Koyla

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As it seems has been the case with many other people, my path to Bollywood addiction started with Shah Rukh Khan. A late night chance viewing of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge on TV and I was instantly hooked. So I was slowly working my way through his older films (and loving pretty much all of them) when we had a discussion in Hindi class about films that were so bad they were good (you know exactly what I mean here!) and the subject of Rakesh Roshan’s Koyla came up. So of course after hearing the description, this became a must see film, and despite all the violence, gore and trashy OTT characters it’s fun and quite frankly an addictive film to watch. Koyla is certainly not my favourite SRK film, but hidden amongst all the craziness there are some really wonderful moments, particularly in the songs where Madhuri also shines.

But of course the main reason for watching is this:

And a bit of this:

Where to start with such a crazy film? Shah Rukh Khan is Shankar, a mute slave to the incredibly evil and megalomaniacal Rajashahib (Amrish Puri). Shankar is introduced running with the dogs he has trained and the implication is clear that Raja regards him as just another one of his well-trained animals. Leaving aside the fact that Shankar has a truly terrible mullet, as does Raja himself, there is also the very questionable decision to make Shankar wear such immense shoulder pads. It’s hard to believe this film was made in 1997 and not the mid eighties considering some of the fashion choices in this song:

Raja is obviously a bad man with his bad hair and a ’mark of evil’ mole. He also has an even more sadistic and quite insane brother Brijwa who, in trashy bodice ripper novel style, tries to drag off every young woman he encounters.

Despite an intimate relationship with his secretary Bindya, Raja is hungry for another young woman, and eventually tricks Gauri (Madhuri Dixit) into marriage. We first see Gauri frolicking around the fields with a gang of children all high after eating cannabis laddoos. Possibly this is supposed to show how innocent she is, but it’s really just very ‘what the?’ instead. She’s easily tricked when Raja sends a photograph of Shankar instead of himself as the potential bridegroom. A sadistic tyrant Raja may be, but at least he is somewhat aware of his own shortcomings as a potential groom. After a sham of a wedding, Gauri tries to escape but she’s a typical wishy-washy heroine and doesn’t manage anything effectual. Although perhaps fainting is understandable when she tears off the grooms veil to show Raja instead of Shankar! Compare and contrast:

Bindya is displaced in Raja’s affections and ends up as all fallen women do as she is disposed of into the local brothel. This treatment of Raja’s former lover starts to open Shankar’s eyes to the depravity of his owner – it’s taken him 20 years but it’s a start. When he discovers the deception behind Raja and Gauri’s marriage he feels compelled to protect her and when finally Raja kills Gauri’s brother Ashok (Mohnish Behl in a very brief guest appearance) Shankar finally escapes with her into the jungle.

So how do you pursue your wife and slave when they have run off together? By helicopter of course! There is plenty of First Blood style action and Shankar does manage some amazingly intricate traps for a man on the run with no obvious resources. Finally Raja manages to catch up to the fugitives and cuts Shankar’s throat before sending him to his death over a cliff. Amazingly, Shankar just happens to be discovered by a local healer who sews him back up again and restores his voice as a useful side benefit. Gauri meanwhile is destined for the brothel (Raja is not a man of novel ideas), where she finds a protector in Bindya. Because of course, the impure fallen woman has to come good before she is killed in any proper Bollywood film.

There are explosions, plenty of revenge killings and bucket-loads of blood, but finally Shankar does prove that good will always win over evil, especially when good has such an excellent (and frequently used) hero run.

The story has plenty of holes and yet it all makes sense if you just ignore the questions of why and how. There is a flashback to explain exactly how Shankar lost his voice in the first place and why Raja rose to his current level of power. The end ties everything up with the greedy exposed and everyone important and still left alive is redeemed in the end, even Ashok Saraf’s irritating Vedji. This is one of the first films I saw where Johny Lever’s character had a more serious role to play and he pulls it off very well, with only one or two dips into irritating comedy as Vedji’s son and Shankar’s friend. This is probably the best song of the film featuring the two with Shankar’s friend supplying his ‘voice’.

