Shahrukh Khan was in flops before Chak De India. This hockey based movie created sensation at Box Office and received critical acclaim also. Shahrukh Khan’s fans expected a National award to their favorite hero.
But that year ending Aamir Khan came with Taare Zameen Par which was a feel good movie. Every one expected competition would be between this two movies at any award functions. At Filmfare awards both of the movies shared the awards.
But in National Awards a Tamil movie Kanchivaram defeated both the movies and bagged National Award in Best movie category. Prakash Raj who played the lead role in Kanchivaram bagged Best Actor award.
It’s a story that takes place all over India. Poor people deprived of their rights. Recently in Uttar Pradesh a young mechanic from Sitapur unearthed a scam when he decided to check why his father’s old age pension had not arrived. Under the old age pension scheme, the Department of Social Welfare is to pay Rs 300 per month to the poor who are over 65 years of age. Rs 700 crore has been set aside for this scheme yearly, but now it has been discovered that almost a lakh of the beneficiaries are not true beneficiaries at all. Villages like Gorakhpur, Kaushambi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Mirzapur and Mahoba are also victims of this scam. In a belated move, the state government is now physically checking the lists in all villages.
The misuse of government funds happens all over India ofcourse. Dedicated chief ministers like Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy (who died in a helicopter crash a few days ago) like to make surprise checks to villages to ensure that the monies set aside for the poor are actually reaching them. Most states don’t seem to care. We know what happened in Maharashtra. Very little of the crores set aside for the relief of farmers actually reached them. Recently, social activist and journalist Vilas Wankhede put in an RTI application and discovered what appears to be a huge scam relating to relief schemes for farmers who committed suicide in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region. And he has accused a six-time former Member of Parliament (MP), relatives of a sitting Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and several former MLAs.
This is the story of India. Unknown heroes like the anonymous young mechanic and Wankhede bring us hope. As I had mentioned in a comment a few posts earlier, India has its heroes. They challenge the system despite the fact that their lives could be endangered. And it is their work that gives others courage. For example, after the young mechanic exposed the scam in the pension scheme, “people now come with lists of the beneficiaries, and demand a probe.”
And that is what the film Mohandas – A Man Lost In His Own Nation touches upon. It is a movie which is dedicated to whistleblowers like Manjunath Shanmugam, and Satyendra Dubey who blew the lid of scams which involved crores of rupees and as a result had to pay with their lives. A list of those who defied the system is here. Given in a comment on this blog by Vikram. However, this movie is not about a whistle blower per se, and nor is it about Mohandas Gandhi, the father of our nation, although it does tell us about a poor lawyer who decides to help the protagonist Mohandas despite threats to his life.
The protagonist in this movie is a poor naive village boy called Mohandas whose identity is stolen by another. Mohandas is Gandhiji’s common man and hence the name. The villain conspirators in the movie take the trouble to steal Mohandas’ identity so that they can benefit by crores of rupees. Getting into the details of this would reveal the plot and that can’t be done as suspense is an important element in the movie.
The movie is based on a short story by Uday Prakash and the story is the best thing about the movie. It is a powerful heart rending story with twists and turns that leaves you praying for a happy ending. Another great thing about this movie is its setting. Most of the story takes place in a village called Anuppur in Madhya Pradesh, and it was shot in a real village in Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh.
The cinematography is excellent, and why shouldn’t it be. It is none other than the cinematographer of Satya fame Mazhar Kamran, who is behind the camera. And he is the director as well, this being his debut film as director. He has done a great job as a director. The film moves fairly fast and suspense is maintained throughout. Characters are developed well, and are not stereotypes. There are no glamorous faces, only real faces and real people.
However, I think Kamran made a mistake in casting Nakul Vaid as Mohandas. Nakul Vaid looks like a city bred yuppie with his plump and rosy cheeks and the casual chic that he displays in his posture and style. By no stretch of the imagination could he pass off for a villager, not even in fancy dress. That is all it seemed anyway. A city man dressed up as a villager. The couple chosen as his parents are so perfect, it makes Vaid all the more unreal in this role. Wrong casting makes it difficult to empathise with the character. Throughout the movie I got a feeling that Nakul Vaid is not really Mohandas, but simply an actor pulled in to play his part. A play within a play.
