LIVEBLOGGING 'MOTHER INDIA' (1957)

I must warn that there are some spoilers in this.

00.39 I hereby bestow upon thee the In Praise of All Things Dharmendra-Related award for the most unappealing opening frame ever.

04.11 Awww… you don’t want the pretty garland? Maa, you seem very sad. What gives? Oh, I see... it reminds you of your bridal garland, huh? Flashback time…

07.07 Mr. Groom, you look both terrified and eager… I’d be spooked if I was your dulhan…

09.02 Giving your groom a leg-massage on the wedding night? Oh dear… so who gives you a massage?

10.26 And so the slaving away begins… poor dear, you have to help the in-laws pay off their mortgage…. Not exactly an auspicious welcome.

12.23 Well at least your husband seems nice enough for a coy game or two…

16.23 Hubby seems nice enough, and he’s got a sweet smile… but I get the strong feeling something terrible will happen to him soon.

17.31 Oh goody, a song! It’s about time we had one.

21.14 A little bitty bachcha… awww….

23.00 Oh no… turns out mother-in-law was swindled by the evil money-lender. Injustice!

38.04 I love the gutsiness of this kid. So great.

42.06 Awww… why can’t this sort of sadness and despair be confined to the movies? This movie is a real downer. Nice fake clouds though.

42.27 Radha is a good woman, if I were in this situation, not only would I let my hubby beat the horrible moneylender up, I’d probably join in. But violence solves nothing, and Radha, wise woman that she is, knows this.

43.09 Gotta love this kid. Who played him? I think he’s remarkable.

44.07 Awww… and you were such a good man up till now! Why hit your good wife who has done all she can to support and care for you and the kids? Why? This film is very upsetting.

45.07 Kids are amazingly resilient. The older ones who are more aware of their dire straits are sad, the youngest smiling away. God bless children.

46.09 How beautiful. These people are determined to make me cry.

47.05 It was obvious that something terrible would happen to Shamu – but it’s terribly depressing nonetheless.

48.23 So not PC… but sweet and charming anyway.

50.46 The only phrase I can use to describe this is a kicked around cliché – ‘man’s inhumanity to man’.

56.44 This is just so sad. It’s a good song though.

1.00.07 What? Dadi’s dead too??!! No doubt Shamu’s death was a contributing factor.

1.01.10 Wow, a death, a new life… the circle of life. Eeyah, four kids and only you, Radha?

1.02.03 I love this kid. Bas.

1.03.47 Talk about an iconic image. Wow – great picture. Nargis was bahut khoobsurat.

1.07.42 This looks very DeMillean… nice shot.

1.08.36 Na wa o... in fact e be like say na pidgin wey I go take nack dis one. Oyibo no go do am, dis one don pass me. Wich kain wahala bi dis now? Sufferhead don join bodi.

1.09.06 Wow… powerful imagery – woman and mother, carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders – like some Greek god. The divinity of womanhood.

1.10.16 Oh great, now she has to go and lose her strongest reminder of her dear Shamu as well. There is really no end to Radha’s suffering, is there?

1.14.59 How many women have been forced to make these terrible choices?

1.15.49 Powerful. This is a great performance by Nargis. I will have to look for more of her films now.

1.18.04 Those 3 dots on the chin. I remember Ash had them in ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ too. Is it a religious symbol, or cultural or both? I’ve also noticed that a lot of words I’m used to hearing with the ‘z’ sound (ziruddh, zameen) are being pronounced with the ‘j’ sound (jiruddh, jameen) in ‘Mother India’. Is this a different regional dialect of Hindi?

1.19.06 I really hate it when they don’t subtitle the songs, especially when the songs are so significant. And didn’t they subtitle the last song where she was yearning for Shamu? I really need to know what she’s saying here.

1.21.06 Testimony to the woman’s ability to inspire and lead…

1.21.21 They’re big boys now… as an old friend would say, hmmm, how time flies!

1.23.28 Eeyah… wouldn’t it have been great if this could have happened? But life had other plans – plans of hardship and heartbreak…

1.24.28 Again, I so do love this kid! If it weren’t for the ‘be careful what you wish for’ thing, I’d wish for a kid as lively and full of oats as this one!