What really does work well in this film is the slowly developing relationship between Shankar and Gauri. There is plenty of chemistry between the two, as there always seems to be with SRK and his leading lady, and they have some very heart-felt scenes particularly when Shankar has no voice and SRK is relying on facial expressions and body language alone. This is one time when SRK’s tendency to overact works very well in his favour and his emotions are excellently expressed. The gradual maturation of Gauri from frightened girl into a woman who helps fight back at the end is well handled. And of course any time Madhuri is dancing she is entrancing. The songs by Rajesh Roshan (lyrics by Indeevar) are the high points of the film and Saroj Khan has done an excellent job with the choreography in each.

But the rest is just plenty of OTT wonderfulness and a surfeit of blood and gore with a healthy helping of revenge. The violence is too cartoonish to be difficult to watch, although there is a dark undercurrent as much of the violence is directed against women. Thankfully though, all the bad guys get their comeuppance and there is always a good song just when the death count is in danger of getting too extreme. It does have an 18 rating which I presume is as a result of the number of attempted rape scenes and general adult themes throughout, although it’s really not as suggestive as many Hollywood films. The bush surgery is excellent and I did particularly like the casts for Shanka’s broken arm and leg which imploded with no apparent ill effects when he started running. Of course he was back to full health and fighting fit in a very short time like all true heroes should be. And perhaps it’s that heavy vengeance burden that explains those shoulder pads earlier!

Koyla is not a film for the faint hearted and I wouldn’t recommend it as a must see film for everyone. But if you like your BW to have the baddest villain and the most extreme trials for a hero and heroine, then it’s definitely a film you should see. 3 stars.

Mere Brother Ki Dulhan

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I had pretty low expectations of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. But I’ve had a very up and down kind of week, and seeing this with excellent company of a couple of friends was the perfect antidote. The leads are likeable, it’s a pretty film, there are some beautiful locations, I laughed all the way through and the songs are excellent. The comedy was funny, and there were some pleasing references to classic and not so classic Bollywood films. There is nothing in the story that is new, but Ali Abbas Zafar (no relation to the star, Ali Zafar) has done the recycling with wit and charm. It’s a really light hearted undemanding film but I didn’t leave my brain at the door, just my worries.

The story kicks off as Luv (Ali Zafar) breaks up with his girlfriend in London. He asks younger brother Kush (Imran Khan) to find him a bride as he feels it is time to settle down but doesn’t think his parents know him well enough to pick a compatible girl. Luv tells Kush that if Kush likes a girl, he is bound to as well. So you can see where this is going long before old flame Dimple (Katrina Kaif) is trotted out by her parents. Kush and Dimple had never quite got together but he thinks the world of her and so she is the perfect bride for his idolised brother. But what to do when you realise you’re in love with your prospective sister-in-law, and she feels the same? The path to the predictable ending is much more entertaining than I expected and even kind of made sense. Not in a real world logic way, but there was enough context built into the film, and characters behaved in accordance with the internal logic of the story.

Imran is great as the boy next door Kush. He has obviously been working hard on his dancing (and should keep working on it), and that was a plus with so many good songs. His comic timing was spot on and he seemed to have good rapport with his co-stars. A lot of the comedy derives from Kush’s reactions to people and incidents and I thought Imran was able to communicate so much by expression alone, particularly his eyes. The look on his face when Dimple tells Kush that he looks like Amol Palekar was priceless!

Ali Zafar handled the demands of playing a character who was selfish and a bit immature and making him sympathetic and funny. He plays the preening NRI but when he is talking to his little brother those mannerisms drop away and we can see more of the genuine person underneath. Luv was decent in his own self centred way and while the ending was inevitable I also wanted to see him happy, or at least not become Romance Roadkill.

I really liked that both Luv and Kush were shown as fundamentally nice guys, so on one level it didn’t matter who got the girl as there was no villain or obviously bad choice. And both chaps do very good eyebrow acting so they were well matched as brothers.