The other main character in the movie is the reporter Meghna, played by Sonali Kulkarni. She is better for her role, although not perfect. It was difficult to believe that her character was a top notch reporter in a news channel as she came across more as a fresher with 2-3 years of experience. Not a thing one would complain about in a mainstream movie. But this is supposed to be a “real” movie so the expectations are higher.
Overall the acting of all the people in this movie was average and at times stilted and stiff. Sonali’s scenes with her colleagues seemed artificial and it is here that the inexperience of the director shows.
If one has to sum up, this is a serious thought provoking film. As a judge in the movie laments, goondas and mobsters have penetrated all democratic institutions in this country, and it has made a mockery of our democracy. This is the main message of the movie and while it may sound cynical to some, it does seem to be the truth. The movie gives out little hope because it tells us that though one can move a few mountains at the ground level because of the efforts of a few people, the real problem lies at the top.
From the real life examples I gave at the beginning of this post, it is clear that unless there is political will to root out the corruption, nothing will change in this country.
(Photo credits: the first photo is from bollywoodadda.com and the other is from india-server.com)
Gerade habe ich wiedereinmal eine abendfüllende Beschäftigung von dreieinhalb Stunden hinter mir: Ich habe “Mohabbatein” gesehen. Aber obwohl der Film so gute Kritiken gekriegt hat, habe ich mir doch ehrlichgesagt etwas mehr erwartet. Keine Frage, Amitabh, Shahrukh und Aishwarya waren klasse, aber alles in allem fand ich den Film eher mittelmässig gut. Die Songs haben mich auch nicht so vom Hocker gehaun und obwohl die Geschichte eigentlich schön war, war sie mir irgendwie zu oberflächlich. Vielleicht bin ich einfach zu sehr Veer&Zaara verwöhnt, ich weiß nicht. Aber “Mohabbatein” hatte viele Längen und Schwächen. Einiges war gut – eben alle Szenen mit Shahrukh und Aishwarya ♥, aber vieles war mir zu langatmig und… naja. Ausserdem hat mich immens gestört, dass jeder Laie erkennen konnte, dass Shahrukh nicht wirklich Violine spielen kann.
Ich geb dem Film 5 von 10 Punkten und es dauert sicher etwas, bis ich ihn mir nochmal ansehe.
Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat joined the league of Hollywood celebs including Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus, Victoris Beckham, David Beckham and Paris Hilton, after a Hollywood milkshake was named after her. Mallika, who visited Millions of Milkshakes in West Hollywood , has been honored with her very own milkshake called the ‘Mallika shake’, reports ‘Contactmusic’ . The Mallika shake includes blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and chocolate sauce. To make the shake more appealing, it has been topped with whipped cream.. Meanwhile, the actress is in Tinseltown to promote her new h0rr0r film ‘Hisss’.
They are Bollywood’s hottest and powerful couple. Now that the world has known they both come as a package, Oprah too had to invite Aishwarya Rai with husband Abhishek Bachchan, formally. The two share a bandhan that is solid, whether it is Cannes, Madame Tussauds and now Oprah Winfrey’s show, they will be seen hand in hand.
This being the second time that Aishwarya will be on the show since 2005, where she gifted the queen of many media, Oprah a pink saree. Finding it irresistible, Oprah wore the saree on the show, and called it sensuous.
For Abhishek however this will be the first time. Married to a globetrotting Indian belle, he definitely is the much priced accessory to his gorgeous wife. The charming hunk has been spotted with his wife at many a global events. Be it Cannes, Hollywood premiers or any other event, this charming hunk donning matching outfits compliments the classic frame of his beautiful wife. Abhishek has always supported Ash in all her international endeavors, and he himself has charmed many on international interviews, hopefully he’ll be able to win over Oprah as well.
Ash who was critisized for being too giggly on her earlier show, plans to talk about family values and marital bliss on the show which was apparently shot a few days back. Lets see what what all can candid Oprah get out of the Bachchan bahu.
Yesterday I watched the Sanjay Dutt and Imran Khan starrer Luck on DVD. Today I feel like writing to the makers of the movie to demand my Rs 50 back.
