My Favourite children flicks

Risk-averse Bollywood does not encompass large number of options of movies wherein a minor played the protagonist, but still some movies comes to my mind without any doubt. You can call these movies as kids’ movies but for me these are very well written script with superb performance and moreover these can be watched by every age group of people.

1. Boot Polish (1955)

Boot Polish is the first movie which comes to my mind whenever I think of kids movies. It was Raj Kapoor who took the responsibility of talking about one of the social problems of abandoned children. Directed by Prakash Arora, Boot Polish lead to a world of brother (Bhola) and sister (Belu), where they are forced to beg. John Chacha, a crippled drunkard, taught them to lead a better and respectful life. Bhola started polishing shoes. He never begged even in adverse conditions. He even not let Belu to beg when she was starving. Their life took a turn when Belu parted from Bhola. Belu was adopted by a rich family. Both Bhola and Belu were looking for each other. One day, Belu gave a coin to a beggar who was Bhola who ran away because of humiliation. Belu ran after him and both were united.

Performance wise Baby Naaz (Belu) was excellent, even Rattan Kumar (Bhola) did justice to his role. Apart from mail lead, one role which is worth mentioning is that of John Chacha played by David Abraham. He delivers his finest performance of his lifetime. Music of Shankar Jaikishan played important role and comprehended the overall mood of the movie.

It is a must watch if you love good cinema. Movie also won Film Fare award for Best Movie among many others.

2. TaareZameen Par (2007)

I think TZP does not need introduction. TZP is a movie about a child suffering from dyslexia and how an art teacher transforms his life, when nobody, not even his parents, was trying to understand his problem. This movie is about how Eshaan fights the competitive world in his own way.

It established Aamir Khan as perfectionist seeker who made good movies which are commercially viable also. Movie was released in an era where producers prevent themselves from indulging into any art-related cinema, especially when it is children movie, as the scope of commercial viability is limited. But, surprisingly, movie was a huge hit not just among children but also with every age group of people. Movie crossed excellence almost on every aspect. Debutant director, Aamir Khan, was praised for impeccably painting a heart-touching story on silver screen. Amol Gupte, the writer, was credited for his creative direction. Music was excellent and lyric of song “Maa” deserves a special applause. Tears automatically roll down your cheeks whenever you listen or watch this song.

Hats off to DarsheelSafary who gave such a wonderful performance registering himself as child super star of Bollywood!

3. Kitaab (1977)Kitaab is a masterpiece from Gulzar’s armory. Set in a backdrop of creeping western culture in Indian urban cities of late 70s, Kitaab talked about Babla who unwillingly left his grandmother in village to settle with his sister place in city where he can get good education. Babla became friend with Pappu, his classmate and started roaming around with him. Sometime they bunk school to watch movies, smoking and other mischievous activities. They started making fun of teachers. Their mischiefs grew day by day and finally it reached her sister. Apart from periodic scolding, the personal conflict between his sister and brother-in law, led him to depart from his sister’s house and live with grandmother. During his journey to village, he faced different aspects of life. While he was feeling cold in the night, he slept alongside a beggar sharing his blanket. When he woke up in the morning he found him dead. Realizing complicated world of poverty, he decided to live with sister and become a better person.

Kitaab could not make any impact on box office but good is not always popular. Good was written from the first scene and it just got better in every other scene. It was heroic attempt of Gulzar that had produced a marvelous movie. Thank You GulzarJi!

4. Jagriti (1954)Jagriti is the one of the purest diamond of Indian cinema. It is a moral driven movie but with fine elements of relationship intricacies whether it is a relation between uncle and nephew, teacher and students or between friends. It is a story which unfolds the responsibility which comes with every relationship. Mischiefs are the part of childhood but one should be dare to accept one’s act – lying about one’s own mischiefs is immoral. A teacher is equally responsible for performance of his/her students. It is friend’s duty to show right and better path of manhood to his wandering friend. It is also important to respect one’s country and its culture and one of the most important moral was that it is the duty of every child to study, learn and excel in life. All these morals were beautifully knitted in a story of Ajay and Shakti. Worth mentioning is the music of the movie which gave some of the best songs of all time. Songs like “Dedi humain aazadi bina khad bina dhaal”, “aao bacho tumhe dikhain jhanki Hindustan ki” or “Hum LaayeHainToofan Se KashtiNikaalKe”are evergreen.