1.25.04 I’m so loving the music in this film

1.32.04 Wait a minute, wait a minute… so all the ‘ah ah, ooh ooh’ Birju was doing was a ploy to ‘toast’ this girl – to tell her she’s nicer than all the village belles? And here I was thinking he was coming to learn so that he could read Sukhi Lala’s account books… oh, okay he was getting to that part…

1.33.06 Sacrificing so much and yet still getting robbed…

1.38.01 I miss Nargis… she totally dominates this movie… it’s mean, but I really don’t want to see her son’s girlfriend dancing around. But the song is pretty hot.


1.41.31 Awww, this is very pretty. Sunset and shadows…

1.42.43 This is my first Sunil Dutt film – bahut scary aadmi hai. I see where Sanjay gets ‘it’.

1.44.47 Oh dear… super-tragic as it was, I think I’m liking pre-interval ‘Mother India’ better than post-interval ‘Mother India’. It’s getting a tad draggy now. Quit clowning and get to the point, Birju.

1.45.34 Oh that’s so sweet, she really loved her Shamu… can’t blame her, he was kinda sweet, except for that time he hit her…

1.47.31 Apparently Birju is still a kid – he never grew up. Oh my.

1.48.06 I just might be scarred for life after watching this… there’s so much here to make you lose hope in humanity.

1.51.06 Not only did Birju never grow up; he also seems to be off his rocker.

1.57.06 Birju and Radha are so cute together. I’d be sorta jealous if I were Ramu.

2.00.04 I love Nargis. This is such a good performance. This scene is so cute.

2.02.02 Okay okay, what kind of nonsense is this? I’m not watching ‘Mother India’ for bowls of swinging pudding and such messy frivolities; I came here to get ‘edjumacated’… LOL

2.05.04 Birju, why the heck would you go and tell your chief tormentor that your suit has been rejected?

2.11.50 Ramu is living his father’s life. Which means, tragedy is about to strike this family again.

2.13.59 Hell no, Birju. You did NOT just slap your bhabhi. Hell to the no. You should be hung out to dry for that.

2.14.20 I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that Birju slapped her or the fact that Ramu is shrugging it off. Nasty.

2.16.20 Awww, she’s still missing Shamu…

2.18.10 A Holi song – wasn’t expecting one in this film. Nice.

2.20.20 Aww... this kid, I’ve missed you! These flashback/what-might’ve-been scenes are tough to watch – so moving.

2.23.25 Birju is crazy for real. What has possessed him to ruin Holi? I know – it’s love for his mother.

2.24.58 The warning to not argue with men makes me smile – a grim smile. How often have I heard that ‘women shouldn’t argue with men’ spiel – especially in the village?

2.26.20 Okay now this is getting insane – this is really more than enough tragedy!

2.35.06 Okay now this all just too crazy for words…. WTH?!

2.40.28 Talk about a demanding role – this one just takes the cake! Is there anything Nargis hasn’t done in this role?

2.46.09 Oh Birju, what hast thou done to thyself?

2.49.17 Powerful metaphor here on the uses of knowledge, I think.

2.53.03 Ok now that’s just insane – Radha, how COULD you? (I mean, I know why you did it, but still, it's BIRJU??!!) And that horse is just plain nasty.

2.54.04 And here comes the fresh but tainted wave of modernity… washing out the old and bringing in the new? Was the old bad? Will the new be better? Questions with no answers…

This was hard to watch but somehow I know I’ll do it again, to see if I can learn more and dig deeper into the layers of the film, as I’m sure a lot of it has gone straight over my head… I liked the first half of the film better than the second, but the whole film is really good.

THE END

Ok... this, my first liveblog, might also be my last. Who knew liveblogging was such hard work? And with my suckiness at summarising stuff, it's probably not the best option for me. It was fun to try it, though.

My first liveblog…

…will be posted sometime this weekend. I absolutely love and adore liveblogs, especially when they have that great balance of fun, wit, humour, individuality and insight – like the liveblogs that show up here and here, and the one that was recently posted here.

I’ve never done a liveblog, mostly because I know I can’t match up to the quality produced by the bloggers mentioned above, so why try? But I’ve decided to do one about a very unlikely movie for a liveblog… Mehboob's 'Mother India'. ‘Mother India’, starring Nargis in what has become a legendary performance, is not really the kind of film you do a liveblog about – it’s basically a sad story. But I thought it would be interesting to document my experience with it. I thought this was my first experience with it until I watched and realized I’ve seen this movie before, when I was very, very young – and the fact that a few of the images have stayed with me is a testimony to the power of the film.

