LIFE... IN A METRO

'Life… in a Metro'… wow! I’ve just seen this movie, and I really loved it. Maybe it’s because I really wasn’t expecting a whole lot (for some reason, I thought it might be a bit boring), but this film has left me feeling good – about people, about the possibility of second chances, about relationships, about humanity. And I love when that happens.

Don’t get me wrong, ‘Metro’ is not a happy-slappy, hearts-and-kisses, fun-in-the-sun flick. No, actually it’s set in the Mumbai monsoon season, and the continual rain and dull weather reflects the turmoil and trauma undergone by the characters in this film. There’s betrayal, misery, loneliness, bereavement, regret and bitterness in this movie. It’s a tough world, one of crippling discontentment, broken dreams, and loads and loads of deception – everyone is lying to someone, even if it’s just to themselves (and I find that very realistic).



But do you like to see movies that remind you of all the greys that lie between black and white? Do you like to see movies that remind you of the challenges we all face living in big cities in the noughties? Do you like to see movies that don’t beat you over the head with moral judgment, but subtly, compassionately show that there are better choices to make than those that ultimately mean hurting yourself and/or the ones you love? Do you like to see movies where the characters are given agency, and not treated like pawns on a chessboard? Do you like to see movies where you truly come to care for the characters, to the point where, even though you can’t bring yourself to agree with all their choices, you respect their right to seek their own paths to fulfilment? Do you like to see movies that surprise you – but without being totally jarring? Yes? Then, hopefully, you’ll like ‘Metro’ as much as I did. Oh, and do you REALLY love Dharmendra, to the point where seeing him onscreen just fills every cell of your heart with pure undiluted joy? No? Aww.. well, I hope you’ll like this movie anyway.

Let’s see if I can talk about this film without giving away too much, because I don’t think I’d have liked the movie half as much had I known what was waiting around every corner. My garam Dharam is as good a place to start as any – in this, my tenth Dharmendra movie (yayyy!!) and the first I’ve seen on the big screen, he plays Amol, a man who is reunited with the love of his youth, Shivani (played by Nafisa Ali). I once said on this blog that old people in love=cute. And is it true in this movie or what? I have to say, I really like the fact that in several Hindi movies I’ve seen recently (‘Honeymoon Travels’, ‘Just Married’ and now ‘Metro’), it’s been recognised that older people have emotional and physical needs too, and that there’s nothing ugly or shameful about portraying that on celluloid. I really hope this is a trend that’s here to stay, because I think it’s a cryin’ shame that many fine older actors are stuck playing ‘Maa’ and ‘Babuji’ in every film (nothing wrong with playing parents, of course, but older people are more than just parents). Shivani and Amol walk an unconventional and difficult path with great grace, and it was so brilliant to see my Dharmendra do his thing. Wow. I don’t know why I love this man so much, I just do. I can’t wait to see ‘Apne’. I love him…

Anyway, moving on (and shaking myself out my Dharam-induced reverie)… much as I loved Shivani and Amol, I loved Shruti (played beautifully by Konkona Sen Sharma, whom everyone knows is a wonderful actress) and Monty (played by Irrfan Khan) even more. Shruti, a young career woman who is attracted to one of her co-workers, a popular radio DJ named Vishy K, is a likeable girl-next-door kind of character. You can’t help but love her, even if you’re not kind of at the same place in your life as she is (I am). But Monty is another matter. He’s a total oddball, he dresses really weird and talks weird, he has a bad habit of staring at women’s ‘bits’, and he lies a lot (and isn’t ashamed to admit it, either). But he is so cute in his nuttiness – he has a good heart, he is absolutely hilarious and he is a ‘real’ person, and I personally found him irresistible (almost as irresistible as I found Irrfan in the excellent film ‘The Namesake’, in which he played a somewhat different – but just as loveable – kind of character). I have to say I am loving Mr. Khan – I want to see more of him.

