Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Independence Day Thoughts

Woke up on the morning of Independence Day, wanting to laze around and go through the books I bought the evening before after spending a fortune:

1. Reporting, by David Remnick, the editor of New Yorker.

2. From Our Correspondent, a compilation of dispatches from BBC reporters.

3. Maximum City, by Suketu Mehta.

4. Sahara, a journey by Michael Palin.

5. The City of Falling Angels, an account of Venice by John Berendt.

6. Newsweek and Economist magazines.

But destiny seemed to have hatched a conspiracy at the stroke of midnight. When I woke up, my wife sprang a surprise on me. It was intended to be a pleasant surprise: she had bought tickets for KANK, that is Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. Imagine being dragged out of home at 9.30 in the morning, that too on a holiday!

Served her right for inflicting the torture on me: while in all Hindi movies, married people who stray, as in people who commit adultery, meet with an horrible end; in KANK, an adulterous pair goes on to live happily ever after. So adultery has finally got the approval of Bollywood! Wow! I mean if Shah Rukh Khan can, why can't I? Are you listening, wifey dear? I know what you will say. You will say, "If Rani Mukherjee can, why can't I Mr Ghosh?"

Such warnings don't work for me. I mean I have always had people who keep saying: "You think you can do whatever you want to? What if your wife/girlfriend does the same?" My answer has been the same: If a woman wants to indulge in adultery, she will, irrespective of her partner's behaviour. Nothing on earth can stop her. So why lose sleep over it?

Back to KANK. I can understand people taking great pains to make such grand movies. But what I can't understand is people waiting for such movies to be released -- as if it's a huge event of national importance -- and wasting so much of time and space discussing it. My verdict on KANK:

1. Karan Johar has lost it. A father urging his daughter to run behind a train that is just moving out of the station and grab the hand of her lover is understandable; but a man asking his adulterous wife to rush to the station so that she can unite with her lover (Indian term is "paramour") is a bit too dramatic. Too too dramatic.

2. What was Amitabh Bachchan doing in the movie? Making an ass of himself?

3. I will remember the movie, if at all, only because of Rani Mukherjee. She looked gorgeous as she played out the emotions of an unhappily married woman who finds liberation in the arms of another man. She is just too good.

13 comments:

Paresh Palicha said...

Writing about new film. Great. But please don't throw BR out of work. By the way, do you agree with his views? I saw it on 14th night & wanted to write about it. Lets see if i can do it.

Anonymous said...

First time a movie review on your blog!
Marriage has done much good to you, Mr Ghosh!
However, I think the movie is much in sync with your thoughts, that is, if a woman wants to indulge in adultry she will, why loose sleep over it?
So once she has indulged, then it's better to let her go to her "paramour" as soon as possible, and maybe as melodramatically, so that she does not come back again. :-)

Meanwhile, the cuckold should look for another life partner for himself. ;-)

And the life moves on...

Good one, as usual.

Bishwanath Ghosh said...

Paresh: Haven't read BR's review yet; don't think I will now that I have already seen the movie.

Anon: I have always said that anons write the best comments. Your comment had me rolling on the floor with laughter! -- the way you have put it. And if you understand Hindi, I would add this: "Aapne mere mooh ki baat chheen li!" ;)

Anonymous said...

Thought i would be the first anonymous writer , but there already is one...and whoever it is sure wrote what i wanted to....Thank God for your wife. Why did u remove that small write up about yourself from the blog?? It was nice.

dazedandconfused said...

I have read a few reviews of the movie (that's always the good part of a bad movie) and am surprised how people find just character in the movie whom they like and hate everybody else. So its Rani for you, but I've seen people rooting for Abhishek, Shahrukh, Preity and even Amitabh...So maybe Karan Johar didn't lose it after all.

I haven't watched the movie and don't intend to. No wife or girlfriend around so i think am pretty safe there as well...

Anonymous said...

Great thought dazedandconfused!

I see a point there. Movies are always meant to be open to interpretation. For example, while I had loved Lamhe as a movie way back, people around me found it incestuous!

And maybe we all like the characters who we find provide kinda justification to our thought process and maybe actions. It's very subjective and is somewhere linked to our subconcious. That’s why, some people may like Rani’s character, while others would sympathize with Abhishek.

To each his own.

Hmmm…let me think who did I like in the movie ;-)

Anonymous said...

If a guy bought all those reading materials in one lot, and stuck to reading them all at a stretch, his wife would surely seek the comfort of someone else's arms. No wonder you feel resigned to what the wifey might get up to !!

Nandhu said...

start with suketu. nice book.

Anu Russell said...

I don't hop around hte blog world for a couple of days and I miss three or four of your posts! got a lot of work to catch up on all of them :)

Nice one this...I knew from the very beginning that KANK was a publicity stunt and had no content in itself...have not seen it and might never see it...I hate movies that bank on the actors and not on the story.

Anonymous said...

Rock on man!! Nice site u have here!! You know some of the most fascinating places I’ve seen when traveling is in India!! India is so cool to an extent, that when u’re there..u see the simplicity of life mixed with modernism, u can’t help feel like it’s heaven!! The safaris, the trekking, wildlife and sooo much more to see there!!

There are tons of travel agents who’ll get u a good deal on travel there!, but my personal recommendation is the site called India travel route..
Try this link below, else u can google it…

http://www.indiatravelroute.com/?channel=rgxblog16&adgroup=bytheganges.blogspot

but it’s one amazing place!! I totally recommend it!! Especially if ur going around this time, i.e. Aug-Oct, the whether is simply DE-LIGHT-FUL!!!

Cheers

Anonymous said...

good site

Anonymous said...

good site

Anonymous said...

good site