Women in movies

I was watching an interview of Kareena Kapoor's the other day. She made it very clear that her career was very important and while she did not devalue the importance of her personal life ,she had no intention of choosing one over the other. This is reflective of attitudes of most women I know especially younger. They are focused on education,career,achievement and success as much as their male counterparts.

And yet,our movies for some reason seem to be totally unaware of this. So you have a Priyanka Chopra in Dostana as a hard headed magazine executive,bent on success and yet once she meets the man of her dreams,her boss- he hands her the co-editor position and then we hear nothing more of it. Chitrangda in Sorry bhai goes one step further,she has notions of studying something but ever since she met her intended whilst in college she has done nothing much but wait around to be married and even now seems more than willing to follow him around as he moves between NY and Mauritius.

I contrast this to women i know who are so clued in on their careers that they live in different cities or countries and juggle families and careers and very successfully.I wonder where filmmakers draw inspiration for their urban educated women characters from. How come there is not one female character who accords importance to her career? I think of Aishwarya Rai in Sarkar Raj,supposedly this high flying successful executive who seems to shrink into the background the moment she meets Abhishek's character and lets him take over what is essentially her job. In real life,she is not like this at all.She seems to be doing a very good job of balancing her family and a very demanding career.You;d think she'd try and bring that to some of her film characters..Jaane Tu ya Jaane na is even more annoying,the kids are barely out of college and all the parents can talk about is getting their daughter married..who does that any more?

But then one sees another interview- A gorgeous young woman with the world at her feet and a brilliant career ahead of her- Deepika Padukone said these unforgettable words" I think a woman's happiness lies in her husband and her children" when asked what she would do if her husband cheated on her ,she said she'd forgive him because she would not want to lose her man.
I wonder which is a truer reflection of the modern urban indian woman's sentiments...

Review - Sorry Bhai( I will be giving some of the plot away so read at your own risk)

I must admit that right at the start that i had expectations of this movie which is something I try to avoid with most movies these days. Don't get me wrong,I expect them to entertain and but do not usually expect to be awakened,enlightened or even particularly interested but this one was different. Onir has made decent movies before.It had Shabana Azmi,Boman Irani,Sanjay Suri , Sharman Joshi - all actors who i like and also it was going to be the relaunch pad for Chirangda Singh who I think is one of the most beautiful and talented creatures I have ever seen on the Indian screen so yes,I had expectations.

The plot is simple. A son who lives abroad announces his wedding and asks the family to come over for the wedding. The mother is upset,understandably so, the son apparently has not come back home for a while and plus lets not forget she is an Indian mother!! So the family comprising of parents and kid brother(Sid-a physics genius+ struggling scientist) go to Mauritius(pretty locations people!) One gets taken on a tour of the country along with the cast. Blah,yawn. The girl(Ally) is gorgeous(AS looks lovely though I still feel her beauty works better in Indian clothes)The older brother (Harry) is in love with his fiance but very busy with his vaguely defined business. The family is your average run of the mill dysfunctional one where over the years they have drifted apart. Anyways,the family spends time with bahu- to -be and kid brother and fiancee end up falling in love and the rest of the movie is about how that gets resolved.Psst all's well that ends well :)

The movie is not unwatchable. Its a sweet movie and has sincere performances. There are some good lines and repartee.Some scenes are little gems- one can sense the genuine affection between Boman Irani and Shabana as the parents. The cast seems like real people,no over the top designer clothing , sensible make up and dialogue that sounds like real conversation instead of speeches.

And yet...the plot though simplistic could have made for a better movie.The screenplay is loose.The characters hastily etched. The cast in my opinion is underutilised though they soldier on quite bravely. Shabana is wonderful as is Boman Irani who incidentally is probably the only one I really got a sense of despite his being a smallish role with not too much dialogue/ Sanjay Suri as the big brother shines in precisely one scene,its not his fault,he is a competent actor but is not supported by the script. Chitrangda looks lovely and seductive despite her unprovocative clothing and stance,I can totally imagine any man falling for her and yet..its such a non- impactful and borderline unpleasant character.. One understands that as the child of a broken home she must be insecure but her OTT reaction to Shabana's resentment(which she had been warned about),her pursuit of Sid and her seduction of him despite the obvious ramifications and even her totally namby pamby attitude towards her own career ambitions(one never gets a sense of it except some vague reference to some studying she wants to do) don't make for a character one empathises with. But its not Chitrangda's fault..the character is just not well defined and her motivations are somewhat obscure.