Shilpa Shetty, who’s definitely brought a great deal of good fortune to this movie by doing ‘Celebrity Big Brother’; plays Shikha, Shruti’s adorable but confused ‘didi’. (By the way, I loved that I was totally convinced that these two really were sisters, although they shared the screen very little). Shikha is unhappily married to an utterly selfish, frustrated, cold-hearted, nasty piece of work called Ranjit (played to perfection by Kay Kay Menon). She becomes strongly attracted to a young man she meets at the bus stop, named Akaash (for some reason, I found Akaash really annoying, dunno why, there’s nothing wrong with him or anything – I just did. Poor Shikha). The choices she makes (especially right at the end of the film), I found questionable, but as I said earlier, by this time I cared enough about her to just want her to find her own path to happiness – and all I could do was just wish her the best.

Ranjit (the prat) has been involved for quite a while with Neha (played quite well by Kangana Ranaut), a troubled young girl from his office. Neha doesn’t know it, but someone at the same office, a desperately over-ambitious and even unscrupulous young man named Rahul, has a crush on her. And there’s a link between Neha and Ranjit’s family that adds more drama to the situation later on – but I think I’ve said enough. The rest you’ll have to discover for yourself. But there are some lovely dramatic/hilarious scenes – watch out for Shruti going off on Rahul (Konkona is fabulous in this scene), Monty dissolving into ‘tears of joy’, the recurring ‘Brokeback Mountain’ poster that says a lot more than you might think the first time you see it, Shikha walking back into Akaash’s flat (beautifully shot), and Shivani applying make-up again, obviously for the first time in a long time – those are just a few of the scenes that made an impact on me.

Almost all the characters are connected in some way, a theme I also saw in the recent ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’. And they’re all played very well – I must say Shilpa impressed me in this film. It’s not a groundbreaking performance, but it’s a very competent one, much better than I’d ever have given her credit for (before ‘Metro’, I’d only ever seen her in more ‘traditional’ Bollywood films like ‘Dhadkan’, films in which the acting tends to be OTT and all weepy and over-emotional). I think she did very well with her more subdued performance in ‘Metro’.

Speaking of ‘traditional’ (‘archetypal’ is probably a better word) Bollywood; in my last post, I expressed the hope that the music from ‘Metro’ would pleasantly surprise me. This was one of the interesting things about this film – the recurring appearance of a 3-man rock group, all dressed in black, performing Pritam’s songs (complete with plenty of rocker angst and passion) throughout the film. They were everywhere – on bikes, on buildings, in alleys… I couldn’t decide whether the constant appearance of these guys was cute, corny, weird, silly clever or fun (probably all of the above) – anyway, I loved the idea. It was different and interesting, and so were the songs they sang, which I really liked – except for one song that was really glaringly out of place. But for the most part, I think these songs shall very nicely fill a vacant slot in my filmi song collection – so I’m off to download them right away.

It was nice and refreshing to see a movie without any of the usual huge marquee names, and a bit less ‘Bolly’ (if you know what I mean) than is normal (nothing wrong with full-on ‘Bolly’, I love it to bits, but it’s really nice to see something a bit more toned down from time to time). I particularly liked that, in ‘Metro’, I could see the characters ‘doing’ stuff – it wasn’t all about stuff being done to them, which is something you get used to seeing in more ‘Bolly’ films (why I am using the word ‘Bolly’? There has to be a better word! Using ‘Bolly’ makes less than zero sense!) And I also liked seeing Mumbai as a strong presence, almost a character, in this movie. It definitely takes you to Mumbai, and it’s fascinating just on that level (again, a nice change from the more ‘Bolly’ thing of going to the UK or Switzerland).

‘Metro’ definitely has its flaws – for example, some of the scenes come off just a little contrived, and certain aspects of the relationships it explores are not properly resolved (especially with regard to Neha and her obviously troubled history, and Shikha’s obvious dissatisfaction with the life she lives – somehow the idea I think I was supposed to get, i.e. that being with Akaash had helped her to resolve all that, was difficult to digest); but all-in-all, these didn’t bother me too much. I found this one a very, very satisfying watch (fascinating themes, interesting relationships, good music, good drama, old people love, oddball love, self-love, what’s not to like?), and definitely one for my collection when it comes out (but of course, the mere adorable old-man-in-love appearance of my Dharam-ji would have ensured that).

