Batti Gul Meter Chalu

How often have we felt helpless by the way service companies function? We’ve all been a victim of faulty machines, faulty lines, faulty bills, and/or faulty services at some point in our lives. Batti Gul Meter Chalu (BGMC) is a well intentioned film about this very real problem plaguing the nation, in this case it is the electricity services, especially in rural India. I have been to places where the power supply is cut off for 15-20 hours a day, during peak summers. We really never understand how fortunate we are, or how petty our problems are until we actually go and see the conditions of people living in rural India. While some people in the city complain about the lack of air conditioners in classrooms for those hot summer days, children in villages attend school with absolutely no power all day. While we city people have generators and inverters to compensate for the hour or two of power cut we might have (cities like Mumbai, and other established cities and townships, never have to worry about such inconveniences), many villages in India have power for only 5-6 hours a day, all summer long, and that too at night when it is least needed. With no one to pay heed to their complaints, people have just come to accept this way of life. BGMC does a great job of shedding some light on the plight of such villages and the helplessness of some people who do not have the courage to fight an unfair system.

BGMC is the story of three carefree friends,  who live in a small town in Uttarakhand, where people try to make the most of the limited power supply they receive. SK is an astute lawyer who makes money from out of court settlements, Sundar Tripathi is an aspiring businessman, and Nauti is an aspiring fashion designer who runs her own boutique. With supporting families, and loving friends, life is as good as it can get for these three friends, that is, until both friends fall for the same girl and Sundar decides to open his own printing press. While the rift in their friendship is temporary, it couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time. Sunder who is slapped with increasing electricity bills due to faulty meters installed at his printing press, has no choice but to end his life when he receives a bill for Rs. 54,00,000, an amount he cannot afford to pay. What follows is the fight for justice, not just for Tripathi, but for all those who have ever been wronged by electricity companies.

BGMC has its heart in the right place, however a few tweaks to the screenplay would have made it a great film. Also while I am not so familiar with the dialect used in the film, the over usage of the words “bal” and “tehra” forced my Hindi-textbook-knowledge trained brain to automatically read the captions. It took a lot of will power to make my brain understand that it was just Hindi being spoken, taking away a little of the joy from my movie watching experience. That being said, BGMC is still worth a watch. From the carefree fun in the beginning, to the court drama in the end, BGMC will keep you entertained throughout. To say that Shahid Kapoor steals the show, would be an understatement. His portrayal of SK is so effortless that he has you laughing one minute and in tears the very next. Having watched the trailer and knowing exactly what was going to happen in the film, I thought, I wouldn’t be affected when Sundar actually disappears in the film. However, one look at Shahid’s face when he sees the scooter hanging from the crane, and the tears started rolling down. He is one of those few actors that can speak volumes through his eyes without ever uttering a word, and when he does speak, it is sure to be a goosebump moment, like his monologue at the end. While Shraddha Kapoor and Divyendu Sharma started off great, I personally felt that the treatment of their characters in the second half could have been better.

I am not sure if the common man will declare openly that they have a complaint with the electricity companies, after watching the film, but if it makes even one person raise their voice when they feel that they are being unfairly treated, or are being taken advantage of by these service companies, the film would have served its purpose.

Little Women – A Timeless Classic

Little Women, will be hitting the theaters in a week, and I for one, can’t wait to watch it on the big screen. The first time I ever read Little Women was when I was around twelve years old, and it has been my favorite book ever since. The reason I love the book so much, is not just because it is a great book, but also because of the uncanny resemblance it has to my life. Often we read a book or watch a movie, and realize how eerily similar some characters or incidents in the story are to your own life. Little Women is that story for me.

Like the March girls we are four sisters, but what makes this uncanny is that the personalities of us four sisters is very similar to that of the March girls. Be it the kind, loving, gentle and mother-like Meg, impatient, short-tempered, rebel, could-care-less attitude towards dressing up and people’s opinion, Jo, sweet, gentle, shy, caring Beth or the beautiful, creative, Amy who loves to dress nicely, every single March girl is almost a living embodiment of us four sisters, and in the same order too.

