Category Archives: Bollywood

Jab We Met

Posted on by

I remember Jab We Met as much for the circumstances of seeing it as for the film itself. Heather & I rolled up at Hoyts only to find the session was showing in the Halfpipe, where there are no seats as such, just numbered beanbags for two to share. So it’s just as well we were friends as I imagine it would be a bit odd to have to snuggle into a giant beanbag with a stranger. Especially if Heather that stranger kept muttering ‘beanbags are for cats not for people’.

Imtiaz Ali has taken a run of the mill romantic road story and made it fresh and charming with some considered writing and character development.  He worked wonders with his stars, drawing out excellent performances.  This is the only film in which I wholeheartedly like Kareena Kapoor (and her character), and it’s the one that made me first register Shahid Kapoor as a good actor not just as a great dancer and delightful eye candy. I wish they had spent a bit more on the visual effects, but I suppose they had to decide on CGI or eyeliner for Kareena.

Aditya Kashyap (Shahid) is grieving for his dead father, jilted by his love and suffering from the stress of his high powered job and a legal challenge by his estranged mother. All this unfolds in the first few minutes in a near silent performance by Shahid. Aditya has a breakdown of sorts once he is done with his routine and obligations, and wanders heedlessly through Mumbai. He ends up on a train, oblivious to its destination as his may be more final.

Geet (Kareena Kapoor) is a bubbly Punjabi girl, full of herself and a bit of an over-sharer. Fate puts her on the same train and she soon sees all is not right with Aditya. Her attempts to draw him out are clumsy and silly, but mostly motivated by kindness, and eventually he responds.

The direction to Kareena may have been ‘do as you will’ – she is spontaneous and crackling with energy.

Mishaps and misunderstandings send the odd couple on a road trip as Aditya escorts Geet back to her family in Bhatinda. Happy to be home, she is concerned that Aditya may lapse back into his depression and insists he stays for a time. Geet is determined to live according to her heart and can’t understand how someone as attractive and wealthy as Aditya can let life beat him down. Aditya sees her joie de vivre as foolish and selfish but he comes to admire her essentially happy nature.  I really liked the quick glimpses of the deeper compassionate side of Geet which lay under the bubbly ‘look at me’ extrovert. The trip home also allowed for an explosion of colour and movement in Nagada Nagada:

Geet plans to elope to meet her true love, Anshuman (Tarun Arora).  She is aware this will hurt her family, and Aditya doesn’t pretend he agrees with her. His view of marriage and family is tinted by the damage he saw his parents inflict on each other, and he envies Geet her happy home as well as her faith in love. Through Geet he comes to accept that his mother didn’t leave from malice, but rather to pursue the happiness she needed. They explore each other’s beliefs about the nature of love and what makes a good life, growing closer through these conversations.

It was fun seeing Dara Singh as the patriarch, ruling the family with a strict but loving hand and scaring the bejesus out of Aditya, and I enjoyed the raucous family gatherings.

For a number of reasons, including more family misunderstandings and a squad of enraged uncles, Aditya takes Geet to Manali and drops her at Anshuman’s. Their goodbye is beautifully captured as Aditya, just by saying her name, declares his love and she silently realises and refuses. This is undercut by Kareena’s demented Snow White outfit but still, it’s a lovely moment.

Geet’s confidence and resilience stems from knowing she has a family and home to return to no matter what. When she cuts herself off from that support she doesn’t blame anyone, but she does lose the spark and certainty that might have helped her move on when things go awry. Kareena gives a painfully real portrayal of being ground down by disappointment.  It is the loss of faith in her own decision making that leads Geet into further complications before the final denouement. It isn’t until Geet goes home again and gets her mojo back that she is able to see what she wants and more importantly, take action.

Aditya on the other hand has gained confidence – losing Geet taught him that he could survive and keep going. He stops being the passive observer, mends fences with his mother, and deals with his unrequited love for Geet. His employees (especially the girl to the left of picture) might have preferred a bit less of the office singalong but there was no going back!

