Warning: This may have a yawning effect on you. Its tooo long.
Grey Cells. Grey sells. On the grey shells, oops silver screen. Stars sell. Banner sells. Packaging sells. Twists sell. Watch the media. Watch the TV serials. Watch the commercials. And watch the movies. There is a huge urge to be 'different', 'hatke', 'alag'..Whatever! There is also an urge to
Shock the viewer. So, you have heroes playing villains, villains playing character roles, starts making special appearances, item girls playing good Samaritans and comedians playing yes, murderers! So, even a Johny Lever may kill! Get shocked. Or just get amused.
I say all this because Fanaa too tries to be different. And succeeds to an extent. On the forefront, it appears to be 'original'. But if you dig deeper, it is full of contradictions. The worst aspect of a movie trying the unthread path is that it makes a mish-mash of the characterizations. So you have a terrorist who is 'good at heart', who is reluctantly into the business of bombing. So that you can sympathies with him when he dies. But pray! Why does he need to be?
A 'good bad man'? So that we can keep guessing? So that we can get shocked (Oh man! he blew up buildings?)
When you get Kajol back after a long hiatus, you have to have histrionics. You have to have 'challenge in the role' that they often talk about in the interviews. So, what do you do? Simple! Make her blind. If I am right, almost every know actor in the Bollywood is on the verge of/ already played a physically challenged character in recent times. So, if you have a physically challenged character, you already have some challenge in it. So, if cousin Rani is getting all the accolades for 'Black', why not the Kads?! But mind you, for only half the film. The eyesight has to return in the second half, the 'hero' has to turn villain in the second half, there HAS to be a twist just before the interval- however stupid it maybe.
If all this is sounding too confusing to you, let me place it in context of 'Fanaa':
Aamir’s sudden change of getup, gait, accent, a complete changeover just before interval. Now, is this an Ekta Kapoor's serial?
Kajol and Aamir exchanging the most inane shayaris because they happen to be Muslim characters. A lot of 'aadaabs', 'shabba khairs' and 'khuda haafizs'.
The mother India or wife India touch in the end. Rewind to Bollywood in 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s...
Mother India: ''Ruk ja birju, nahin to goli maar doongi!''(Mom Nargis to son Sunil Dutt)
Deewaar: ''Ruk ja bhai, nahin to goli maar doonga!'' (Good bhai Shashi to bad bhai Amitabh)
Shakti:''Ruk jaao Vijay, nahin to goli maar doonga!''(Good baap DIlip Kumar to wronged son Amitabh)
Fanaa: ''Ruk jaao Rehaan, nahin to goli maar doongi!''(Patriotic wife Kajol to terrorist hubby Aamir)
So, whats new? The villains and side characters? I tell you the characters other than the leads have been so badly sketched that you start wondering if you are watching a Guddu Dhanoa film. Who is Guddu Dhanoa? He is the one who makes kutte kameene stuff with Sunny Deol.
I have read a lot of reviews of 'Fanaa' where first half has been praised for the chemistry between Lead pair, Kajol's effortless acting, Aamir's perfection etc. But if you personally ask me, the first half is all superficial. The romance, the attraction, the love - everything seems forced. It all looks very filmy. Except for the fact that Kajol is shown as a visually challenged girl, there is absolutely nothing novel in the love story. Aamir's split personality or second aspect could have been woven in such a way that viewers got a hint of it in the initial reels too. Instead, you have a complete Raja Hindustani plus Raju Guide package until the interval when the director feels he should reveal the secret or shocker- i.e., Aamir being a terrorist. It all looks sudden and unconvincing.
Second half- which many people have described as loose or boring is in fact better than first half. At least the story moves a little. But there are lot of glitches there too.
The director wanted focus on the lead pair and wanted to can moments which will be remembered for their acting skills. Fine. But, does that mean you reduce others to caricatures? And there are a lot of cameos - Satish Shah, Shiney Ahuja, Lara Datta, Hirjee, Sarat Saxena and above all Tabu. ALL of them a complete waste. Their presence is no more than the salad which you get along with the main dishes - Aamir and Kajol. Rishi Kapoor and Kirron Kher? Fair enough. As
Kajol's parents, they need to exhibit that anxiety, concerns and affection towards their only child. But on whirlwind tour of New Delhi, for just FIVE days, daughter Zooni(Kajol) manages a feat o sorts. She meets Aamir, INSTANLY falls for his charm, INSTANTLY starts dating him, INSTANTLY falls in love with him and INSTANTLY sleeps with him(so that their illicit child can crop up in second half and carry the story forward). ALL of this in just FIVE DAYS. In
This age of instant romance, I would have accepted it if it was a college romance. But does a blind girl from an orthodox background believe in someone so quickly and decides so fast that here is the man she had been waiting for? Funnily, while she is leaving Kashmir, her parents seemed to be seeing her off as if she needs to get someone ASAP. The mom teaches shayari and stuff to impress the 'sapno ka shehzaada'.
Aamir's characterization is the weakest part of the movie. He is just shown following orders from his Naana who wants him to work for aazaad Kashmir. No family background. No reasons for taking up arms. No reasons for his feelings. No reasons to show why he doesn't have the courage to say NAA to Naanaji. No reasons for his split personality. Absolutely ridiculous!
I read somewhere in previews of 'Fanaa' that it’s a story of how a man comes into the life of a blind girl and brings 'great upheavals' in her life. Excuse me, all in FIVE DAYS? (Reminds me of RHTDM where Madhavan falls for Diya Mirza and manages to manipulate her emotions by impersonating as her fiancé.) But, here the director needed more conviction in the attraction and romance. It needed mature handling. It’s all hurried up.
b<>Story :Aamir and Kajol fall in love and make love only to get separated and meet after a gap of 7 years. And surprises of the surprise , meet in the most unimaginable circumstances. Aamir looks older in first half and younger in second.
However dramatic or surprising the turn of events maybe, there is something called credibility. Either you make a lost and found movie like Manmohan Desai or you make hard hitting real movies like RGV and Madhur Bhandarkar or you make dimaag nikaal ke dekho stuff like David Dhawan or...
Here, in Fanaa, we have a lost and found formula of Manmohan Desai (in fact the movie reminded me of his Shashi Kapoor-Sharmila Tagore starrrer 'Aa gale lag lag jaa'. There are similarities.)and then potboiler effects of masala hindi movie and then the 'Dil Se' inspiration from Mani Ratnam who always manages to belnd topical events in his slick movies. Where does Fanaa belong? Is it a hotch potch? If you ask me, it is.
If you have come this far - Let me thank you for your patience and request you to go a lil bit more far to the next page.