'CHUPKE CHUPKE'

I had a nice, quiet, peaceful birthday. I had a friend over, shared a cake with my aunt and cousins, took some photos, and visited another friend who recently gave birth to the most beautiful little twins you ever saw. I also saw ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ with my friend, and I loved it. Will Smith’s performance is great, and his son (also playing his son in the film) is just so cute you want to hug him. It’s a really good film with a lot of inspirational value, and I really enjoyed it (even if it made me cry a little at the end).

I did manage to inject some Bollywood into my birthday. At Maja’s brilliant suggestion, I started the day with the 'Salaam-e-Ishq' soundtrack, and I really enjoyed that. I also watched ‘Chupke Chupke’, a DVD I’ve had for a while but have been too busy to get round to watching (until yesterday).

‘Chupke Chupke’ is yet another charming Hrishikesh Mukherjee film, the fourth I’ve seen so far. It stars some of Mukherjee’s ‘usual suspects’: Jaya Bhaduri, Asrani, Amitabh Bachchan, and some other actors whose names I don’t know but whom I recall from the other Mukherjee movies I’ve seen. It also stars my darling Dharmendra and the adorable Sharmila Tagore. I loved the movie, it was funny and sweet and just so much fun to watch. It’s a comedy, with Dharmendra’s character (with a little help from his friends) trying to put one over his wife’s brother-in-law.

I’m not going to say too much else about it, other than that it’s well worth a watch and everyone in the ensemble cast is really good in it – especially Amit-ji, who steals all the scenes he’s in (although everyone else does a great job too). A few more (illustrated) statements about this film:

I’ve decided I quite like Dr. Bachchan’s son looking and acting all geeky:

Amitabh Bachchan in 'Chupke Chupke' (1975)

Amitabh Bachchan in 'Kasme Vaade' (1978)

Sharmila is too cute in this film:

Especially in yellow:

Dharam is dashing as ever:



And here’s an interesting subtitle to make you wonder (if you haven’t seen the movie):

A WEEKEND (AND ONE WEEKDAY) AT THE MOVIES

Last weekend I decided to OD on movies after a really stressful week. It was a lot of fun, although in retrospect it was probably a bit too much…


Saturday:
My movie-licious weekend didn’t actually start on Saturday, because it was a very busy day. I had to spend my morning at the office doing some urgent work, which I (thankfully) managed to finish by noon. Then I was off to Surulere for a colleague’s wedding, then off to Victoria Island in the evening for a dinner organized by a solicitors’ association. It was all fun, I have to say – I had a good time with my colleagues at the wedding, and it was fun watching the Island upper-crust intermingle at the dinner – they all did the French ‘kiss kiss’ thing – very posh.

Somewhere amidst all that, I stopped by the library and checked out two DVDs – ‘Mystic River’ and ‘United 93’. At the time I thought I was checking them out because I’ve wanted to watch them for the longest time. Now I wonder: Was I subconsciously trying to get myself depressed?


Sunday:
I kicked off my weekend at the movies with ‘Mystic River’. It’s a really good film with great performances by Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and the rest of the ensemble cast; and it was very nicely shot – but it’s a tragedy. I guess I knew that, but wasn’t expected it to be quite so… tragic. Anyway, I really liked it even if it did put me in a bit of a funk.

I am getting really interested in Clint Eastwood’s work. I have to say I’m a late convert – I didn’t really get into his westerns until a couple of years ago, but I think they’re great. My most recent was one of his earlier westerns, ‘Two Mules for Sister Sara’, which features Clint and a very naughty (and good) performance by Shirley MacLaine. And of course his more recent award-winning directing work is great too, although he seems to have a penchant for sad endings (‘Million Dollar Baby’, ‘Mystic River’). He also seems to have a knack for getting the right actors for his key roles, and for getting great performances out of them. And I really like the ‘tone’ of his films – it’s difficult to put into words, but they really throw the focus on the characters and create the perfect ‘stage’ for them – it feels like an old-fashioned but really well-executed style of film-making. So I’m a semi-Clint-fan – still haven’t seen ‘Unforgiven’, though.