‘Mother India’ is a very, very popular Indian film here in Nigeria – it’s still showing in cinemas in northern Nigeria. It is the story of a woman, Radha, and her extraordinary (yet, sadly, for many women around the world, not that extraordinary), difficult (to say the least) life. It’s also the story of Shambhu (Radha’s husband), Ramu and Birju (Radha’s children), and Sukhi Lalla, the evil moneylender who oppresses Radha and her family for many years.

Radha is a metaphor for womanhood, motherhood, divinity, faithfulness, perseverance, unconditional love and righteousness. She is also a metaphor for the motherland, India; and for the oppressed and downtrodden, in India and everywhere. She is a metaphor for being a survivor, for overcoming odds, for strength. She is inspirational, she is heartbreaking, she is beautiful, she is also very human. And her story is told very well, with some truly iconic images and sequences, good music, and of course fantastic acting. Some of the themes explored in the telling of Radha's life-story are womanhood, motherhood, religion, education, westernization, modernization, economic development, truth, goodness, self-expression, self-actualisation, independence, freedom from oppression and social justice. And I'm sure there are more that I missed.

Some have described ‘Mother India’ as a feminist film. I don’t see that at all – I don’t feel there is much that’s ground-breaking or radical about the character and representation of Radha, or about the gender-defined roles she fulfils. What’s ground-breaking for me is the degree of attention which is paid to her internal and external struggle, her survival and her story, and this is only possible because of Nargis’ extraordinary performance.

DHARAM'S CHILDREN (PART ONE)

It occurs to me that I haven’t done anything really, really, hardcore-ly Dharmendra-related in a while… although I did mention Abhay in my last-but-one post. So I’ve decided it’s time to start executing an idea that was hatched in my mind a little while ago. It’s a series about the children of Dharmendra – not all of them, just the ones that act… Sunny, Bobby and Esha. This is fun for me, and helps me learn more about them – it’s also good prep for the much-anticipate movie ‘Apne’, which will be released later this year and will star Sunny, Bobby and Dharam all together in one movie (for the first time). None of the ‘Junior Deols’ can match Daddy’s success, but they haven’t done too badly either.

Each part of my series will consist of basic facts about each actor, as well as my impressions of them. Dharam is obviously proud of the fact that his sons are actors. As for Esha, who’s very close to him… he’s expressed the opinion that Bollywood is not a place for young women…. but she’s acting anyway, so good on her.

So let the series begin… today’s star is Bobby. Ain't he cute??

Ooh, forgot to mention that each part of this three-part series shall be accompanied by an original (and very bad, I must warn you) song, ‘Dharam’s Children’ to be sung to the popular tune of G. F. Handel’s classic, ‘Canticorum Iubilo’ (or ‘Zion’s Daughter’, if you’re into Boney M). Daft, I know, but I like it… here is the first part of the song…

Chorus:

Dharam’s children
By Hema or by Prakash
Almost all of them are actors
Bollywood actors

Verse:
First in line is Bobby
Kicking off this song
He’s not such a bad actor
He likes his hair long

(Repeat Chorus)

Bobby Deol was born Vijay Singh Deol on 27 January 1967 (he recently turned forty), to Dharam Singh Deol (Dharmendra) and his then-wife, Prakash Kaur. Bobby’s first movie was ‘Dharam Veer’, a star-studded epic starring his father, Zeenat Aman, and many other stars. He played the young Dharam, and was only 10 years old when the film was released. He is listed in the credits as ‘Bobby Junior Dharmendra’, which I think is pretty darned hilarious.

Anyway, since ‘Dharam Veer’, Bobby has gone on to become a fairly successful Bollywood actor, though not exactly one of the stars of the industry. Incidentally, after ‘Dharam Veer’, he didn’t act again until the mid-90s, when he was already almost 30 years old – quite a late start by Bollywood standards (I’m still trying to find out why). Anyway, with his late start in mind, I think he’s done well for himself.

Bobby is over six feet tall (this surprised me for some reason – maybe because all the extremely ugly and loud shirts he likes wearing make him look shorter - it was soo hard to find pictures for this feature because most of his pictures are of him in ugly shirts!), and unlike Sunny, doesn’t look very much like Dad. He’s still quite good-looking though, though not in a conventional way – I think he has very nice eyes, but I'm not sure about that hair he seems to favour - and he sometimes looks a little oily - but anyway, he's not bad-looking. He is married to Tanya Ahuja (daughter of wealthy finance guru Dev Ahuja) and has two little boys, 4-year-old Aryaman and 2-year-old Dharam (named after his Dad – awwww). He’s very close to his family, especially his big brother Sunny.