When they meet again it doesn’t take long before the unguarded communication they had shared resumes. Aditya doesn’t try to hide his feelings and Geet doesn’t pretend not to know, and their occasional awkward moments are endearing. It is refreshing to see this kindly honesty towards characters’ romantic choices.  Aditya is a more decisive man nowadays, but not one to force issues with Geet. Shahid shows Aditya’s turmoil and temptation as he does his best not to influence Geet despite knowing that he could succeed.

Anshuman is the fly in the ointment and the weak link in the film. I got the feeling Anshuman decided what was good enough for wealthy industrialist Aditya was good enough for him as there was no convincing motivation shown for him to change his mind and chase after Geet. Tarun Arora’s performance is the least successful in the ensemble, and certainly helped ensure I never felt any empathy for his character.

The soundtrack is excellent and the songs are sufficiently different in style and scope that they suit the mood as well as sometimes providing a change of pace. Yeh Ishq Hai is a pretty travelogue with folkloric touches and some highly amused backing dancers that marks the shift to Manali. Tum Se Hi and Aaoge Jab Tum fill in the emotional life of Aditya and Geet once they parted, and depict the passing of time.  Plus, the subtitle team were fully on board and made sure I didn’t miss a syllable.

It’s always a shame when Shahid is paired with a mostly non-dancing heroine as it tends to limit the dances, but the fun choreography suited them both. The bhangra infused set pieces allow for high energy and sparkle, and Mauja hi Mauja ends the film on a high (thanks again to the subtitle team – working hard right til the end).

The conclusion is inevitable, but there are many roads that could have taken us there. The care invested in writing for Geet and Aditya makes the ending satisfying, and Kareena and Shahid are natural and charming in their characterisations. 4 stars !

Heather says: I love this film! I’m a very big Shahid fan and this is one of my favourites. I can watch him in almost anything but it’s always better when there is an actual story and a chance for him to act rather than just flex at the camera. Like Temple, it’s also my favourite Kareena film since usually I’m not too much of a fan of her acting. She has been good in a few roles, Omkara for example is another where I think she does well, but generally she is too over the top for me. I suspect that her Geet is actually very similar to the real life Kareena, but the character here really suits her and the transformation to sad and unhappy Geet was also very well done. Her exuberance and vivacity bubble off the screen so that when we see her in Manali after her life hasn’t taken the direction she anticipated, the difference is very striking.

Shahid is excellent in his role as Aditya. His initial scenes where he is so lost and sad were very believable and he manages to convey his depression so well without words. Aditya’s gradual realisation that there could be more to life in the face of the juggernaut that is Geet and her family is also nicely portrayed. The family’s obvious unconditional love and support for Geet was one of the great things about the film and came across very well. I love the look on Aditya’s face when he realised that Geet was not going to stop talking – ever! I’m quite sure that I’ve seen that look on my husband’s face from time to time as well.

Anshuman was the one part of the story that didn’t really fit. While his initial reaction to Geet turning up in Manali was very believable I didn’t get any sense at all that he had a true change of heart later. It was all a bit sudden and seemed to be more a case of jealousy and wanting something just because someone else also wants it. Tarun Arora also indulged in a little too much scenery chewing for my liking but that may just be because I didn’t like his character much at all.

I’d totally forgotten about the dreadful toy train and car used in the chase scenes until I watched this film again. It’s so very funny when they seem to have spent so much money on costumes for Kareena and the set for Mauja Hi Mauja. Possibly the money also went on the songs since they are all excellent. I remember that this was the best soundtrack for me that year and I danced to most of them at Bollywood dance class at some stage. They still sound great. Such a shame that there isn’t more dancing by Shahid in this film, as that would have made it almost perfect. 4 ½ stars.

I should also add that the beanbags provided a major workout since stomach crunches were required any time we wanted to reach our drinks. A truly unforgettable experience!

Fakira

Posted on by

When Katherine at Totally Filmi announced Kapoor Khazana, a month long celebration of the Kapoors, I leapt at the chance to write about some of my favourite Shashi Kapoor films. They’re not all that great but they do have a certain watchability and charm, and lend themselves to excessive screencapping in lieu of analysis.

