Three Friends, Two Movies and...

Recently, I saw two Hindi movies which were very different from mainstream Bollywood. They were Delhi Belly and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Both the movies were about male bonding, and in both of them the lead characters were three best friends (in Delhi Belly they were Imran Khan, Vir Das and Kunal Roy Kapoor, while in ZNMD they were Farhan Akhtar, Hrithik Roshan and Abhay Deol). However, the similarity ends here. In terms of the story, the content and direction, the two movies were as different from each other as chalk and cheese.

Now, I am a sort of a person who watches movies just for enjoyment, and so it is rare that I dislike a movie. So, as expected, I really liked Delhi Belly and as well as ZNMD, but both of them for very different reasons. Here's a list of things I liked about both the movies, and which one out f the two would I prefer watching again in a movie theater.

I. DELHI BELLY

Why I like it

1. It's Different: When I say this, I simply mean that it is something which I have not seen before. The language used is very bold and it really takes guts to make such a risky film. So, kudos to the director and producer. I know that at this point quite a few of you would argue that this film could have been made sans the abusive language. Well, let me clarify that neither am I justifying the use of profanities, nor am I endorsing it. I am just saying that it was gutsy on the part of the team to come up with something like this.

2. Situational Comedy: I admit that I found the movie hilarious!!! Some of the scenes were just brilliant. Also, the best part was that the real humour did not come always come from the dialogues, but the actions of the characters. My personal favourites are: the scene where Vir Das tries to drink water while wearing a burqua, the one where Shehnaz's face is covered with a paper bag and she tries to run and bangs into a wall, the scene when the ceiling of Imran's, Vir's and Kunal's house falls off and the audience can see only a leg of a kathak dancer, and yes the one where a goon announces "Loondry!". There are many more such scenes, but these ones are memorable.

3. Music: I think the real essence of this movie is its music. The songs are very unconventional and if heard otherwise, might not be liked by many. But somehow they are totally apt for this movie. Again, my favourites in order of preference: Switty Switty, Nakkadwale Disco, Saigal Blues, Jaa Chudail and DK Bose.

4. Direction: The camera work and overall direction is pretty good. The narrow lanes, the unhealthy street food, the shabby house where the three guys stay, every detail has been taken care of. Also, the movie is fast paced and does not let the audience get distracted for even a minute. Lastly, a running time of 93 mintues without any Interval makes it a perfect watch.

II. ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA

Why I like it

1. Spain: I have just one word for it—MAGICAL! The way Zoya Akhtar has shown the mesmerising beauty of this country is just amazing. The sea, the mountains, the villages, the towns, the tomatina festival, everything has been so brilliantly captured in the movie that I just wanted to jump from my seat and rush off to Spain.

2. Acting: After a long long time there came a movie wherein each and every actor was so perfectly cast for their roles, and each of them did justice to their characters. Farhan, Hrithik, Abhay, Katrina, Kalki, Naseeruddin Shah, Deepti Naval, each actor brought out his/her character on the screen beautifully. Also, all the actors looked at so much ease that it was easy for the audience to forget that they were only acting out a part.

3. Humour: Yes, this movie also made me laugh very much. But, here it was the wittiness of the characters, the intelligent dialogues, certain expressions on the faces of the actors, amazing concepts like Bagwati, the innocence portrayed by all three friends, and the typical guy stuff that happens when boys get together which brought about laughs and claps and whistles from the audience. However, there were no below the belt jokes and no cheap slapstick comedy.

4. Story: Totally unlike Delhi Belly, this movie had a story, which provided a smooth flow to the narration. It is a story of growing up, of facing challenges and overcoming your fears in life. It is a story of realizing the importance of certain small things in life, such as your own breaths. And most importantly, it is about a journey, as Panky my friend rightly said, "a journey to your soul!"

5. Mature and Practical Characters: This is a commonality I have observed in all movies made by Farhan and Zoya Akhtar, that the characters are very mature, practical and close to real life. They are never larger than life, nor are they portrayed as superheroes. The characters are simply real life common people. For instance, Naseeruddin Shah's character, Salman Habib, was so clear in what he wanted from life and made his decision accordingly. Also, even after 25-30 years, he does not regret his decision and his personality has not changed at all. Similarly, Abhay Deol's character, Kabir, is very practical. He does not want his fiance (Natasha, played by Kalki) to change her priorities in life just because they are getting married. Also, as he says, he does not want "Do jism ek jaan types wala pyar."

6. Dialogues: There are certain deep and soul searching dialogues in the film which force you to think about your own life, the direction it's taking and your priorities. Particularly Katrina's dialogues are superb.

7. Imran's Poetry: Last but definitely not the least. Javed Akhtar's poetry, recited in the film by Farhan Akhtar, is the soul of this movie. There are five couplets which come in the background of the movie, and each one is better than the other. Here's the link to Pankaj's blog post if you want to read the four major poems. Given below is the one which is my personal favourite. I generally don't get effected by poems and typically don't go into much depth. But after listening to this piece of poetry, for the first time in my life, I had tears in my eyes, and goosebumps all over my skin. I don't know why or how it happened, but it touched somewhere deep in my heart.

Jab jab dard ka baadal chaya
Jab ghum ka saya lehraya
Jab aansoo palkon tak aya
Jab yeh tanha dil ghabraya
Humne dil ko yeh samjhaya
Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai
Duniya mein yunhi hota hai
Yeh jo gehre sannate hain
Waqt ne sabko hi baante hain
Thoda ghum hai sabka qissa
Thodi dhoop hai sabka hissa
Aankh teri bekaar hi nam hai
Har pal ek naya mausam hai
Kyun tu aise pal khota hai
Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai...

