Category Archives: Bollywood

Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap

Posted on by

This is it! This is what I’ve been waiting for in Hindi cinema. Finally, a film that resembles the Bollywood masala movies I love from yesteryear. Sure it lacks a few songs and the story isn’t all it could be, but the action is right back where the angry young man started in a fun film that delivers plenty of masala goodness.

The story revolves around Vijju, a retired hit man who has come back from Paris ostensibly for one last job. The contract is to kill ACP Karan (Sonu Sood) who has vowed to eliminate the gangsters in his area of Mumbai. This has severely put a crimp in the daily dealings of Kabir Bhai (Prakash Raj)  who is determined to eliminate Karan before Karan eliminates him. Added in is a romance between Karan and his old school friend Tanya, whose best friend Amrita just happens to be the daughter of one of Vijju’s old flames. We also get Hema Malini as Vijju’s estranged wife and a great performance from Subbaraju as one of Kabir Bhai’s henchmen.

Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap is a tribute to Amitabh, by Amitabh. He is very much the hero, complete with swaggering walk and hero dismount from a motorbike. The only thing missing is the patented Southern Style Hero Run, and we can cut him a bit of slack on that. There are some great fight scenes, and while Amitabh does look a little stiff, Vijay has done a good job in making the fight sequences look credible. The ‘angry young man’ attitude is there in spades and the whole film hinges on Amitabh’s ability to command our attention. This he does with ease, even when sharing the screen with Sonu Sood in a very tight police uniform! And it’s not just because of his stylish scarves, nifty jackets and very cool specs and shades (although I must admit these don’t really say Paris to me – much more Hyderabad filmi style), Amitabh still has the commanding presence that made him a star in the seventies. These are my favourite of his many pairs of glasses – very cool!

Sonu Sood is more understated than usual in his role as the police officer, but he comes into his own in the action scenes and when he is interrogating his prisoners. I really do prefer him in negative roles and every time he slips into a more ‘bad’ persona he is much better. His romance with Tanya isn’t very convincing at all, although this may be because Sonal Chauhan is very wooden in her role. She does improve in the second half, but by that stage it’s really too late for me to have any interest in her character. Charmy though is excellent as Amrita and has some great comedy. She makes the most of her role and is impressive in her scenes with Amitabh. Another very good performance from Charmy, and I really hope we get to see her in some meatier heroine roles as she is such a good actress.  Although Hema Malini only has a small role in the film she makes an impact and is as good as ever. It would have been nice to have a little more of her Sita Malhotra and a little less of Kamini and her histrionics but you can’t have everything.

Perhaps now that Prakash Raj seems to have a contract to appear in every single Telugu and Tamil film made, he’s now reaching out to include Bollywood in that list – this can only be a good thing. He is in fine form here as the chief gangster and brilliant in the final scenes. It’s also great to see Makarand Despande and his wild head of hair make another effective appearance as one of the gangsters.

It’s not a totally great film though and there are some flaws. The pacing is uneven in the first half and there are times when the set-up begins to drag. Raveena Tandon overplays her role as Kamini and although there are some funny moments, it’s all too cringe-worthy to make her the femme fatale she tries to be. It’s a shame as it is great to see her back on screen again. There is also a lack of songs and very little dancing. However, the one song we do get is a fun remix of old Amitabh hits and features a cast of backpacker back-up dancers. Go Meera Go!

Puri Jagannath is probably most well known for his brilliant film Pokiri with Mahesh Babu, but he has made many other hit Telugu films and his style of film making is very clear here.  Given that I’m mainly watching Telugu and Tamil films these days I think that plays a large part in my enjoyment of Bbuddha Hoga Terra Baap. The fight scenes and the final shoot-out are also very southern in style but work well within the story and are very well done. The writing does include a number of references back to old Amitabh films but I although I recognised some of this I wasn’t always sure exactly which film it referenced. It does pull the focus of the film back to Amitabh and the film works best when considered as a tribute to his films of the seventies. One for Amitabh fans and anyone who enjoys their movies with more masala than logic.

The angry young man is back – just make sure that you don’t call him old!