Fakira is not a particularly good film, but it has style, panache and Shashi in a fun jaunt through masala clichés and excellent interior design. Having said it is fun, the first fifteen minutes is a bit bleak.

Fakira opens with young lads Vijay and Ajay forced to stand by and watch their parents die in a blaze caused by rowdies who are trying to cover up evidence. Shortly afterwards the boys are beaten, chased by the evil rowdies and, of course, separated.  They start new lives that will take them on very different journeys, although Vijay still has his friend Popat to hang on to. It’s all quite depressing and badly acted (I cheered each time a kid got slapped) and I think you could safely start the film about fifteen minutes in and not feel the lack. Just make a mental note to keep a lookout for a photo and a significant song. And if you hop in at the fifteen minute mark, you will see this display of Shashi’s driving style:

Vijay grows up to become Fakira (Shashi Kapoor!) – Master of disguise, scourge of smugglers and general ladybait. He has an excellent lair, although I have concerns about fumes from cars driving into the lounge.

Fakira is a Robin Hood, stealing from the thieves, taking a cut and returning honest folks money. Naturally this makes him of considerable interest to both law enforcement (Iftekhar!) and law breakers (everyone else!). In fact, the bad guys also have a stylish approach to lair design right down to the bad mural and a stuffed tiger.

Shashi looks rather fine in this – hair at optimum curl and dishevelment, those eyelashes, tons of fab outfits and a sense of delight that he is getting paid for the dressing up.

He does have a dark side though, scarred by his traumatic childhood and possibly aware the subtitle team are up to their hijinks.

Vijay/Fakira has Popat (Asrani) and Neelam (Aruna Irani) as accomplices, and relies on them as well as his fine array of disguises and stick on moustaches to protect his identity. The supporting cast are all well and truly better than this material but they approach it with a relaxed good humour that makes Fakira so enjoyable to watch. It is the ‘spirit of making do’ in action. Asrani is particularly effective as the nattily dressed sidekick with a sideline in pigeon training and pertinent quotations.

Shabana Azmi is Neeta, daughter of Iftekhar and an undercover policewoman assigned to catch Fakira. She pretends to be an orphan called Geeta and infiltrates Fakira’s lair and heart. I like Shabana in masala films as she seems as tickled by what is going on as I am. Iftekhar’s house is quite stylish for a policeman’s residence, so Fakira’s lair doesn’t seem to impress Neeta as much as it did me. Shabana gets the memorable bed breaking scene with Shashi after they are secretly married (it was an I love you I hate you I love I hate you you lied I love you forgive me I love you too quickie wedding).

Ajay becomes Toofan, the contract killer and all round menace, played by Danny Denzongpa. Toofan is hired by Chimanlal (Madan Puri), the local crimelord, to deal with Fakira. Naturally he discovers the truth, but only after a lot of enjoyable sparring and banter with Fakira. Theirs is the adversarial kind of bromance.

Neelam is in love with Vijay, and his preference for Neeta/Geeta tips her into a foolish alliance with the bad guys. I suspect there were some underlying wardrobe envy issues as Shabana got the good wife sari collection and Aruna was stuck with a puffy sleeved princess pink frock.

Fakira’s sound activated lights are used to great effect when Neelam decides to go the biffo. I know I shouldn’t enjoy a catfight this much but come on … It’s Shabana Azmi in a fight scene. You don’t see that every day.

In the last hour or so the plot turns into a series of things (in no particular order):

So you know, it isn’t a masterpiece but I find it lots of fun. I doubt it would convert anyone to Shashi Kapoor fandom, but I think it’s a good example of vintage masala entertainment. And for those who have wondered what Iftekhar and Danny Denzongpa might look like in a qawwali showdown, Fakira does provide the answer.

It’s worth it for the star cast, the dedication of the set design team and C.P Dixit’s commitment to using every trick in the masala book. 3 stars!

Jewel Thief

Posted on by

I always enjoy Vijay Anand’s Jewel Thief, mostly for the glorious presence of Tanuja, Vyjayanthimala, Helen and Faryal. The style is groovy Sixties cool, the music is fab and funky and the story is packed with incidents and coincidences.