About ‘Mystic River’, this is probably a question for the novelist (haven’t read the book), why did the women have to be so evil? I mean, the men were no angels either (especially Sean Penn’s character), but at least you could empathise. The women were a different story. Well, I can empathise a little with Marcia Gay Harden’s character – obviously the fear she felt was not the work of a day but had been building up over years of living with her troubled husband. But there is no way she did not know that by telling Sean Penn’s character what she did, she was effectively signing her husband’s death warrant. I mean, there’s just no way! Why didn’t she just tell the cops? As for Laura Linney’s character, she was just plain evil. I kinda think the Oscar voters like the stereotypical ‘evil woman’ though – Laura Linney’s role in ‘Mystic River’ reminds me of Sissy Spacek’s frightening turn in ‘In the Bedroom’, another Oscar winner. You find out right at the end of the film (although you’ve been suspecting it for a while), that the nice capable mother is actually just evil. I don’t like it.




My weekend at the movies continued with an afternoon trip to The Palms (my first ‘real’ trip there – it was interesting, I saw everyone and their brother there– people I haven’t seen in YONKS!) At the Nu Metro Cinema, I saw ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’. As usual, it was in a room full of desis – the guy checking my ticket was like ‘Hmm…’ Anyway, I really enjoyed the film. It’s a lot of fun. Nice music, decent acting by a nice cast, lots of colour, some sadness, some laughs, a lot of cuteness… it was just fun. Not genius, not amazing, but then it’s not trying to be. It is simply what it is – an entertaining fun movie. There’s a definite corniness to it, but I really don’t care about that. I guess I’m just kinda easy like that. I agree with almost everything Maja said about it in her review Maja said about it in her recent review. It’s a long movie, but it was an afternoon well-spent – it actually didn’t feel as long to me as it was. It put me in a great mood.

And then I had to spoil my great mood by getting home and rounding off my weekend at the movies with ‘United 93’. Although, to be fair, this is not a ‘depressing’ movie in the same way ‘Mystic River’ is. It’s not another pointless tragedy (although maybe the tragedy in ‘Mystic River’ wasn’t exactly pointless). This is probably because it was shot without the schmaltz and sentimentalism that most film-makers would have injected into it. What happened to the passengers on the plane was undoubtedly a tragedy, but it was also a triumph, it was true heroism on the passengers’ part, and this really comes through in the extraordinary last minutes of the film. It made me cry, sure, but I also felt very uplifted and almost in awe of just how strong the human spirit is.

Another thing I loved about Paul Greenglass’s script and directing is that this film not only looks back, but looks forward – in that it tries to present information and to ask questions, with an aim to saying ‘this awful thing happened – and so many awful things have happened as a result – but what can we learn from this to ensure that it doesn’t happen again?’. The inadequacies and the obstacles that the officials who had to grapple with this crisis were faced with are highlighted, not in a way that just tries to lay blame (a la Michael Moore – although Fahrenheit 9/11 is a brilliant film in many ways, even he does not deny that it’s not the most balanced film ever made), but in a way that goes deeper to ask ‘what can we understand from this and how can we prevent a re-occurence?’


Monday:
The weekend was pretty busy, but my Monday was even more so. I managed to sneak out of the office at 8.35, and then rushed off to see the 8.40 show of ‘Rocky Balboa’ at the Silverbird Cinema. Needless to say, I was late, so I missed the beginning of the movie (hate when that happens). Now I think I’ve said before that I’m a hardcore fan of the Rocky movies. I have the 5-DVD box set and have solo ‘Rocky’ festivals from time to time – always great fun. I just love them sooo much. I can’t really express why.

It’s not just because the fight scenes are so realistically shot that they make you go ‘ouch’ (I’m not a boxing fan at all – although I do love Muhammad Ali). It’s not just because the films were trend-setters at the time they were released. It’s not just the fantastic, amazing music – although I do love that. It’s often mocked as schmaltzy, but I just love, love, love the music to bits and listen to it a lot. It’s not just the great characters (I love them all, from Rocky to Adrian to Paulie to Apollo to Mickey). It’s not just the good scripts and beautifully-shot scenes (especially in the first movie). I love the themes in the films, from the obvious ones (perseverance, hard work, patience, second chances, deliverance, overcoming fear, courage) to the less obvious ones (character, kindness, beauty, HOTNESSS – that last one’s kinda obvious, actually). And the character of Rocky just strikes a deep chord within me. I guess it’s a combo of two things – I can relate to him so much, and I admire him so much.