He is listed on IMDb as having appeared in about thirty movies, the latest being ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’ (apparently he and Preity Zinta had a fight during filming – over a curling iron LOL! Actually, it was apparently a prank by Preity that Bobby didn’t think was funny – she hid his curling iron – LOL!). Interestingly, he’s made two movies of the same name – ‘Barsaat’ (1995) and ‘Barsaat’ (2005). Some of his more popular movies are ‘Soldier’ (with Preity Zinta), ‘Ajnabee’ (with Akshay Kumar) and ‘Gupt’ (with Kajol). He’s done both action roles and and ‘softer’ romantic/dramatic parts. Bobby is known for not being a good dancer, a trait shared with his father and brother, although I personally think he’s the best dancer of the three (that’s certainly not saying much!) I think his dancing’s not that bad, actually (but many think otherwise).

Despite the fact that he has won a Filmfare Award (in 1996 for ‘Best Newcomer’ in the first ‘Barsaat’) and was nominated for another in 2003 for ‘Best Actor’ (for 2002’s ‘Humraaz’), Bobby is generally thought of as a fairly good actor who can make a fairly ok kind of movie – and who has had his fair share of flops. I happen to think he’s quite good as an actor, but he just hasn’t made great choices of material (or hasn’t been offered really great material). I know, I sound like his PR person… but I mean that. I also like the fact that he seems to just keeps trying…

Anyway, let me just talk about the two (measly number, I know) Bobby Deol movies I’ve seen. Both were made by Suneel Darshan.

‘Dosti – Friends Forever’ (2005): This film stars Bobby and Akshay Kumar. There are also rather lackluster performances by Kareena Kapoor and Lara Dutta; as well as a very cute, nicely-executed little role for Juhi Chawla.

Bobby and Akshay play childhood friends who grow up together into adulthood. Bobby is a spoilt, neglected rich kid on the outs with his parents (he took a poor kid – Akshay – under his wing as a kid and has lived with him since). So anyway, Akshay falls for another childhood friend, played by Kareena, and wants to marry her, but due to some family drama, things go awry. Meanwhile, Bobby is led a merry dance by the lively Lara, who later dumps him (with good reason). Things get even more angst-ridden later in the film, but perhaps I shouldn’t reveal why. Eventually, anyway, Bobby and Lara reconcile, and Bobby finally gets his act together, makes up with his family, and becomes a better man – all thanks to Akshay.

To be honest, the story of the film is a bit blah. It’s an uneven, lumpy mishmash of several Bollywood staples – rich kid/poor kid, love/betrayal, dying young, two lifelong friends blah blah. It doesn’t really work. There are other problems with it – like the fact that the kids apparently are 10 years old in 2005 but are also 30 years old in 2005.

What really works for me, though, is the way Akshay and Bobby interact as friends. I really like their performances and their chemistry together – the way they bounce off each other, support each other, and give each other space to ‘be’. One thing I picked up strongly on in this film is that Bobby is that rarest of the species – a generous actor. He really lets Akshay do his thing (but doesn’t use it as an excuse not to do his own part well). I love the scene where he’s railing at God – he doesn’t go over the top as almost any other actor would – he keeps it restrained and actually makes the moment a bit profound.

I really liked that I could follow the arc of Bobby’s character in this film, and see him grow and develop, and I liked the way he and Askhay did comedic bits and sad bits with equal aplomb. I enjoyed Bobby’s performance in this film – it was quite muted but I would not (as others have) call it half-hearted – I think it was really mature and interesting. And even his dancing wasn’t that bad.

‘Barsaat’ (2005): Finding out that Bobby actually won awards for his performance in a film of the same name over a decade ago makes me sad – because this second ‘Barsaat’ is just not good. The story, basically a remake of ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, is paper-thin. Bobby (funny enough, the role was meant for Akshay initially) plays an NRI who has ‘outgrown India’ and basically wants to live a rich and fabulous life with a rich and glamorous heiress called Anna, played Bipasha Basu. Unfortunately, the silly cad is already married to his childhood friend, played by Priyanka Chopra, who he’s left behind in India. He claims he is no longer interested in the marriage – so he tries to get a divorce during an emergency trip home.

