Jul 06, 2001 05:56 PM
11734 Views
“Our Bollywood has definitely learnt the art of making quality promos if not quality movies add to it the spice provided by our all so frivolous media and you have a hyped up phenomenon at your table”.
Like thousands of other juvenile enthusiasts that we have in the country (who have no other way to show the their mettle but by razing cinema halls,) Jugs (a very - very close friend of mine since school) came running one night to me. Apparently, a Tweetie ‘Media’ Bird told him that censor board will ban the movie very soon. So, Joshila that he is, was there at my house with Gadar written all over face with a capital G. I meekly surrendered to his enthusiasm (I dare not have said no in any case)
Neways, we set out with a couple of our other friends only to see a HOUSE FULL board staring right into our faces. “I knew it” was my reaction and I turned to Jugs in annoyance. I saw this character with tickets in his hands and a winning smile all over his face. How much I asked – “90 walla 200 main!!!” I shrieked. Could have easily kicked the joker on his B#$@S but seeing his agnanimous mood I relented.
So there our journey began with the understanding that each one of us will pay Jugs 20% extra if we all liked the movie otherwise.. 200 * 5 is not a very good figure to LOOSE!!! Mind you all of us (except jugs) are so called MBAs who only understand 1 equation expenditure = value for money!!
Ok now enough of this jhak lets talk about the movies as I am sure all u hungry eyes must have gone impatient now so here we go –
Executive Summary
To put things in perspective I strongly feel that the director / producer are highly irresponsible people without any sense of prudence. The theme of ‘partition, love and spirit of love in partition’ is such a lovely one to cash on. They had all the opportunities to convey it most effectively to the masses but instead chose the populist route. The state of affairs has proved that they have been hugely successful in exploiting the sentiments of our naïve, vulnerable and gullible junta yet again. The movie makes good contact at times initiating feelings of nationalism but then eventually they were purposely underplayed by overpowering and provoking dialogues against A particular Community /Nation. Honestly I won’t be surprised to find that there was a deliberate attempt to create controversies and thus pull people to the movie.
You know! For educated people like us we might rationalize that but then it is not we who make or break the movies. It is the panwalas, rickshaw wallas, the masses and it should be a moral responsibility of film makers not to be sensitive to their sentiments. Lagaan is also a movie for masses but the message of solidarity had been conveyed so beautifully where as in Gadar it has been lacerated time and again.
The background and the story line
Set in the pre-independence times during the partition, Tara Singh (Sunny Deol) is a truck driver who knows Sakina (Amisha Patel) a Muslim girl from a very rich and conservative family. They fall in love when circumstances are against them as the nation goes through the painful ordeal of partition and the hardships that effect every Hindu and Muslim. Sakina’s family has to escape immediately to Pakistan but at the station, she loses her family amidst the furious crowds.
Keeping the crisis of a lost family and a broken nation behind, Tara and Sakina get married. All is well, until Sakina discovers that her family is very much alive in Pakistan. Her father (Amrish Puri) wants her back but without her family and plots a scheme to take her back alone to Pakistan. By the time Sakina realizes that she is trapped and it is too late to escape. And so she waits for Tara to come and rescue her.
Highlights
Upsides:
Certain scenes and dialogues: Esp. the fight sequences when he chops off some heads and bashes a crowd of hundred people single handedly!! These were the scenes where u see sunny at his best. There were certain dialogues that make you feel a flood of adrenaline in your veins. TODAY MORNING ONLY I HEARD A SPOOF ON ONE OF THE DIALOGUES WHICH GOES - (heard it on FM radio and I almost banged my car laughin)
- “Pehn nay ke liye ‘Versace’ nahin aur baat karte ho golay-baari ki!!! Now this is the most absurd thing I have ever heard!!”
Dance and songs: “Pichhe chod aya” when our sunny bhapa jee is trying to do something remotely close to dancing- was damn hilarious. Ghar aaja pardesi was the only refreshing song (guess that is why it was played thrice)
Down Sides
30 crores: Sadly not shown in the movie. Trust me if they were to just show me how 30 crores look like in hard cash I would have happily given away 200 bucks as premium. Apparently all the monies were spent on creating an army of original villagers and feeding them.
Climax scene: A cut from mission impossible. U know, I could have broken the screen - those were the worst special effects I have ever scene in my life. Even Hatimtai or Chandrakanta was better than that
Performances
Sunny Singh..I mean Tara Deol… oh slip again!! Sunny, I am 100% sure will soon have to go for a vocal chord therapy. The guy doesn’t know acting beyond yelling. We all remember Ghayal, Damini, Zor etc. That is all he has done again in the movie. But all in all he did justice to the role on most of the occasions. He was looking good.
Amisha - Hmmm now she is a very sweet babe. What smile I freak out on that innocent face and she looks irresistible when crying (damsels in distress is my weakness!).But that is all she has to explain in terms of expressions
Amrish—he is a guru my all time favorite character artist who will without fail cry in the climax (irrespective of the role he does)
But my favorite in this movie… No not that stupid looking kid (actually a girl playing surd boy) is Aslam one who could not believe that there can be anything such as partition of India!! He really touches the soul though he only had 3 scenes (lasting half a minute each) but he, I am sure must be voice of many other people who were neither hindustanis or pakistanis. I feel director should have emphasized more on his character if he really wanted to give a message
In conclusion
So that is that about the movie folks, now do you all still remember my friend and the deal we had what happened to my dear Jugs? (he is called jugs coz he is just like jughead..a glutton).
After the show we somehow lost Jugs in the rush on our way down. We thought he must have eloped after gauging our reactions. We come out of the hall and there we see a couple of guys in a fistful imbroglio. We rush towards them to discover our good ol’ buddy holding two junkies by their collar and bashing them up!! After a lot of force we got him out of the situation. Any guesses what he was fighting over? (hint: Jugs was the only one who got the message in the movie)
There were 2-3 rogues who without any provocation abused a woman clad in burkha and Jugs could not be a silent witness to this scene (did I not tell u about lesser mortals and the adrenaline!!)
I am proud of Jugs as much as I am shameful of media and people who made this film!!
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COMING UP NEXT: Review on one of the greatest Con companies in the world – A& M.. Watch out!
