Why Make ‘Raavan’ When You Can Make ‘Housefull’

“Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.” – Aaron Levenstein.

The box-office report of Raavan and Housefull is out there for everyone to see and infer what they want to. And when I say Raavan, I actually am talking about movies like Dil Se, Gulaal, Firaaq, Parzania etc; and when I say Housefull, I actually am referring to movies like Welcome, SiK, Kambakht Ishq etc. Obviously, these are movies of different genres but the one thing common is that, they were all on exhibition in theatres, multiplexes etc and we know the fate of all of these movies.

So, what lessons do we learn from the BO reports. I don’t know because I am neither a critic nor a movie maker or a trade analyst; just an avid movie watcher. And here are some of the things that I have come to realise, over a period of time.

Story & Screenplay Why bother writing about problems of people in the relief camps of riot affected victims or the inspector trying to track down the goons involved in Bombay bomb blast or a radio-journalist trying to interview an ULFA terrorist or the caste/class divide in red-alert zones of Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh? We don’t want to see such non-existing issues which are hyped by media. We want to see what issues a common man faces. We want to see how a bartender in London handles the visit of his father-in-law, we want to see how a ‘panauti’ copes with life and wife, we want to see whether Uday Shetty is able to find a suitor for his sister, an intelligence agent walking around with a lie-detector and how a bumbling sikh becomes King of Australian mafia. These are the real issues we are plagued with.

Characterisation This is one area where Mani, Anurag and others really need to work upon. I mean, why take pains in writing the character graph of Dukey Baana when people are happy with Aarush; why write Meghna and Preeti when people actually want bimbos like Deepika Padukone and Lara Dutta, why sketch Amar Mathur and Beera when Riteish Deshmukh is able to make people laugh at his stupid antics? Who is watching the growth and maturity of a character! People are busy sniggering at the immaturity of the 3 hunks with a baby, and the reverse growth of stars like Akshay Kumar. And then, someone like Anurag comes along to give us Rananjay SIngh. What! Is that a real name? What happened to the Raj’s and Rahul’s and Gupta’s and Malhotra’s. Give the characters a real name, please!

Locations & Cinematography Why does someone like Mani Ratnam go to all these beautiful locales in North-East (Dil Se) or the Malshej Ghat and Athirapalli Falls (Raavan)? Why did Anurag Kashyap make a movie in backdrop of Rajasthan in Gulaal? To bring a level of authenticity to the story-telling! But who needs that? People are happy watching an entire cast camped and cramped in a rented mansion (Housefull, SiK, Welcome). So, what if the mansion only has a few rooms, a big dining hall, a grate, huge portraits of prententious people and some make-believe classic paintings. We want to see that, nothing else. Please don’t show us serene environments, breath-taking views and sceneries of visual pleasure. We neither want authenticity nor aesthetics. We are not concerned about how scenes are shot because we are not here to appreciate beauty and splendor.

Music & Lyrics Someone really ought to stop Gulzar from penning songs. What were the lyrics of Satrangi Re, Ranjha Ranjha and Thok De Killi? We don’t want songs that make sense, force us to think, create visual imageries. And Piyush Mishra be damned with the Ranaji song and his stupid take on Ye Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaye To Kya Hai. See, that’s exactly what everyone these days are telling, ye duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai! So, please stop penning such outdated songs and give space to the new breed lyricists who say ‘O Girl You Are Mine’ and ‘Hush Hush Hush, Papa Sleeping’. See, now these sound like some real song and are so convenient to sms our friends. And what was Rahman trying to prove with his tunes in Dil Se and Raavan and many others; that he is Mozart From Madras! Has he not heard of Pritam and his ilk who struggle day and night to create original tunes which leave a lasting impression! With whom is Rahman, Vishal and others competing? Take a break dude! We want songs like Bhootni Ke, Bebo Mai Bebo and not something silly like Behne De, Dil To Bachcha hai Ji and Aarambh Hai Prachand!

Direction This definitely is the most over-rated job. I mean, any Tom Dick and forget it, can become a director. We have had action directors and stuntmen become directors, choreographers turned into directors, photographers and ad-film makers took to direction; and sometimes we have had entire movie being ghost-directed. So, who the hell needs the sophistication of Mani Ratnam or the detailing of Anurag Kashyap or the perfection of a Bhansali or the hardwork of Ashutosh Gowariker, please call on a spot boy to take the next shot.