Another thing we had in common with the March girls is books, imagination and plays. Since we belonged to a single income middle class family, we never had a lot of toys to play with. With no television for the most part of our early childhood, our only source of entertainment was reading books (being avid readers themselves, my parents always made sure we had good books to read) and playing made up games. Since we all loved reading, our most loved form of entertainment, was enacting the stories we read. One of the books my dad bought for us was a collection of stories, written as plays. This was our favorite book. Everyday we would choose a story, decide who was going to play which character, and enact those stories. Our neighbor, and my best friend from school, was our Laurie. She was an only child to her parents, and while she was not exceedingly rich like Laurie, as an only child of two working parents, she was definitely a lot better off than us. Since she was lonely, I would invite her to come over and play with us. Just like Laurie she was very much a part of our lives for a long time.

Those are not the only thing we had in common with the March family. Just like the elder Marches, my parents were always concerned about those around them. Though we had very little ourselves, my dad would not hesitate to help anyone in need. He would go out of his way to find people in need, and help them out. Putting the needs of others in front of his own, is a principle he always lived by. Just like the March girls, there were times when we used to grumble at my dad’s generosity, but he always had a way of explaining to us why it was so important to help others in need. He was our Marmee, in many ways.

It has been almost thirty years, since I first read Little Women. Every time I read the book, I feel like I am reliving my childhood in some way. Sharing this beautiful book with my young daughter has been one of the greatest joys of my life. To be able to watch it with her on the big screen next week is the cherry on the top. Here’s hoping that this modern retelling of the timeless classic, lives up to all our expectations.

Special Needs Children Make The World A Better Place

Today, a friend of mine posted the following post on facebook and requested that I repost it on my wall. I usually ignore such requests, or sometimes when the message really touches me, I repost it after removing the please share part of the message. However, today I could not get myself to remove those last two lines, and that is because of a someone special that I care very much about.

Facebook post – I would just like to put this out there! If your children are not around special needs children at school and have never been taught that not everyone is the same then maybe you could take 10 min tonight to explain this to them because even though they may not be around these children at school they will encounter them in their lives, as it should be. In the light of recent events on the exclusion of a child who has autism from participating in a school trip and a child with Downs Syndrome being kicked out of dance class because she couldn’t keep up, I feel the need to share this. There are boys and girls that nobody invites to birthday parties. There are special kids who want to belong to a team but don’t get selected because it is more important to win than include these children. Children with special needs are not rare or strange, they only want what everyone else wants: to be accepted !! Let’s change the world!!! Get rid of the stigmatism and let begin the movement of inclusion. It only takes one person at a time and it is for all the wonderful children, teens, and adults out there.

Can I ask a question? Is there anyone willing to copy and paste this post to their wall without sharing it, like I did for those special children out there.

At first glance, the kid I am talking about is your average ten year old who loves to eat, play, watch movies, dance, listen to music, and pretend to be a super-hero. He has a very active and over-imaginative brain and seldom forgets anything. He can spin amazing stories, draw beautiful sketches, tell you many interesting facts related to science, and enact scenes from his favorite films, but put him in a conventional school and he is lost. Conventional learning is an everyday struggle for him. While simple facts like c+a+t=cat and, 1+1=2 comes easy to most kids,  he has to re-learn them every day. This is not the only struggle he has to deal with on a day to day basis. Like most special kids, he also sees the world in black and white. He just does not understand the concept of grayness. If you tell him something is correct, he will live by it, and when you tell him something is wrong, he will not venture in that direction even if his life depended on it. He does not do it on  purpose, it is just the way he is wired. Sadly, his innocence regarding how the world works and inability to look the other way when someone commits a mistake, has brought him more troubles than rewards.

However, if you meet him what you see is not a troubled child, but a genuinely happy one who knows how to enjoy and cherish the little things in life. His smiles are always honest and welcoming, and hugs full of love and affection. In fact, he is the most well-behaved, kind, loving, purest soul you will ever meet. Sadly, most people fail to see this side of him. It broke my heart when his mother told me that though he has friends that he plays with at school, he is never invited to any of the parties. Luckily for him, he is surrounded by people that love him unconditionally. His sister is his best friend and partner in crime. She always looks out for him and takes him to parties that she is invited to. His mother, always gets a phone call from the hosts after he attends a party, to let her know how very well behaved and wonderful he is. There was a time when we used to feel sad for him, but now we realize that it is not he that is at a loss, but it is those people who choose to not get to know him.