But then,there was Sharman Joshi,I just loved him. He brings the slightly absent minded, shy and very lovable Sid to life with his portrayal His love and respect for his mother even though to an almost unhealthy level comes through clearly even when it is going to totally ruin his life.He is torn by his attraction to his sister in law to be and his obvious loyalty to his brother and his family.One empathises with him and despite everything one really likes him.

The film hangs heavily on the fact that Shabana is a controlling mother and she tries to rule her sons' lives but that does not really come through. She seems like any concerned mother who is understandably apprehensive about the girl who has been very suddenly introduced into their midst by her son and needs to be won over and that happens without quite much effort on any one's part.The Maa Kasam bit also just does not ring true.

The movie does have some very nice scenes- The scene where Sid confesses his love to his brother (sorry bhai) , the banter between Irani and Shabana as Sid is trying to book their tickets, the moments between father and son..

So there it is,my take on the movie..watchable but not unmissable..

Bombay

You know,I always disliked that city..Its too polluted,too hot..too many people..so depressing looking,how come all that real estate is so expensive when it looks like nothing on earth and whats with the stink!! It seemed this giant slum with a few glimmers of Bollywood razzmatazz here and there. The The pace is so fast and the city so cut into town and suburbs ,The people who lived the chichi parts acted like the rest of Bombay did not exist,theirs was the real Bombay..I never wanted to go there and avoided every chance.And of course the city hardly has happy memories for me,the last time I was still in a happy healthy (or so i thought) relationship was there,the memories are poignant and powerful so yes Bombay was almost never on my list of places that I wanted to go to and yet these past two weeks I have thought of and read about and watched obsessively all news Bombay.The city suddenly became the symbol of India and Indians. I watched in horror and impotent anger as my poor Bombay was attacked and ravaged so brutally. I cried as I watched the Taj burn, as stories of people trapped and killed were told,the faces of reporters and ordinary folk as they struggled to deal with this guerrilla style attack are indelibly etched in my mind. It was like bad Hollywood action movie coming alive with people dying before one's eyes and yet the blood,the abandoned shoes and paraphernalia on the railway platforms,people on stretchers were all too real. And then oh so gently and suddenly something happened and I saw it happen almost imperceptibly all around me..Suddenly,I was not desensitized any more..suddenly I cared..I felt the pain of the people in Bombay and I saw a similar anguish and caring reflected in the reactions of people all around..A population that just like me had become inured from images of pain and destruction that have become such a common sight in our country suddenly seemed to wake up. For the first time over the last week since the siege ended I have seen activism among ordinary people and its not just media initiated activism though they are playing a vital part. For the first time in a very long time ,I have seen people( and I include myself among them) shake of their apathy and want to do something to address the situation. To me every signature campaign,every candlelight vigil,every drive to get economic aid to victims of the attack,every anti establishment protest,every expose' ,every movement designed to help our governance improve is immeasurably valuable. I refuse to be cynical about any effort. Its been a terrible price to pay my dear Bombay but it has made a difference.A part of me worries if this will become just another milepost in out history of terror attacks but something tells me no,this time is different and it that is true.thank you Bombay.Thank you for making me care,thank you for waking me from apathy.

Regency Talk

I have been, for the last few days, reading a Regency romance and I am fascinated by the language..When and why did words like faradiddle and bombazine go out of use? In Regency days I would be an Ape leader ( A spinster or old maid- According to an old saying, their fate is leading apes in hell ;) or even a Tabby However,I would rather fancy myself a Bluestocking( A lady interested in books, learning and scholarly pursuits) Certainly better than a bit o' muslin (A woman of who gives sexual favors in exchange for payment) I might spend my evenings at the pub getting foxed and then follow it up by behaving like a hoyden . I think i shall however,call myself , an Original - A lady with a unique style :) I don't think it was compliment then and I suspect may not be one now :)

I warn anyone who is going to annoy me is going to be called gudgeon,a cox comb, a toad eater or my very favorite- an odious little mushroom ..isn't that delightful? But please me and I shall address you,kind Sir as a Corinthian or even a Nonesuch and dismiss all things said against you as mere faradiddles...I shall merely think your nay sayers as having more hair than wit and warn them not to make cakes of themselves!

ps - Did you know they called gentleman's breeches ' inexpessibles" in those days cause it was not considered seemly for ladies to mention them by name ? :)

The Queen of Blogs

I toyed with calling this post A New Beginning-Which is of course a contradiction in terms,isn't every beginning new?Anyways,despite that boring title,I am excited to be blogging, Cant wait to let the world in on all my deepest darkest secrets,yeah right! And more megalomaniacally,I cant wait to rule all them blogs!! Just a teeny tiny ambition. Anyways world ,here I am