RANBIR KAPOOR & HIS LADIES (no, I don’t mean it that way!)

Of the younger, ‘post-Khan’ generation of actors, Ranbir Kapoor is undoubtedly one of my few firm favourites. I have keenly followed his career since his 2007 debut with ‘Saawariya’, and I have enjoyed his work so much that I have seen all the movies he’s starred in since then. And although the ‘Rockstar’ trailer looks pretty dire to me, I will keep seeing all his movies – because I just really like watching the dude.

Why do I like Ranbir? Many reasons, but here are the top… five:

• Like his parents before him (who are two of my all-time favourites), there is something very ‘natural’ and engaging about his onscreen demeanour. He has really nice onscreen energy and presence, and a confidence that always comes across without being overbearing.
• I also think he’s a talented actor with the capacity to keep getting better. He really gets beneath the skins of the characters he chooses to play, and he handles both comedy and drama very well.
• He’s also a capable dancer – I love a good dancer, and there are precious few in the new crop of Bollywood’s leading men. He gets a lot of goofy, loopy, silly dances, and he’s good at those, but I think he could do more ‘stylised’ stuff equally well.
• He’s very easy on the eye, of course – I love his looks. I could actually wax quite lyrical on this topic (the gorgeous hooded eyes, the distinctive nose, the athletic physique, etc etc), but I won’t, because I don’t want to nauseate anyone, including myself. Suffice it to say I think Ranbir is extremely good-looking.
• Also (and I think this is really key to my enjoyment of Ranbir’s work) I love his film choices – I think that unlike many other young actors, he’s been very smart about the roles he’s chosen to play and the people he’s chosen to work with. I’m sure there’s an element of luck in there as well, but I think he’s chosen the right roles with remarkable proficiency. In just 4 years, he already has a really enviable resumé.

While I love Ranbir onscreen, I’m really not a huge fan of his offscreen (public) persona. I don’t enjoy listening to his interviews, for example, because I personally don’t find him particularly witty, interesting or personable in them. I also have lots of thoughts on the way he’s conducted his personal affairs in the public eye, and especially on the whole ‘Koffee with Karan’ thing. No need to go into all that here, but yeah, not a fan of Ranbir’s apparent treatment of his ladyloves offscreen.

Incidentally though, I think his onscreen interaction with his leading ladies so far has been very good. I think that Ranbir does well with romance, not yet on the level of his dad Rishi of course, or on the level of one of the Khans, but I think he could definitely get there with more time and experience. He plays really well opposite the actresses he works with, and makes them look good, and I love that in an actor. His onscreen romantic relationships are nicely depicted for the most part, and this post is all about that…

Saawariya: Bhansali’s flop tale of unrequited love, which I talked about a little here, despite its failings, still managed to be a good launch-pad for the careers of Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor.

They both looked gorgeous (even if the characters they played were irritating and Ranbir’s styling sucked). Also, Ranbir had that towel scene, which I will absolutely ’fess up to loving. Their characters didn’t have that much real interaction, though, and what they did have seemed contrived and just not that engaging or memorable. I actually found Ranbir’s interactions with Gulabji, the prostitute played so beautifully by Rani Mukherji, and Lilian (‘Lollipop’), played by Zohra Sehgal, much more appealing.

Bachna Ae Haseeno: An imperfect film, and the first Ranbir Kapoor movie I saw on the big screen, BAH was Ranbir’s first taste of a slick Yash Raj Films production. And like many recent YRF movies, it got a little bogged down in references to YRF classics from the past, and was a little too glossy for my tastes. Plus Ranbir’s character, Raj, was quite frankly a bit of an ass. That being said, I think Ranbir (as Raj) did a pretty good job of romancing the ladies in this film, losing them due to his immaturity, cowardice and selfishness, and then later trying to make amends.