Katrina’s acting was adequate and she certainly looked lovely. She always used to be the blank faced doll in the short dress, but now when the camera focuses on her eyes it does look like there is somebody home. Her performance in ZNMD was far superior to this and yet the characters could have been very similar. Dimple wasn’t given a lot of nuance, indeed she suffered from the highest WTF quotient, and she mostly played as loud and boisterous. The ‘Suicide!’ scene was a real misfire, but for the most I think Katrina delivered what she was asked to do. Dimple is a rebel, but she’s the good kind of rebel who doesn’t upset her parents.  She struck me as the ideal drinking buddy but a bit too high maintenance to want her as a friend.

It was nice to see a heroine who wasn’t passive and helpless, and while some of her choices made me roll my eyes, some had me cheering. She asks why guys can flirt with lots of girls but if she flirts, she is thought to be a slut. Kush tells Dimple not to change herself but that she must also realise that change in others attitudes would take time. While it was completely filmi, it was still nice that Dimple didn’t have to suffer or be rescued because of her ‘bad girl’ behaviour. The part of the characterisation that worked best for me when Dimple spoke about her fear of losing her identity once she was married, and what that change in her life was going to mean.

There was time for a little bit of reflection and introspection in amongst all the pre wedding shenanigans, but still done with humour.

The screenplay was generous in giving the supporting characters some good dialogue and they all had a little quirk or detail that made them stand out. I’m not convinced by Tara D’Souza as Luv’s ex Piali, but her acting did make everyone else look that much better. She seemed to be given the same direction as Katrina that loud = strong. Arfeen Khan had a difficult role as Ajju, Dimple’s autistic brother, and he was good. He had some really nice little moments interacting with Kush and Dimple, and his timing was great. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub was delightful as Kush’s friend Shobhit, making the most of being a comedy sidekick and bride hunting assistant.

The songs by Sohail Sen are a perfect match for the characters and the tone of the story. This is one of my favourite soundtracks at present and the picturisations are a highlight. From the filmi pastiche choreography of the title track to the rambunctious Madhubala (sung by Ali Zafar) or the sweetly funny Isq Risk there is not one that I didn’t like. There is even a bit of a snake dance! The film also uses songs from older films like Padosan and Caravan to signal or highlight things happening in the story.

While the film is aimed at the youth market, this could be one for the nostalgic folk too. It was that most rare of things – a modern Bollywood comedy with no fart jokes, no sleaze but with lots of humour and abundant song and dance. I don’t think there is anything new or amazing about the film, but don’t we go see movies to be entertained or amused? Mere Brother Ki Dulhan does that, and does it very well.

Vikramarkudu

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Vikramarkudu centres on ASP Vikram Singh Rathore (Ravi Teja) and his attempts to bring rural crimelord Bavuji and his evil brother Titla (Ajay) to justice. Needing to go into hiding, Vikram schemes to have his young daughter left with unknowing duplicate Athili Sathibabu (also Ravi Teja), a conman conned into caring for the child. The now familiar theme of justice being outside of the law is at the fore as even the police cannot rely on the legal system. There is suspense as the bad guys get closer and the two lookalikes cross paths in a series of action packed episodes. SS Rajamouli knows how to get a story up on screen and make it look amazing but he doesn’t have the best material to work with here. Vikramarkudu is a bit less satisfying than it should have been.

The major problem for me is the first section which sets up a very unconvincing love at first sight romance between Sathibabu and Neeru (Anushka Shetty). She acts giggly and flirty and he is sleazy and grabby. I struggle to believe Neeru would be smitten by Sathibabu. I can believe she might fall for him over time, but on sight? It wouldn’t have taken much to come up with a better story for her, but apparently no one could be bothered. Apart from the unfortunate giggling and the attempt to be a minx, Neeru was quite likeable but then she disappears until the end of the film. While it wasn’t much of an acting challenge at first (except maybe for having to gaze lustfully at Ravi Teja) Anushka did at least look like she was having fun in the songs. She got a bit more to work with later in the film, but the heroine was not pivotal to the story.

Ravi Teja is a good actor and created two very distinct characters while playing up their similarities so that while I was never confused, I could believe that the other characters might be. He gave the policeman a serious demeanour that was almost out of place in the mass madness.

