Random Thoughts on Chup Raho, Daraar, Koi Nahi Apna and Izteraab

Sometimes it's just not worth it to write lengthy essays on certain dramas.  A few lines to get the point across can be more than sufficient.  After watching my batch of dramas on Tuesday and Wednesday, these were the thoughts I was struck with.  This will be short and to the point!

Chup Raho:  What started off as a promising drama quickly began to tailspin in episode 2.  Are you seriously telling me that Numair is so egotistical and unafraid of God/the law/his in-laws that he practically attacked Rameen in front of her own father?  And then after causing his father-in-law to have a deadly heart-attack, he stormed out of the room?  This is not a rapist at this point, but rather a murderer.  Flaw #1.  Now onto Flaw #2:  Rameen's THICK MOTHER.  When your daughter is trying to tell you something, what's with the "Saaf saaf baat karo" crap?  How empty headed do you have to be to understand that your daughter is terrified of her brother-in-law and doesn't want to stay there?  AND now Flaw #3:  Rameen herself.  OK.  Numair took you to his flat.  Then what?  You forgot to tell your mother about what happened to cause your father's death?  INTERESTING.

So at this point, Chup Raho has turned my brain mildly to mush after episode 3.  Disappointing.  But I'm holding on to hope that it will look up.

Daraar:  There are some dramas that carry a lot of expectations with them - and any Umera Ahmed drama instantly carries that burden.  That being said, I cannot FATHOM how this drama is so terrible.  I'm hoping it will pick up SOMEHOW and hit realism at some point.  But with such an unlikable lead character with the world's most ANNOYING family full of matlab and greed, I'm having a hard time getting on board with this one.

Koi Nahi Apna:  Only one episode left here.  The biggest flaw with this otherwise nice drama is the character of Alvira (Sarwat).  Definitely an Akele Hum Akele Tum remake, this drama has fared well in all regards.  But with Alvira, it hasn't been realistic.  Alvira felt neglected, misunderstandings were caused by her father, she went to court, she won, she had a confrontation with Hamza's lawyer who clarified everything and then two seconds later, she's waving teddy bears and all sorts of cheap junk at her parents, talking about all the expensive shopping she's done for Shiza.  The character itself is a bi-polar one and also very unlikable.  The other downside is Hamza's mother, who he should literally just kick out of his house.  She wasn't nice to his wife, wasn't even nice to her own granddaughter and is nasty to Hamza.  The worst kind of mother in all regards.  Otherwise, I have liked the pace and story of this show.  But I'm looking forward to the last episode, as it's definitely time to end.

Last and definitely least, we come to Izteraab, possibly one of the most irritating dramas on air in a while.  Each and every character had shades of grey in almost an annoying way.  The highlight of the drama was the character of Duaa, who despite being the other woman was a very positive, good person.  On the other end, Shahzaib and Zara were very strange, twisted people.  The only thing I can give this show plus points for is not going the expected route.  I was expecting to see a sick Zara pass away, leaving Duaa to care for Shahzaib and their children.  Instead of this Stepmom ending, we saw more of a "Judaai" (Bollywood - Sridevi) ending, with Duaa peacefully and willingly stepping out of the picture to make way for this now happy family.  While I didn't necessarily agree with the ending, at least it had some shock value.  I'm glad this show is over though.  It was a thorough waste of a good cast.

On that note, I'm going out of town for the long weekend, so there won't be any posts from me until next Tuesday or Wednesday.  Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Happy watching!

Pehchaan: A Whirlwind of Emotions

Some dramas can go on air and continue airing and are completely neglected by the general audience throughout its run.  Pehchaan falls into this category.

With a not-very-popular cast (barring Alishba Yousef) and the fact that it's airing on A-Plus, a channel which I feel gets ignored despite airing some real gems, Pehchaan has managed to make very few waves with the audience (at least from what I've seen).  This is strange, because like Talkhiyan, Khalid Ahmed and Bee Gul's last joint venture, Pehchaan is equally as deep, moving and powerful.  Like Talkhiyan, Pehchaan hits the audience in the stomach repeatedly, yet the viewer feels the need to come back for more and more pain.  I can't claim to fall into a different category: I only recently stumbled across this masterpiece and indulged in a back-to-back marathon of 18 episodes, spellbound.

When the drama began, the pace felt slow, sluggish....but knowing the path Talkhiyan took, I knew this pace would not last.  What transpired before my eyes ended up being a beautiful story of societal norms, expectations and the price of being "independent."

Each and every character is flawed.  They are human.  With each episode, I found my eyebrows furrowed, sometimes out of horror, sometimes confusion, sometimes extreme irritation.....but the power of this story is that you feel connected to these characters.