Raj had three ladyloves in this movie – with the first one, Mahi (Minissha Lamba), it was puppy love, all clean, fresh and fun… until he broke her heart. She went on to nurse her hurt for years, even after marrying and starting a family with the drop-dead gorgeous Joginder (Kunal Kapoor). Raj/Mahi was my least favourite jodi in BAH, because I just didn’t think there was enough depth to their brief relationship to make Mahi lose her joie de vivre and not commit herself fully to her dishy (he was SO fine) and adoring husband, even years later, when she would presumably have been older and wiser. So this one stretched credibility quite a bit for me, but hey, Raj and Mahi were a cute couple while it lasted.

The second leading lady in BAH was the stunning Bipasha Basu – and she was my favourite. Their relationship was much more contemporary and ‘grown-up’, but just when Bipasha’s character, Radhika, started to let her guard down and believe in their relationship, Raj dumped her in just the cruellest way possible. I liked the way their relationship progressed… from the initial attraction, to something deeper, to the betrayal, and then to a grudging (on Radhika’s side) mutual respect. I also loved the fact that when he returned, Radhika put him through the wringer for a bit. I think Bipasha’s performance has a lot to do with my enjoyment of the Raj/Radhika relationship – she brought such ‘realness’ and oomph to her role… she was just fab.

BAH’s third leading lady, and the lady with whom Raj had the defining relationship of the movie, was of course with the smart and independent Gayatri (played by Deepika Padukone, whom Ranbir famously started dating shortly before the film’s release). The Raj/Gayatri relationship definitely had the most complexity and honesty to it, but I actually don’t remember that much else about it – they looked good together and had a nice interaction, but for me the Raj/Radhika relationship left more of an impact.

Wake Up Sid: I absolutely love this movie, and the relationship between Ranbir’s titular Sid and Aisha (the wonderful Konkona Sen Sharma) was beautifully portrayed. The movement from friends to roommates to a couple felt so natural and organic, and the credit for that definitely goes to Ayan Mukherjee’s wonderful story and direction, and of course to Ranbir and Konkona for how subtly they conveyed their characters’ feelings and personal development.

Ranbir’s portrayal of Sid was excellent, you really felt the character’s lack of clarity and motivation – and you empathised with it and wanted to see him get past it and find some inspiration. It could have been just another shallow depiction of the young loafer that we see so often in Hindi films, but Ranbir took Sid to another level and reminded us that, corny as it sounds, there’s a ‘Sid’ in all of us. Konkona as Aisha was fantastic too – her character reminded me of myself and my friends. And seeing Sid and Aisha come together was such a treat.

There are so many great little moments between Sid and Aisha in the film, crowned perfectly by that gorgeous closing scene. Just writing this makes me want to watch this film again. They were just. so. good.

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani: Rajkumar Santoshi’s 2009 screwball comedy was the second Ranbir Kapoor movie that I saw on the big screen, and there are many things I like about it. I love the songs from the film, I like the uniqueness and quirkiness of the story and the characters, and I like that in many ways it’s a bit of a throwback to the goofier Bollywood fare of past decades, which doesn’t get made very often these days.

 

I really enjoyed Ranbir’s performance in this – his character (Prem) was a really sweet and likeable cornball, and he portrayed him a boyish glee that was so much fun to watch. He also displayed comic timing throughout the film, and the development of his friendship and eventual romance with Jenny (Katrina Kaif) was also really sweet and a fun watch.

 

I’m not a big fan of Katrina as an actress (although I will give her full props for working hard and being a committed professional), but I think ‘Ajab Prem…’ boasts one of her stronger performances. Jenny was a little tough to buy into as a character (especially the way they dressed her – I think they were going for ‘young and innocent’ but I found it just a little silly), but Katrina managed to convey the naïveté of the character in a way that worked well and didn’t cloy. She displayed really good comic timing as well. All told, I really enjoyed watching Ranbir and Katrina together in this one.

Since this is getting a little long, Part II of this post will be up on Wednesday, which also happens to be Ranbir’s 29^th birthday....

