Song of the Day--Paayaliya (Dev D)

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

I put on the Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara soundtrack today to chase away some rainy day blues.

A week ago I wouldn’t have given that CD a second thought.

In all the excited buildup to Zoya Akhtar’s sophomore film I felt like the person who got left behind at the rest stop and didn’t really mind.  I was psyched for the trip but the further we got the less enthused I was feeling.

“Zoya!  Farhan!  Hrithik!  Abhay!  I’ll pack my stuff!”

“Spain!  Hmm…this is starting to look like a tourist brochure…maybe I’ll just come for a few days.”

“Katrina’s coming?  Ugh.  Fine.  Look, I’ll tag along but I’m not going to be nice to her.”

“What the hell is this music we’re listening to?  No.  No, I’m good.  You guys go ahead, I’ll hitch a ride home.”

And then I saw the film.  And I fell in love.  

Was the film flawed?  Yes.  

Did I completely forget every criticism I had of the film five minutes after I left the theater?

Yep.

I hesitate to even continue typing at this point—this is my third attempt to capture a piece of what I felt after viewing ZNMD and I’m finding it impossible.  I just erased four thousand words of…of what, exactly?  Fawning praise of some camera work and criticisms that don’t need to be explained.  We all know the gentle negatives of the film: the intro was too long and fluffy, the characters live in a world of wealth outside the reach of most of those who will see the film, it veered dangerously close at times to being a commercial for the Costa Brava.

So why am I listening to Der Lagi Lekin with tears in my eyes right now?

It’s because regardless of how artificial ZNMD’s world is, I know that the film is right.  Those characters are right.  They did something we all need to do—they figured out how to let go and live in the moment.  

Is that cheesy?

Maybe.

 

Is it important? 

Absolutely.

The film centers around Arjun (Hrithik Roshan), Kabir (Abhay Deol), and Imran (Farhan Akhtar), but the main character, without a doubt, is Spain.  Director Zoya Akhtar said she initially had Mexico in mind for the location but I think she made the correct choice with Spain.  Having had my own Spanish adventures I can say that the transformative effect of that Barcelona air isn’t just movie magic—it’s real.  So real that I sometimes remember the smell of a rainy day spent wandering around Parc Güell and it puts me in a good mood for days. 

ZNMD was full of little surprises.  The first was Katrina Kaif.  It’s no secret that I’ll often flat out refuse to see a film if she’s in it, so little do I regard her, erm, “talents,” but she was so natural here that I actually found myself liking her.  I’m inclined to think she’s either a director’s actress or that she just isn’t at all suited to the type of acting required in your typical Akshay Kumar film (who I love, bless his heart, but that brand of cheesy film making requires a certain kind of actress and Kat doesn’t have what it takes for them).

The second (major spoiler alert here) is the treatment of Imran’s reunion with his father.  It would have been easy (and lazy) to throw together a happy scene where the son embraces his long-lost father and all is well in the world, but Zoya isn’t lazy.  Imran (played perfectly by Farhan, who for me had the standout performance of the film) struggles with the idea of meeting his father and when he finally does it isn’t a loving scene.  There are no clichés here, just honesty: Salman (Naseeruddin Shah) didn’t want to give up his life to raise a child, so he left, and tells Imran he feels no remorse.  It’s this second rejection that provides Imran with the emotional release he needed.  Just as Arjun’s  life changed when he overcame his fear of the water, so too did Imran’s as he moved past his fear of meeting the man who abandoned him.

And what was Kabir afraid of?  Two things, as it turned out.  For most of the film we’re led to believe he was afraid of getting married, but things aren’t always as they appear.  He isn’t so much afraid of marriage as he’s afraid of not getting married, and the disappointment of his family that would follow.  He’s afraid of breaking Natasha’s (Kalki Koechlin) heart.  While Arjun’s transformation is more outwardly noticeable (going from uptight, obsessed career man to a dreamy man in love), Kabir is more complex.  As he argues with Natasha (first at a distance, then in person as she joins the boys out of jealousy and suspicion) the easy going personality of Kabira (as his friends lovingly call him) is chipped away, revealing a man just as much in need of catharsis as his companions, perhaps even more.

I hesitate to compare Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara to Luck By Chance; where LBC was so plot driven and focused on the complex relationships between characters, ZNMD is more introspective.  They're vastly different in their scope, though I will say that as much as I admire Hrithik as an actor, I found him more effective in LBC, where his time on screen was a fraction of what it is in ZNMD.  He's so imposing that he almost overshadowed Abhay and Farhan, and while I was interested in Arjun's story line, it was Imran who I wanted more of.  Farhan was stellar in his portrayal of a man who jokes his way through life as a cover for pain that he doesn't want to talk about.  Abhay was the rock of the film, playing parent to Arjun and Imran and finally coming to terms with the decision he had to make.  Hrithik and Katrina had wonderful chemistry, as did Farhan with Ariadna Cabrol, the Spanish actress who plays  his love interest.  I couldn't have been the only one who wanted their post-love scene Spanish/Hindi conversation to go on forever.

