Asha Bhonsle & The Incredibles show – Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
May 12, 2007
Saturday May 12, 2007 night, is when we attended the show “The Incredibles” featuring Asha Bhonsle, Sonu Nigam, Kailash Kher and Kunal Ganjawala.
The stadium was full of cheering and enthusiastic NRIs, eager to see their favorite performers and legends. Almost a crowd of 3000 or more! The lighting arrangement, the sound quality, the air ventilation – everything was in top shape. The main show started off with Kunal Ganjawala, who was followed by Kailash Kher. One better than the other! People enjoyed both performances. Kunal was very good. Kailash was brilliant. The crowd was enjoying every moment of it, clapping, singing and participating in along with the performers.
The incredible Sonu Nigam rocked the Oracle Arena stadium after Kailash Kher. He is truly a world-class performer, with a mesmerizing range. His vocals, his dance and his rapport with the audience – everything was incredible. People went berserk when Sonu was performing.
As soon as Sonu took a break after a thrilling performance, there entered the legend – Asha Bhonsle! The entire stadium stood up on their feet! A standing ovation for a truly deserving artist! I got goose bumps as she walked in, in her famous white saari!
I am one of those people who like Asha better than Lata. I am one of those people who, if not a die-hard fan, is an admirer of Asha Bhonsle. I am born in 70s and so have spent many moments of my life listening to Asha. So have all of us! She has truly entertained us for decades with her magic. When she walks in on the stage, feet stand themselves up. People from all walks of life, kids, teenagers born in US, parents visiting fromIndia, housewives, working professionals – everyone stood up last night!
But what followed after her entry was the great collapse of the show. It all went downhill very fast and then, never recovered. Shockingly, it was solely because of Asha Bhonsle.
She made her entry with the famous ‘Dum Maaro Dum!”. The moment we heard her voice for the first time, we did not know how to react. It was almost that someone else was giving a playback for Asha. The voice did not sound like hers. It was a heavy, low and tired voice. But we figured that it was because she was not warmed up by then. It was her first performance in US and it was her first song. We understood that completely. Questioning Asha Bhonsle’s voice quality is like doubting Amitabh’s acting abilities. It is untouchable!
For rest of the show, one kept hoping to hear that lovable and magical voice. We caught glimpses of it, here and there, but that’s about it. I kept cringing in my chair. I am sure thousands of others did the same. As an audience and fans, we wanted Asha Bhonsle’s singing to go perfect. When you like and admire a performer so much, you keep denying any of her/his imperfections to yourself. You don’t want to believe that there could be any imperfections in the first place.
Asha Bhonsle has reached such a pinnacle in her career that she is truly untouchable. All of the thousands of people present in that stadium knew her greatness. They were considering themselves lucky to see her perform in person. They were all very well aware of her age. They all admired her for her great spirit. When a performer has reached that level, the audience is all-forgiving towards her or him. The performer has given the audience so much over the years that audience is hardly expecting anything anymore. Factors like money you paid for the tickets and the return you expect become irrelevant in such cases.
That’s why her voice quality did not bother us as an audience. We were wishing to hear the magic, but had no complains if it was not there. We understood!
What bothered us was the gimmicks. Asha Bhonsle tried hard to copy the performers before her. She behaved like the fourth band member of ‘Kunal Ganjawala – Sonu Nigam – Kailash Kher’ band. She tried to be ‘hip’, ‘young’ and ‘dashing’. She moved, she danced and she sang fast paced disco songs. There is nothing wrong in that. But her age is not on her side. Her voice and stamina is not on her side. She was frequently getting tired. Again and again, she was stopping half way through the lines, because she was getting exhausted. Do you expect Asha Bhonsle not able to complete lines? Her voice was becoming wavy. She was requesting water many times. In all, she probably sang 4-5 songs. One of them was the stereotypical Punjabi song –Baribarsi khatangayasi - which is not an Asha song. It was like what a newcomer in an upcoming orchestra would do to appease the gallery. The lowest point in the performance was reached when she wore a white cap and began to sing ‘Jhalak Dikhalaja ..’. When she started to sing that, at first, it did not sink in for me. I was trying hard to remind myself of all her songs and could not figure out the movie or album, she had sung it for. Then slowly it occurred to me that it is the Himesh Reshmia song .. Oh, the white cap!! Worse thing was that she sang it worse than Himesh Reshmia. I am not a Reshmia fan and I still believed that he has done a better job at it. Much better!