What do I find to relate to in a heavyweight boxer? A lot. Not the sharpest pencil in the box but extraordinarily perceptive about people? Check (well at least I think I am). Constantly underestimated – always the underdog? Check. Not very good with (spoken) words? Check. Mocked and made to feel out of place? Check. A dreamer? Check. Perceived as a loner but actually a people person? Check. Regarded as ‘weird’? Check – see my profile at the bottom of the page. Constantly trying to achieve the impossible? Check. A fighter to the finish? Check. Quietly stubborn? Check (just ask my mother). Quiet and shy but very intense? Check. Not afraid of anyone as much as he is of overcoming himself and his demons? Check. Usually a slow starter but a good finisher? In some ways, check. Indulgent of people he loves? Check. Not one of the ‘cool kids’? Check. Loyal and a good person to have in your corner? Check. Very very human, prone to pride, selfishness and other failings? Check, check, check.

What do I admire about him? First, he has (well, had) a partner who totally ‘gets’ him (so rare) and supports him (I love Adrian). That’s not easy to find – and I love the way they found each other (said that before in my couples post). Second of all, he has a wonderful heart. I don’t think I have that, but I love it. I love people with big, fat, open-wide hearts and I wish I had that – maybe someday. Third of all, he is tres tres tres hottt. Now, you will not appreciate this from watching him in ‘Rocky Balboa’. Sly has gone and gotten all plasticked, which is a shame – his eyebrows are all ‘up there’ now… you’d think that, just from looking at his mother (who he’s very close to), he’d appreciate the horrors of what plastic surgery can do to a face. Evidently not – but then, I guess we are in a way destined to repeat our parents’ mistakes. Anyway, he’s not that hot in ‘Rocky Balboa’ – although he IS very fit for a man of his age.

But… he is so hot in all the other Rocky films - with the exception of ‘Rocky V’ (for which I have a special hatred – though not with good reason). I love him – whether he’s in his sweats training, in his shorts boxing, in his everyday clothes (I like THAT hat he wore in the first movie and wears again in ‘Rocky Balboa’). I’m usually not a muscle nut, but my oh my, I love his. He is just so fit… and those deep dark Italian eyes… hold me while I swoon! In ‘Rocky’, he’s a little rough around the edges, a little clumsy, but still really hot. In ‘Rocky II’, he’s more refined, but he still has that edge – so hot. In ‘Rocky III’, he’s trimmer, more self-conscious and so much more fabulous. He has a wardrobe to die for (for that time at least – my fave article were these killer dark glasses he wears at Mickey’s funeral). In ‘Rocky IV’, still very fabulous and looking sooo good in the ring.

In ‘Rocky V’ –well, don’t let me even get started on that one. I guess this makes me shallow, but I hate that movie – not because it’s not a good film with a great script and a whole lot of life lessons tucked into it – but just because Rocky is sooo not hot. He and Adrian have lost all their wealth and are back to living in a hovel, he looks just – deflated – like he’s tired of life, he wears these awful awful garish sweaters, his son is an ungrateful brat, and… it’s all not good. Fine, he does get his triumph at the end, but it’s by beating up this obnoxious stupid kid in the street, with no audience to speak of and a total lack of fabulousness – so excuse me if I’m not exactly hip-hop-hurraying over that. So not hot. Disillusionment with a big ol’ ‘D’.

Which is (partly) why I loved ‘Rocky Balboa’. Yes, his eyebrows may be ‘up there’ in a permanently surprised look, but Rocky is hot again. He’s got that fire in him again. He tackles huge odds – and he proves why he’s the champ. Even his loser son has to recognise that his dad is the man (I love that Rocky actually gives him a good talking to for once!). I loved it. I was so sad to see Adrian gone (although I guess it made sense – he loses her and has to re-discover himself), but other than that, this movie was the perfect end to the ‘Rocky’ movies (he comes full circle – he gets a dog again, he goes back to where it started, he meets that girl from the past – perfect symmetry). I’m so glad they didn’t end it with ‘Rocky V’ – although I can’t quite erase it from my memory, I’m glad Sly ended the series with style. Nobody really thought he could do it – they predicted the theatres would all be empty. But they underestimated the tenacity of this character – always the underdog – and always a tiger.

What IS it with me and extra-long posts these days?