I personally believe that each child should watch this movie. May be Aamir Khan should take the responsibility of re-making this movie for today’s generation.

5. StanelyKaDabba(2011) and I Am Kalam(2011)Both movies highlight the basic issue of child labor but in different backdrops. Stanley kaDabba sets in urban school where Stanley is passionate about learning and studying, though he works in road-side hotel own by his uncle. On the other hand, I Am Kalam is based in Rajasthan culture, where Chottu dreams of meeting The President of India, APJ Kalam. Chottu is a village boy who learns very quickly and impresses everybody with his talents.

Both movies capture the different moods of child labour – one is out of fate as Stanley lost his parents and his uncle adopted him only to make him work in his hotel and the other one is out of poverty as severe draught in Rajasthan forced Chottu’s to work for his uncle. But both convey the same message – Say No to Child Labour!

Personal favourite flicks on friendship.

Friendship is a relationship which you choose, unlike that of blood relation which is given by God’s grace. From living those memorable moments to sharing those unprecedented feelings, it is friends who first come to your mind. No friendship is impeccable; each has its own flaws, ups and downs, and a story to be told, therefore, filmmakers are ready to dive in a vast ocean of friendship and pull out some gems and some pearls to be showcased in your living room forever. I picked some of my favorite movies based on friendship. All these movies have different flavor of friendship.

1. Dil Chahta hai (2001)

Nothing comes so close. Nothing becomes so dear. DCH was one of the best movies on friendship I ever saw in my life. Friendship is like a road trip without the knowledge of destination. It should be unconditional, but with such condition (pun intended) there can be more rough patches than smooth ones and therefore it becomes worth a story to be told, a story to get inspired and a story to live. DCH fantastically depicts the similar condition among three friends, Akash, Siddharth and Sameer. No bad boys, all were good at heart but situations and more precisely different viewpoints led them to internal conflict resulting in breakup-kind-of-status. Friends cannot keep their conflicts for long duration; all three united again forgetting all frictions and clashes among them.

DCH also made a landmark entry of Farhan Akhtar into Bollywood. It revived the career of Saif Ali Khan, and become the greatest launching pad for trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.

This movie presents life with friends.

2. Rang De Basanti

RDB was another flick from Aamir Khan’s armory where friendship played an important role. It is one of the few movies which I saw in theatres more than once. It saw the eternity of friendship even one of friends is no longer present on the earth. Friendship is beyond birth and death of individuals. It stays on forever and ever.

This movie presents what a friend can do for a friend.

3. Dosti (1964)

Dosti is an old movie of 1960s from Rajshree Production house. This movie is about two friends, one is blind (Mohan played by Sudhir Kumar) and other one lost his leg in an accident (Ramnath played by Sushil Kumar). Ramnath came to city to look for his sister who is working in a hospital as a nurse and ran into Mohan after which both become good friends and used their talents for earning. Mohan sings and Ramnath plays harmonica. When Mohan finds that Ramnath is eager to study further, he asked him to stay at home and study. He brings a lantern as it was difficult to study under street light with so many uncivilized activities going on in the street. Their friendship takes a huge turn when Ramnath leaves Mohan to get away from filthy locality of their common dwelling place only to come back and understand the true meaning of friendship. It is one of the rare movies which depicts how important to have a friend. A friend is just not for sharing your happiness but also pain and understanding what is good for you even that involve some sacrifices.

This movie presents importance of friends in life.

4. Jagriti (1954)

Though the main theme of Jagriti is unleashing the knotted relationship between a teacher and students, but the subtle emergence of friendship as a main character is quite visible. Ajay, a spoiled brat, lands up in a boarding school and meets crippled and destitute child Shakti (played by Rattan Kumar – a fabulous actor, interestingly he worked in the first three Best movies winner of Film Fare Award). Shakti tries hard to transform Ajay from a spoiled brat to responsible and lovable kid only to meet with an accident when he was running after Ajay who was leaving boarding school. The death of Shakti changes Ajay and becomes a better person. This movie presents how friend can make you a better person.