If this story had been treated differently, it could’ve been ok. But it turns into a boring sequence of scenes with Bobby very rudely and horribly demanding a divorce from Priyanka over and over again, treating her like trash. Priyanka eventually gets to show Bobby that she actually has some substance to her, but even that is half-hearted and unconvincing. And Bips is just terrible in this role – it’s totally wrong for her and she comes off very fake and insincere.

What made this film a bit watchable for me are a couple of sweet scenes with Bobby and Priyanka – I like the one right at the end; and the fact that Priyanka looks and sounds great (she does some singing on the soundtrack) even if she is unconvincing as well (not half as bad as Bipasha though).

These two films, though neither is really a good movie, have made me want to see a bit more of Bobby – I think he has acting talent and there is a sensitivity to him that I like – very modern-noughties-man.

So that’s it for Bobby… up next in the ‘Dharam’s Children’ series is either Esha or Sunny…


Here are just a few of the gazillion resources on Bobby Deol available on the internet (I’ve read them, and they make me think he must be quite a nice guy in real life)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Deol - his Wikipedia entry

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0219967/bio - his IMDb entry

www.rediff.com/entertai/2001/sep/18bobby.htm (a good interview from way back in 2001, just before ‘Ajnabee')

www.bollyvista.com/article/a/34/5370 (‘I have not been lucky’ – good interview)


www.bollywood.com/archives/2006/07/celebrity_inter_56.html (a more recent, upbeat interview)

http://www.movietalkies.com/interviews/view-interview.asp?InterviewId=29 (he’s defending himself all the way here – in a very classy way, I think)

http://www.bollywoodgate.com/indian-actors/bobby-deol.html
(he talks about family, film and other interests)

www.bollywood.tv/free/Bobby_Deol_Interview--3125 (if you want to see him talk…)

http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/interview/6235.html
(I think he’s quite down-to-earth)

http://www.radiosargam.com/features/interviews/bobbydeolhumraaz.htm
(an oldie, quite sweet I think)

I AM FIFTY... AIN'T THAT NIFTY?

...Or just an excuse for yet another stonkingly bad title, anyway. This is my fiftieth post and I'm pretty stoked about it. When I started blogging, I had no idea I'd still be blogging 50 posts later. This blog has been great fun for me, and it's given me a nice little personal space in which to express my feelings about Bollywood and movies in general. Carla once described her site as a labour of love, and I feel the same about this blog. It's very time-consuming, but it's great fun, and it gives me a useful reference point for how these movies have made (and still make) me feel.

Hearing from the readers of this blog is really the icing on the cake. It's great to connect with other Bollywood fans around the world and to share our common (and not-so-common) experiences with these movies. It's great to learn about the different things others have taken away from the movies I've seen, from the hilarious, to the inspirational, to the educative, to the fun. I really love getting comments and exchanging views (hint, hint). I also get a kick out of looking at my site stats and seeing that people have come here looking for pictures and stuff and have found them.

Anyway, I'd like to use this post to plug www.chakpak.com, which is a pretty interesting movie site, and which has given me some fab widgets to liven up my old picture-less posts with! So thanks, www.chakpak.com. I love your widgets!

SHAKESPEAREAN BOLLYWOOD ('OMKARA') - and a bit on 'HONEYMOON TRAVELS'...

‘Omkara’ is a very lovely film. I especially love the fact that it is very Shakespearean in tone, yet very Indian at the same time. As an adaptation of ‘Othello’, it succeeds admirably. As a Bollywood production, I think it’s in a class of its own. It’s very ‘grown’, there’s just something ‘mature’ about the film that really appeals to me. There are some lovely scenic shots in the movie that just stay in your memory, and some breath-taking sequences. The music is great (I love the ‘Beeri’ song), and the stellar, dynamic cast does a great job.

Ajay Devgan as ‘Omkara’ is dark, brooding, and just beautiful to watch, like he was in ‘Company’ – I always like him in roles like this. Saif Ali Khan – I totally see why his performance as ‘Langda’ has garnered such praise. It’s a marvellous performance and so unlike his typically ‘pretty boy’ roles. Nice one – I hope he continues to stretch himself like this – I like the guts he exhibited in taking on this role. Vive(i)k Oberoi still has 'that puppydog cuteness' as Amy aptly calls it, in his performance as ‘Kesu’, but he proves again that he’s also a promising actor.