Laila, a once independent, young, smart woman who had dreams of pursuing her education is bullied into marriage by her mother, despite the protests of her supportive father (Qazi Wajid).  Laila is married to Mansoor (Sohail Sameer) and does everything she can to make her marriage work, despite Mansoor's neglect, disinterest and distant personality.  The two have a child together, which further ties Laila to Mansoor.  Laila is an intelligent woman and inwardly realizes that there's another woman involved, yet society has taught her to keep silent and endure.  "Sabar" and compromise are words that are always thrown at girs, taught that it's their job to make a marriage work.  But what if the marriage has no hope, no respect. no love?  Laila's mother has fallen into the social trap of "What will people think?" and it is this trap that she uses to try to control Laila, keep Laila glued to her marriage and that she falls into, turning a blind eye to every bad habit of her son-in-law.  It has to be said that the father-daughter relationship between Laila and her father is a beautiful one and you find yourself wishing that every Pakistani woman could have such a father.  If they did, fighting societal pressures would be made so much easier.  Alishba Yousef is doing a wonderful job playing the role of Laila and making her feel like "the ordinary girl."  This could be you.  This could be me.

The character of Mansoor, played by Sohail Sameer, is neither one of "pure evil" nor is he anyone the audience can possibly have a soft spot for.  He does, in fact, play the role of the perfect male hypocrite that is so common in our society.  No, this is not a role meant to trigger male-bashing nor does this show promote female superiority.  It does however highlight some double-standards that our society plays up to.  We see Mansoor carrying on a relationship with Kuku, despite having a wife and child.  Yet when his wife finds out about it, he is "relieved" at no longer having to hide the sham and continues chasing Kuku under his wife's nose.  Yet when Mansoor realizes Laila is accompanying her friend Saadi on a trip, he begins throwing words like "Izzat" in her face, telling her that he will be shamed by her actions.  Kuku points this out to Mrs. Khan during a discussion:  Why is it that when a man acts inappropriately, his wife's "izzat" is not affected, yet when a woman is "shamed," the man's honor is damaged?  Why does our society carry this double-standard?  What is bad for one should be bad for the other.

We come to Kuku, who is in theory nothing but a home-wrecker......but is she?  She's the image of what the "modern, independent woman" is supposed to be.  But we witness that Kuku has had her share of struggles, bad relationships, a bad marriage, conflicted emotions and hey!  Kuku even has a strong conscience!  Iffat Omer has done a great job of making the character of Kuku lovable, relatable and making the audience feel as though "This could be any one of us."  Kuku is a victim of circumstance and society.  She knows right and wrong, yet her life doesn't allow her to live a squeaky-clean existence.

On the other end Mrs Khan, played by Anita Camphor, plays up to the obedient wife image.  Her husband wants her to have a particular hairstyle?  She will get that particular hairstyle.  Anything to please Mr. Khan....but what about Mrs. Khan's opinion and desires?  They play no part here.  What's interesting about this character is that Mrs. Khan serves as the eyes of society.  She's a friend to Laila and Kuku, but she keeps them in check by providing them insight to what others will think about their actions.  Even more interesting is how Mrs. Khan evolves while spending time with these women.  The once obedient Mrs. Khan is slowly heard spewing rants against Mr. Khan, her angst being released.  It'll be interesting to see how this character continues to progress.

At this juncture, after episode 18, we see that Laila has finally left Mansoor, Kuku has finally rid herself of her childish husband Khurram and both women are struggling to live life on their own terms.  What did rub me the wrong way in episode 18 though was the character of Laila's mother.  Not once did the woman ask her daughter "What happened?  Why did you leave your home in the middle of the night?  Why can you and Mansoor not get along?  What has Mansoor done?"  Instead, we see the blame falling entirely on Laila, while Laila silently accepts it all.  Why?  Up until now, we've witnessed a strong woman.  But what kind of strong woman is this that doesn't even vocalize the pain inflicted on her?  A woman who silently accepts blame and accusations?  A woman who willingly signs over the property her father left in her name over to her bullying brother?  WHY?  This is a point that really did bother me.

That said, I do hold on to hope for better things to come and future character development.

While we witnessed an engagement of sorts between Saadi & Laila, it's hard to hold on to hope for a happy future for Laila, knowing the twists the show has taken so far.  Let's see!

This one comes highly recommended!  Happy watching!

Mohabbat Ab Nahi Hogi - Episodes 1-5 Overview

Looking at the cast, I had zero expectations for this drama.  To be honest, I didn't even give it a second glance initially, especially looking at Syed Jibran Ali and Ali Rehman Khan as the two male leads, as I am not a big fan of Syed Jibran Ali at all and almost hold a grudge against Ali Rehman Khan after "Rishtey Kuch Adhoore Se."

However, while watching one of my many dramas on TV one day, I saw a promo for the 4th episode of the show - and was not only intrigued by the promo, but was also excited seeing Armeena Rana Khan.  While she may not be the best actress, I developed a fondness for her during the course of Shab-E-Arzoo Ka Aalam; plus, the girl is incredibly striking.  So of course, I instantly put it on my list of shows to catch up on.