But why Reshmia song? Why ‘Baribarsi’? Why being unable to complete lines of songs because of dancing and moving? Why the wavy and high pitched voice because trying to look ‘hip’ and ‘energetic’?
I am still trying to figure this. Is it that she is ill-informed? Have organizers told her “Asha ji, after Sonu’s energetic performance, if you sing old or slow songs, people would leave?” Are there any misconceptions about audience expectations? Is it because she was inSan Franciscoand someone thought that she “had” to be hip and ‘American’? Thousands of people who came to watch her last night were not expecting Britney Spears. They did not want it either. They wanted Asha Bhonsle. The standing ovation she got in the beginning was not because how ‘hip’ she can be. It was for her being Asha Bhonsle – the legend!
Or is it that she herself is trying to ‘fit in’? Is it that she herself wants to matter to today’s teenagers, like the way she did for teenagers of 50s to 90s? Is she competing with Sonus and Himesh Reshmias? If it is so, the world knows that she does not have to. They are no where near her. For her, there is nothing to compete against. She is on the high pedestal. It will take years and abandon luck for them to reach her status and popularity. This is such an obvious truth that I don’t even feel like elaborating it further.
Asha Bhonsle is such a legendary artist that one performance like last night’s wont even make a dent on her achievements or the respect and love people have towards her. Opinions of people like me about last night are equally immaterial. She has given so much entertainment for all these years to us that even I will soon forget the not-so-good memories of her last night’s performance.
But I think that the great artists like her should realize their greatness well-in-time and respect it also. They should understand their audience. They should understand the love and respect their audience have towards them. All that is extremely precious. Very few people achieve it in their lives.
For legendary artists like her, it’s up to them to decide on what to perform and how to perform it. For fans like me, we can’t help but just feel sad!
Friday, June 29, 2007
My experience in India
My sister Anupama finished her Masters in Child Psychology from Mumbai before she got married. Now after several years of stay abroad, she returned to Pune,Indiain 2005 along with her family. There, she started working with her ex-teacher from her college - Meera. Together, they run an organization called “chugrad”. I know … it’s a weird name.
Anupama and Meera primarily focus on “kids”. I had been hearing bits and pieces of her work from her – you know, through phone conversations or so. She would not mention it otherwise, but I would ask small-talk questions like ‘what did you do today?” and I would get answers like “We went to Mangeshkar hospital to talk to administration” or “That child smiled for the first time after 6 months”.
Still, I did not pay much attention then. “Some social work ..”, I said to myself. When my friends in US would ask me about my sister, (they were very curious to know how she is coping withIndia), I would tell them the same thing “She is doing some social work. So it’s good! She is keeping herself busy”. It had to be some kind of that social work, you know. Besides, I was too busy and focused on my own life in US and work etc etc to really delve into the nitty-gritty.
So 3 weeks ago, I went to India for my own wedding. It was a fantastic time. Family, friends, parties, wedding preparations, shopping, eating out, .. You name it!
Anupama continued to go to this Mangeshkar hospital almost daily when I was in Pune. I also heard the name of Sassoon hospital from her. My friend Mugdha also had started to work with Anupama and Meera. So I heard from her as well. In fact they all seemed very serious about their work. A week before the wedding, they were talking about having to miss their visit to the hospital on the day just before my wedding and they were trying to plan it so that it won’t be missed. Frankly I was like .“hmmm” . After all, I had come all the way from US of A and it was MY wedding. Come on, it better be the most important day along with the days before and after. Can you not think about some visit to some kids for a change?
So during that week, one day, in between doing travel preparations for my upcoming honeymoon and having a nice lunch at this great seafood place with my fiancé, I decided to go with Anupama and Mugdha to Mangeshkar hospital. Actually, the truth is that they were going to that part of the city for their visit and I needed a ride. And so I went ..