I’m no Bebo fan, but I have to admit she does well in this role – I especially liked her in her final scene – she conveyed the heartbreak and pain of her character well. As with ‘Asoka’, I can’t really fault Kareena in this film. Konkona Sen Sharma pulls off a relatively small but actually pretty challenging role with class. And Bipasha Basu (who, God bless her, can’t act but makes up for it in sheer va-va-voom) is fantastic in her dance numbers as the seductive ‘Billo’.

One thing I liked about ‘Omkara’ is that there are no glowing, positive characters – everyone has that slight shadowing to them – they’re all flawed (some more than others) and really not very admirable (even ‘Dolly’, Kareena’s character, is fully aware of what Omi does and still wants him), which makes it easier to sort of stoop to their level and try to understand their motivations. It’s fascinating to watch how their enemies are not outside them (although they think they are) but within them. Their enemies are their fears and doubts, their mistrust, their blind trust. It’s enlightening and instructive to see how we often can inexorably lead ourselves to our own deaths and fail to grasp at the lifesavers that get tossed out to us now again, mainly because of our lack of esteem, confidence and trust in ourselves. In that sense, as I said before, it’s a very Shakespearean Bollywood film.

I usually don’t like sad endings, but I guess they’re easier to live with when they’re expected. I wish they’d toned down the whole darkness/light imagery thing between Omi and Dolly, though – after a while I was like ‘Ok, we got it. There’s a contrast. Othello is dark, Desdemona is fair. We get it!’ But that’s really a very small complaint. I loved this film.

I have to complain about this, though – this is really not fair, not when I am sincerely doing my level best not to have a full-fledged crush on Mr. Devgan. This is just not right…

And, why, pray tell me, WHY have they gotta do this to me??

And this… this is just so wrong on so many levels… so so so unfair.

I saw ‘Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.’ based on Carla’s review. I had seen the trailer a while ago and thought it would be very daft, but I agree with Filmi Geek’s assessment of it – taken for what it tries to be (a fun, light-hearted movie with a few life lessons here and there), it’s really quite good. It is realistic in some parts, and fun and OTT in others - but I think it all balances out pretty well. I really liked it. The music was nice, most of the acting was good, and it worked for me. But where did they get that wooden, stilted guy (Vikram Chatwal) from? His acting needs a great deal of work - his delivery was pretty painful to watch - I found myself dreading his scenes, a shame since his co-star (Sandhya Mridul) was really good. But Angela would be proud of her boyfriend in this movie, he has just a little screen time but he looks so so good and does so well with what’s he’s given. Nice…

Anyway, the notable thing about seeing this movie for me is that I think I am now in love with my dear Dharam’s nephew (and lookalike), Abhay Deol. Sure, he’s not as fine as his uncle (but then, few men are), but he looks pretty damned good to me – and he can dance (which, in the Deol family, means a lot). Ed.: He actually claims he can't dance, though. So yeah, I think I’m in love. Dharam still has my heart, but I’ve given a little teeny piece of it to Abhay (no big deal, lots of actors have little bits of my heart – the good thing is that there’s more than enough to go round). And now I shall promptly stop being silly… Enjoy your week, everyone.

MOHNISH BEHL - Consistent

I think of Mohnish Behl (sometimes credited as Mohnish Bahl) as one of Bollywood’s less prominent, but more consistent, actors. He is definitely not one of the big stars in the industry, and I’ve never seen him play the leading man in a movie (never even really seen him dance apart from some simple, undemanding stuff in ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’) – but his performances are usually well-executed and solid. He always a good complement to a cast and does a good job of supporting the big shots in each movie. I really like that. Mohnish is in his forties now, and he’s the son of the late and great Nutan Behl, a very talented actress from way back. He also happens to be a good singer, as well as an actor. Apparently he’s had more success with TV series than movies – which doesn’t surprise me because he’s usually second (or third, or fourth) banana in his films.

I’ve read somewhere that Mohnish is known for playing the ‘bad guy’, and has basically been pigeon-holed into that role, and I think, maybe, at least part of that is attributable to his ‘dark’ looks – and I’m not referring to skin tone (although he is dark-skinned) – I’m talking about the prominent jet-black eyebrows, the strong nose, the somewhat brooding profile. But when he smiles, a genuine full-on smile, I think he looks as charming, sweet and harmless as a little boy, which is why I quite like him when he plays a nice, serious, sweet, kind-hearted good guy – I think he does rather well with those roles, even better than he does with the stereotypical bad guy.