Life of a special needs child is not easy. It takes a lot of time and dedication to help the children navigate through life on a day-to-day basis. Being a parent of a special needs child is definitely not easy, but one loving hug from the child and you know that all that hardwork was so worth it. I really feel sorry for people who have never had a chance to interact with a special needs child. You will not know the true meaning of unconditional love, unless you have spent time and won the affection of such a child. So while this kid may have trouble with school, or be scared of loud noises, deep down we know that he will be absolutely fine. After all the world is a better place because of him.

C/o Kancharapalem – A League of its Own

What does a fun loving elementary school girl who loves to sing (Sunitha), a fearless girl from a conservative family (Bhargavi), a free spirited prostitute who lives life on her own terms (Saleema), and a middle aged widow who cannot just stand by when someone is treated poorly (Radha) have in common? Men! Men who encourage them to believe in themselves, and reinforce their belief in all that is good in this world. Sadly the world is also filled with men who will stop at nothing to squash a woman’s dreams and desires. For them their pride is much more important than the happiness of their own flesh and blood.

C/o Kancharapalem, does a beautiful job of telling us the stories of these four very real women, and the men in their lives. It isn’t until Sunitha meets Sundaram, does she get the courage to fulfill her dream of learning her favorite song. Similarly Bhargavi who is mostly confined to dance classes and her friend’s house, finds the courage to explore the world beyond her neighborhood, when she meets Joseph. For Saleema, her life changes when she discovers the meaning of true love through Geddam. As for Radha, love comes in the form of Raju, our protagonist, a very adorable 49 year old bachelor. While all the actors are fabulous in their respective roles, it is Raju and Radha that steal the show, as middle aged people falling in love. They are so pure and endearing that you can’t help but love them. Equally impressive are the characters of Aditi, Ammoru, and Sundaram’s dad and mom. I really loved the attention given to each and every character in the film. They are many characters in the film and each very unique in their own way. You really have to watch the film find out what makes each of them so special.

C/o Kancharapalem, does a great job of holding a mirror to the society. We want our women to be strong and independent, but only as long as it is convenient for the men in the family and society. We are so prejudiced that we fail to see the goodness in people who are not considered as upstanding citizens in the society, and the evil lurking in the minds of those that we believe are upstanding citizens. You will relate to each and every character in the movie. These are the type of people you might come across in your school, workplace,  home or neighborhood.

Besides the characters, the biggest strength of the film is its screenplay. Venkatesh Maha never falters in his narration, keeping us glued and entertained for its entire duration. Even the music of the film fits like a glove. I do not think I have seen a film so touching and heartwarming in recent times. The fact that people stayed in the theater long after the end credits rolled, trying to process what they saw, shows the impact this film is having on its viewers.

From the story, screenplay, music, characters and performances, C/o Kancharapalem is as real as it gets. It is without a doubt one of the best films to come out of the TFI. Here’s hoping that we do not have to wait too long for more such gems to emerge in our industry.

Beyond the Clouds

“When life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade”, is easier said than done.

When life deals you a bad hand, without ever stopping to give you a break, it is very hard to look at the positive things in life. Such is the life of Amir (Ishaan) and Tara (Malavika). Orphaned at an early age, Tara and Amir are victims of abuse, from the very beginning. Just when Amir gets his life on track, an incident involving his sister and Akshi, a person she works with, results in her landing in jail and Akshi in the ICU. The only person who can save Tara is Akshi. If he wakes up and drops all charges against Tara then she will be free to go, but if he dies then Tara has to rot in jail for the rest of her life. The only person that can help Tara is her brother Amir.

Just when he makes peace with the fact that he has to save Akshi, even though he really wants to kill him for what he tried to do to Tara, Amir is faced with another dilemma, Akshi’s helpless family. Unable to talk in Hindi, and believing  Amir to be Akshi’s friend, they look to him for help.  What Amir does with the family, and how Tara survives her time in jail forms the rest of the story.

The first time I watched a Majidi film was in 2002. Lagaan fever was at an all time and it had just lost its Academy Award to No Man’s Land. Naturally I was a little heartbroken. As someone who had been through a similar phase a few years ago, my Iranian friend brought along a tape of Children Of Heaven, for me to watch. I was deeply touched by the film. Never before had I watched a film that was so engaging and so real. While Beyond the Clouds is not as impressive as Children Of Heaven, it is a close second. With brilliant performances by Ishaan Khatter and Malavika Mohanan, Beyond The Clouds is a beautiful story of redemption, and human relationships.