Mugdha and Anupama had taken two big cardboard boxes with them in the car. They were full of small toys, sketching stuff, pens and pencils, cars, dolls... It supposedly was a part of their routine.
Mangeshkar hospital turned out to be nicer looking than I had imagined. I walked in. The familiar smell of needles and hospital along with patients – old, young, men, women .. sitting on the wooden benches and chairs, doctors and nurses running around .. I had started to feel pretty proud and healthy about myself as I walked around carrying one of the two big toy boxes.
Anupama and Mugdha walked in this department with the name that had the word “Cancer” in it. I followed them. We were walking by an elevator. Just then the doors of the elevator opened and out came a young boy. How young? 6 or may be 5 ? He was carrying bandages and some tubes attached to him as he walked out of the elevator along with his parents. The thing I immediately noticed was his head. It was shaved off. Completely. Anupama immediately smiled at them. They smiled back. They knew her well. She went ahead and patted that small boy. “How are you feeling today”? He was shy. But he smiled at her. The smile of a young 6 years old boy! Plain and simple! Although his parents were dressed properly, clearly they belonged to the lower income strata.
There was another mother caring for her 5-6 year old girl in the corridor. Another young child. That girl was crying hopelessly. Anupama went and talked to the mother. She kneeled down and held that girl close to her. “What happened?” She asked. They both knew her. The mother replied “It’s all itchy .. because of the medicines”. The small girl could not bear all her skin itching like that. So she was crying. Oh yes and she was bald as well.
Mugdha in the mean time has gone into a ‘General’ ward. I went in there along with Anupama. Mugdha had carried the other Toy box with her. She had already started taking the toys out and showing it to a young boy – 6-7 years old again – who was lying on one of the beds there. I looked around. There were other small kids – all lying on the beds around.
All bald! All carrying tubes and bandages! Some of those bandages were fatter than their limbs.
The helpless parents and grandparents sat there along with their loved children. These people did not have enough money to take their kids to number 1 and number 2 hospitals in the country. They did not have enough money to afford pricey medicines or treatments. They did not have money to afford ‘Special ward’ either. So they had come here.
The small boy Mugdha was trying to play with – he had lost his smile. He was trying to sit up on his bed only with the help of his parents. As Mugdha tried to communicate with him, his parents smiled at her knowingly - “He cannot talk today”. They said. His mouth from inside had swollen up. When I or you open our mouths, we see our throat cavity. But in his case, the cancer had grown inside his mouth. There was no cavity. He could not open his mouth. Forget that, he could not take a sip of water of eat a grain of food.
This young boy would die later – just before I leftIndia.
“Children from poor families with cancer are mostly neglected in hospitals” Anupama said to me “Even the parents cannot afford the costly treatment. When it comes choosing between treatment of this fatal disease for one child and saving money for other children’s education or marriage, they choose the later.”
The seemingly ruthless and logical choice is out of necessity. Life looks very different when you have no money and when you are forced to make harsh choices because of that. It looks much different than what I or you are used to.
Yet Anupama was telling me about the father of the boy with the cancer in his mouth. He had said to her “Initially we were told that it would take 60-70000 rupees. We had the option of applying for the government grant, but then I thought, why to snatch that right away from some other poorer family? But now the expense is in range of 10 Lack rupees. How can I afford that? I have two daughters. One is in 12th grade, other is to be married soon”. Even in his financial condition, he was thinking of poorer families than him.
These children – many of them as young as my nieces or even younger – are ignored because they are a ‘lost cause’. Parents cannot afford treatment. Hospitals cannot afford them. It’s not the parents’ fault. It’s not the fault of the hospitals either.
So Anupama, Meera and Mugdha apply what they call a Play Therapy. They go and spend time with these kids. They play with them. They bring them toys. They read stories to them. There is no one else who wants to spend time with these kids.
They already have seen results. Parents of such children have told my sister “It’s only because of you that my child has smiled in 6 months”. I could see that first-hand. All these bed-ridden children – how their faces lit up when they saw Anupama and Mugdha.
