.:: Faded Blues ::. Review on Hyderabad Blues 2 - Rearranged Marriage

Six years earlier, Varun, 28 visited India for a short vacation and a great story was told. A story that spawned a generation of likes that depicted the changing trends in modern India conflicting with its traditional values, the untold tales of NRIs and their inability to decide where their homes lay, on an informal hinglish canvas. The thread was left hanging and we were being asked to wait. The wait is finally over.

This time Nagesh Kukunur focuses on modern urban India where call centers abound, pub culture is vibrant, marriages are no longer as stable as before, being gay is not something to be ashamed of, discussing previously forbidden topics like seduction and conversations laden with adult humor are perfectly acceptable even in the public. A different urban India, which seems to be increasingly inspired by ?Dil pe mat le yaar, Haat mei le?.

Basic Blues:

?Hyderabad Blues II, Rearranged Marriage?, continues from where its prequel left us. Six years hence, Varun (Kukunur), now 34 finds himself happily married with a caring wife Ashwini (Jyoti Dogra), a thriving call center, a bunch of close family friends and an active social life, everything a man could possibly ask for. Yet, he finds himself constantly questioning the meaning of happiness and the definition of home.

Differences with his wife regarding the issue of having children, managing accentual difficulties among call centre workers and dealing with instances of sexual harassment among his employees seem be the only worries in his otherwise peaceful life. That until Menaka (Tisca Chopra) walks in. Warding off her advances to seduce him but not before serious differences arise between him and his wife, he finds himself unable to comprehend these new developments and is inclined to believe that home lies elsewhere.

Retaining the Blues:

Any comparisons on a technical level to the prequel may seem unfair owing to serious differences in the budgets the films were based upon. ?Rearranged Marriage?, seems to carry on its light humor but slightly leans towards its adult counterpart at times. Old world beliefs like the inability of a divorced woman to lead a respectable life held by the previous generation keep popping up at times to remind us of some of the bloomers in the prequel. ?Once a Hyderabadi, always a Hyderabadi? still seems to retain its old world charm with Charminar ki Biryani, ?Caught without a work ethic Sanjeev', ?NRIs make good prospects?belief among the older generation.

Some New Shades:

The new shades of blues focus primarily on modern urban India with its rich employment resources, sexual harassment issues at the work place, the thriving pub culture and stability related issues in marriages. Some new shades of the modern woman who wants to be financially independent as opposed to marrying a rich slob based in the west are presented more boldly as compared to its prequel. ?NRIs in between jobs stuck for wives?,represent the fading interest towards the west in wake of the transfer of jobs towards the east.

Shades that Disturb:

Marriage related blues seem to make us wonder if the whole concept of marriage itself is outdated. Differences arising over an incidents that could be at best described as non events, individuality and personal independence scoring over ?making adjustments? seem to threaten the very foundations of any successful marriage. If the trends are to be believed, then it certainly makes us wonder about the whole concept.

Increasing portrayals of gay instances raise certain questions about realistic cinema especially since the confession of the gay doctor seemed ridiculously out of place. Male victims in sexual harassment activities often sidelined while the woman walking out with just an apology seems unfair at times. Rajshri Nair as the independent and patriotic doctor in Blues I was powerful and convincing and while it may be harsh to describe the performance of Jyothi Dogra as pedestrian, she certainly lacks the screen presence of the younger Ashwini. The movie is also robbed of its realistic feel in scenes involving Shashi aunty, the pretentious sex advisor.

Memorable Blues:

Hyderabad Blues remained in our memories for a long time as a clean realistic movie while the sequel fails to live up to that. Some shades of the original are retained which would still classify this as an enjoyable, light hearted humor rich cinema albeit with an adult flavor. Some scenes give an impression that the blues have been delivered right out of your living room which gives this movie its realistic feel. The performances by Kukunur, Vinay Inamdaar (as Sanjiv) and Elahi Hiptoola also deserve a worthy mention.

I would have given the original four stars but after the rearrangement, ?Hyderabad Blues II, Rearranged Marriage?would have to live with two and a half.

--damo--