I spent the day today catching up on the five aired episodes.  Was it worthwhile?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes.  Mohabbat Ab Nahi Hogi projects what can happen when polar opposites are brought together in a marriage and one of the pair is incredibly immature - misunderstandings.

Fiza (Armeena Rana Khan) is thrown into an arranged marriage with Ahmer (Jibran).  While Jibran is a serious, silent yet nice type, Fiza is childish and could be described as silly.  While initially, the pair seem to be getting along rather well in a case of opposites attract, things begin to go haywire.  Jibran's leave ends and he has to go back to Dubai for work, leaving his new bride of one week at home with his family.  It is during this time that she begins to cause trouble for his family at home, the fuel to the fire being provided by Ahmer's older sister (ZQ).  And then of course, we also have Fiza's harmless flirtation with Ahmer's brother, Azhar (Ali Rehman Khan), which is slowly being looked upon with suspicion by family members.

It's interesting to see a once lively, friendly, innocent girl slowly evolving into a trouble-making vamp type right before our eyes in the most natural way.  She isn't purposely trying to cause trouble, but her childish behavior, lack of understanding and tantrums are causing her to ruin her own image and reputation in her sasural.

It'll be interesting to see where this drama is heading.  I know it's based on a novel, but as usual, I haven't read it, so I'm definitely going in blind.  The story and the performances are making this one show that I look forward to though!

Happy watching!

Chup Raho - Sinister Beginnings

It's a hard challenge to meet, taking the spot of the beloved Pyaray Afzal.  Looking at the cast, I was doubtful about how great this show would be.  What did pull me in were two things - Arjumand Rahim and the fact that the show is directed by Yasir Nawaz. as I always enjoy shows these two are associated with.

Coming to the first episode, as soon as the show started, I was overcome with a feeling of dread.  The show depicted a family - a set of parents and their daughter (Sajal Ali) - on their way to their son-in-law and daughter's house (Arjumand Rahim and Syed Jibran Ali).  As the couple had been living in Dubai and had just moved back to Karachi, the family was reuniting after a gap of five years.  They are also heading to Karachi for Rameen's engagement to Aazar, Numair's cousin.  Despite the light-hearted, sweet nok-jhok between the family, the overall feel of the show set its audience up to constantly feel that something bad was going to happen.  What was going to happen?  No clue.  At many points, I felt as though Abba jaan was going to have a heart attack, there would be an explosion on the train while Rameen (Sajal Ali) was on the phone with Aazar (Feroz Khan), the train would be derailed, leaving Rameen orphaned.....fortunately, none of this happened.

What did happen, however, was much worse.  The family safely reached Karachi.  Rameen spotted her brother-in-law Numair and playfully played a prank of being a stranger - unfortunately, he was instantly attracted to this "stranger" and was shocked when he realized it was his sister-in-law.  And so began his evil intentions.

We bear witness to Numair having a conversation with his friend (played by Yasir Nawaz), telling him that Rameen is his next "shikar."  His friend chides him, stating that she's set to marry his cousin, to which Numair responds that she's welcome to marry his cousin and it makes no difference to him.  He also tells his friend to keep his mouth shut and go on supplying him with his apartment keys as he always does.  Numair's face is revealed to the audience with this scene as a cheater and a man who preys on his conquests.

Throughout the dholki, Numair has his evil sights set on Rameen, even chiding Rameen and Aazar for secretly meeting on the roof, saying "What will people think?"  The following day, Rameen is set to go to the parlor to get ready for the engagement - to which Numair volunteers to take her.  However, instead of taking her to the parlor, he takes her to the apartment.  What happens next?  I think we all know, though that's where the episode ended.

This show has already managed to send chills down my spine, unnerving me.  Why?  Because what's scarier than a person who has no concept of relationships?  When the person doing the wrongdoing is supposed to be your protector and someone you consider to be a brother, what will ever make you feel safe?

The situation Rameen is in is not an unrealistic one - in fact, what makes it so scary is how realistic it really is.  How many good homes have secrets like these?  And how many times is the girl expected to keep quiet?

The cast is doing a great job in their roles, each character believable.

It's yet to be seen the route that this show takes, but so far, it's incredibly interesting and horrifying at the same time.  But we're off to a good start!

Happy watching!

Satyam Shivam Sundaram

Directed by: Raj Kapoor

Starring: Shashi Kapoor, Zeenat Aman

Released: 1978

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

I guess every director has a bad movie or two (or all, righ, Mr. Bazmi?) and Raj Kapoor is no different. Or perhaps Satyam Shivam Sundaram is not „bad“ per se, but the story is just so prepostrous and Shashi Kapoor such an asshole in it, that I cannot help but hate it. And mind you, I am among Raj Kapoor´s most ardent fans. And Shashi Kapoor´s. Which makes it even harder to forgive.