I’ve seen Mohnish in 9 films so far – 4 in which he was the baddie, and 4 in which he was (basically) a good guy. In the 9th one (‘Astitva’), he was neither bad nor good, at least not in a stereotypical way – he was just a guy who made a big mistake – what he did as a result was definitely wrong (and he really suffers for it), but the real ‘baddie’ in the film turns out to be someone else…

HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN…!: This was my first Mohnish Behl film, which is why I was rather taken aback to find out that he is known for playing baddies. In HAHK, a much younger Mohnish plays Salman Khan’s serious, quiet, responsible, and generally ‘good’ bhaiyya. He and Renuka Shahane (playing Pooja) make a lovely couple in this film – they have two very sweet scenes in particular – the charming ‘ice-breaker’ involving paint spilled on his clothes when he and his brother go to ‘check Pooja out’, and the scene where he helps Pooja put on her necklace before she goes to visit her parents. She asks him if he’ll come with her, and he sweetly says he’ll come and get her at the end of the trip. I love that scene because it shows the real closeness and intimacy between this rather restrained, shy, ‘traditional’ and seemingly very conformist pair. It’s also the last moments he spends with his wife (sorry, spoiler for those who haven't watched HAHK - she dies when she goes to her parents' home), which is really just sad. Although Salman and Madhuri Dixit are the definite frontliners in this film, I love the jodi that Mohnish and Renuka created in just a few scenes together.

ASTITVA: This is one of my favourite Bollywood films simply because of its subject matter - the fact that it tackles honestly and directly the harsh everyday issues which are usually glossed over or sugar-coated in Bollywood – free will, infidelity, self-determination, marriage, the power imbalances between men and women. It also showcases a wonderful performance by Tabu – the best I’ve ever seen her do. Mohnish plays a romantic, handsome music teacher who falls in love with his student (played by Tabu), who also happens to be a married woman. Tabu is not in love with her teacher, but she is lonely, and aching for the attention and love her too-busy husband deprives her of. So they fall into bed one night – it’s the only time it happens but Tabu gets pregnant. Desperate to protect her marriage, she allows hubby to believe the child is his – but of course, years later, everything starts to unravel. I love Mohnish’s performance here – in many ways he’s just a plot device to move Tabu’s story along, but despite the ‘smallness’ of his part, he gives the role his best shot – he’s restrained, sincere and believable.

That's Mohnish singing away in the background in 'Astitva', while Tabu wonders if she dares to act on her desire for him... nicely shot song by the way.

HUM SAATH SAATH HAIN: I have a special spot in my heart for this film (made by the makers of HAHK) because the music really rocks, it’s very family-oriented, and it tackles some of the real-life issues big families face. Sadly it bombed in India, but I love it. Salman Khan (in a likeable role for once – although he still can’t resist taking off his shirt), Saif Ali Khan (all fun and mischief) and Mohnish all play three close, loving brothers; and Sonali Bendre, Karisma Kapoor and Tabu play the women they love (by the way, they all fall in love with female versions of themselves, which is rather silly but kinda cute in the film).

Mohnish plays the eldest brother – he’s quiet, responsible, wise, and cares very much for his family. He has a disability, for which reason many prospective dulhans have turned him down – until Tabu comes along and falls in love with him and his entire hamdan, and then realises she really wants to be the eldest bahu in this family, and to look after everyone for the rest of her life – I mean she actually takes the entire family on her honeymoon trip – and they go to her in-laws’ village for the honeymoon! No-one in the real world is that nice and adorable and selfless, but it’s kinda sweet – Tabu manages to make it look like it’s all genuine free choice, NOT obligation or convention or tradition, that makes her do this – which I guess is why I liked it. Anyway, things go swimmingly until there’s a family crisis and all the happy-smiliness is challenged.

