Most movies in the US cost$10 for the evening show. This has been the norm for the past 10 years and to put it in perspective one can eat a decent morning breakfast for under$5.
A small coffee costs$1 to$1.50, a fountain soda costs about the same and then there is the dollar shop where everything is a dollar, so for$10, a person with thrift and wisdom can pick-up 10 different wares for chores involving cooking to bathroom cleaning. So$10 can cook you a great dinner or leave the toilet seat so spotless that one might be tempted to kiss it.
Now, being an Indian, I am a bit frugal however I don’t mind spending money on good movies. A few months ago I was at my local theater, I had gone to catch some Hollywood movie, however by the time I reached, and the movie had already started playing. The only movie that was about to start was “Happy New Year”(yes they do play Hindi movies occasionally), I was as reluctant as Inzamam Ul Haq taking singles but I decided to watch it for the heck of it and it turned out to be exactly what I expected.
Boring, hogwash, etc etc are words that come close to describing this movie which not so surprisingly was a hit, because the larger audience wants SRK to dance with his arms pointing to the galaxies like an albatross and measure the length of Deepika’s legs with their eyeballs.(I am not saying that I don’t like Deepika, she is quite a dish although she can act only a tad better than Sachin)
What gets me the most is that these movies are good at really nothing, acting is so-so except Abhishek Bachchan who was able to vomit quite convincingly, the comedy is subpar, songs did not stick to my head(I do not really like songs in movies), dance routine is boring and the story – well the kindest thing I can say is that they should not write stories when they are so drunk. But what really befuddles me is the amount of money invested in these movies. It is mind boggling to note that the producers would invest such astronomical sums in such movies and I; the sane frugal sci-fi loving, Spielberg admiring, Nolan worshiper got conned into spending$10 on it.
So the Indian movies can be classified majorly into two categories – The big bash, star studded oonchi dukaan, feeka pakwaan OR the low budget yet wonderful movies like Khosla Ka Ghosla. But then there is the third kind, the movies that no one will ever see in a theater or hear about on the radio. Their existence is heard only when they win an unknown award in a remote island that no one knew existed on earth. These are the ultra-low budget movies made with a wardrobe that can fit in a pet cat’s suit case and a budget that even makes me feel like a millionaire. Movies like Shwaas, Harishchandrarchi Factory, Udaan and my latest favorite “Ankhon Dekhi”.
Ankhon Dekhi revolves around the life of Raje Bauji(Sanjay Mishra) and an event in his life that changes his perception of the world. Raje Bauji lives in an old house in the Old Delhi area(presumably near Chandni Chowk) with his wife Pushpa(Seema Pahwa), son Shammi(Chandrachoor Rai) and daughter Rita(Maya Sarao). He shares his house with his younger brother Rishi Chacha(Rajat Kapoor) who is married to Chachi(Taranjit Kaur) and they have a son Ashok(Chaitanya Mahavar)
Entire Cast:
Sanjay Mishra(actor) as Bauji
Rajat Kapoor as Rishi Chacha
Seema Pahwa as Amma
Namit Das as Ajju
Shripad Raorane as Sharma ji
Brijendra Kala as Shibbo Babu
Maya Sarao as Rita
Taranjit Kaur as Chachi
Chandrachoor Rai as Shammi
Alka Chawla as Sarup Bua
Mahesh Sharma as Bagga
Anil Chaudhary as Chaudhary Saab
Shrikant Varma as Master Ji
Manish Karnatak as Jeevan
Dhruv Singh as Dhruv
Saurabh Shukla as Boss
Danish Hussain as Gopi
Yogendra Tiku as Pandit
Chaitanya Mahawar as Ashok
Chetan Sharma as Anil
Shivam Sethi as Arun
Ranvir Shorey as the tourist photographer
Yadvinder Singh Brar as Goon
The story starts with Raje Bauji narrating an experience that happened a year ago and the scene is shown at his home where there is an argument going on. Raje’s wife Pushpa is yelling at their daughter Rita with Rishi chacha also shouting at her. It turns out that Raje’s neighbor who he calls “Pandit ka Ladka” has a habit of snooping around and spreading stories and he caught Rita with her boyfriend and blew the whistle at Rita’s home in front of everyone. As per him, the boy that Rita was hanging out with is of ill repute and has a habit of befriending young girls and then walking away. Rita is disciplined by her mother and locked away into a separate room.