The story is that of a young girl Roopa, whose mother had died while giving birth to her, and who, because of an accident from childhood, has the right part of her face and neck covered in ugly scars. Considered „cursed“ by one and all in her village, Roopa still remains a good soul with great trust in God. Her love for the Creator is only matched by her love for a handsome young engineer (Shashi), who arrives to the village to supervise building and reparations of a nearby dam. He falls in love with her too. Or rather – her voice. Because that is the problem you see: he has never seen her face, which she carefully hides whenever they meet. And she is all too careful never to show herself to him, since he cannot tolerate any ugliness. He doesn´t dislike it, neither he is „not comfortable“ with it – he cannot tolerate it, not even his own reflection in a joking mirror at a fair (seriously, dude?) When a bit later in the film Roopa asks him if he would love her still should she not be beautiful, he completely avoids answering by stating some shit about „not possible you have to be sundar cause you sing so well.“

Ultimately he marries Roopa, and only after marriages sees her face. He is horrified and convinced she is not his beloved. And so poor Roopa chooses to serve his selfishness and in disguise keeps meeting him outside their home, instilling the twisted belief there are two women instead of one even further. (yeah, that would totally work in her favour. Geez girl, have some self-respect!) The whole thing with a covered face may have worked a lot better if it actually remained covered throughout. However the character of Shashi sees almost all of Roopa´s face, more than once, and so his argument about „I´ve never seen it“ makes no sense at all. Further more he never questions the girl as to why won´t she show herself to him. And finally, in the end he recognizes her by her voice. And me, already fed up with all the nonsense and Shashi´s asshole ways, couldn´t understand for the life of me why she just didn´t sing to him an hour ago, which would have saved her loads of humiliation and me thousands of brain cells.

He sees THIS much of her face.

And THIS much. 

And how much more do you need to see???? WTF man???

It is, indeed, the story which makes the whole film an unpleasant experience. One cannot protest about the production values, because they are (for the time the film was made in) excellent. From colour play of the early morning in the temple to a bit psychadelic fantasy song, the camera presents everything beautifully. The music is actually a highlight, and till now I have goosebumps listening to Lata Mangeshkar´s voice in the title song. 

Performances are fairly good (aside from Zeenat´s emotional scenes which reveal her limitations as an actress), unfortunatelly 90% of the characters are unlikeable. I have never imagined it was possible for me to dislike Shashi Kapoor in any avatar, but his own brother made it possible. To see little Padmini Kolhapure in Roopa´s chidhood avatar was a sweet surprise for me and she did very well, especially considering how awful most of Hindi cinema child artists are.

Semi-nudity in Raj Kapoor films somehow never bothered me (be it Simi Garewal´s butt in Mera Naam Joker, Mandakini´s breasts in Ram Teri Ganga Maili or Roopa´s overal semi-nudeness in this), even though I realize what effect it must have had on certain parts of the audience. I suppose that what makes the marginal difference lies in how the people on screen react to Roopa. She chooses to wear the clothes she wants, and others around her are unconcerned. They would have treated her the same (awfully or well) had she been fully covered from head to toe. Roopa is also obviously at peace with her body, so why should I be concerned? It is not like she is selling herself at the market. She bathes. She changes clothes. She walks the fields under a blazing sun. Now, if people off-screen see her only as a titillating sexual objects because of the clothes (or rather lack of it), it is above all because they have a filthy mind.

Satyam Shivam Sundaram is definitely, so far, the weakest Raj Kapoor film I have seen.

Pyaray Afzal: Expected Yet Unexpected

Finally, after 35 episodes, Pyaray Afzal has come to a close.  While I feel that there was no other way to end the drama, the ending still managed to shock and surprise its viewers.

The episode began with Yasmeen asking Afzal and his family for permission to leave, for their own sake.  She loves Afzal, but knows that Farah lives in the hearts of this entire family and she's the one who will make Afzal happy, so she selflessly breaks off the engagement.  This scene was really emotional, because Yasmeen is such a beautifully written character.  Sohai has done a great job with the role and has brought Yasmeen to life, a character who may have been slightly self-absorbed and "taiz," but completely pure at heart (and madly in love with Afzal).

On the other end, Lubna finally manages to extract a love confession from Farah (for Afzal).  Lubna gleefully informs Farah that Sabtain actually wanted to marry her and the entire engagement between Sabtain and Farah was a sham that both families (barring their father) were aware of.  Lubna runs downstairs to tell "Abba,"  The following scene was absolutely hilarious with Lubna telling Sheikh Saab that "Aap ko acting bilkul nahin aati," the reason for keeping him in the dark about the plan.

We witness a sad moment between Afzal and Farah, saying their goodbyes.  Yasmeen tells Afzal to never visit her if in Karachi and quickly leaves.

Back in Hyderabad, Maulvi SubhanAllah and Ruqaiyya happily plan to visit Sheikh Sahab to ask for Farah's hand in marriage again, finally content with their son and his future.