5. Stand By Me (1986)

Stand BY Me is one of the rare movies that showcase the true meaning of friendship so profoundly that you start calling your old buddies after watching it. Four friends, each having different past and rather undesirable family background, set out on an adventurous journey of finding the dead body of a boy who was killed in some train accident. During this journey, they meet their internal fears and counter them. Their own bruised relationship with each other took different turns only to realize that their past is too impactful to live in present with blissfully and peacefully. You can find only friend’s shoulder to cry on, to express your feelings and to rely on. The following line from the titled song of the movie truly depicts the essence of movie:

When the night has come

And the land is dark

And the moon is the only light we'll see

No, I won't be afraid, No I won't be afraid

Just as long as you stand, stand by me

Do write your own favourites.

Have fun with booze.

I am not a regular drinker, but sometimes booze helps in placating the mental agony. It was during a recent visit to a tourist place near Indore, where I observe certain peculiar behaviours among booze takers. It was astonishing to see people behave in oddly manner after taking alcohol and I can see common demeanor among inebriates. I have tried to figure out some of the behaviours and listed them, you may add more at your risk!

1. Speak like speaker

First thing I have noticed that even a laconic person speaks a lot and surprisingly the most also. And not just they speak, they speak at their highest pitch, making everyone realize that "I am not a terse guy and I can also have fun." So, does alcohol gives energy just like Horlicks or Boost? I have a serious doubt!

2. No more civil

It is the matter of time when someone starts puking and not just yellow mesh but also words which I cannot write in my blog. Once started abuses, there is no ending of innovation. You will find the most amazing and innovative ways of expressing your gratitude towards your so called inimical ones (like your boss, gf who dumped you). It can be proved that alcohol opens your mind for more creativity and innovation, though you never take this opportunity for worth.

3. Bravery Awards

I always wonder why Godfrey Phillips (a company which is into tobacco industry) is organizing bravery awards, but lately drunkards gave me the answer. Whether it is alcohol or tobacco, both are good enough to make a man brave. With energy, alcohol also provides the power to fight and can come handy if you ran into some trouble (which is quite obvious). Remembering an incident, where my friend got caught smoking in the birth of train. Two policemen took him to aside and ask for the fine, it was just then a co-passengers( who I felt was almost become a longatiya yaar to my friend) streamed into conversation making it hot as he was drunk. Smell of rotten egg obviously suggested he was drunk, but he confidently denied to policeman. I mediate the situation somehow.

4. Emotional Attyachar

This is the most interesting aspect of boozing, people just open their heart for everyone. I remember a saying "sath main pade hue and sath main jam piye hue sathi, kabhi bhoolte nahin." People will say lot of emotional things, while keeping their right hands on their left chest (dil se keh rha hoon). No more handshakes now, all will hug and even cry(if the celebration is for some kind of a farewell).

5. Philosophy at its best

Love the way people show their philosophical behaviour after drinking. I am stating some frequent lines frequently stated by frequent drinkers:

1. Jab bhi yaad karega ek paon par aa jaunga

2. Jhoot nahin bolunga, jaam hath main hai, ki......

3. MC, BC and lot more

4. Tu hi to mera bhai hai!

5. Tere liye to main jaan bhi de doon.

6. Saala kam pad gayi.

and my favourite one ... mujhe chadi nahin hai!

Even shayaris(poems) has a deep connection with alcohol. If we categorize the shayari, then definitely we will find alcohol in top two. My favourite of them is a dialogue from Sharabi movie "Nasha sharaab main hota to nachti botal."

So all you teetotaller out there, just raise your bar(pun intended) and cheers your life.

Whats the news!!

I was very young in 1991, but my memory reminds me of days when my father used to watch news on DD national. It was always boring to watch unpretentious news delivered by a lady wearing white sarees, but there was no other option. There was no cable at that time in my house.

Now, after almost two decades, media has a come a long way. From channel one to more than twenty channels and most of them with STP. But what makes me astonished to see is too much of commercialization of media. You cant judge whether you are watching news among ads or ads among news. News channels have started putting efforts in making news more as a realty show. You get the same entertainment index for Big Boss and News hour of Aaj tak. It is experienced more than once that TRPs of news channels are more than GECs. With the success of Aaj Tak, every GEC has tried their luck in news field as they don't want to loose opportunity.