I love Mohnish and Tabu is this film – they are too cute. There’s the scene in which Tabu comes to tell him she really wants to marry him; and there’s the wedding scene in which he takes out his traumatized hand and she supports it with hers, and he looks all moved and surprised. I love that so much (see photo above). Then there’s also the sweet scene in which she talks to him and Salman about their relationship. Tabu is a stabilising force, a bridge-builder in this film, I like that. I also really liked the natural-ness, genuineness and sweetness (but with the necessary depth) of Mohnish’s performance. He smiles a lot but somehow you believe his character is really happy (or happy in a sad way, as the case may be) and not just faking it – you know?

KOYLA: In this intense, violent and rather ‘different’ (and therefore interesting) Rakesh Roshan film, starring Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, Mohnish has a very small role – his character appears in just one scene. It’s a pivotal scene in some ways, but it’s still just one scene in a 3 hour film. But he does a really great job, and hands in a memorable and moving performance as Madhuri’s brother who comes home to find her in the oppressive custody of the evil chief (played with frightening relish by the late, great Amrish Puri). Mohnish disappears from ‘Koyla’ after that violent, bloody confrontation – but he does strike you when he comes in. Again, a small role, but he does a good job with it.

JAANWAR: This is a funny little action thriller starring Akshay Kumar and Karisma Kapoor. Actually, it’s not trying to be funny, it’s dead serious – but it’s so OTT and silly in parts that you can’t help but laugh. I think it’s good fun though. Here Mohnish plays the father of a son who was lost in an accident, and who after several years has been forced to accept that his missing son is probably no longer alive. Shilpa Shetty plays Mohnish’s grieving wife, who refuses to accept that her son is dead. Unbeknownst to the couple, their son was found by Akshay’s character, a reformed criminal, and is alive and well. How they get him back is another story – Mohnish makes some mistakes, but he eventually sees the error of his ways, and all comes right in the end. Mohnish is good in this film, not spectacular or anything, but one of his scenes with Akshay in his son’s bedroom sticks out in my mind – he really manages to express the frustration, grief and desperation of his confused character effectively.
From 'Ek Rishtaa' - Mohnish is the guy in red right at the edge of the screencap - he was all bruised and banged-up and stuff so I didn't really want him in my screencap at the time...

EK RISHTAA (THE BOND OF LOVE): Here Mohnish plays the bad guy – a really bad guy who pretends to be good in order to weasel his way into the affections of Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, and their picture-perfect little ‘ek raja hai, ek rani hai’ family. He wins the heart of the patriarch first, then wins over and marries the sweet, unsuspecting daughter, played by Juhi Chawla; and then proceeds to drive a wedge between AB and his son (played by Akshay Kumar). He does a good job in this film – he really is very, very evil. But I still think he does good better than he does bad…

BOL RADHA BOL: I just saw this terrible, abysmal David Dhawan film over the weekend – it is really, truly awful. It stars Rishi Kapoor, who is actually not bad acting-wise (despite the awful garish sweaters he favoured at the time, the awful dancing, and his repeated use of the word ‘bugger’) and Juhi Chawla (who smiles and opens her eyes very wide and generally plays the cute card waaay too much, and only really acts in like 2 scenes, in which she’s actually good, which just makes you wonder why she didn’t act right through – and who by the way is not a good dancer AT ALL – I must remove her name from the list of good Bollywood dancers I did a while ago – but I digress). There’s also a ‘wonder dog’ called Sheru/Moti – I don’t like the use of 'wonder dogs' in Bollywood films at all, it creeps me out – especially in a film like this, in which there’s a scene with the characters laughing and cheering while two dogs fight. Awful. The scripting is really bad, the story is silly and the film is poorly shot, and… not good. Anyway, Mohnish is again the bad guy, with his hair all slicked back to make him look evil. He does look evil, and he does ok with the part, but it’s not a memorable performance.

RAJA HINDUSTANI: Again, Mohnish plays the cartoon-ish stereotypical bad guy – he laughs at poor village-y Aamir Khan (in the title role) and tries to make him look stupid, because he lacks all the social graces the man who marries Aarti (played by Karisma Kapoor) should have. Again, Mohnish does ok, he does the whole snide horrid thing well, but it’s nothing special.

KAHO NAA… PYAAR HAI: We all know and remember this film as Hrithik’s ticket to Bollywood superstardom, and to be honest I can’t remember too much about Mohnish’s performance – except that he played a dirty cop who connived with the bad guys to get rid of our hero. I think he played it well… but it was probably not very demanding.

So, as far as Mohnish Behl is concerned, for me:
When he is good, he is very very good
And when he is bad, he’s umm… not bad…