Afzal finally makes that phone call he's been putting off........and that Farah's been waiting for.  The two begin to talk, but get cut off.  Happily, Afzal gets out of his car, reminiscing about his past with Farah and dreaming of his future with her.  At that moment, a car passes by and Afzal is shot several times.  This is the way of the world and after killing people in Karachi, Afzal was not destined to get off scott free.

Farah calls back and continues talking to Afzal, happily, planning their future and finally declaring her feelings for Afzal.  Afzal tells Farah that he loves her a lot too, the life slowly slipping away from him, clinging on to this happy moment with all his strength.

Farah finally addresses him as what he's been yearning to hear all these years:  "Pyaray Afzal."  And then, Afzal is no more.

The scene was heavy, heart-breaking and beautiful all at the same time.  Some complained that it was too sad, too heavy, too heart-breaking.  Some complained that what was the point of sitting through all 37 episodes when it had to end like this?  But looking back at the show, it has given the viewers nothing short of poetry in motion, beautiful characters and karmic tragedy.  

The Negatives:  I would definitely argue that this show could've easily been 10 episodes shorter.  Also, I feel the gangster track was unnecessary entirely (and would have allowed for a happier ending if omitted) - though what transpired was the only ending that could only be expected with the direction Pyaray Afzal took after Afzal left Hyderabad.  I would've definitely preferred if the show continued with the simplicity that it began with.

The Positives:  Everything else.  Everything about this show was positive, whether it be the complex yet simple characters, the brilliant acting, the amazing dialogues, the heart-touching relationships, the emotions. the cinematography, the direction.....everything.  It's been a long time since characters have touched me so much and the words they've uttered on screen have stayed with me like this.  Kudos to the entire Pyaray Afzal team for their hard work.

This is a show that I grew to love watching each week and it's a show that will be dearly missed.  But yet another show ends and we look to the future, waiting for new great shows to start.

Happy watching!

Veergati

Directed by: K.K. Singh

Starring: Salman Khan, Atul Agnihotri, Himani Shivpuri, Farida Jalal, Divya Dutta

Released: 1995

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

Veergati is one of those film made by and for men who consider themselves awesomely macho. Or who think being awesomely macho is the coolest thing ever. The 90s have given us some real gems of Indian cinema, but there is also a dark side to them, and from its darkest depths of all stuff regressive comes this story of an orphan played by Salman Khan, weirdly dead-eyed and foreshadowing his non-acting today, even though back then, in other films, he has always beamed with energy.

I have no love interest in the film which already gives you the idea I will die in the end.

It is all very bizarre and WTF from the very start. Upon bringing home a helpless baby he had found abandoned in the streets, a soft-hearted police officer needs to deal with a hysterical wife, who leaves him because one day the baby will surely make her yet unborn daugther a prostitute (if this sentence doesn´t make any sense to you, do not ever try watching the film). The policeman lets the pregnant wife leave him forever to raise up the baby. The kid grows up into a very disagreeable hero, who is supposed to be good in heart, but to be honest he acts like an idiot. To people he supposedly loves he is consistently hurtful, never failing to cry over the fact he has been thrown into the gutter as a baby, completely omitting how lucky he was to be found and brought up with much care and love. He also gets insulted because of his origin, and all in all the filmmaker expects you to embrace the character and pity him. Well, then maybe they should have tried a bit harder in actually making him less of an agressive maniac.

"I broke his arm and kicked his dog!" "So cute beta!"

Also, for a person constantly cribbing about how he doesn´t believe in relationships and gambles away, he becomes hell of a preacher (and „slapper“ of young girls) on moral codes when other people are not respectable towards their elders. Nothing about Salman´s character makes sense. The acting is awful from his part, and while the rest of the cast do whatever they can (the extremely lovely Divya Dutta sucks in this though), nobody saves the day.

The awful moaning of women being raped creates an eternal soundtrack to the villain´s den or even his mere presence on screen, showing his power of the underworld in the only form Bollywood knows – by inflicting injustice to women. One even more fondly remembers Mogambo who had it all sorted and though he was a highly caricatur-esque character in a comedy film, he still commanded more respect and caused you worries than any filthy pimp whom just one cleanly shaved guy can destroy by shaking his muscles.

In case you have not noticed this guy is evil, he has an ugly black mole to help you.

Perhaps you are confused why I have skipped describing the story, but there is not much to describe. Veergati is a diary of voes of a self-pitying agressor, who happens to be surrounded by people who never get angry with his annoying whining and abusive behaviour, and people who are just insane (yeah, still talking about the policeman´s wife). There is also a subplot revolving around the character of a friend, who is trying to raise money to get married to a wealthy girl he loves, but who cares really. In the end Ajay looses most of the people who are family to him (read: people who endless put up with his asshole ways), dresses into white sheets and goes on a vengeful killing spree mouthing some deep spiritual stuff in between increasing the death rate of the film.

Hello sir.

