MOVIE DUNIYA: April 2013

Apr 30, 2013

Film: Aashiqui 2
Starring: Aditya Roy Kapoor,Shraddha Kapoor,Shaad Randhawa
Director: Mohit Suri
Producer: Mahesh Bhatt,Mukesh Bhatt
Banner: T-Series Super Cassettes Industries Ltd.,Vishesh F
Music: Jeet Gangulli,Mithoon,Ankit Tiwari

It's no coincidence that this surprisingly moving film is inspired by Frank Pierson's 1976 drama "A Star Is Born". And I deliberately mention the funky psychedelic 1976 version and not the older (1954) version of the same story.

In spirit and in the way the two principal actors perform their parts of two soul-mates and singers torn asunder by their allegiance to the same competitive spirit of showmanship, "Aashiqui 2" is robustly reminiscent of the Kris Kristofferson-Barbra Streisand film where he discovers a co-singer who steals his heart and also his career.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee made his melodious "Abhimaan" on the same theme. It was easy for Hrishida to portray Jaya Bhaduri as a better artiste than Amitabh Bachchan quite simply because she sang in Lata Mangeshkar's voices. In "Aashiqui 2" the two protagonists are pretty much left to their own devices to create that unbearable frisson between two people whose love is trapped in the whirligig of showbiz. For their love to be liberated from the rituals of competitiveness, one of the lovers must make a huge sacrifice before the end.

For love to live the lover must die. It's a curious tradeoff and one carried off in this film with an exuberance of emotions.

The premise for the plot presumes love to be selfless all-giving and unconditional. Just to see Shradha Kapoor's eyes melt in mutating emotions of unflinching devotion to her alcoholic star-on-the-skids lover is a vision that makes us believe true love still exists. This petite beauty with eyes that never stay silent gives to her part so much heart, you want to just embrace her and protect her from her self-destructive mentor-turned-tormentor.

Aditya Roy Kapoor as a rock star who is rapidly slipping from the charts gives all of himself to the character. And then some more. In Aditya's persona, Rahul becomes a metaphor for all the success in showbiz that goes awry. In pursuit of pleasure derived from the bottle his character becomes a cross between Shah Rukh Khan's Devdas, Ranbir Kapoor's Rockstar and Kris Kirstofferson's John Norman Howard.

Like all the heroes of Mahesh Bhatt's cinema, Aditya has to portray a man who frequently creates a scene and embarrases the person he loves the most. This young actor is not afraid to look compromised on screen. A fearless actor, Aditya falters in the higher notes.

But then as I said, the singing here is not quite what we heard Lata Mamgeshkar, Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar do in "Abhimaan". Having said that it must be admitted that the music by Jeet Ganguly, Mithoon and Ankit Tiwari stands by the characters and never lets them down even when the pitch gets really steep. The finely written poetry also helps to furnish the lovers' journey with a feverish and fecund pitch.

"Aashiqui 2" is a film with its heart in the right place. There are many moments of pure cliche between the lovers. And these moments, so deeply entrenched in the conventions of our cinema, blossom into fresh statements on modern love. It's a joy to see writer Shagufta Rafiqui and director Mohit Suri ferret out those feel-good places in the script where the protagonists plonk their emotions with a confidence and conviction that reaches out to the audience.

Is that really acting that we see each time Aditya into Shradha's eyese

If cinema is all about faking human emotions, then I must admit this film does a very competent job of making us believe that true love still exists in this world.

Man, woman, music,ambitions, dreams and despair... Director Mohit Suri traverses the angst-soaked territory with a sincere and deep understanding of the dynamics that destroy love and trust between couples in the glamorous and competitive profession. Yes, there are some clumsily-written episodes in the love story, for example the character of intrusive struggler who barges into the plot at the start during the opening music concert and again in the climax almost as if he was waiting impatiently in the margins of the screenplay.

What lifts the film beyond the realm of the routine are the jagged edges that the film constructs around the central relationship without wounding the film's fragile core. Full credit to the actors who fill up the screen with a measure of voluptuousness allowing the emotions to spill over without creating an excessive drama. Aditya Roy Kapoor is impressively implosive while Shradha Kapoor plays off against him with a steel willed vulnerability that echoes Jaya Bhaduri in "Abhimaan". Another fine performance comes from Shaad Randhawa as Aditya's friend and manager.