It also did not take much more for me to understand why Anupama and Mugdha were so concerned about having to miss even single day of visit here.
But I was yet to learn some more..
In 4 days I visited another place – The Sassoon Hospital. We went to its orphanage/ Adoption center. Anupama works with them as well. She and my brother-in-law wanted to give me a gift for my wedding. She decided that they’d rather sponsor some meals for the children in that orphanage than buying yet another shirt or watch for me. I agreed and we all went to make the payment.
It was a small place with 2-3 smaller rooms. In each of those rooms were two layers of cribs. Some of those cribs had a single baby/infant/child/kid in it and the rest had two. These babies and kids – some of them were just looking at us with those big curious eyes. Some of them were crying hopelessly. Some of them were playing with one another. They were left on their own during that time when we were there and the cribs looked more like small prison cells to me. Elder kids recognized my sister as we walked through. Some of them wanted her to pick them up. Some started crying as we left them behind. My sister was resisting herself from picking anyone up because she did not want to leave them crying. They were all literally craving for any little human affection.
I would learn later that it takes about Rupees 1500 (~ $30) to feed all these children daily. There were many , many of them in that single orphanage.
That’s the amount I had spent on my single lunch the previous day.
Why did I write all this? Well, I know that we all feel sad and we all feel that ‘we should do something’ when we read such stuff. It’s a natural human emotion. I know that it’s also natural for us to not have such sentimental intensity about these causes all the time. In fact, majority of us forget about it soon as our minds get occupied with our lives and routines.
That’s how it is and there is nothing abnormal about it. So this is not about making anyone feel guilty. And frankly, it happens to me all the time. When I read or experience such things, I determine to be the greatest “giver” of all time. But within 10-15 minutes, I get back to solving my own problems again.
Recently I read an interesting article about ‘Love’. The author says that Love is not about emotion or state of one’s feelings. It’s about action – the things you do. In other words, it is impossible, rather unnatural to feel intense love and liking towards one person all the time, be it your spouse or any other loved one. Love is not about that. Feelings come and go. Love is about - still doing good things for that person in absence of those intense feelings.
I equate that article to this scenario. In fact, when I write this, I know that I am not as sentimental as I felt when I was walking through that hospital. I know that when you finish reading this, within 10-15 minutes, you won’t be as sentimental either.
The question is if we can still take action and do something to help others in absence of our sentiments, which always come and go.
My sister and many others like her do it. Daily.
May be we can all start somewhere.
Kedar (kapster00@gmail.com)
Anupama and Meera primarily focus on “kids”. I had been hearing bits and pieces of her work from her – you know, through phone conversations or so. She would not mention it otherwise, but I would ask small-talk questions like ‘what did you do today?” and I would get answers like “We went to Mangeshkar hospital to talk to administration” or “That child smiled for the first time after 6 months”.
Still, I did not pay much attention then. “Some social work ..”, I said to myself. When my friends in US would ask me about my sister, (they were very curious to know how she is coping withIndia), I would tell them the same thing “She is doing some social work. So it’s good! She is keeping herself busy”. It had to be some kind of that social work, you know. Besides, I was too busy and focused on my own life in US and work etc etc to really delve into the nitty-gritty.
So 3 weeks ago, I went to India for my own wedding. It was a fantastic time. Family, friends, parties, wedding preparations, shopping, eating out, .. You name it!
Anupama continued to go to this Mangeshkar hospital almost daily when I was in Pune. I also heard the name of Sassoon hospital from her. My friend Mugdha also had started to work with Anupama and Meera. So I heard from her as well. In fact they all seemed very serious about their work. A week before the wedding, they were talking about having to miss their visit to the hospital on the day just before my wedding and they were trying to plan it so that it won’t be missed. Frankly I was like .“hmmm” . After all, I had come all the way from US of A and it was MY wedding. Come on, it better be the most important day along with the days before and after. Can you not think about some visit to some kids for a change?