I have come to you to talk about our Lord Jesus Christ.

Neither well shot, scripted or acted, Veergati is more 80s than 90s, with all the darkness of bad cinema you can imagine under that tag, and a woman only having worth if she is a Maa.

Preview of Bollywood Movie Releasing on 15th August, 2014

Singham Returns: This week on 15^thAugust, 2014, Rohit Shetty’s Singham Returns releases. It is a sequel to his 2011 film Singham. We would again get to see the fierce acts of Ajay Devgan as Baji Rao Singham, paired opposite to Kareena Kapoor. Ajay Devgan also co-produces the movie along with Reliance Entertainment. Amol Gupte, Dayanand Shetty, Anupam Kher, Sameer Dharmadhiari, Zakir Hussain, Sharat Saxena also star in this movie.

Shanakht on Hum TV - Thoughts on the first two episodes

Disclaimer:  Religion is a very sensitive topic and is something very personal to each individual.  The following beliefs and thoughts are simply my own and are not meant to offend.

Starting off, I am always instantly attracted to shows with a message of religion.  I consider myself to be fairly religious and really connect to shows like Main Abdul Qadir Hoon, Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishaan, Shehr-E-Zaat, etc.  At the same time, I've been raised in the USA with a good balance of Arab and Pakistani influence, surrounded by people who have always struck a moderate balance between religion and "dunya."  So it is here that I'm finding myself turning up my nose at Shanakht already.

Coming to the show, this struggle that we see Annie facing is real.  In "modern" Pakistan, we have so often seen people turn their nose up at anyone or anything that may resemble a "Fanatic."  Something as simple as hijab can be deemed offensive in such circles.  Even families that are very conservative will draw the line at their girls wearing hijab "at home."  It becomes mildly difficult to embrace religion while still traveling in upper-class society at a marriageable age.  So I'm glad to see this topic touched in a show surrounding a female (as it has been done before with Main Abdul Qadir Hoon from a male perspective).

In the first episode, we see that Annie's friend has influenced her to wear hijab and embrace Islam "correctly."  Annie struggles with her home life, as her mother is disapproving of her decision, feeling that wearing hijab will counter all marriage prospects for her daughter.  She consistently reminds Annie of how lively, well-dressed and cute she was and how her present state is not attractive, especially compared to that of her sister Kashaf.  On the other end, Annie's father is supportive of his elder daughter's decision, understanding that his two daughters are different individuals.  We see a mildly supportive sister in Kashaf as well.

On the other end, we see Annie's extended family members - her Taaya, Taayi Ami and her cousin Hashim.  Everyone feels that Annie's change is simply a "phase," and one that they're hoping she will grow out of soon.  She shares a strong friendship with Hashim, as the two have grown up together and travel to and from college together as well.  However, at school, Annie's friend (and current mentor) Aisha delicately breaches the subject about "mehram" and how it's not appropriate for Annie to travel with Hashim.  It was only here where my personal sentiments spiked a bit, as this seemed to cross that balance of deen and dunya.  Annie actually made a very valid point to Aisha, that she traveled with Hashim in her hijab and within the bounds of decency.  However, Aisha instructed her that she should try to come to school on her own.  In an amusing moment, Annie tries to speak to Hashim about this and he laughs, saying that would it be better that she travel with her equally non-mehram driver (another valid point)?  This sequence of events perfectly illustrated the differences of opinion regarding religion.

Coming to the character of Aisha, I did appreciate that she instructed Annie to avoid causing any disturbances in her own family and guided her to only do her best.

Later, we see that Taaya and Taayi have decided to make Annie their "bahu," and tell Annie's parents as much.  This relieves Annie's parents of the burden of finding a rishta for Annie and they immediately think to buy Hashim a car on his birthday.  On the other end, Taayi breaches the subject with Hashim, hoping for a positive response, but instead Hashim asks for time to think.

Coming into episode 2, we see Hashim struggling with the idea of marrying Annie.  While he likes Annie, he does not believe that they will be able to happily live together with her present "mentality."  On the other end, Annie's mother is determined to rid Annie of Aisha's influence.  She clearly speaks to Aisha and tells her that she is a bad influence on Annie, as she has taught her to rebel against her parents.  Aisha is shocked and leaves, upset.  Hashim tries to talk to Annie in an attempt to see if she would be flexible on her views, especially after visiting Aisha's home with her and seeing the ways of her friend.  He is. however, disappointed to see that Annie is rigid and unwilling to bend her beliefs for anyone else.

Hashim decides against marrying Annie and instead, tells his mother to send a rishta for Kashaf.  His mother is shocked and uncomfortable at this idea, as both families were set on Annie & Hashim's marriage.

That's where the 2nd episode left off.  While I do feel the show is off to a good start, I hope they do manage to show some balance in Annie.  Being religious does not necessarily mean being extreme and Ii'd like to see her character project religion with positivity and influence those around her, rather than see her bullied by others and in return, her preaching to others.