Watching this smoothly-oiled drama of disintegrating love I couldn't help remember Rahul Roy and Anu Aggarwal's wooden performance in "Aashiqui".

Our cinema has a come a long way, and not always in the right direction. "Aashiqui 2" makes us grateful for the movement of the love story away from the standard Romeo & Juliet format into the dark destructive domain of "A Star Is Born".

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Celebrating 100 years of Indian Heroines

Indian Cinema is the most 'larger than life' aspect of our relatively small world. It is that reflection which never fails to depict society in its truest and even its fakest form. 100 years ago, when our cinematic journey began, so began an influence so impactful that none can ignore it. The social structure is influenced by cinema and so is cinema influenced by the social structure. It was imperative for the portrayal of women in our films to be in accordance with societal norms and vision.

The first steps of cinema in India were plagued by social dictum. When the legendary Dadasaheb Phalke set out to make Indian Cinema's first ever film Raja Harishchanda (1913), he had a tough time to find a female lead for the wife's role 'Taramati'. Cinema was taboo and women above all, could not be touched by such an immoral business. Dadsaheb even approached prostitutes, who are considered less moral than the immaculate ladies of our homes. But he faced refusal by these so called 'demeaning' women too. Finally, Phalke convinced a waiter named Salunki to don the role of 'Taramati'. The first Indian film had a man playing the female lead! After all, women, who are fit to be daughters, wives and mothers, dare not enter the big bad world of the glamour industry, lest they lose their 'virtue'.

When renowned theater artist Durga Khote took up the role of an 'unabashed' and talkative girl in a film called 'Trapped' (1931), she was ostracized by her beloved Maharashtrian community (her role was a cameo, but that was hardly a deterrent). Within a year, she had to denounce her role and take up a demure role in a mythological movie Ayodhya Ka Raja (1932). Such was the societal pressure. Such were the restrictions on women.

There came a wave of change in the projection of women, or more appropriately the projection of this 'fearless' woman. "Sust bana dene wali film koi aur hogi, meri nahi," proclaims a poster of 1940's adventure-comedy Diamond Queen, quoting its heroine Fearless Nadia.

But let us not forget, that Fearless Nadia, with all the entertaining stunts and the 'hunterwali' image, did nothing to change the collective image of Indian women. She was a fantasy, an exotic woman, not a reality. I won't be stretching it too far if I say that the masses looked up to her more as a bad girl and not the ideal heroine. Thus, the stereotype was alive and was fueled by more and more mannequin like, delicate-darling and damsel-in-distress roles.

Of course, the forever sacrificing and tolerant persona of the ideal Bhartiya Nari, was well reflected in our movies ever since. The quintessential Bollywood 'Maa', who captured the screens in innumerable films emphasize this disturbing truth.

Misogyny in the Indian film industry was always prevalent and continues to be in varying forms and disguise. With very few exceptions, 'Mother India' being the giant amongst them, most other 'woman centric' films never got to see the appreciation that they deserved. But this does not imply that there was a dearth of strong female characters in 50s and 60s. In fact, heroines of this time were still a lot better off than the stereotypical heroines of the 80s or the chiffon saree clad decorative pieces of the 90s.

Mughal-e-azam, the epic love story had one such strong lead - Anarkali, epitomized by Madhubala. This courtesan is so headstrong that the mighty emperor Akbar also bows down at the end. Hindi cinema got one of its most landmark moments when she fearlessly sings "Jab pyaar kiya toh darna kya", a clear warning to the Emperor himself while being a declaration of her love for the Prince Salim.

Jaya Bachchan, Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi stripped glamour off the female lead's character and played roles that were as important as that of the hero. They were not always commercially successful but did very good roles in whichever commercial films they acted in such as Kora Kagaz, Jawani Diwani, Guddi, Rampur Ka Laxman, Sholay (Jaya Bachchan), or Namak Halal, Arth and Shakti (Smita Patil), Karm, Arth, (Shabana Azmi).

But these films were few indelible impressions on the Indian Cinematic history. In a patriarchal society like India, a strong female lead could never be embraced. We have grown up watching our heroines cry, our villains' rape and our heroes fight.

Has this trend changed? Watch this space to know what happened next in the mesmerizing and intriguing journey of the Indian film heroine.

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