The action scenes look great and Ravi Teja is up to the challenge of the scuffling, bruising fights. But most of the story is about Sathibabu whose notion of romance is slapstick sleaze.

I have a fear of Anil Kapoor’s back hair which dates from seeing Janbaaz. Oh, the rolling in the hay scene was so disturbing even without the straw woven into Anil’s furry pelt. I had post traumatic flashbacks when I saw Ravi get his shirt off with no warning.

Brahmanandam and Sathibabu live in a house they had furnished from various stolen items. It was neatly quirky, and might have been better suited to college aged guys but the set designers had fun. Ravi Teja has an upbeat energy which is very effective in the dances and he looks like he enjoys the dreaded comedy scenes. Their conman shtick was mildly amusing and I liked some of their schemes, but the heavy handed and repetitive dialogue especially by Brahmi became annoying. And I just don’t think sleazy puns and groping equates to humour.

There was more to Sathibabu than I initially expected. He was coerced into caring for a little girl (Baby Neha) who was convinced he was her father. I liked the developing affection between Sathibabu and the little girl. It didn’t seem that he was won over because she was cutesy but because he started to appreciate she was a little human being and had her own fears and likes that he could relate to. And from that initial moment of empathy came a protective affection that was endearing. It also meant that he was more invested in helping Vikram and sorting out the villains when the time came.

The bad guys play for cartoon effect but there was an edge of darker violence to some of these scenes. Bavuji is a stock baddie who leers and shouts and does a pretty good mad eye. Ajay as Titla is more striking and not just because of his height and aura of evil. He leads a gang who were possibly involved in the trial run for Magadheera costumes, and is armed with what looks like a kind of blunderbuss and a cross bow.

Ajay has the right amount of menace and silliness and he plays it to the hilt. Munna (Amit Kumar), Bavuji’s son, is flamboyantly bad but opts for a comedic approach which masks his calculating nastiness.

Their crimes include abducting women from the village for sex and killing anyone who stands up to them. Rajamouli doesn’t soften these scenes at all and, while it does make payback more cathartic, it is dark. Mind you, they still know how to party:

The supporting cast of good guys do well with the patchy script. Inspector Mahanti (Rajeev Kanakala), paralysed when they abduct his wife Pramila, is an example of what happens when good men stand by and do nothing.  Yet again I found myself wondering about how a handful of psychos can dominate a population of hundreds. His wife and kids make a strong impression and I cheered and cheered in one of her scenes. Prakash Raj makes a very small appearance as a DCP but gets to use his misty eyed Gaze of Blossomimg Bromance to good effect.  Ruthika is a tough policewoman who is handy in a fight and that is treated as kind of unremarkable which I liked. She just does her job. It didn’t stop the writers inflicting some ‘comedy’ on her though. She is drugged by Brahmi which causes a sound effect of whinnying like a horse and the terrible side effect of fancying Sathibabu. The only good thing I can say is that this song happens:

The MM Keeravani songs are fun and they provided a battlefield between the choreographers and the costume team. There is a pleasing commitment to metallic pants and that makes me happy.

The costumes are a highlight and Ravi Teja’s trousers often make a statement. Anushka seemed to get the more experimental designer but she didn’t seem too fazed. I suppose that is a benefit of knowing you could wear a hessian sack and still look stunning.

There is some excellent Only In Films Medicine I must mention. I bet you didn’t know that a temporary cure for an aneurysm is running cold water over your head.

I struggled with Vikramarkudu at first as I couldn’t see the story going anywhere and I didn’t care less about the lead pair. Once the revenge story started to dominate, the pace picked up and I found the film much more satisfying. There was some tension and characters started to become more fleshed out once the common enemy was in play. While the content and situations are unrealistic, the impact of the dramatic and action oriented scenes was surprisingly strong. By the end, as Ravi Teja made those baddies sorry they had ever been born, I cheered and laughed and occasionally winced. As for the resolution, well I question some of the logic but you know what they say; all’s well that ends well. 3 stars!