I want to say there aren't enough words to describe how moved I was by Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara but that's not true.  I just threw out the three thousand odd that I had left from previous review attempts in favor of these, which are all that are necessary:

It's beautiful.  Go see it.

Some New Looks

I didn't follow any of the casting shenanigan stories when it came to Heroine, and I'm still not that psyched about the film--Aishwarya's a mediocre actress on all but her very best days and after having seen Page 3 and the hot mess that was Fashion I'm not really digging the idea of sitting through yet another Madhur Bhandarkar "deep dark industry expose" film (unless there's a drinking game involved).  I'll do it though, because I love Arjun Rampal and Arunoday Singh, and because I'm more than mildly curious how they're going to deal with Aishwarya's pregnancy.

From the looks of this just-released shot of Aishwarya in costume it looks like they're dealing with it by wrapping her in a silver sack.

Another film I haven't been following all that much (a Bollywood blogger who doesn't really follow films...novel concept) is Singularity.  There was a time when I considered myself a Josh Hartnett connoisseur, but 1999 is in the past now and the only reason I know about this film at all is because of my love love love for Abhay Deol.  I have to say it just sounds...wrong...to put Abhay in a period film (well, a period part of a film at any rate).  I'm sure he can pull it off but he's a modern actor with a modern look and I'm not sure how I feel about this look on him...

Yeah, that's Abhay Deol, with a beard and long hair.  I...don't know what to say.

The rest of Singularity's B'Town cast is ok.  Bipasha Basu stars as Josh's love interest (or the love interest of the dude who looks like Josh Hartnett who Josh Hartnett dreams about while he's a vegetable in a hospital) and I'm guessing the casting session went something like this: 

Producer 1:  Find me a hot Indian actress.

Producer 2:  Well there's this actress named Konkona...I hear she's pretty badass.

Producer 1:  Can she act?  She can?  Ok, she's probably too expensive for us then.  How about this Bipasha person, who can't act but has a nice rack?

Producer 2:  Done and done.

Atul Kulkarni's in the cast as well which is...awesome?  I think that's the right word.  I've always had this little crush on him...I even halfheartedly started sketching a little script where he and Vijay Raaz play small-town buddy cops who have a "you distract this guy while I go flirt with his wife" routine.

Um.  Ahem.  Yes.

I'm Back! And an Assortment of Random Things I'm Looking Forward To

It's been a long time since I've posted here hasn't it?  I have a bit of an excuse--I was in Jamaica, playing bridesmaid in the wedding of one of my best friends (and meeting so many fantastic people!), then in San Juan, Puerto Rico, exploring Old Town and getting a wee bit tipsy (true story) with some more friends, and then finally on a Caribbean cruise with my dad and sister.

I'm so spoiled.

 Congratulations Danielle and Omar!  <3

Anyways, now I'm back, and I'm slowly catching up on all the awesome (and not so awesome) goings-on in Filmiland.

What's not so awesome?  Ready.  I'm soooooo over hearing about Ready.  I'm just...not interested.  Asin's great and Salman's occasionally entertaining but when you watch three or four trailers in a row for a film and are still hard pressed to remember what it's about...well, that's a bad sign.  Looks like another mass-produced formulaic bore.  Yawn.

What's awesome?  I'm glad you asked.

This is awesome:





Let's talk about this. Because I wasn't super excited when I heard about the project, and I wasn't super excited when someone sent me the trailer. But then I watched it. And I watched it again.  And I decided I was kind of intrigued.

Politics of Love is about an Obama campaign worker (played by Mallika Sherawat) who falls in love with a McCain campaign worker.  Craaaaaaazy, I know.  And not just any old McCain campaign worker.  A black McCain campaign worker (I know I know, but it's a movie so it doesn't have to be realistic.)

Anyways...drama drama, etc etc.  It's your standard girl meets boy, boy happens to work for the spawn of Satan film where everything works out in the end with the help of sassy family and friends and a "can't we all get along" speech (or not...I haven't seen it but I'm assuming there'll be one of those in there somewhere).