MY FAVOURITE MALE BOLLYWOOD STARS OF THE 70s

Thanks for checking out my list of my favourite 70s actresses, and for letting me know who your faves are! So now it’s time to talk about the guys… the men whose 70s movies I love.


• Rajesh Khanna

Rajesh Khanna’s film career was like a shooting star – brief but bright! In the years when he ruled the Indian box office (and hearts everywhere), it was pure mania.

I love 70s Rajesh – handsome, romantic, funny, and unique. He had a vibe that was just different from the other leading men of the time. I even love his trademark head-shake and the trademark RK ‘look’. Funky, fun and often more than a little camp, he captured ‘70s groove’ really well. He was a better actor than he’s given credit for these days. He was also usually good fun to watch, which is very important in my book.




Unfortunately, Rajesh’s lack of versatility as an actor (basically, he sucked at dishoom-dishoom), along with the rise of the ‘angry young man’ I’ll be talking about next, brought his reign as the King of Bollywood to a quick end in the 70s. And the less said about his more recent work, the better. I try very hard not to think about it!


• Amitabh Bachchan

No one can argue that the big B is a Bollywood icon. My darling mother, who was not a Bollywood fan, came across me watching ‘Do Aur Do Paanch’ a few years ago, and said to me, ‘how come that guy is in every Indian movie you watch?’ Mr. Bachchan is special to me because when I became re-acquainted with Bollywood about 5 years ago, he was one of the few Hindi film actors I remembered from my childhood. His camp action-adventure, ‘Mard’, was one of the first Hindi movies I saw as a child. And it’s interesting to think that even now, in his late 60s, he’s still going at it and dishing out great performances like his excellent turn as Auro in last year’s ‘Paa’ (he just won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance).





Regardless of what one may think of him, his filmography alone is proof that his status as a legend of Hindi cinema is well-deserved. I personally love the guy – I love his passion for films, and how he flings his long limbs into every role with almost reckless abandon. I love his versatility and the intensity with which he tackles each role, even the silly ones. I love that distinctively deep voice, those lanky limbs and those dark and unconventionally handsome looks. I think he can be a little pompous, a little self-absorbed, and more than a little self-righteous, but I can live with those flaws. I may call his wife the most talented Bachchan, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the big B is very talented as well – and more importantly, he’s extremely committed to and focused upon his craft.




Anyway, Amit ji did a lot of really great films in the 70s, the decade in which his stellar career really took off. Often dark, brooding and intense, he deftly created his trademark ‘Angry Young Man’ persona. From Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s ‘Anand’ (1971), the film that really got him noticed, to ‘Kaala Pathar’ (1979), he did it all in the 70s: from OTT masala (‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ – his comedy in this is classic!), to marital drama (‘Abhimaan’, opposite his then-newlywed wife, Jaya Bhaduri), to moving melodrama (‘Mili’). He played a brooding poet (‘Kabhi Kabhie’), a tortured policeman (loved him in ‘Zanjeer’), hardened criminals (‘Sholay’, ‘Muqaddar ka Sikandar’, ‘Faraar’, ‘Deewaar', ‘Don’), a shy professor (‘Chupke Chupke’)… the list goes on and on…. He worked with the top directors, the hottest leading ladies, and some lesser-known names… and he left a lasting mark on the Bollywood of the 70s.


• Dharmendra

Now everyone knows that I adore Dharmendra… he’s the reason I started this blog! I could wax lyrical about all the reasons I love him, but I’ve done that many times before… so I’ll just point you to my post on his 70s career, if you haven’t read it yet… the 70s were my favourite decade when it comes to Dharmendra films, although as Bollyviewer commented, the quintessential Dharmendra decade is more like 1965 to 1975. Here's a funny screencap from 'Chupke Chupke':



• Rishi Kapoor

Rishi was such a sweetheart in the 70s. With those earnestly cute eyes and that impish smile, he was absolutely adorable - I always just want to hug him when I watch his 70s flicks. He had great screen presence and there was always something so sincere and likeable, so charming and personable, about him in those days. Sweetness aside though, in some of his roles, notably ‘Mera Naam Joker’, ‘Bobby’ and ‘Kabhi Kabhie’, he also captured youthful love, teenage lust and a generous helping of 70s rebellion in a way that no-one else did.