SD Burman’s soundtrack is brilliant, and the dream playback ensemble of Lata, Asha, Mohd Rafi and Kishore Kumar does the material justice. The title sequence sets the tone; a swinging big band with Krupa-esque drums over an old school cut and paste montage of newspaper headlines that are stuck over real news stories.

Is it just me, or do these display mannequins look just a little like Nargis?

Vinay (Dev Anand) arrives at a jewellers looking for work. His skills dazzle Mr Visambhar Das and his flirting impresses daughter Anju (Tanuja) so he gets the job.  Soon after, he is mistaken for a man called Amar by a number of strangers. At Anju’s birthday party he is confronted by Shalu (Vyjayanthimala) who claims the mysterious Amar is her fiancée and that Vinay is indeed Amar.

This leads to the least suspenseful proof of identity scene ever as Vinay takes over one full minute to remove a shoe and prove he doesn’t have six toes. Did I mention the subtitles on this original DVD are quite peculiar?

Shalu’s brother Arjun Singh is played by the wonderful Ashok Kumar. Arjun seems to want to throw Vinay and Shalu together despite her apparent engagement to another man. He has hidden motives, and gradually more is revealed about his character. It’s a fun performance, and I do have a soft spot for all of the Kumar boys.

Anju and Shalu vie for Vinay’s affections, which results in some awesome outfits and extreme eyeliner. Tanuja is fun and bubbly, and plays her headstrong character with great gusto. Anju seems to have very few restrictions on her activities but isn’t spoiled by being indulged.

Shalu is the weeping wronged woman, and wants to recreate Vinay in Amar’s image which he initially rejects.  However Shalu is flirtatious and yet reserved, a combination Vinay cannot seem to resist.

Vinay plays both women and seems to have no qualms about his situation. He takes for granted that the girls find him irresistible and will tolerate his peccadilloes. Dev Anand has so many idiosyncrasies that I can never forget it is Dev Anand I am watching. However I do like his seemingly genuine enjoyment of Tanuja’s antics in Raat Akeli Hai, Bujh Gaye Diye. And hurrah for the interior design excellence at Anju’s house which we get to tour in that song. I love the fridge, but the bar steals the show.

Things become more tangled as it appears Amar and Vinay are impersonating each other, sometimes inadvertently. Amar aka the Prince is the Jewel Thief. He is a ladies’ man and a ruthless criminal by all accounts, although one with appalling fashion sense. No one seems sure of which side anyone is one. The plot becomes more and more convoluted, even as nothing really happens.

Amar has better taste in women than expected given his shocking taste in clothes. What’s not to love about Helen (playing a character called Helen) making her entrance in a sparkly zebra chicken ensemble complete with crystal beaded tights?

This was one of my first Helen films and whenever I describe vintage Bollywood, I draw on that image. Helen also loves her fridge, to the point of not locating it behind the nifty concealed revolving bar. It reminded me of my grandmother’s kitchen which was built before whitegoods were common so our fridge was plonked against a wall. It took me back to the exciting day when Nan got her first ever washing machine. Sadly I grew up without the groovy bar, but we did have a fair collection of 70s kitsch.

Julie (Faryal) doesn’t seem to have a fridge, but she did have a drinks trolley in one scene.  She is part of the gang and draws Vinay further into their murky designs. With Faryal wearing the entire budget for a key jewel heist scene, I can totally understand why the art team recycled the Nargis busts in the background.

It is a treat to have multiple vamps and heroines of this calibre in a film that lets them all shine. The ladies drive much of the action, providing the clues, motivation and manipulation that ensure Vinay continues to swagger limply in pursuit of Amar. Anju Mahendru also has a small but crucial role as Neena, yet another babe who runs rings around our hero. They are strong, individual women and I love seeing Helen and Faryal do more than an item number. For a fun and informative discussion of vamps, please listen to this excellent podcast by netvixens Beth, Amrita and Memsaab at Masala Zindabad.