Temple says: I don’t think this is anywhere close to being a great masala movie. It plays as a great tribute to Amitabh, and I did enjoy a lot of it on that level. But. If you aren’t familiar with the Big B in his heyday, I don’t know that a lot of the dialogues and visuals will work as well, or the one big musical number Go Meera Go which is a pallid remix of old hits. There is really no story for the first half, it is Amitabh reprising some of his best known moments. It’s all filmed beautifully, and with the flair and pace I expect from Puri Jagganadh, but there is a clear separation of the plot happening for supporting characters, and Viju being a showcase role with little connection. This changes in the second half when all of a sudden Viju has a past and an emotional life and it’s all supposed to be terribly sympathetic. By then it was too late to change Mr Bachchan into the aging hit man with family concerns so it fell flat for me. I also had flashbacks to the hideous emotional manipulation and melodrama of Baghban as soon as I saw Hema Malini.  Occasionally Amitabh also seemed to be channelling sleazy Sam from Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna so that didn’t help either.

I cannot imagine better casting (apart from the obvious) to play Son of the B than Sonu Sood. He plays it pretty straight but seemed a bit too uptight in some scenes. It may have been the very snug fit of his uniform that caused this effect! Raveena Tandon was terrible. Her orgasmic whimpering every time she spoke to or about  Viju and hammy acting were among the few false notes in the supporting ensemble work. I cheered (all by myself, in a near silent cinema) for Prakash Raj and Subbaraju as I knew they ‘got’ the style and would add the level of commitment to badness I love in Telugu films. I didn’t like the girls’ roles at all, and I seem to have managed to almost forget them already. They were just fodder for (often sleazy) jokes, and made too many stupid decisions. I like Charmme but this role was a disappointment for me.

See it just to see Amitabh Bachchan strut his stuff, even though he does get some hideous denim in which to strut. And he did a lovely job singing the beautifully simple and melodious Hal e Dil. I think the Go Meera Go song sums it all up for me though. Once I saw that I just wanted to go back to the originals, not the lightweight remake.

Aa Gale Lag Jaa

Posted on by

There is a scene that gets me every time. Shashi Kapoor heartbroken, on roller skates, in a white safari suit, playing the accordion and yodelling (thanks to Kishore Kumar and RD Burman) as he sweeps around an empty skating rink at night. It should be ridiculous and yet it’s strangely affecting. And that sums up my feelings for this fabulous Desai film. Aa Gale Lag Ja is convoluted, goes off the rails at the end and relies heavily on coincidences, but I find it beautiful and touching as well. I recently re-watched it with the the excellent company of Beth and Ira, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to revisit this masala classic for Kapoor Khazana.

I love the leads, it has one of my all time favourite soundtracks (indeed, it changed my views on accordion solos), and the writing is far more interesting than I expected from a retro filmi romance. And they don’t waste time on building up to a song – they just go for it.

Shashi Kapoor is Prem, a poor but honest roller skating enthusiast. He lives up in the mountains so roller skating, as well as life, is very challenging. The beautiful Sharmila Tagore is Preeti, a minxy medical student.

I appreciate Shashi’s wobbly attempts to skate. It lacks flair, but he is endearingly earnest. Sharmila is very good at fake skating and her pretend waterskiing in Evening in Paris was also excellent. I also applaud her efforts to look like she is gliding majestically under all that Spare Hair. The wig is bigger than she is! Prem is poor, Preeti is rich, they’re both good looking and there is no doubt about the results. Especially after he sells himself to science for an afternoon so Preeti can test hypothermia treatments on this most willing of guinea pigs.

After a song related mishap, the two spend a night fighting off hypothermia.  What an amazing coincidence! Given that Shashi’s innate hotness seems to dry out his clothes in no time flat, the ‘cure’ did raise some questions.

This episode has sparked much debate about whether Preeti was conscious, was it consensual, why didn’t someone keep their pants on … I say she looks rather pleased with herself the morning after and does not strike me as a woman with regrets. My diagnosis is that she woke up, saw what she saw and thought ‘Hello!’

The youngsters want to marry but Preeti’s father Hirachand (Om Prakash) pulls a few swift moves to alienate the lovers. Preeti fell pregnant to Prem That Night and is sent to a sanatorium to have the child in secret. Hirachand and Prem’s ailing mother (Sulochana) play their parts in the drama and Preeti believes the child was stillborn. In a typically filmi twist, Shashi acquires his own son and loses his Ma. Everyone judges everyone else, and the misunderstandings send the protagonists off on their separate paths.

Apart from a spectacular display of acting – Shashi looks so joyous, and unperturbed yet loving, as that baby bawls its head off – this song is quite lovely and sets up the very caring single parent family.