From his unforgettable debut as an awkward schoolboy becoming a man in his father Raj’s ‘Mera Naam Joker’; to his equally unforgettable role as the title character opposite a luminous Dimple Kapadia in ‘Bobby’; to his youthful and fun roles opposite future wife Neetu Singh (loved them together in ‘Khel Khel Mein’, 'Kabhi Kabhie’, ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, ‘Doosra Aadmi’ and others)… there are so many gems among Rishi’s 70s flicks, and I love them.



• Vinod Khanna

I like to call him sexy Vinod. Because that’s what he is! To be honest, when I watch his 70s films, the young Vinod Khanna doesn’t actually have to say or do anything to make me happy. Just looking at him – from those dark, intense, heavy-lidded, beautifully-framed, brown eyes, to the dimple in his chin, to his beautiful physique – that’s enough for me. When he doesn’t smile, he’s scorching hot. When he smiles, everything in his face lights up. He’s a gorgeous man, and as you can probably tell, I could talk about how hot he is for ages, but I’ll spare you… partly because I’ve probably embarrassed myself enough already, and partly because he’s a lot more than a pretty face.


He was a really good actor too in his heyday – from the learned and anguished friend of ‘Muqaddar ka Sikandar’; to the serious policeman of ‘Amar Akbar Anthony'; to the intensely, evil-but-hot bandit of ‘Mera Gaon Mera Desh’; to the stylish young stud of ‘Mere Tulsi Aangan Ki’, he just… gave all his roles that special touch… you know what, I give up - the truth is, I obviously can’t talk about this guy ‘seriously’. He just makes me melt. Sadly, I don't have many screencaps of sexy Vinod, and the pictures I've come across on the net don't do him justice; but happily, Veracious has lots of lovely ones here.

The indomitable Pran almost made this list – he was such an icon of the 70s! I love the villainous roles he played with such relish, always leaving his indelible mark on just about every film he did, even the really bad ones. I just LOVE Pran (cue gratuitous screencap)!



So, the women are done and the men are done... that’s it on my fave actors from the 70s. There are other actors from the 70s that I love: Sanjeev Kumar (brilliant actor!) and Parveen Babi (such a babe!), for example. Even Rishi’s uncle, Shashi Kapoor, who some of you are probably thinking I just forgot to mention! But hey, one must stop somewhere….

So… those are my favourite Bollywood actors from the 70s…. Who would you choose?

BEFORE ‘DEEWANGI DEEWANGI’…

…there was ‘John Jaani Janardhan’, from ‘Naseeb’ (1981). For ‘John Jaani Janardhan’ Manmohan Desai (who also directed ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’), managed to assemble a small galaxy of stars for a fun music-and-dance number. He didn’t round up quite as many stars for the number as Farah Khan did for Om Shanti Om’s ‘Deewangi Deewangi’, but he did manage to reel in some pretty impressive fish. There was the iconic Raj Kapoor, along with his brother Shammi, and his son Randhir. There was my beloved Dharmendra, Simi Garewal, a very cute Sharmila Tagore, Mala Sinha, Vijay Arora, Dev Kumar, Waheeda Rehman, Bindu and Rakesh Roshan (back in his acting days), along with some lesser-known stars (who knew there was a Simple Kapadia? Dimple I know, but Simple?). And of course there was Amitabh Bachchan, playing the character of the song’s title, John Jaani Janardhan.