So during that week, one day, in between doing travel preparations for my upcoming honeymoon and having a nice lunch at this great seafood place with my fiancé, I decided to go with Anupama and Mugdha to Mangeshkar hospital. Actually, the truth is that they were going to that part of the city for their visit and I needed a ride. And so I went ..
Mugdha and Anupama had taken two big cardboard boxes with them in the car. They were full of small toys, sketching stuff, pens and pencils, cars, dolls... It supposedly was a part of their routine.
Mangeshkar hospital turned out to be nicer looking than I had imagined. I walked in. The familiar smell of needles and hospital along with patients – old, young, men, women .. sitting on the wooden benches and chairs, doctors and nurses running around .. I had started to feel pretty proud and healthy about myself as I walked around carrying one of the two big toy boxes.
Anupama and Mugdha walked in this department with the name that had the word “Cancer” in it. I followed them. We were walking by an elevator. Just then the doors of the elevator opened and out came a young boy. How young? 6 or may be 5 ? He was carrying bandages and some tubes attached to him as he walked out of the elevator along with his parents. The thing I immediately noticed was his head. It was shaved off. Completely. Anupama immediately smiled at them. They smiled back. They knew her well. She went ahead and patted that small boy. “How are you feeling today”? He was shy. But he smiled at her. The smile of a young 6 years old boy! Plain and simple! Although his parents were dressed properly, clearly they belonged to the lower income strata.
There was another mother caring for her 5-6 year old girl in the corridor. Another young child. That girl was crying hopelessly. Anupama went and talked to the mother. She kneeled down and held that girl close to her. “What happened?” She asked. They both knew her. The mother replied “It’s all itchy .. because of the medicines”. The small girl could not bear all her skin itching like that. So she was crying. Oh yes and she was bald as well.
Mugdha in the mean time has gone into a ‘General’ ward. I went in there along with Anupama. Mugdha had carried the other Toy box with her. She had already started taking the toys out and showing it to a young boy – 6-7 years old again – who was lying on one of the beds there. I looked around. There were other small kids – all lying on the beds around.
All bald! All carrying tubes and bandages! Some of those bandages were fatter than their limbs.
The helpless parents and grandparents sat there along with their loved children. These people did not have enough money to take their kids to number 1 and number 2 hospitals in the country. They did not have enough money to afford pricey medicines or treatments. They did not have money to afford ‘Special ward’ either. So they had come here.
The small boy Mugdha was trying to play with – he had lost his smile. He was trying to sit up on his bed only with the help of his parents. As Mugdha tried to communicate with him, his parents smiled at her knowingly - “He cannot talk today”. They said. His mouth from inside had swollen up. When I or you open our mouths, we see our throat cavity. But in his case, the cancer had grown inside his mouth. There was no cavity. He could not open his mouth. Forget that, he could not take a sip of water of eat a grain of food.
This young boy would die later – just before I leftIndia.
“Children from poor families with cancer are mostly neglected in hospitals” Anupama said to me “Even the parents cannot afford the costly treatment. When it comes choosing between treatment of this fatal disease for one child and saving money for other children’s education or marriage, they choose the later.”
The seemingly ruthless and logical choice is out of necessity. Life looks very different when you have no money and when you are forced to make harsh choices because of that. It looks much different than what I or you are used to.
Yet Anupama was telling me about the father of the boy with the cancer in his mouth. He had said to her “Initially we were told that it would take 60-70000 rupees. We had the option of applying for the government grant, but then I thought, why to snatch that right away from some other poorer family? But now the expense is in range of 10 Lack rupees. How can I afford that? I have two daughters. One is in 12th grade, other is to be married soon”. Even in his financial condition, he was thinking of poorer families than him.
These children – many of them as young as my nieces or even younger – are ignored because they are a ‘lost cause’. Parents cannot afford treatment. Hospitals cannot afford them. It’s not the parents’ fault. It’s not the fault of the hospitals either.
So Anupama, Meera and Mugdha apply what they call a Play Therapy. They go and spend time with these kids. They play with them. They bring them toys. They read stories to them. There is no one else who wants to spend time with these kids.