Let's see!  Right now, I'm on the fence about this show.  Though I have to say, the cast is great and everyone is doing a really good job.

Happy watching!

Swades

Directed by: Ashutosh Gowariker

Starring: Shahrukh Khan

Released: 2004

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

Ghar aaja pardesi! That is pretty much what every scene, every dialogue and every frame of Swades screams, pleads and sings. Ghar Aaja and bring your potential with you, stop wasting it on other countries. But to be fair, even though Swades is about India, the message it sends is for all foreigners living beyond their borders, and what could have easily become the stereotypical „bad West, holy India“ film remains a very honest effort to share an idea. If one relates to it or not is personal business. Mohan relates.

Played by Shahrukh Khan at his handsomest best, NASA engineer Mohan, settled comfortably in a luxurious flat in the US, can boast of illustrious career and success, and all he lacks is a bit of love. And for that special kind of love he needs to go back to India, where his old nanny lives in an idylic village of Charanpur. The plan is to relocate her loving arms and care to America, however the longer Mohan stays among villagers and is confronted with their everyday troubles, which previously he was aware of, but never truly gave a thought to, the more he feels a need to do something to bring on the change for the better.

What struck me about Swades the most was that, even though idealistic, it had a very human touch thanks to all the characters, among which we do find certain figures that often fall prey to stereotypes, yet even though they have their peculiarities, they are never turned into caricatures here. Mohan himself too has a very normal vibe, and his interaction with the villagers and their customs give one a good idea about his character. He obviously feels awkward at times, thinks certain issues ridiculous, but he also never shows slightest disdain or disrespect. Finally the villagers and Nasa engineer find a midle-ground comfortable for them all. Finally, while the film criticizes poor living conditions of certain classes of people, there is no sadistic poverty porn included. It is not needed for making a point. At least me and Mohan got it without it.

In many ways I felt Swades was Shahrukh Khan´s Lagaan, just without nasty Englishmen and criket. More realistic, but the problem is the same. It is too damn long. While Lagaan insisted on having a whole criket match (that really does very little or nothing to people like me, who are not familiar with the sport and do not care for it), Swades takes about hour and a half for things to actually také shape and start moving along a bit. On the first watch I found the film quite boring, it was only later, when I rewatched it, knowing I shouldn´t expect any great action, that I could appreciate it more and actually notice charming details and nuances that, ultimately, do somehow make up for the lack of happenings. The other minor crib would be that the lead pair doesn´t share any chemistry whatsoever.

All the actors do a very good job, the star of them all being of course the already mentioned SRK. Devoid of any mannerism he is known for, he delivers one of his finest performances ever. His Mohan is charming and adorable (watch out for his „bathing“ scene), and his depression in the serious parts of the film is as real as the laughs he eludes from the viewer in others. I truly wish this Shahrukh would return to us, and serve us another well-fleshed out character he could bring to life, rather than seeing him playing himself, which he had contentedly done so for several years now. Swades is, among other things, also a collection of seemingly ordinary, touching moments. Unlike other movies of the same kind it is not obsessed with parampara, but sees traditions as a fertile soil from which progress should sprout, if treated right. Oh and a special shoutout to Geeta for being a great feminist character!

Review: Entertainment

Cast: Akshay Kumar (Akhil Lokhande), Junior (a Pet Dog – Entertainment), Tamannaah Bhatia (Saakshi), Mithun Chakraborty (Sakshi’s father), Johny Lever (Habibullah), Krushna Abhishek (Jugnoo), Prakash Raj (Karan), Sonu Sood (Arjun), Dalip Tahil (Pannalal Johri), Darshan Jariwala, Snigdha Gupta Mehta, Vrajesh Hirjee, Cameo – Riteish Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade and Remo D’Souza

Genre: Comedy

Direction: Sajid - Farhad

Production: Tips Industries Limited, Ramesh S Taurani, Jayantilal Gada

Screenplay : Sajid - Farhad

Story: K Subhash

Music: Sachn - Jigar

Editor : Rameshwar S Bhagat

Distribution: Pen Movies

Release Date: 8^th August, 2014

Language: Hindi

Duration: 2 hours 20 minutes

Entertainment, a slapstick comedy by Sajid – Farhad, turns out to be a light entertainer. I could hear people bursting out into laughter inside the theatre and kept on wondering why the movie didn’t excite me enough. In spite of my personal dislike for this genre, let me put across my review without any bias. Can’t deny the fact that the movie’s tone is very light. The titular character of the movie is Entertainment – a dog which was named so since he was the only source of entertainment for his rich-but-lonely master. The title is even justified by one-liners having mention of the Bollywood Personalities, Bollywood Movies’ names and Television Serials / Personalities. Digs at various TV shows viz. Teleshopping of Weight Reduction Capsules, Serials with Family Melodrama are also taken. Emotional connect between human beings and pets, the need to take care of the pets, possessing the virtues of the pets viz. loyalty and courage are also projected. Logic, no room for the same in this movie since this is how, it is meant to be – Mindless Entertainment. This is definitely very much unlike the whole slew of comedy films which we have seen in the recent past. You may enjoy watching this movie, if you like comedy movies.  