I love this number – I especially love the end of the song where the stars all break into a freestyle dance… Raj moves into a graceful waltz, the ladies shimmy prettily, and Dharmendra does this really bad but oh-so-cute strut thingy – he looks like a total wally, but a cute one. Mr. Bachchan is great in this song – he makes it such OTT and silly fun, just as much fun as his equally memorable ‘My Name is Anthony Gonsalves’ from ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’.

Unlike ‘John Jaani Janardhan’, though, the rest of ‘Naseeb’ does not quite equal the superb craziness of its 1977 predecessor, ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’. The gags are not quite as funny, the structure of the film is not quite as tight, a few parts of the plot fall a bit flat, and it doesn’t have quite as much overall charm. But it’s a fine and thoroughly engaging masala film nonetheless, with a fabulous, bubbly and fun soundtrack by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. I had lots and lots of fun with ‘Naseeb’ – I found it really entertaining.

There are loads (as in LOADS) of similarities between ‘Naseeb’ and ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ – I’ve already mentioned the fact that in both films Amitabh Bachchan is the star of a song that’s all about the character he plays in the film. Also, in both films there’s a drunken monologue by Amit ji (in AAA, he speaks to his reflection in the mirror, in ‘Naseeb’ he speaks to a bottle – the monologue in AAA was way funnier).

Both films explore the theme of unity among three religions – Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. This is evident in Bachchan’s character’s name, John Jaani Janardhan (‘Johnny’ for short). It’s also evident in the insignia on the three rings worn by Johnny’s father, Namdev, played excellently by the actor I love to call the Pran-tastic one, whom I always just adore watching for his sheer and utter… camp-ness. The religious tolerance theme is also reflected in the role of the kindly Mrs. Gomes in the lives of Johnny and his brother Sunny (who is played by an adorable and simply on-point Rishi Kapoor – I am very much in the minority on this one, I know, but I think he’s a wonderful actor – the mid-to-late ’80s were not at all kind to him, but at the time of this film I think he was at the top of his game – but I digress). It’s also evident in the relationships of the film, both ‘fraternal’ and romantic; as well as (repeatedly) the imagery and sets.

The similarities between ‘Naseeb’ and AAA go on and on…there are three male leads in both films, and in both films the three male leads must find and win their respective lady-loves. In both films, there are storylines involving past and continuing battles among the fathers of the three male leads, and in both films the fathers are separated from their sons…. And of course, both films share some of the same cast… Amitabh Bachchan, Pran and Rishi Kapoor are back for ‘Naseeb’. Even the funny character called ‘Zebesko’ is back!

IMDB tells me that Desai had hoped to cast Vinod Khanna, the third member of the AAA trio, in ‘Naseeb’, as Johnny’s best friend Vicky. Khanna wasn’t making films at the time, though – so the role of Vicky went to Shatrughan Sinha, whom I think did a good job. His character was a bit ridiculous, but hey, a lot about this film (and this is another similarity between it and AAA) is very ridiculous indeed. Ridiculous… but such fun.

Like the character of ‘Don’, played by an impeccably-coiffed but very evil Amrish Puri. Watching ‘Naseeb’ reminded me that there’ll simply never be another Amrish Puri – who else could play evil so gleefully and with such stylish abandon? I thought this line was funny, especially in view of Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Don’, which was released three years before ‘Naseeb’.

Speaking of movie references, there are loads in ‘Naseeb’, and trying to spot them was one of the fun things about the film. Desai directed the classic film ‘Dharam Veer’ (starring Dharmendra) in 1977, and it’s referenced in ‘Naseeb’ – during the song ‘John Jaani Janardhan’. There are also some lovely references to Raj Kapoor’s classic film ‘Awaara’; from the set of the song ‘Chal Mere Bhai’ (with Amit ji and Raj Kapoor), which is reminiscent both of the opening credits of ‘Awaara’ and the song ‘Awaara Hoon’, to the Charlie Chaplin costume worn by Rishi, Raj’s son, in the show-stopping number ‘Rang Jamaye Jamake’ (which is reminiscent of the excellent number ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ from AAA). I noticed one other filmi reference that escapes me right now (I think it might have been a reference by Rishi's character to ‘Mera Naam Joker’), and there may have been others that went over my head on this viewing…