They already have seen results. Parents of such children have told my sister “It’s only because of you that my child has smiled in 6 months”. I could see that first-hand. All these bed-ridden children – how their faces lit up when they saw Anupama and Mugdha.
It also did not take much more for me to understand why Anupama and Mugdha were so concerned about having to miss even single day of visit here.
But I was yet to learn some more..
In 4 days I visited another place – The Sassoon Hospital. We went to its orphanage/ Adoption center. Anupama works with them as well. She and my brother-in-law wanted to give me a gift for my wedding. She decided that they’d rather sponsor some meals for the children in that orphanage than buying yet another shirt or watch for me. I agreed and we all went to make the payment.
It was a small place with 2-3 smaller rooms. In each of those rooms were two layers of cribs. Some of those cribs had a single baby/infant/child/kid in it and the rest had two. These babies and kids – some of them were just looking at us with those big curious eyes. Some of them were crying hopelessly. Some of them were playing with one another. They were left on their own during that time when we were there and the cribs looked more like small prison cells to me. Elder kids recognized my sister as we walked through. Some of them wanted her to pick them up. Some started crying as we left them behind. My sister was resisting herself from picking anyone up because she did not want to leave them crying. They were all literally craving for any little human affection.
I would learn later that it takes about Rupees 1500 (~ $30) to feed all these children daily. There were many , many of them in that single orphanage.
That’s the amount I had spent on my single lunch the previous day.
Why did I write all this? Well, I know that we all feel sad and we all feel that ‘we should do something’ when we read such stuff. It’s a natural human emotion. I know that it’s also natural for us to not have such sentimental intensity about these causes all the time. In fact, majority of us forget about it soon as our minds get occupied with our lives and routines.
That’s how it is and there is nothing abnormal about it. So this is not about making anyone feel guilty. And frankly, it happens to me all the time. When I read or experience such things, I determine to be the greatest “giver” of all time. But within 10-15 minutes, I get back to solving my own problems again.
Recently I read an interesting article about ‘Love’. The author says that Love is not about emotion or state of one’s feelings. It’s about action – the things you do. In other words, it is impossible, rather unnatural to feel intense love and liking towards one person all the time, be it your spouse or any other loved one. Love is not about that. Feelings come and go. Love is about - still doing good things for that person in absence of those intense feelings.
I equate that article to this scenario. In fact, when I write this, I know that I am not as sentimental as I felt when I was walking through that hospital. I know that when you finish reading this, within 10-15 minutes, you won’t be as sentimental either.
The question is if we can still take action and do something to help others in absence of our sentiments, which always come and go.
My sister and many others like her do it. Daily.
May be we can all start somewhere.
Kedar (kapster00@gmail.com)
Swades
Ashutosh Gowariker's "Swades"...
Watching that movie was an emotional experience. I was completely won over by a great story, a great screenplay and great acting.
I had been cursing Shahrukh Khan for all these years. The same delivery, the same expressions and same acting in every film. The annoying popularity his character somehow manages to get in every movie was becoming disturbing. I used to be a Shahrukh Khan fan 10 years ago ,but had given up hopes on him. But finally after all these years, I could see the Shahrukh from Fauji. I could see why he became so popular to begin with. He has displayed how good of an underacting he can do. When a dynamite actor like him displays his emotions more subtly, more under control, it becomes a thrilling performance to watch.
Credit goes to the director and writer Ashutosh Gowariker. A great sensibility ! Watching the movie was almost finding something which has been long lost. I have been watching hoardes of "mai tumhare dil me rehetahu", "ham tumhare hai kab se" .. kind of ultra long named and crappy movies. My Hindi movie watching would be inserting in the DVD or casette ,watching the unbelievale crap for 15 mins, giving up on it and switching to Discovery channel. I was sick of watching plot lines that go nowhere, stories with no heart, a whole bunch of gimmicks including those irritating show-offs of "cool" camera angles and editing styles. I was sick of irrelevent 'maal' songs popping out of nowhere. I was sick of Bombay hindi, Bihari villains, unrealisticly cute and colorful college scenes and bandages of irrelevent scenes written for senior actors to show off their acting talent.