The action moves to Gangtok as Vinay pursues Amar. Dev Anand is slick and superficial; Vinay looks the smooth man of the world but is never really convincing as a man of action. Luckily his dad (Hussain) is a police commissioner so he has resources to call on. Even more complexity in the plot is revealed as Vinay is taken hostage. (It was very thoughtful to provide the lads and ladies of the gang with table tennis. Such a wholesome recreation for evil doers!) The gang is working on one big heist that doesn’t seem to be worth it given that they are making ample money from the smaller crimes that attract less attention. The targeted crown is a bit more Miss Universe than I expected for a prince in Sikkim.

Amar continues to elude Vinay and his dad, but there is plenty else of interest going on. Vyjayanthimala wears a sari covered in furry bobbles for a start, but she has the consolation of a lovely song to emote to.

 

Helen and Julie create confusion as Vinay does a lot of overacting, sometimes intentionally. In a fantastic filmi architectural coincidence the old palace tunnel system was handily located under the captives’ quarters. All it took was Shalu, a rope made from a sari, her handy chisel and mallet plus the good scissors and they were off and running for freedom. The film is full of great secret rooms, sliding panels and amazing design features. But it wouldn’t be truly masala  if the hero escaped right away, and the director had invested in some hi-tech memory modification equipment, so the action returns for more mind altering shenanigans.

And then the deservedly famous Hoton Me Aisi Baat in which Dev Anand has the very good sense to restrict his dancing to posing and scuttling out of Vyjayanthimala’s way.

I don’t want to give the ending away completely but the Jewel Thief’s complex plan comes unstuck remarkably easily. Anju takes her turn at helping Vinay fight the good fight, and all loose ends are tied up in a delightful final scene.

Vijay Anand has created one of my favourite retro masala films. There is so much to enjoy visually, so many fun performances, and great music and dance numbers. What more could I ask for? 4 and ½ stars! (extra points for Helen, small deduction for Dev Anand’s hats).

Heather says:  Jewel Thief was one of my early ‘oldies’ film purchases and I’m pretty sure I bought it because of Helen. Of course not only does Jewel Thief have the incomparable Helen but also the amazing Vyjayanthimala, Tanuja and Ashok Kumar along with Dev Anand. I’m not usually a great Dev Anand fan as I find him much too affected, but he seems to suit the James Bond-esque role he plays here fairly well. He does look to be too old to be a wayward son of the police commissioner though and his mannerisms make it hard to forget that he is Dev Anand rather than the character, but I still think this is still one of his best films.

The best part of this film for me is the music – the soundtrack is fantastic and as Temple has mentioned it has the dream team of playback singers. This is a film where I’d heard and loved the songs before I saw the movie, and they only got better with watching. The sets are fantastic too with plenty of hidden rooms and tunnels as well as some very inspired décor in Helen and Anjali’s apartments – so much to appreciate.

I also love the totally fab costumes. The red dupatta with white fluffy spots all over it that Vyjayanthimala is wearing in the song above is a particular fave, and Tanuja has a great selection of outfits.  Naturally Helen shines (and sparkles!) in that department as well, and one of the gang has a rather eye catching black jacket with large white pockets. Where do they find this stuff – actually I do know the answer to that as I went shopping in Chennai earlier this year! Dev Anand is a little too ‘corduroy’ in some scenes for me (clothes and attitude), but his collection of hats helps to make up for that. I particularly like that the jewellery was by Parikh Novelty house, which sounds exactly where I need to go shopping, and that there was just so much of it!

The story aims to be a mystery/thriller and I think in general it works fine for the mystery but not quite so well in the thriller part. There just isn’t very much suspense – at least not once we get past the sock removal. (Just as an aside, I seem to have a different copy toTempleas I have rather more boring subtitles which sadly refer only to toes.) But perhaps I’m just too distracted by the costumes, the jewellery, the interiors and the dancing! The story moves along well though and there are plenty of twists which generally make sense, even if the final scheme does turn out to be more complicated than it really needed to be. Adding in electro-shock treatment was particularly inspired, and I did enjoy Dev Anand’s grimacing throughout the procedure. Brilliant!

All the actors are excellent throughout and it is a real treat to see so many great performers together in a better than usual story. The end is just a little disappointing, but there is still plenty to enjoy in this very stylish film . 4 stars from me.