoy her acting, either. Of course, some may protest the absence of Urmila Matondkar from my list, but, while I liked her dancing in ‘Rangeela’ (not so hot on the choreography, though), I haven’t seen her in much else.

So, suggestions please! I’m particularly interested in suggestions of really good dancers among the male actors, as well as among older generations of actors (whose films I may have not yet seen).

You know, as I’m typing this, I’m also re-watching (more like listening to) ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!’, a film I really love. And (a much younger) Salman dances excellently (IMO) in this film. He also dances well in ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’. But I’ve so hated his dancing in other films (‘Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam’, for example, and ‘Pyaar Kya To Darna Kiya' – in which he made he stop watching ten minutes into the film thanks to one dance number), that I can’t bring myself to add his name to my list…