There are several other things which I loved about this movie like the sky diving scene. But, the post has become too long to go into the details of it.

My Pick

Without a doubt it's Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara!! Simply because I personally could not find a  single flaw in the movie, whereas, I can point out several defects in Delhi Belly. Some of them, in brief, are: lack of a good story, sketchy characters without any details about them, failure of the movie to leave an impact, etc.

So, which of the tow did you find better? Do let me know!

Signing Out,

The Movie Buff

Is LOVE Real?

I had initially thought of writing a post recounting my experience of a recent trip to Thailand. I had even drafted a rough post in my mind. But, I changed my mind at the last minute. So, here's a post which is probably the most serious and thoughtful one I have ever written.

For the last 2-3 weeks, most of my conversations with friends have started or ended with the topics love, commitment, heartbreak, crush or girlfriends/boyfriends. Also, everywhere I look, I see people either in a committed relationship and looking towards marriage, or trying to work out a long distance relationship and missing their partners, or people desperately searching for love, or people suffering from one-sided love and trying to come to terms with their feelings.

Then, a few days ago one of my very close friends in office asked me, "Have you ever been in love or a in a relationship?" I replied, "No." When he asked my why, I told him that I never found anyone. I also declared that I was happily and willingly single. After that we moved on to other topics. However, somewhere in my mind his question kept nagging me and as I thought about it more and more, I became quite confused, and my inner turmoil grew. This one question had led to numerous other questions in my mind.

The first question I have is: What is LOVE?


I have been around many couples who claim they are deeply in love with each, have seen hundreds of romantic movies—both Hindi and English—and romance is my favorite genre, have heard (and still enjoy listening to) thousands of romantic songs, and have read many many romantic novels (Mills and Boon, Harlequin, etc.) thanks to a friend in college who sent me a link to a large collection of free Mills and Boon e-books (I still read these books for pure fun and time pass, whenever I feel bored.). Despite all this, I have never been able to understand love. I would like to clarify so many things about it.
1. Is love instant, like love at first sight, or does love grow gradually between two people?
2. Can two complete strangers fall in love (as we see in movies and read in books), or is it necessary for two people to know each other before they fall in love (like Shahrukh Khan says in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, "Love is friendship. If a girl cannot be my best friend, then I can never love her.")?
3. How does one realize that the other person is the love of his/her life? Do you just know, or is there some special sign?
4. Does love necessarily involve a physical relationship, or can two people in love have a platonic relationship?
5. Also, can two people be in a physical relationship without being in love with each other? - I would like to explain the root of this question. Well, as I mentioned above, I have read numerous contemporary romance novels over the last 3-4 years. The one thing I found common in it was that a man and woman met each other and felt a sudden physical chemistry. They lusted after each other and after some avoidance and hesitation ended up having sex. This happened mostly mid way through the book. However, they did not fall in love and proclaim their love to each other till the last or second last page of the book. So, I always wondered, how can two people have a purely sexual relationship without any emotions?

The second question which I have is: What does it feel like to be in LOVE?


Maybe because I haven't experienced this feeling ever, I am ignorant, and hence, asking this question. But I have always wanted to know that what happens to a person when he/she falls in love with someone that it alters his/her personality completely. A perfectly logical and rational human being suddenly starts behaving in foolish and crazy ways. I have observed people's priorities change, outlook towards life change, relationship with others change and several different changes. So, just like my first big questions, I would like to understand some things here too.
1. When a person falls in love, do all the other things, like family, friends, career, etc., take a back seat and only that one person becomes the number one priority?
2. Does being in love mean that you keep constant tabs on your girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse/fiance and give him/her an update about everything that you have done in a day or are doing at that very instant, including something as trivial as watching TV?
3. Does being in love make you totally unaware of your surroundings and your life revolves around that one special person in your life?
4. Does it become difficult to spend even one minute or second apart from each other, and your thoughts are constantly crowded only by him/her?
5. Does loving your partner feel the same like loving your parents, siblings and family, so much that life without him/her is unthinkable and unimaginable?
6. Does love make you forgiving and you are ready to forgive anything wrong your partner has done? Does being in love make you strong enough to forgive something as serious as infidelity?
7. Does being in love leaves you at the mercy of only one person, so much that you are willing to do absolutely anything, go to any lengths, to make that person your own, or have him/her love you back?
8. If a person can fall in love, then can he/she fall out of love too, or is he/she is bound to love only one person for the rest of his/her life, irrespective of the fact that he/she may not receive that same love in return?
9. Does being in love give you the strength to fight all the superficial barriers of caste, religion, age, traditions, rituals, etc., which the society has put up?
10. Is love a strength or a weakness?

My very last question is more for myself and I cannot seem to find an answer for it: Can I see myself falling in love with someone and feeling this powerful emotion?
Some days back, a colleague in office did a psychological test on me. After the test she told me that I am ready for a commitment, that I am ready to take the plunge and not wary of it. Also, I was told by someone once long back that I am a very passionate person and when I fall in love, it will be a very passionate relationship and I would give myself completely to it, so much that I would not care about the world, society, my family, or anyone else.
However, when I think about it, I feel differently. Somehow, I cannot see myself loving someone so intensely. I might be wrong, but this is my personal opinion. All my life I have been friends with so many guys that I have lost count. But I have never ever felt anything other than a friendly liking for any of them. So, I am totally clueless in this matter.

If you have answers to any of the questions I asked above, then do give them to me. It would help me to understand this emotion much better.

Signing Off,
Clueless about Love