Production/Finance This has to be the toughest job of all. I mean, if you approach Nadiadwala with script of Swades or Gulaal, then he will need so much time to mull over it because the movies are so unchallenging and silly. And what about all the criticism he will have to face for a good product. Its so much easier to produce a ‘Housefull’ where you have your friends and relatives on the sets having a party; my God, its such a stress-buster. No wonder SRK was so relieved when he produced OSO & MHN but was so tensed about Chak De and Swades because he was not producing such tacky works.

Actor/Actresses The last piece in the jigsaw, did I say last! They ought to be the last, but they are often the first ones to be onboarded in a project. Everything else revolves around them. With my limited knowledge, I assumed that a bound script, location finalisation, camera angles are decided first; and then actors/actresses come into picture. But no, actors make the movie their personal statement; often changing lines and locations to suit their needs. After all, its so difficult to extract good performances from Nandita Das and Seema Biswas; but its so much easier to cast Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif. Oh! please don’t wonder and let me explain. Whatever be the movie, the set, the location; they are consistently bad. They can give you the same expression in the bedroom/bathroom/drawing-room with such perfection, 100% strike rate. They don’t even have to get into the skin of the character, they are the character. Imagine how difficult it would be if actors got so intense that they cannot get the character out of their head. Its so much easier to cast Tushar Kapoor and Fardeen Khan who can walk in and out of characters as if they were changing clothes.

Coming back to the quote on statistics, what it reveals is the changing taste buds of the audience and what it conceals is a dangerous trend of dumbing down the audience as they lap up bad movies without blinking.

A Question To The Movie Critics And Reviewers I know you guys did not approve of Kambakht Ishq and Housefull and gave it 2 or 2.5*, maybe more. But, didn’t Dil Se and Raavan also get the same stars? So, don’t you see any difference between Raavan and Housefull! Was Raavan all that bad or was Housefull all that good? I am actually amazed that all the great performances in Housefull was neglected, all the fantastic music and lyrics went unobserved, all the pains taken by the film crew to shoot in such difficult location of the various bedrooms of the mansion was ignored. And in Raavan, we promptly noticed camera slip-ups, shoddy performances and the carelessness with which certain scenes were shot. I mean, how can you compare an auditorium filled with intellectual dignitaries rolling with the effect of laughing gas and a silly shot where Ash is just falling down a waterfall, clinging onto a branch and then slipping again; how tacky! Shouldn’t both movies have been reviewed without prejudice and bias, based on their individual merits and using the same yardstick. Then how did both these movies get the same kind of rating?

A Question To The Movie Go-ers Do we watch a movie to have a good time and nothing else? Even if we are looking at entertainment, was Housefull all that entertaining and Dil Se all that dull and boring. Did the movie Welcome make more sense than Gulaal? Why don’t we watch movies which go beyond the obvious, which makes a point and brings an issue to light. Or are we merely looking for cheap humor and titillation, hollow entertainment and slipshod quick movies.

And Finally Why should someone make a Raavan and be lambasted when he can easily make a Housefull and get away?

This post was first published on PFC

 

A.R.Rehman!!! Jai Ho!!

Today, 6th Jan, is AR Rahman’s birthday!

I shall pick from where Ratnakar left off, in his fantastic tribute to AR Rahman. I had actually started writing this post much earlier, the day after the Oscar ceremony, but when I found that such a beautiful tribute was already adorned to the Mozart from Madras, I changed track and decided to write a sequel starting from post-2001 phase.

So, Lagaan was out and Rahman won the National Award for his mesmerizing music. He had rasied the bar for himself and he was no more competing with any body but himself. The year 2002 was a great mix of fantastic contemporary music as well as classical stuff from the master. For the younger generation there was Saathiya which had the wonderful vocals of Sonu Nigam in the title track, we had Adnan Sami crooning Aye Udi Udi, Sadhna Sargam sang the melodious haunting Chupke Se, while Rahman himself lent his voice to the Mera Yaar Mila De song; all songs written from the magical pen of Gulzar. Rahman was being played all over the place, songs like Humdum Suniyo Re and Chori Pe Chori were being aired repeatedely on radio. Then, there was The Legend Of Bhagat Singh which brought back old memories of freedom struggle. Its always tough to re-create music for songs that have been in public memory for ages, but Rahman was able to carve a niche of his own with his version of Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna and Mera Rang De Basanti Chola. Apart from the patriotic songs like Des Mere Des Mere and Pagdi Sambhal Jatta, there was the romantic touch with smooth numbers like Mahive Mahive and Jogiya Jogiya. While his songs were played with gusto in up-North, down-South was no different where he created a consternation with the music of Baba which sold a million copies off the shelf within a week due to the combo of Rajnikanth and music of Rahman; and his sensitive and touching music in Mani Ratnam’s heart-warming Kannathil Muthamittal for which he won another National Award was excellent.