You can watch the film on Netflix.

 

Few questions regarding Stree

Spoiler: Please read this only if you have watched the film

There are a few questions I have, for either the makers of Stree, or for those of you who have watched the film.

The first one is regarding the two scenes in the picture above. When Bittu (Aparshakti Khurrana) asks Vicky (Rajkummar Rao), if he has seen the feet of his mystery girlfriend, Vicky replies in the negative. How come Vicky is clueless, when only a few moments ago he had not only seen them but also touched them when he lifted her leg to rest it on his thigh while he pretended to take her measurements? Was he really looking only at her face all that time that he did not notice her legs even though he had touched them?

The “Stree” is supposed to have haunted the town for years. Since this was supposed to be a fact then how come some of the youth in the town, including Vicky, and his friend Bittu and Jana, not know the real story behind “Stree”. Everyone in the town were aware of the abductions that occurred during the first three days of the festival. Were men not abducted from the village in years past? Is that why the youth of the village believed it to be an old wives tale?

Who exactly is Shraddha Kapoor’s character and why did she single out Vicky to help her in her venture? The Lehanga obviously was just an excuse to get to know him. Was he just a guy that she wanted to use to get the things she needed for her quest? Or did she know from the beginning that he would be the guy that will bring an end to “Stree”? If so, then how did she know that?

In the end, all the men that were abducted are freed and they all walk out of the temple in exactly the same state that they were abducted, naked. My question is, were these men just the few that were abducted in the past three days or were they the men that have been abducted for the past many years? Where was “Stree” hiding them all these days? Assuming that these were men that were abducted in the past three days, where were the men that were abducted in the years past? And if the people who walked out included the men abducted in years past, then how did they survive so many years without food or clothes?

While there are many more questions I have regarding the film, these are a few that had me stumped and I was hoping some of you will be able to shed some light.

Stree

I am a wimp when it comes to horror films. While I do like the adrenaline rush, I really hate the sleepless nights and the fear of being alone that comes with watching such films. So, for me horror comedies are the best option. Sadly, this genre is rare in our industry, and even more rare is a clean horror comedy with no crass humor. Based on an urban legend, about a ghost who killed people that opened the door when she called out their name, but avoided houses of people who wrote “Come tomorrow” on their walls,  Stree, with a well written script and brilliant performances, is a breath of fresh air.

Set in the small town of  Chanderi, Stree is about the ghost that haunts the town. The films starts with the town preparing for its annual festival, and an old man painting “O Stree, kal aana” ( O Lady, come tomorrow), on all the walls of the town. According to Rudra, the town’s knowledgeable librarian (played effortlessly by Pankaj Tripathi), an angry lady ghost who was wronged by the men of Chanderi, appears during this annual festival to seek revenge on them. So for those four days men are warned to stay indoors at night and to never venture alone in the dark. However, when you are blinded by love, such warnings have little impact, and that is the case with the town tailor, Vicky (played to perfection by Rajkummar Rao). Smitten by the mysterious woman who appears only during the festival (portrayed beautifully by Shraddha Kapoor), Vicky could care less what is happening to the men in his town. That is, until his best friend Jana (Abhishek Banerjee) goes missing, and Bittu (Aparshakti Khurrana) blames Vicky’s girlfriend. What follows is the quest to find their missing friend, as well as find a way to stop “Stree” from haunting their town.

While the script does have a few loopholes (or maybe I missed something, and have to watch it one more time), it does not in anyway diminish the entertainment factor in the film. With brilliant performances and impeccable comedic timing by each and every cast member, Stree is a very entertaining film that keeps you on the edge of your seat while making you laugh heartily at regular intervals. Check out the film to watch the brilliance that is Rajkummar Rao and Pankaj Tripathi (I honestly cannot get enough of these two actors). I promise you, you will be laughing long after you have watched the film, and will consciously close your closet and bathroom doors before you go to bed at night.

Word of advice, please do not take young children to the film. While it is a comedy, there is a horror element as well. My movie watching experience was slightly disturbed due to a child that started crying loudly because the film was too scary for her. Older children who do not mind a few thrills, should be fine.