India Masala

India not shining — on prime-time TV

Film-maker Madhur Bhandarkar said during an interview that “Indian audiences don’t like to see reality on screen, they see enough of that in life”. Bhandarkar is known for making “real” films, but he might have hit the nail on the head. Perhaps that is why Indian TV doesn’t normally depict “reality” on screen — preferring instead to hide behind yards of brocade sarees and scheming mothers-in-law and coy brides.

On Sunday though, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan chose to tell the story of a different kind of Indian woman — one that doesn’t get to live. On the first episode of his new talk show “Satyamev Jayate”, Khan chose to talk about female foeticide, a rampant issue in India, where the sex ratio is currently at its lowest since independence.

The 47-year-old interviewed women who had been forced to abort their girl children, reporters who had conducted sting operations on the issue and researchers who had done considerable work in the field.

As Khan himself noted, countless people have worked to save these little girls. I wonder how they must feel when they see an issue so close to their hearts being discussed on prime-time television on a show that’s already being talked about.

Does the fact that Aamir Khan is talking about it make female foeticide a problem that will go away soon? Do Indians not know that their daughters are being killed every day? As Bhandarkar said, don’t they know enough of reality already? Do we need to put it on television as well?

Given the response to his show on social networking sites, the answer might be a yes. Ratings for the show are yet to come in, but “SatyamevJayate” was the top trending topic on Twitter all day, with many viewers crediting Khan for creating awareness about issues that need to be discussed.

This is a departure from the normal reality TV format that Indian networks follow — most of the shows are competitions or voyeuristic endeavours like “Bigg Boss”. A talk show format on prime-time television hasn’t been tried, but the Rupert Murdoch-owned Star TV has bet big on this show — investing heavily in promotions and Khan’s reported fee of 30 million rupees per show.

Dhobi Ghat: A whole new hue

There’s a charming scene in Kiran Rao’s “Dhobi Ghat”, where Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra) is filming her maid-servant and her daughter for a video tape she’s making for her family back home. While the maid is suitably coy about being on film, she’s also equally anxious to finish off with the niceties, and do what she’s there to do — work, earn her living and move on to the next house.

That scene for me epitomises Mumbai in so many ways. It’s a city always in a rush as Yasmin says — there’s no time to waste on getting to know your neighbours or sharing gossip with them — not when there’s money to be earned and a living to be made.

Rao captures this and so many other myriad hues of the city marvellously in her directorial debut, a deeply insightful portrait of four individuals who find and lose love and deal with loneliness in Mumbai.

Aamir Khan plays Arun, a reclusive, commitment-phobic artist who is fascinated with a set of tapes he comes across, chronicling the life of a new bride in Mumbai city. Kriti Malhotra plays that bride, coy and full of hope, reporting daily events like what she’s made for dinner and her neighbour’s problems on tapes that she hopes to send to her brother back home.

Monica Dogra plays Shai, an investment banker on sabbatical who after a one-night stand with Arun is slighted by him, and uses their common laundry man or dhobi Munna (played by Prateik) to keep tabs on Arun. Slowly, she forms a bond with Munna, a migrant from Bihar, who harbours dreams of making it big as an actor.

Rao takes her time establishing her characters, but they are so well fleshed-out, you don’t mind discovering their quirks slowly. The film moves at a slow pace but is beautifully shot in real locations, mostly in South Mumbai. Performances are top-notch, but Malhotra and Prateik stand out – both conveying so much through just one glance that you empathise with their characters straight away.

Films like “Dhobi Ghat” are like exploring a new cuisine — your palate may take time to get used to, given the “masala” and action it has been used to — but stick with it, and you will discover flavours you have never tasted before.

3 Idiots: Lacks punch, but feels really good

I must admit I had apprehensions going in to watch Rajkumar Hirani’s ‘3 Idiots’, inspite of the immense buzz that has surrounded the film.

One of my biggest qualms was how the director could hope to get away with casting middle aged men as college going boys.