The basic premise of the movie is that some of us – the lucky ones – are born with more luck than the rest. Some of us are just more darn lucky (like the protagonists of the movie who come from filmy families). Imran Khan is one of those lucky characters in the movie, along with Shruti Hassan, Mithunda, Rakhi Sawant’s big bro Ravi Kishen and the dwarf from Chak De India. Sanjay Dutt and Danny Danzeogpa play characters who bet on luck. They get all of these people together in South Africa and make them do tasks that are watched live by people all around the world who are betting on the luck of the chosen few.
Innovative concept, yes. Executed well, no. Pre-interval, the movie is an overburden of clichés with everything from money to revenge as the motivation for people to get into this deadly game. And post-interval, the movie starts becoming a rip-off of MTV Roadies. Sanju baba becomes Raghu Ram, Danny becomes Ranvijay and the rest becomes roadies. In Roadies, the contestants performed tasks to earn immunity; in Luck they carry out death-defying tasks to literally stay alive.
As we are subjected to a couple of seemingly daredevil (but actually stupid) tasks and a hilariously ludicrous climax, we keep hearing philosophical dialogues from the actors. Every actor gets his fair share of philosophy to blurt out. Of course the best ones come from Dutt and the worst from Brother Sawant. The best thing about the movie is that after numerous clichés, convenient twists and turns (like the leading lady’s double role and the leading lad’s right-sided heart) it does chug to an end.
Performance-wise, nothing wise to report. Dutt is in his usual bhai avatar, Imran tries – and fails – once again to be non-chocolaty, but my heart goes out to Shruti Hassan. She should have probably opted for a better debut. Neither the role, nor the bikini does her any justice.
Finally, I doubt if the movie would prove to be lucky for anyone involved with it, thus throwing its premise out of the window. Moral: Not even the best of good luck is useful without talent and sensibilities.
However, I do recommend the movie. Watch Luck for one reason: Such harrowing experiences make us appreciate the better things in life. On the same lines, a few other recommendations are ‘contemporary classics’ like Kambakht Ishq, Tashan and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.
Nation states are a stupid Greek concept, also deadly in today’s terms.
It doesn’t matter what Jinnah or Gandhi said. They aren’t God.
Whoever said Muslims are all terrorists in Bollywood films knows nothing about Bollywood films.
Kashmir is Holy Land. It’s neither Pakistani, nor Indian. Give it up.
To My Indian Friends
September 1, 2009 by mohsenali
From the day Jaswant Singh’s “book about Jinnah” issue splashed the media, I have been bombarded by the news, articles and analysis; linked and emailed to me by friends, posted on their facebook and presented during dicussions.
During all this; Jinnah, Jaswant Singh, India, Indian people, Indian politician, one thing was missing, which I figured out today, My Indian Friends. There was no input from Indian people I know directly, I didnot knew what they wanted?
Why? I asked my self.
Seeing Pakistan defaced every day, misanalysed every new hour; not only by the Non-Pakistani experts but also by the Pakistani experts why I take words published in the Nytimes, BBC and many Pakistani news papers.
Why I am not talking to Indian Class and Lab Fellows I have, about this? In all this time where I have been friend to many Indians some of whom I can count as very good friends (I tell you I am not so friendly person so few I have means they are good enough to tolerate me).
Why we never had the discussions on any serious topic that actully exist b/w us.
Today when I have so many versions of what Indians want, why I cannot ask an Indian what you want?
From the topics that are thorn in our throuts (What you think about Kashmir, Why dont they get to choose with whom they want to live? What you think about Pakistan’s Independence, why majorly in Indian films Muslims are terrorists? Why you think Pakistanis will want to blowup Taj Mahal hotel? Why there are still voices in India for Greater India? Where is water going?) to light subjects (like how is social culture changing? Can today people from different religion marry? What books are famous? Why BJP wins? Water issue? ) There are so many things we can talk about, know about talking Face to Face. Knowing how other feels. What other thinks, without going over the load of hatterd crap sent in our news media. But why we don’t
I know because I don’t want to destroy the friendship, but what is friendship if we don’t understand each other.
How will we discuss tomorrow if we are afraid to discuss today?
Today I want to ask them One Question? What do you think about the Jaswant Singh’s book?
What do you feel has Jinnah been honestly presented to India? Because I know Gandhi not have been but there is still great respect for many views of Gandhi in Pakistan.