So why wasn't I super excited about it?  Because even a few years later I still have freaking Obama fatigue.  I'm one of those super liberals who isn't really an Obama fan...you know the drill.  Anyways.  I wasn't sure how much "zomg isn't Obama amazing?!" I could take in one two minute trailer, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The fact that I was able to set my political fatigue aside and get (albeit oh so briefly) involved with the rest of the trailer is a good sign.  I'm not a big Mallika Sherawat fan either but I'm willing to give this a try.

Plus, come on, Loretta Devine?  I fucking love her.

Continuing with things that are awesome, let's talk about Chammak Challo.  You know the one.  Akon doing his thing on a track that got leaked and made Shahrukh Khan cry?

Three things.  First, this track is HOT.  Like...I've listened to it a hundred times in two days hot.  Second, a note to SRK: if it makes you feel at all better, I had absolutely no intention of seeing RA.One at all until I heard Chammak Challo.  Now I'm willing to go just to check out the picturization.  So see?  Life's not all bad.  :)  Third, Akon could become a Bollywood playback singer in a heartbeat.  His Hindi sounds better when he sings than mine does, and I've been studying Hindi for damn near five years now.  If he and Vishal ever did an album together...just sayin'...

Akon. So hot right now. Akon.

Ahem.  Moving on...


Another trailer, this time for Breakaway, the new Russell Peters/Rob Lowe film about a desi ice hockey team.  Think The Mighty Ducks meets Bend It Like Beckham.  It has all the things I look for in a film: Rob Lowe, Russell Peters, Anupam Kher, and Sikhs on ice.

And finally, the official trailer for Aarakshan is out, and it looks like a humdinger.  I'm excited to see Saif finally do something that looks interesting.  Add in the riveting Prateik Babbar and you've got a film I'm dying to see.

Not a bad group of things to be excited about!

There is one thing I'm starting to get a little nervous about, and that's  Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.  I have exceptionally high hopes and expectations for Zoya's second film, based on both how absolutely amazing Luck By Chance was and on the ZNMD cast.  Other than Katrina Kaif, the film has a cast you simply can't go wrong with.  Hrithik, Farhan, Abhay, and Kalki are all favorites of mine and are phenomenally talented.  And of course I'm drawn to anything set in Spain.  Which brings me to my concern:

Spain. I love it. The best times of my life have been in Spain. Every once in a while I swear I can still smell it.

And I'm afraid that it's about to be turned into a film cliche. La Tomatina? Running with the bulls? I worry that my beloved Spain is being used as an exotic backdrop rather than as a legitimate character in the film.

That, along with the fact that I'm horribly underwhelmed by the soundtrack, is bringing down my expectations just a little bit. Who knows, it could end up being a phenomenal film. But I'm getting a bit worried...


Oh oh oh!  Forgot to add the trailer for My Friend Pinto, which looks HILARIOUS and stars Prateik Babbar (swoon) and Kalki Koechlin (total girl crush).  I can't wait for this one!

Extras: Aishwarya's L'Oreal Interview, Abhay on Femina

A few extra tidbits for everyone today:

Here's Aishwarya pimping for L'Oreal and looking lovely (though sounding a bit...faux...in the accent department).  It's nice to see a touch of personality from her, even if it's in a packaged makeup promo!




And speaking of lovely, here's Abhay Deol on the cover of the June issue of Femina.  Looking hot as always! 

I will say I'm a bit sad to be promised some shirtless Kunal Kapoor in this issue and then not be able to find the pictures! So in the spirit of not depriving anyone of a bit of Kunal swooning, an oldie but a goodie:

Bollynews

Just a couple of tidbits to share today:

A.R. Rahman was formally invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  He joins 133 other invited artists and executives in becoming a voting member of the Academy.  Congratulations Maestro!

Dev Benegal's Road, Movie, which stars my lovely Abhay Deol, is rumored to have been picked up for mainstream distribution by Robert de Niro.  

A Chat With Abhay Deol

Sanni over at ...So They Dance linked to a great interview CNBC did with Abhay Deol (current king of my filmi heart) that shouldn't be missed.  He speaks thoughtfully about the difference between craft and art in acting and explains the way independent cinema is funded and produced in India.  And of course he's charming and adorable throughout!

Part One:


Part Two:


Part Three:


And for a little taste of what it is about Abhay Deol that excites me so much, check out this preview for one of the standout films of last year, Dev D.  Dev D is the most recent in a long line of takes on the classic Bengali novel "Devdas" by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (the most well known probably being the 2002 classic Devdas, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai), and is definitely a huge departure from the tones of the previous versions.  Where Devdas was lushly romantic, tragic, and filmi, Abhay Deol's Dev D is, well, sex drugs and rock 'n roll.  Seriously.  See for yourself.