 

Prem and son Rahul (Master Titoo, one of the few dreaded child artistes I like) have a really lovely relationship. Prem felt no need to marry a substitute for Preeti just so there was a woman to look after them both. He embraced his parenting role and did the best he could. I do think there could be a case for child cruelty when we consider the poor kid’s wardrobe, which features purple and ruffles as well as some hideous short and vest ensembles, but apart from that Prem was a thoughtful and loving dad.

Preeti crosses his path again, and has no idea that Rahul is her child, or that Prem had always loved her and never moved on. Prem thinks that Preeti jilted him to keep her luxe lifestyle and that she never cared about her child.

The ‘will she won’t she realise’ tension is heightened as her fiancé Amar (Shatrughan Sinha) takes over treatment of the crippled boy and so the families draw closer. Shotgun’s entrance is so amazingly filmi, I can’t believe I almost always forget he is in the film until that moment! And his treatment of what he decides is a psychological rather than physical condition is unconventional to say the least. The contrast between Prem and Amar’s economic circumstances couldn’t be more pointed.

Despite the high level of coincidence and near revelation, the performances of Shashi and Sharmila along with Master Titoo made me care so much about what would become of them. Shashi shows his pain and anger, but also his love for both Preeti and his boy. Sharmila is poised and beautiful, and she shows the uncertainty and hope when she sees her old flame. I also really like that the story is about a man who becomes a single dad while the woman moves on with her life and has no idea she has a living child.

Preeti lives with her father, who of course knows about the child, but there are no great histrionics about her lost honour or anything. She has had a long engagement to Shotgun and her future seems assured. Om Prakash is shown as a lonely old man in his opulent home, and the development of his relationship with grandson Rahul is fun as they bring out each other’s competitive and playful traits.  The winning enthusiasm of the child and his belief that his mother will come back for him one day makes his grandfather realise the gravity of his deception. There’s a lot of quiet heartache in amongst the more dramatic antics.

As for the who’s who and what of the story…There’s a Significant Song, a secret photo, Ticky (Amar’s sister, played by Ruhi) loves Prem, Prem loves Preeti, Preeti loves Prem (again), Amar loves Preeti, Rahul just wants everyone to be happy. We have the flaming roller skates of death, and then the happy roller skates of ever after. Almost everyone ends up on wheels at some stage, even the token thugs who hang around menacing young ladies.

But the mad masala trappings never really get in the way of the story so I think Desai and Prayagraj must have had some robust conversations of their own to make sure they kept the balance right. The dialogue by K.B Pathak is marvellous, shadowed with meaning and laden with emotions. When Prem and Preeti meet again, and he sees her as the rich girl who has done well for herself, the polite bitterness is pitch perfect. There is great use of eavesdropping, particularly in a ‘musical chairs’ scene that throws the protagonists into proximity and under stress where much is explained in small bites of barbed civility.

And then, I’m left with that image of Shashi on roller skates playing the accordion.

See this as a great example of Manmohan Desai’s masala excellence, for the beauty and appeal of Sharmila and Shashi, for the marvellous songs by R.D Burman and for the passionate and romantic love story that produced a happy family but didn’t feature a wedding.  5 stars!

Junglee

Posted on by

Junglee is quite simply my favourite Shammi Kapoor film. It was a big hit when first released in 1961, and featured not only Shammi but also Saira Banu in her debut performance. In fact she netted a Best Actress Filmfare award for her role in the film. Junglee features some great performances, an engaging story, beautiful scenery, fantastic songs and even a snippet of Helen – just perfect!

The film opens with Chandra Shekhar (Shammi) returning home after 3 years overseas in a wonderfully decorated plane. Via a voice over and a series of scowls and grimaces from Shekhar and his mother, we learn that the family disapproves of laughter and believes that it is something only indulged in by the lower classes.

While Shekhar and his mother seem to firmly believe in these sober and unsmiling principles, Shekhar’s  sister Mala (Shashikala) has somehow managed to escape the family  affliction. She is in love with Jeevan, the son of the family’s business manager and is quite the rebel. She smuggles her lover into the house, successfully hiding him from both her mother and Shekhar, although she doesn’t seem quite as adept at smuggling herself out.

In due course, Mala and Jeevan’s secret affair is discovered, quite appropriately in secret and confidential discussions. We can tell this as there is a helpful sign with accompanying illuminated red light to let us know that there is a top-secret meeting going on and  for extra top-secret authenticity, the room is red-lit .