That apprehension disappeared within the first 15 minutes of the film, because R Madhavan, Sharman Joshi and Aamir Khan play their roles so convincingly and with so much heart, that the age factor goes out of the window.

The film starts extremely well. Hirani infuses the first half of this film with his trademark sense of everyday humour and shapes up his characters with so much affection, that you are sucked into the story. Aamir Khan plays Ranchoddas Shaymaldas Chajaad, an engineering student who has so much optimism and good will to share that some times it seems too good to be true (which it is, but we shall come back to that later.)

His two roommates Farhan and Raju don’t share his bubbling enthusiasm, but willingly go along with him on the many rides he takes them on.

They include fudging up a speech, fooling professors and playing tricks on all and sundry, as they go through their life in engineering college.

Rancho develops a strained relationship with the college dean played by Boman Irani, who believes in the old fashioned methods of teaching.

Shah Rukh and Aamir: Khan they?

“We have to reach early,” I told a friend. “Or else we will never find a place to sit.”

Sure enough, even though we reached a good 45 minutes before the actual event, the seats in the first row were occupied.

We contented ourselves by sitting in the second row and discussing what was most likely a “historic moment” — at least for us film journalists — actors Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan on the same podium, speaking in one voice, as “friends”.

Keep in mind that these stars were once taking pot shots at each other almost daily in the media, so this sudden camaraderie was somewhat of a bolt from the blue. No wonder then that pretty much the entire press corps was in attendance, and even before the two Khans entered, their agenda was being dissected.

“They are already in the building… they are discussing what should be said… Aamir was the one who initiated the talks,” were some of the whispers one heard.

Given the anticipation was so great, when the two stars did appear on stage, almost every eye in the room was on them, trying to read between the lines. 

Although the topic at hand was the ongoing tussle between producers and exhibitors, it was obvious the real story was the two Khans together on one podium, and each and every action was up for scrutiny.

Ghajini: Aamir’s most commercial film yet

This is a first. Aamir Khan has gone the Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar way — the actor in him has given way to the star. He’s finally starred in a film that totally rides on his star power and as you discover once you’ve watched “Ghajini”, it’s not such a bad thing after all.

Khan plays Sanjay Singhania, a telecom tycoon, who we are told suffers from short-term memory loss. Singhania’s memory is wiped clean after every 15 minutes and to keep himself updated with his life, he has to continuously take pictures of his surroundings, write notes to himself and tattoo important facts on his torso.

All these important facts pertain to his one aim — killing the man who murdered the love of his life. The story moves back and forth, narrating Sanjay’s gradual revenge as well as the events that led up to it.

As it turns out, Sanjay was an ordinary man, albeit a rich one. He falls in love with upcoming model Kalpana (Asin), but doesn’t reveal his background. Director A. R. Murugadoss takes too much time setting up their romance and dwelling on it. In between, there are some melodious songs by A.R. Rahman that involve the lead pair cavorting around random sand dunes and declaring their undying love for each other. The romance track doesn’t add any value to the film; rather it just slackens the pace.

(Listen to audio podcast)

The actual plot, about Sanjay taking revenge, comes alive only midway through the second half.

Director Murugadoss had a choice here — he could have made a masala Hindi film, with all the trappings of song-and-dance and drama, or he could have made a slick, taut action thriller. He chooses to go for the former, and to be fair, does a pretty decent job. I do wish he had paid more attention to developing Sanjay’s character, because it does lend itself to some very interesting interpretations. For instance, I would have loved to see how he develops from a suave tycoon to a crazed revenge-seeking beefcake. The “eight-packs” are mere external reflections of what should have been a more defined track in the film.

