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