The story of the film is fun and pretty straightforward (in a very roundabout way) – a lot the script makes absolutely no sense or stretches the bounds of ‘coincidence’ (and credulity) to the point where it’s completely absurd, but then that’s unsurprising for a film like this one. It’s meant to be ridiculous, over the top and little nonsensical – and it all works, thanks to the performances. But back to the story – basically, the entire drama begins over a lottery ticket that four friends agree to share… greed and selfish interest intrude, and two of the four friends are cheated out of their rightful winnings…. Naturally, years later, the opportunity to gain revenge arises…

‘Naseeb’ has a little bit of everything. Unlike AAA, there is loads of action in the film, with lots of memorable baddies, and the fight scenes are very stylish, detailed and well-choreographed – you can tell that a lot of work went into putting the sequences together. It’s obvious that this film was made on what must have been a mammoth budget for that time – of course the special effects and stunts look a bit crude now, but they were really impressive for the time at which the film was made. But along with the slick action, there’s also a lot of random weirdness and goofiness (which I loved); from the skilfully-staged fencing in Don’s lair, to the hilarious revolving restaurant (which reminded me of Pushp Villa in Agra), to Namdev’s spiffy white suit worn with MASSIVE black gloves, to the very, very disturbing salute given by the criminals’ lackeys, to Don’s straight-backed piano-playing skills.. and just when you’ve seen every bit of weirdness one film could possibly offer, out pop Eliza Doolittle (in the outfit made famous by Audrey Hepburn in ‘My Fair Lady’) and Charlie Chaplin!

Can I just say how much I loved Hema Malini in this movie? How gorgeous is she? She looked so beautiful – I know she always does, but sometimes I was just gobsmacked, watching her in this film. And apart from looking lovely, her portrayal of the strong, spunky, vibrant and independent Asha is absolutely spot-on for me – I loved her performance in this film. She was just excellent.

One thing I really liked about ‘Naseeb’, actually, is the ‘kickass-ness’ of the female co-stars. Along with Hema ji, who plays Johnny’s love-interest Asha; the beautiful Kimi plays Sunny’s love interest Kim, while the lovely Reena Roy plays the somewhat tragic Julie, Vicky’s love interest (I wasn’t at all fond of the resolution of the Vicky/Julie storyline – not the outcome but the way they got there – but I guess that’s Bollywood for you). Anyway, as I was saying, I loved how ‘un-helpless’ and proactive the female leads were – there’s nothing hotter than three beautiful ladies flying through a window on a motorbike to save their men. Hot stuff, I tell you. I absolutely loved that moment.

Watching Amitabh Bachchan opposite Hema ji in this film helped me understand why she came in third in my recent Amitabh leading-lady poll. They are so great together in this film – lively, fun, bold, interesting… great chemistry. Totally loved them together.

So ‘Naseeb’ was great fun. Based on its star cast (apart from the special appearances in ‘John Jaani Janardhan’ and the lead roles, there’s also Amjad Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Om Shivpuri, and others) and the fact that it was made by Manmohan Desai, I had expected it to be a good watch, and it certainly was…

…unlike another film I recently watched…in theory it looked great… in the lead roles, there were three actors whose work I usually love– Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Sharmila Tagore. The film was scripted by the brilliant Gulzar, who is probably my favourite Hindi-film writer (for movie scripts as well as song lyrics)… but despite all that… well, I guess that’s a story for another day. I’ll be back to talk about that film soon… but (hopefully) before then I’ll (finally) be posting Bollywood-related pictures and commentary from my trip to India...

Couldn't resist one more random pic of the very pretty Hema Malini...