Rahman was not quite himself in 2003, not many of his albums did well. Although he gave some very good music in movies like Boys and Tehzeeb, it did not live upto the expectations. Meherbaan was one of the songs from Tehzeeb that actually stayed on people’s mind for sometime, but rest of the songs were as forgetable as the movie itself. Even the movie Boys was quite a let down, not many people connected with the movie, the songs were scattered genius, but could not really take-off. The year also saw the release of Rahman’s first international album which was the soundtrack for a Chinese movie called Tian Di Ying Xiong, named Warriors Of Heaven And Earth. The movie had 16 tracks, in which the theme song Mirage was recorded in 3 languages…Mandarin, English and Hindi. After the release of the movie, the soundtrack was released in a separate album titled Between Heaven And Earth.

After 1994 wherein Rahman had 10 music releases, 2004 was his next busiest year with release of another 10 albums, the best one being Swades. The movie was brilliant and the soundtrack was an amazing mix of patriotism, romance, lullaby, dramatic stuff in the form of ram-leela. Ye Jo Des Hai Tera, wonderfully sung by Rahman, is one of the best songs that I have heard; it has pain, patriotism, emotions and the pangs of separation from motherland. The lorie Ahista Ahista starts off softly and beautifully and ends in a crescendo with Udit Narayan doing total justice to the lullaby. The ram-leela song Pal Pal Hai Bhari gives the feeling of a live drama and the lyrics complement it very well. Both the romantic songs, Saawariya and Dekho Na, had its heart in the right place. And Yuhi Chala Chal is a typical road-song which moves from preachy to passionate lyrics. All the songs were penned by Javed Akhtar who did a terrific job with the lyrics and the thought process behind them.

Yuva also released in the same year. The song Fanaa had a dizzying feel to it while Khuda Hafiz felt like a dip in the pool of music. Kabhi Neem Neem and Badal Jo Aye were soft and sweet numbers while Dhakka Laga Buka and Dol Dol were fast paced numbers. The beauty of Rahman’s albums is the mix that he comes up with, there is always something for everybody. While Yuva and Swades had some great songs, Meenaxi-A Tale of Three Cities and Lakeer-Forbidden Lines were just lack-lustre. Ye Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and Chinnamma Chilakkamma was hummable but did not have the same Rahman feel to it. While the music of Lakeer and Dil Ne Kise Apna Kaha was indifferent. Rahman did a small guest number in Subhash Ghai’s Kisna and gave, the otherwise dull movie, one good song in the form of Hum Hain Iss Pal Yahan and a good theme music. Rahman also had a couple of Tamil releases, best of them being New. The film took a great opening, but ran into controvery in 2005, with the Madras High Court banning the movie on the grounds that it aroused sexual feelings in youngsters. Nevertheless, the music was a runaway success.

Then came the music of Mangal Pandey in 2005. I loved the music of the movie, I liked the movie too. Once again, there was a heady mix of patriotism, a ballad number, courtesan song and a Holi song. The title track sung by Kailash Kher had a nice ring to it and it went to the extent of becoming a trance, such was the magic of Rahman. Tumhari Adaon Pe Mai Vari Vari was too soft to be a courtesan number, but the way Rahman used the payal-jhankar worked for it. The Holi number Dekho Ayi Holi, which also featured Aamir Khan saying a few lines, is a much under estimated Holi song. It has all the touches of a Holi number, but could not quite get the recognition because of the movie’s short stay at theatres. The ballad number O Chhalia O Rasiya was nice too, a really good attempt in this genre.