It was the success of news channels which gave a new dimension for movie makers. Films like Page 3, Mumbai meri jaan, Rann, and most recently Peepli Live has showcased the significance of media industry in India. We cant deny the role of media in cases like Jessica Lal, Nithari Case, Ayushi case, 26/11 - Mumbai attacks and exposing the reality of big politicians. In today's media world, no one has the daring to battle against media, they have to bow down and especially politicians take decisions very carefully because they know someone is watching them.

But as the saying goes, with power comes the responsibilities, media has also engaged itself in worthless battles. Making the Prince, the prince of the country or destroying the earth in 2012, all aiming for pointless TRPs(pun intended). What is more embarrassing is indulging into the private lives of celebrities. Everybody remembers the Kareeen-Shaheed case. In recent event, media is eying authorities of CWG before even the games has started. As the responsibilities goes to authorities of CWG for the successful completion of the games, media should not spared if the things goes out of hands. Corruptions is an inevitable part of this nation, not recently but from the day this country was born. I cant ignore and nobody can take the risk of ignoring. Corruption was there when India hosted Asian Games in 1984, World Cup in 1996, IPL 1-2-3 and so in CWG-10. What makes the difference is the pivotal role of media in recent years. IPL was exposed recently and now the time for CWG, but this time media is going to be blamed for ruining CWG. Things were not in good shape and they have made the matter worse. Will this exposure make CWG a successful event? What makes the difference if things were exposed after completion of CWG?

Media makes so many efforts to come out with issues, but they should be responsible at the same time. Wo kehte hai ke sau jhoot ek sach ke barabar hota hai agar ise kisika bhala hota hai aur yahan to desh ka bhala ho rha tha.

My father has just stopped watching news channel anymore, reason is that now we have options and my father is least interested in spicy feast.

Things that cannot change!!

After the bombshell of LPG in the year 1991, lot of changes has taken place in India. You can see changes in behaviour, in attitude, in body language, in attire, in cities, in villages, in eating habits, in transportation, in communication etc. But there are things which seems constant. Though corple (a short form for corporate people ;) ) have started visiting CCD on a regular basis, but you always find corple taking sip of tea at roadside tea stall. It has transformed from nukad ki chai to tea-stall, but still you can find kids serving the tea. It is no big deal to stand in a queue outside Pizza Hut on Sunday, waiting for your turn, but still samosa remains the favourite snack of most Indians. No matter how many times you go outside for dinner, when you go home you want dal roti prepared by your mother.

There are lot of things which cannot change in Indians, and I hope they will never.

Dua main yaad rakhna!!

After reading reviews of latest bollywood flick on underworld "Once upon a time in Mumbai", I decided to go for it. I am not a great fan of underworld movies, though Parinda and Company are always enjoyable, and Ekta Kapoor production house, therefore Once upon ... appealed hardly to me. What refrained me is the star cast. Even Ajay Devgan could not break my refrain. But you can't keep away yourself from movies like this. People around you make you feel that you are missing something good. Therefore I went to a theatre and watch the movie.

Movie stands apart on two grounds: Ajay Devgan and dialouges. Undoubtedly, Ajay Devgan is best fit in the role of Sultan Mirza. His dialogue delivery is fantastic, of course dialogues also get some credits. His white outfit in the whole movie and inebriated eyes while talking to Kangna will make your day. Secondly, dialogues are memorable. Some of my favourites are: Dua main yaad rakhna, Jab kaam dosti ho sakta hai to dushmani kyon karen; raste ki sochoonga to manzil bura maan jayegi; har kitaab ka naseeb library nahin hota hai, kuch kabad main bhi bikti hai, hum woh kitaab hain; and so many. Most of these dialogues are given to Ajay Devgan and he make the best of them. Of the other cast, Randeep Hooda make a mark in the movie with his honest performance as ACP Agnel Wilson. Prachi and Kagna could not find a clap from my side. I think both characters were not exploited well. I am sorry to say that Emraan Hashmi needs to learn acting especially for such kind of roles. The child artist who played his childhood role was fantastic in a 5 minute role. Some scenes are delight to watch, like propose by Ajay Devgan, gifts given by Kangna, Ajay Devgan swinging chair by his foot.