The following morning, Ajju( Rita’s boyfriend) calls at her home and the phone is answered by Pushpa who tells Ajju that Rita is not home, she hands over the phone to Rishi who talks firmly to the boy. Raje Bauji is quite concerned with what has been going on with his daughter and at work he talks to his brother once more. They decide to accost Ajju with a policeman by their side to warn him not to bother Rita. That evening; Raje, Rishi, Shammi(Rita’s brother), Shibu babu( Raje’s brother in law) and Pandit ka ladka walk over to Ajju’s house with a police constable. They beat up Ajju who starts crying and appears to be very scared. Raje steps in and stops the others from beating Ajju and tells Ajju not to follow Rita anymore.
Except for Rita who is very depressed, things seem to be better at home now. That night Raje assesses the day’s events and realizes that he has been a complete idiot all his life. The boy Ajju looked innocent and the exact opposite of what was said about him. The neighbors had painted a picture of Ajju which he really wasn’t and in midst of roughing up Ajju, it was his family that appeared like goons.
Raje wakes up to a fresh morning and decides to change himself, he promises himself that he will from this day believe only what he sees and not trust what he hears from others until he has witnessed it. In the following days, his new outlook gets him into trouble in the travel agency where he works. He has been too straightforward with a customer and ends up getting summoned by the boss. Raje quits his job but does not tell this at home. Pandit Ka Ladka again spots Raje in a park eating “Daulat ki Chaat” and due to his nature; he reports this to his wife who creates quite a scene at home. Slowly, however his new outlook begins to get him some followers from the neighborhood. They often ask questions to Raje Bauji and they are quite thrilled to hear his answer. Raje refutes anything he has not seen, he no longer believes that the earth is round or there is something called gravity, he does not acknowledge Dr Manmohan Singh to be the PM(which I am sure no one did back when he was PM). His arguments and new philosophy although eccentric, have a charisma and the fan following makes him a local guru.
In the meantime, Rishi chacha has found another house for him and has decided to move out with his family. Raje is heartbroken to hear this and actually suffers a health episode after Rishi moves out. The brothers are no longer in talking terms. However, Raje’s fan following is growing and with his health recovering, Raje indulges in things he had never done before, he takes up gambling at a local den – his followers too start gambling with him.
Raje has also agreed to let Rita marry Ajju. Ajju’s parents meet Raje and his family, who turn out to be good people. Will the brothers reunite? What more will Raje go on to do?
I have given a lot away but there is a lot hidden in each scene and there are things that I have not spoken about as well, so if you haven’t seen this movie yet, you will find a few surprises.
Now the movie itself: The quality of work done by the actors is extraordinary, Sanjay Mishra is super and Seema Pahwa – she was not acting, she was the character and there can be no higher praise than this. Rajat Kapoor also directed the movie and he has done a fantastic job. Each scene has been edited with utmost care and I found the movie to have a good continuity. The songs which are only sung as background scores are pretty good too, they have been sung in a traditional manner – mostly by Kailash Kher with lyrics by Varun Grover and composition done by Saagar Desai.
Rajat Kapoor has done an extraordinary job as a director. Starting from the script which he wrote with Sanjay Mishra in his mind, and from my point of view no other movie has done justice to Sanjay Mishra's acting ability than Ankhon Dekhi. The other thing to notice is the way the seasons, the smells, the local food and culture of Delhi has been meticulously stitched into the script along with appropriate songs that are played to convey human emotions in the most perfect manner.
I really wish this movie had come to the big screen, I would have spent those$10 with no regret and spent another$10 to watch it again on the very next show.