Luckily for his father and Jeevan, his identity  is not disclosed and to resolve the problem Shekhar is ordered by his mother to take Mala with him to Kashmir on his business trip. Shekhar has his own romantic issues to deal with as  his mother has arranged his marriage to a Princess. However she is not aware that the royal family are impoverished and are banking on the marriage to ease their monetary woes, waiting only for Shekhar’s return to Bombayto go ahead and tie the knot.

Needless to say Shekahr’s cantankerous disposition is not improved at all by his relocation and he just becomes grumpy in the snow instead of grumpy in the city. He meets the charming Rajkumari (Saira Banu) who delights in tormenting Shekhar just because she can.

Rajkumari’s father is the local doctor who soon diagnoses Mala’s sudden ‘illness’ as pregnancy. Knowing what Shekhar’s likely reaction will be, Rajkumari hatches a plot to lure him away until after the baby is born. However Shekhar discovers the deception and the two end up marooned in a cottage as a violent snow storm isolates then for an undisclosed amount of time. Long enough however for Shekhar to fall in love with Rajkumari and inspired by the transformed snowy landscape and his own evolution he bursts out with an exuberant Yahoo!

This is probably the most famous song from this film and deservedly so – Shammi’s high spirited cavorting around in the snow is brilliant and it’s a song always guaranteed to make me smile even after the worst day at work. There is so much energy and enthusiasm, and it’s a great contrast to the previous scenes where the two are stuck in close proximity in a small cabin.

Now that Shekhar is in love he wants to marry his Rajkumari and heads back to Mumbai with his sister. But he still has to get rid of the other Rajkumari, the Princess he is betrothed to and there is also the dilemma of Mala’s baby to resolve. And Shekhar has to win his mother’s approval of his new happy personality which is probably the biggest challenge of all. He falls back on the favourite Bollywood excuse of insanity, which gives Shammi the chance to ham it up and make full use of his range of facial expressions. A visit to the princess and her family gives us a wonderful dance with Helen complete with giant-sized artist palette backdrop.

 

There is plenty more drama as Rajkumari and her father arrive with Mala’s baby and the brother of the ‘real’ princess gets more and more desperate before a suitably heroic ending. It’s not all about Shammi’s antics pretending to be crazy though as there are a number of beautifully romantic scenes as well. This is my favourite song from the film and I find Shammi totally adorable in this.

I love the many faces of Shammi in this. His mad twitches and grimaces are limited to when he is pretending to be crazy and in the rest of the film he is much more restrained.

The character of Rajkumari is also well developed and shows a gradual transition from her initial childish persona to a young women determined to do what is right. Saira Banu displays charming innocence and naivety and it’s clear to see that she was only 17 when she made this film.

Junglee has some of the most romantic scenes I have seen with Shammi and he is at his absolute best in these. He can be guilty of some scenery chewing at times, but here he is restrained and convincing as a man in his first throes of love. His eyes are very expressive and he does have some excellent chemistry with Saira Banu. The song Din Sara Guzara is another gem which is beautifully pictured. In fact, all of the songs are excellent and both Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammad Rafi do excellent justice to the music by Jaikishan and Shankar. The beautiful Ja Ja Ja Mere Bachpan is wonderful as well, and it really is worth checking both of these songs out.

 Although the story starts with a rather ridiculous premise, Lalita Pawar makes the character of the inflexible family matriarch strong enough to keep the idea of a woman bound by her duty to her late husband credible.  While the ‘no laughter’ idea may not be very realistic, it is easy to believe in Shekhar as a man bound to rigid work principles who is uncompromising and ill-tempered. The mood lightens considerably when we get to Kashmir – not the least because of N. V. Srinivas excellent cinematography. The hills and flowers are beautifully shot and the songs make the most of the scenery.  There are also some wonderful sixties décor on the sets. I particularly like the clocks and it’s a shame that my copy of this film has suffered from colour degradation with aging.

The support actors are all good in their roles too. Anoop Kumar provides some light relief as Jeevan and although Mala and her lover are only a peripheral part of the story, they both make an impact when they need to. While I do end up feeling a little sorry for the rejected princess, her brother and father aren’t quite evil enough to be convincing villains and I think they appear more pitiful and desperate.

Junglee is at heart a love story and as such it works really well. Excellent performances and fabulous songs plus Shammi at his best make this a 5 star film for me.