Aamir and the media — the 180 degree turn

The transformation is amazing. Aamir Khan was known as one of the most reclusive stars in Bollywood – he shunned film magazines, rarely gave interviews and was generally unavailable.This year, he appeared on the cover of a film magazine, granted interviews to all and sundry for a film that didn’t even star him (nephew Imran Khan’s debut film “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na”),  and is now one of the most media savvy stars in the country.Take Monday, for example. A day after his directorial venture “Taare Zameen Par” was chosen as India’s entry to the Oscars, Aamir addressed a press conference, seeking suggestions from the media on how to promote the film to the Academy. He asked for their support and talked about everything from SRK to Raj Thackeray. All of it, with a smile on his face and twinkle in his eyes.When he was referred to as the “King of Bollywood” by a gushing journo, he laughed and said, “Don’t say that, you will upset Shah Rukh Khan.”That was not all. He had a go at Ashutosh Gowariker, saying he preferred ”Mumbai Meri Jaan” over the “Lagaan” director’s epic “Jodha Akbar”.Raj Thackeray wasn’t spared either. “Politicians who divide us are not speaking for the country, they are speaking for themselves. We should vote for those who unite us,” Aamir said, referring to the politician’s campaign against the Bachchans.He was even sporting enough to answer a question about whether Saif and Kareena had gotten married over the weekend, saying “didn’t you find anyone else to ask this question”.The one question he didn’t answer was about younger brother Faisal, telling a reporter firmly that it was a personal matter and he didn’t want to answer it.At the end of it, I came away smiling and impressed. Here is a star who can utilise the media to his advantage (I don’t want to get into what that says about us in the media), and one who is not afraid to speak his mind. Yet, he does know where he wants to draw the line. He has my grudging admiration.

Salman not Pappu, he can dance – Aamir Khan

It’s official. The ‘Pappu can’t dance’ number in the latest Aamir Khan production wasn’t meant to poke fun at actor Salman Khan.

Aamir, with nephew Imran Khan in tow, set the record straight on Salman’s television gameshow ‘Dus Ka Dum’.

In an episode telecast on Friday, host Salman asked Aamir if he was the Pappu referred to in the song in Imran’s debut film “Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na.”

The lyrics refer to someone named Pappu as a “muscular bachelor” with an “MBA” who can’t dance.

Aamir’s answer: Salman cannot be Pappu simply because -

a) Salman does not have an MBA

b) Salman dances extremely well

Of dogs, lizards and Shah Rukh

A few years ago, my brother Jose met a girl at an acting workshop in Delhi. He was surprised to learn of her name and couldn’t stop himself from revealing that our neighbour’s dog was also called Sheena.

But Sheena wasn’t amused. Having the same name as a cocker spaniel was obviously no honour. She glared at my brother and declared – “The lizard on my wall is named Jose”.

I was reminded of the incident last week when a blog post by actor Aamir Khan revealed that his “smelly” dog had the same name as Bollywood rival Shah Rukh Khan.

“Shahrukh is licking my feet and I am feeding him biscuits every now and then,” Aamir wrote on his blog, before clarifying that he was talking of the dog and not the actor.

Understandably, the post did not go down well with the media and the so-called war between Bollywood’s best known Khans hit the headlines.

Shah Rukh refused to take the bait, choosing instead to accept the remarks with his “sense of humour spirit”.

But several Aamir fans didn’t quite forgive their idol.

Aamir back on set after “boring” thigh injury

Thou shalt not attempt to lift and throw a man heavier than thyself.

It’s a commandment actor Aamir Khan will never forget, days after injuring himself doing precisely that on the sets of his film “Ghajini”.

The action sequence left the 43-year-old actor with an adductor muscle injury in his right thigh — certainly not the most “exciting” stunt injury of his career.

“It was quite a boring injury, no anecdotal value or excitement whatsoever,” Khan wrote on his blog .

For the benefit of fans, the actor also elaborated on the chain of events that led to the injury.

“Roll camera, action, run into frame, grab heavy goon, slam him against wall, lift him and throw him against second wall, shout in pain, hop on one leg, wave arm to call for cut, limp off to nearest chair.”

Khan said he has resumed shooting in Hyderabad with “muscle supports and belts”. And hopefully no heavy goons.