The movie begins with Riteish Deshmukh as a host of TV show which is into teleshopping of Jagtap Capsules for miraculous weight reduction and showcases one of the beneficiary as Akhil Lokhande (Akshay Kumar). Akhil is working extra hours / odd jobs viz. dancing, modelling, umpiring for local cricket competition etc. and leaves no stones unturned for earning more so as to take care of his ailing father (Darshan Jariwala) who is hospitalized since one year. Jugnoo (Krushna Abhishek), Akhil’s friend, runs DVD parlour “Mere Paas CineMAA Hai” and he speaks dialogues with inane cross-references to Bollywood movie names, personalities. Jugnoo is completely filmy. Akhil’s romantic interest is soap-opera actress Sakshi (Tamannaah Bhatia). Sakshi’s stingy and greedy father (Mithun Chakraborty) challenges Akhil and tells him to earn atleast a crore to get Sakshi in his life.

Akhil learns that his biological father is Bangkok's Diamond King Pannalal Johri (Dalip Tahil), multi-billionaire. The happiness factor hasn’t even sinked in that a TV news flashes in regard to Pannalal’s death. Akhil flies to Bangkok for Pannalal's funeral and to claim his property. But his dreams get shattered, when he gets further shock from Pannalal’s  Urdu-spouting Manager Habibullah (Johny Lever) that the whole property has been inherited by Entertainment (Junior - a pet dog). An envious and agonized Akhil decides to stay back and compete with the dog to inherit 3000 crores. Akhil along with Jugnoo employs all sorts of wiles to keep Entertainment, the dog, at bay. They try various methods to annihilate Entertainment viz. electric shock, seduction, chloroform, poison etc.   

Villainous siblings Karan-Arjun (Prakash Raj and Sonu Sood), Dabbang 1 and Dabbang 2 villains, second cousins of Pannalal also enter the scene so as to claim the property of Pannalal. What happens thereafter ? Does Akhil keeps fighting with the dog or he starts fighting for the dog against Karan-Arjun? How does the drama unfold?

Undoubtedly the star of the show is Entertainment, the retriever dog. Akshay has done this in the past as well. Krushna is entertaining and is noticeable. Mithun da and Tamannah have less screen time. Johny Lever is good. Prakash Raj and Sonu Sood don’t generate hatred rather they are funny. Dalip Tahil is seen mostly in a framed garlanded portrait.

Screenplay is done in a total filmy style. Bollywood directors, actors, producers, TV shows, producers etc. are part of the dialogues which is mostly delivered by Krushna (Jugnoo). Certain examples: “I Rajni Can’t (Rajnikant) believe it”. Krushna asks Akshay: "Kahan Chale Sonakshi Sinha Taan ke?" Later, when Akshay escapes death, he says “Prabhu Deva ki Mahima Chaudhary thi jo tu bach gaya”. To cheer up gloomy Akshay, Krushana says: "Itna Pankaj Udhas mat ban”. Soap opera actress Tamanna’s one dialogue: “Humari Ekta humein Shobha nahi deti”. 60% of the dialogues are in this flavour. Akshay also has this habit of back answering in a unique form. One example of his conversation with Tamannah:

Tamannah: Mujhe line maaroge?

Akshay: Pencil hum, jo line maarunga?

Tamannah: Mujhse chipkoge?

Akshay: Fevikol hum, jo chipkunga?

Tamannah: Mujhe kiss karoge?

Akshay: Imran Hashmi hum, jo kiss karunga?

There is a scene, where Entertainment and various other dogs, ranging from Bulldogs, Pugs, Alsatians, German Shepherd etc. show up in great numbers and sit together in a luxurious car, is hilarious.

    

Entertainment can be a fun ride for you, if you like this genre. It is a clean movie taking dig at the very ‘Entertainment’ Industry in a light-hearted manner. Warning for those who don’t like comedy genre, this can be absolutely mindless!

Rating: 2.5/5 (Average+)

Preview: Bollywood Movie Releasing on 8th August, 2014

Entertainment :This is releasing on 8^th August, 2014, a Bollywood Slapstick Comedy. Akshay Kumar and Tamannaah star in the leads. But probably the lead is the dog-star Entertainment. 

Mithun Chakraborty, Johny Lever, Krishna Abhsishek, Prakash Raj, Sonu Sood, Vrajesh Hirjee, Hiten Tejwani and Riteish Deshmukh (Cameo) also star. 

Directed by debutant duo Sajid-Farhad, produced by Ramesh S Taurani of Tips Industries Limited. 

Is Entertainment going to be entertaining, watch out!