I should say that I almost could not believe the sensibility that was being displayed on screen in Swades. You can tell that he has made it with love and with care. I was in good hands throughout. The screenplay won me over. It is one thing to write a story with an intent to make a patriotic movie and it is another thing to translate it into a non-cliched non-filmy screenplay. There were none of those age old Hindi movie formulae used anywhere. Take the scene where he puts down his feet on the wall-to-wall carpet here in US and that reminds him of the simple pleasure of just standing in the water back in the village. Take the scene of that old woman in village looking at a light bulb waiting for the electricity to arrive - "bijli" ..she says .."bijli" .. Take the scene where Shahrukh is in a train and a 9 year old boy is running around the platform , trying to sell water for 25 paisa. Excellent set up of him drinking bottled water throughout and a great payoff when he takes that water from that boy for 25 paisa. The scene where he is back in US and memories of India flashing in front of him as he tries to work. It is almost spooky to see the exact emotions experienced by so many of us, being shown on the screen.
I almost had forgotten that in Hindi commercial movies with Shahrukh Khan, the camera can capture the heart of India. That it can capture the Baajreki roti on the plate without showing it off , the two kids sleeping with their backs to us in a latern light , with their father crying about his inability to feed his family. I had forgotten that it can capture"Kushtika Akhaada", post office , the school where the teacher is writing today's class name on the board. I heard the words like "Bhaasha", "Bhugol" when Shahrukh is going through the books in that bookstore. I saw details like a notice for parents to meet Geeta Teacher displayed on a school board on a side.
Watching Shahrukh sit amongst the crowd in a crowded train compartment took me to the days of Fauji, Circus, Manoranjan .. thats why he had become polular. The three men sitting on that scooter brings a smile. They have been careful in selecting appropriate clothes for characters including Shahrukh. He is in simple shirt and jeans throughout. He just merges in. It was a fresh breath of relief to finally see characters apperences matching the story and the surroundings. I was getting used to seeing a lower middle class hero in brand clothes doing product placement.
Credit also goes to Gayatri Joshi. She is smart, sweet and adorable. Her character is neatly written. It has her own voice , her own personality.She stands up to Shahrukh very well. The supporting cast has done their job very well including the villagers, Kaveriamma, the Dhaba owner, the post-master and the kids. Yes, even the kids are not the usual annoying kind with an irritatingly smart-ass attitude.
One could tell that the writers have been smart. They have respeted the audience, their intelligence and sensibilities. They have been careful with Shahrukh and his job in US, the vacation for India issue, even his want to go back to US. They have been smart enough to avoid Hindi movie cliches. I was almost praying that they not let me down with cliches and they did not. The heroine does not appear in his caravan in the last scene, she does not go with him to US, he does not stay here for her, even the villagers have their voice. And thank God, the villagers are not of the cliched 'Thakurs' or village king kind.
The film strikes very close to home. Even Lagaan was 'out there'. Swades comes closer to you. Display of Simplicity is the strength of this movie and the simplicity has not been just shown off. It comes in neatly and subtly. This is not a film where you see poverty , hunger and half-naked poor people for no apprent reason. They are a part of it. People will find drawbacks and there are some drawbacks. But whenver I noticed them, I had already forgiven the director.
Kudos to the whole team. The diretor, writer and the actors. A satisfying movie. A movie which has raised hopes for the quality of Hindi cinema to come.
Watching that movie was an emotional experience. I was completely won over by a great story, a great screenplay and great acting.
I had been cursing Shahrukh Khan for all these years. The same delivery, the same expressions and same acting in every film. The annoying popularity his character somehow manages to get in every movie was becoming disturbing. I used to be a Shahrukh Khan fan 10 years ago ,but had given up hopes on him. But finally after all these years, I could see the Shahrukh from Fauji. I could see why he became so popular to begin with. He has displayed how good of an underacting he can do. When a dynamite actor like him displays his emotions more subtly, more under control, it becomes a thrilling performance to watch.