Among all these there are lot of hitches in the movie, in the first half, movie was too slow and not to mention the climax was very lathargic. Climax could had been handled in a better way. Most of the time I was confused about the work of Sultan Mirza, his character was well written but very loosely connected to the script. I thought focus was more on characters rather than what happened once upon a time in Mumbai and that's where you feel little confuse after coming out of the theatre. What you remember is just the dialogues and Ajay Devgan.

I wish this movie to be a hit, a desperate need of Bollywood.

Two Masterpieces!

I was on the seventh heaven when I finally got the CDs of two movies which were in my mind for last two years and I was desperate to watch them. I made every attempt to grab these movies anyhow, but my hands were returned empty and heart disappointedly. Finally, I met a person at Bhopal owning a small video library. He was in his 70s or may be in 80s. He can hardly see due to bad eye sight. I think the reason behind his bad eye sight is more of watching lots of movies than the age factor. He has a great collection and I got both movies at one go. Here is a kind of review of both movies (though I am incapable of justifying my views as these movies as they are beyond perfection)

JAGRITI (1954)

A Filmfare winner movie by Satyen Bose conceptualized keeping children in mind, but was a huge hit with every age movie-lovers. Film is about a rich spoil brat Ajay who was sent to a boarding school far away from his homeland where he continues his way of living with his new friends. Unlike other friends of Ajay, Shakti played by Rattan Kumar (the same boy who played Bhola in Boot Polish and was also in Do Bhiga Zameen - both are Filmfare award winners) was talented and disciplined and unusually became the best buddy of Ajay. The board school is run by Shekhar (played by Abhi Bhattacharya). Shekhar tries to instill good values in the students using unorthodox teaching methods. He gains the students' trust and educates them about the heritage of their country and encourages them to become model citizens. Ajay changes when Shakti died in an accident realizing that it is his stubbornness which took Shakti's life.

The whole movie is so well narrated that you never get bore for a minute. Music, by Hemant Kumar, is a masterpiece threaded with great poetry by Pradeep. The best thing about the movie is bringing out the relationship between friends, teacher and students, mother and son. The pranks played by Ajay and his friends will reminds you of younger age. Performance wise all were up to their mark even above. Not a single character was loosely handled. The film is in black & white and still you see the brightest color of life, character and cinema. Film maker of current generation should watch this movie and put effort in making film with such honesty, because such masterpiece is not going to be revisited henceforth.

PARINDA (1989)

A movie by Vidhu Vinod Chopra which received several Filmfare and National awards. This is a cult movie and a turning point in Indian film industry. This movie introduces the concept of underworld to public beyond Mumbai. Few directors can make movies with such terrific camera work, technical stuffs, crisp storytelling and impeccable casting and Chopra is among them.

The story revolves around two brothers played by Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor. (Interesting Trivia - Anil Kapoor is elder to Jackie, but he always payed younger brother to Jackie). Madhuri Dixit as Paro and Anupam Kher as Prakash are best fitted in their role. It is Nana Patekar who steals the show with his eccentric performance. Nana delivers one of his best performances in this film as the fire-phobic gang leader. He is extremely successful in blending the two diametric characteristics of Anna, intensity and insanity. I am not going to tell you story as it would take another hour.

The technical crew of the movie have delivered their best performance till date, Binod Pradhan´s cinematography is probably the best in comparison to other films released around that time. He is very successful in creating a mood that is necessary for a gripping drama, and which is also able to draw the viewer into the film. Renu Saluja´s editing for this film, remains her best work till date, she fetched a National Award for effort. Chopra´s biggest achievement in the film is that he is able to combine technical finesse with a focused and gripping narrative along with some fabulous performances from his cast. Though I think songs were unnecessary in the film, still music is quite praiseworthy especially background score. Very few movies are close to The Godfather and Parinda is one of them.

I heartfully thank that Dada for letting my anxiety to find end.