A drawn-out and unfaithful copy of a classic. Review on Pinjara - Marathi Movie

At a certain point in the past, Pinjara was my all-time favorite. I still listen and sing the ''Kashi Nashibana thatta ...'' song. My wife, who does not understand a word of marathi, sings the song because she says she has never heard a song where a heartbreaking sadness can be actually felt. Sudhir Phadke stuns you with his voice and depth.

Then I saw ''The Blue Angel'' from where Shantaram lifted the idea of the movie. The original was made way back in 1931. And then it was as if you keep a real diamond besides a fake. The original movie deals with the corruption and ultimate humiliation of a stodgy, upright professor. Marlene Dietrich, who is stunning in her

role as a flirtatious, heartless cabaret singer uses him and ultimately corrupts him beyond recognition. The movie ends with devastating tragedy with no hope of redemption for the professor . The movie is unflinching in its cruelty and is in itself a political metaphor of the degradation of the Weimar Republic (it is a German movie) before the rise of Adolf Hitler.

Contrast that to ''Pinjra''. A gaudy, shoddy and ultimately tear-jerking version of the classic, Shataram corrupts the movie with his obsession for glorifying his wife Sandhya and gaudy scenery. Notice how Sandhya actually shines in almost every song .... I mean, she literally shines !! It is as if there is a 1000 watt bulb

inside of her. The songs are a welcome relief from the tedious storyline. The ultimate insult to the original is the murder in which Shreeram Lagoo is ensnared and the inevitable feelings that Chandrakala develops for the professor. These do not exist in the original and deviate substantially from the central theme of the movie which is that you cannot change people .... if you try, you either destroy yourself or destroy the other. To some extent, this is accomplished in the movie ....Shreeram lagoo's master tries to change the dancer girl but himself gets degraded. In the end, when Chandrakala tries to reform herself ..... well, I won't give out the ending but suffice to say it is very funny .... or touching depending upon who waches it. I found it funny, my mother, touching. The end result could have been far more hard-hitting and V Shantaram could have set a precedent by acknowledging the original in his movie credits. Who knows, the ''butterfly effect'' could have thwarted the hundreds of morons who make remixes and pale copies of Hollywood movies today.

The saving graces of Pinjara are the songs and the towering performance of Shreeram Lagoo. His total absense from the acting landscape speaks volumes for the taste of Indian audiences. Sandhya's acting or her attempt at it is pathetic. The songs are simply magnificent.