Credit goes to the director and writer Ashutosh Gowariker. A great sensibility ! Watching the movie was almost finding something which has been long lost. I have been watching hoardes of "mai tumhare dil me rehetahu", "ham tumhare hai kab se" .. kind of ultra long named and crappy movies. My Hindi movie watching would be inserting in the DVD or casette ,watching the unbelievale crap for 15 mins, giving up on it and switching to Discovery channel. I was sick of watching plot lines that go nowhere, stories with no heart, a whole bunch of gimmicks including those irritating show-offs of "cool" camera angles and editing styles. I was sick of irrelevent 'maal' songs popping out of nowhere. I was sick of Bombay hindi, Bihari villains, unrealisticly cute and colorful college scenes and bandages of irrelevent scenes written for senior actors to show off their acting talent.
I should say that I almost could not believe the sensibility that was being displayed on screen in Swades. You can tell that he has made it with love and with care. I was in good hands throughout. The screenplay won me over. It is one thing to write a story with an intent to make a patriotic movie and it is another thing to translate it into a non-cliched non-filmy screenplay. There were none of those age old Hindi movie formulae used anywhere. Take the scene where he puts down his feet on the wall-to-wall carpet here in US and that reminds him of the simple pleasure of just standing in the water back in the village. Take the scene of that old woman in village looking at a light bulb waiting for the electricity to arrive - "bijli" ..she says .."bijli" .. Take the scene where Shahrukh is in a train and a 9 year old boy is running around the platform , trying to sell water for 25 paisa. Excellent set up of him drinking bottled water throughout and a great payoff when he takes that water from that boy for 25 paisa. The scene where he is back in US and memories of India flashing in front of him as he tries to work. It is almost spooky to see the exact emotions experienced by so many of us, being shown on the screen.
I almost had forgotten that in Hindi commercial movies with Shahrukh Khan, the camera can capture the heart of India. That it can capture the Baajreki roti on the plate without showing it off , the two kids sleeping with their backs to us in a latern light , with their father crying about his inability to feed his family. I had forgotten that it can capture"Kushtika Akhaada", post office , the school where the teacher is writing today's class name on the board. I heard the words like "Bhaasha", "Bhugol" when Shahrukh is going through the books in that bookstore. I saw details like a notice for parents to meet Geeta Teacher displayed on a school board on a side.
Watching Shahrukh sit amongst the crowd in a crowded train compartment took me to the days of Fauji, Circus, Manoranjan .. thats why he had become polular. The three men sitting on that scooter brings a smile. They have been careful in selecting appropriate clothes for characters including Shahrukh. He is in simple shirt and jeans throughout. He just merges in. It was a fresh breath of relief to finally see characters apperences matching the story and the surroundings. I was getting used to seeing a lower middle class hero in brand clothes doing product placement.
Credit also goes to Gayatri Joshi. She is smart, sweet and adorable. Her character is neatly written. It has her own voice , her own personality.She stands up to Shahrukh very well. The supporting cast has done their job very well including the villagers, Kaveriamma, the Dhaba owner, the post-master and the kids. Yes, even the kids are not the usual annoying kind with an irritatingly smart-ass attitude.
One could tell that the writers have been smart. They have respeted the audience, their intelligence and sensibilities. They have been careful with Shahrukh and his job in US, the vacation for India issue, even his want to go back to US. They have been smart enough to avoid Hindi movie cliches. I was almost praying that they not let me down with cliches and they did not. The heroine does not appear in his caravan in the last scene, she does not go with him to US, he does not stay here for her, even the villagers have their voice. And thank God, the villagers are not of the cliched 'Thakurs' or village king kind.
The film strikes very close to home. Even Lagaan was 'out there'. Swades comes closer to you. Display of Simplicity is the strength of this movie and the simplicity has not been just shown off. It comes in neatly and subtly. This is not a film where you see poverty , hunger and half-naked poor people for no apprent reason. They are a part of it. People will find drawbacks and there are some drawbacks. But whenver I noticed them, I had already forgiven the director.
Kudos to the whole team. The diretor, writer and the actors. A satisfying movie. A movie which has raised hopes for the quality of Hindi cinema to come.
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