The music of Water was also released the same year. The music did not work for a lot of people because it had a strong classical touch, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The sad and haunting tracks Naina Neer Bahaye and Piyo Ho are heart-wrenching and brings a lump in the throat. Vaishnavo Janto is beautifully re-created by Rahman; the only happy songs were Shyam Rang Bhar Do and Ayo Re Sakhi; but the movie had some great background instrumental tracks. It was a collector’s album and certainly not meant for the masses.

The music that the masses swoon for, came in 2006, in the form of Rang De Basanti. Another smashing hit from Rahman with a great title track sung by Daler Mehendi, and a fantastic collection of songs ranging from sufi based Khalbali to country music of Roobaroo, from the revolutionary Khoon Chala to the romantic Tu Bin Bataye, and from the melodic Luka Chhupi to rebellious Apni To Paathshala. It also had a bonus in the form of Aamir Khan mouthing Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna with the brilliant background chorus, really inspiring. The music took the movie to another level altogether, the lyrics by Prasoon Joshi reflected the mundane, preachy, patriotic and romance so well. Rahman’s touch was evident all through the album.

Rajnikanth’s much awaited Shankar directed movie Sivaji came with a bang in 2007. This was the third album for Rajni-Rahman combo, and the album was a huge hit. The song I am white, also called Style, was much appreciated by the masses for Rajnikanth’s make-up and the parrot colored hair dyes. Athiradee featured Rajni saving a girl from a gang-bang where he makes an appearance on a bike with a guitar, Rahman lent his own voice to this song. The song Vaaji had elaborate sets, a la Bhansali, where Rajni is treated like a king. The album also had a romantic song sung by Udit Narayan and Chinmayi called Sahana. Each and every song highlighted Rajni in a different manner and Rahman struck the right chords.

In the same year came Mani Ratnam’s movie Guru. The music of this movie was not a major hit unlike his other Mani Ratnam’s movies, but it was good nonetheless. Barso Re Megha showcased Shreya Ghosal’s learnings of classical music, and Aye Hairathe Aashiqui was soothing to the ears with the delicate voices of Hariharan and Alka Yagnik. But the toast of the album was Rahman’s vocals in Tere Bina, ably supported by Chinmayi. Maiyya Maiyya displayed Rahman’s talent with Persian music and the belly-dance rhythm and Jaage Hain was another masterpiece which had such inspirational lyrics, I only wished that it went on a little longer. In the same year came Rahman’s soundtrack and background score for Elizabeth-The Golden Age in association with Craig Armstrong.

But the most important year for Rahman’s career came in 2008, wherein he was heard in 5 different albums and each from a different genre. Jodha-Akbar was a periodical tale of the Mughal story, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na was for the youth of today who appreciate peppy numbers like Pappu Cant Dance Saala, then there was Ghajini which was a typical masala movie with songs like Guzarish and Behka Mai Behka. Subhash Ghai came out with his Yuvraaj, but the sound of this movie was a little off-track. The only songs that stayed with people was Tu Meri Dost Hai and Tu Muskura. People forgot the movie faster than they forgot the songs. And then came the music of Slumdog Millionaire which won him the BAFTA and Golden Globe. Although, he has given much better music than this, fate would have it otherwise. His soundtrack won him two Oscars as well, for Original Song and Original Score.

Rahman’s strength lies in his great understanding of music from different regions. The way he grasped the pahadi touch in Kariye Na in Taal, the punjabi flavour in title track of Rang De Basanti and Pagdi Sambhal Jatta, the Bengali influence in Kabhi Neem Neem, the Persian sounds in Maiyya Maiyya, its just incredible. Whether he is producing music for Water or for Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, whether its Guru or Provoked, whether its Yuva or Swades, which are movies of different genre and different themes, but one thing that stands out is his great sense of music, his wonderful sense of rhythm and understanding the context of the movie.

I want to mention two other particular things about his music. Just listen to his Quawallis/Sufi music in Piya Haji Ali, Khwaja Mere Khwaja, Arziyan and Satrangi Re, Chhaiyya Chhaiyya and you can actually breathe the music. His deep understanding of the music for the soul is unbeatable. At the same time pick up his bhajans like O Palanhare or Eshwar Ya Allah Ye Pukar Sunle or Ek Onkar or Eshwar Allah Tere Jahan Mei or Man Mohana, and its soul-stirring. Rahman’s music is divine, a gift of God. No wonder that when he won the Ocsar he said “All my life I’ve had a choice of hate and love. I chose love and I’m here. God bless”

This post was first published on PFC