meeta ka gujju-chinese-vada pao magic...

Hasee toh phasee 

Mujhe bhi maaro, meri beti bilkul meri jaisi hi toh hai... 

Over and above the happy, frothy well-written, nicely-enacted movie this hasee toh phasee, directed by Vinil Mathew, is, there are a few firsts that I totally fell for. 

A woman scientist (picture toh waste hai), suffering from seeming psychological disorders (bola na, waste hai), working in China (not US, UK or vilayat) on not-yet-successful research on power generation through high density polymer (really?), steals money from her father (hawww)... 

Really each one of these must be a first in apna roj ka bollywood. And believe it or not, not one of these factoids are considered bad or wrong or stupid in the movie. 

A Gujarati household with many daughters (i forget how many) - one simple marriage material, one actress, one scientist. Full on joint family with eldest uncle having absolute rights over all decision-making, including slapping and throwing our darling Parineeti out. The cruelty is not sugar-coated. The disapproval for “this kind” of girl is made amply clear. And here lies the twist.

Her father, played very affectionately by Manoj Joshi, has the same weakness for his favourite daughter that every father would. He accepts her oddities and pranks as a child, but challenging her at the same time to work on her brilliance. Of course, he cannot control the situation when it goes out of hand and Parineeti runs away with her father’s money on her sister’s wedding day. Turns up years later, incidentally when her second sis is about to marry the hero (oops I hadn’t mentioned him till now!), the lovely understated Siddharth Malhotra (yeah forgive him that student of the year movie please). Again to steal.

She is fidgety, annoying, never blinks, pops pills, speaks in a strange manner and is intelligent. Also trying, unsuccessfully, to not be emotional. Oh and also loves to eat, among other things Vada Pao!!! But above all, utterly simple and almost innocent, the kind of innocence that comes from practising pure science for decades?

The hero is fumbling businessman caught between trying to do things right, fast and also make lots of money. He borrows, he fails and has little self-respect or pride when it comes to borrowing and failing yet again. Again no one judges him for his mistakes, except the father-in-law of course with some nice acid remarks every now and then. Ha!

One thing leads to another and hero and Parineeti fall in love and everything is okay in the end, when they leave India so that she can complete her research.

But before that there are a few scenes that give a glimpse of work and real emotion that has gone into writing this film.

There are many funny scenes but the one I love is Siddharth’s police daddy accusing her of eating toothpaste (sugar rush) and stealing jewellery. The scene unfolds so naturally and exactly as per how each character would behave. The killer line comes as an ode to CID, when the comic side kick goes, “ACP Pradyumna bhi yahi kehta hai.” Parineeti tops it with “Daya suspect ka bag leke aao!” and the police daddy is left fuming, “kaun hai yeh ACP Pradyumna, kis batch ka hai!!!” Not to mention the dressing down he gets from his wife Neena Kulkarni, as - again - would happen in real life if you are married for 20, 30 years!

When Parineeti is locked in a room while the rest of the family is enjoying some wedding rituals, she ends up urinating in her ghagra because of the medicines she keeps on popping (remember psychological problems). When Siddharth finds her, nothing is said, and he just hugs her. It seems as if he realises how much he loves her and how lonely and neglected she has been. This is what would happen in real life if the girl you love is not only hot and happening but also a real human being.

And the last one, perhaps the best one too… When Manoj Joshi declares that Parineeti is what she is because of him. Before we can wonder if he is about criticise, he says if he hadn’t been what he was (means off the beaten track type) they would still be running a tiny shop in Surat. In one stroke he upholds a life of risk, experiment, enterprise and hard work. For men and women. He completes it with emphasising that she has equal rights over their wealth as everyone else. “Mujhe bhi maaro, meri beti bilkul meri jaisi hi toh hai...”

There is nothing extraordinary about the music but I often find myself humming zehnaseeb…

What I don’t know is this – why is it called hasee toh phasee?

.....  

rocket singh ka rocket science

Rocket Singh: Salesman of the year.  

Risk toh spiderman ko bhi lena padta hai, mein toh phir bhi salesman hun... 

Initially it came across as a simple, well-made film about youngsters and their life. But over a period of time I have tried to think why I like this film so much and why i feel it may just be more important than Three Idiots or Wake Up Sid, other acclaimed youth-centric films. 
To start with it has a Sardar as a protagonist without being comical or unnecessarily funny. Such a huge relief. 

But more than that it is about a young man who scores just about passing marks in his graduation. Isn't that a majority in any society/country? 
We worry so much about pressures and frustrations of those trying to make it to medical school or law school or IIMs. The trauma is all true. However, what percentage of population is that? Aren't they creme de la creme academically (Three Idiots) or financially (Wake up sid)? 

There isn't much said or discussed about perfectly fine young boys and girls who are average in studies. No, they don't have to be air force pilots or galli ke gunde. They are all in-between trying to do a good job of whichever job they can get. In his case, a salesman. 
But he learns soon enough that convincing a DJ to play extra hours is not the same as salesmanship in the real world. The bullying, the manipulating is all real. And yet no one seems like a bad bad villain not  the lech-y computer guy nor the top boss who ends up procuring and then handing over rocket sales corporation. 

I like Ranbir's papa, who manages a modest household, has the highest regard for truth and hard work and never questions his faith in God (without being preachy). It was nice to see them drying out the clothes, which they themselves wash. I like that he gets him a scooter as a reward for his graduation. It is not a car, not a fancy bike. Hamara Bajaj type scooter. Tell me how many Activas do you see on the road compared to anything else. It is all too real and almost sweet. 

The receptionist, the girlfriend, the office assistant - not one has a very long role but you can almost see their back story in those few minutes. I also like that Shehzan Padamsee is an optimistic first time entrepreneur and she doesn't mind failing in business later or supporting Ranbir unconditionally. Of course I would liked it the other way round too! 

I also like where the film gets filmy - Rocket Sales Corporation, its success and subsequent ups, downs (life goes on, no one runs away, no one dies)  and the final up. But then through its larger than life was it giving a message and hope to more people like Ranbir? And that may be, just may be, there is some truth to good old values of honesty and integrity? 

The best bit is the opening song - Pankhonko... hawa zarasi lagne do... Bikhare nahin toh kaise nikhroge... udane do oooo ... hawa zari si lagne do... 

Here is to the average youth, their average daily struggles and exceptional zest for life and happiness... 

it has been a very very long time since i started something new. but this thought also has been with me for the longest time now. so here is the simple explanation. 

i am crazy about movies. i seem to like most of them (trust me i watch a lot of crap, mostly bollywood!) however, one often misses the small bits - a new idea, different depiction of old concepts, politics of the characters, while looking at the larger picture - logic, plot, acting, ending. and it is often the small bits that make me like a movie, at least for a little while. 

so i am going to write about what i like, why i like and why it is important to notice some of those seemingly little things. to put it in mohit sir's words (the ever awesome naseeruddin shah) in Iqbal - mujhe isse jeene ka salika milta hai - may be that's stretching it but honestly, i take a lot of cues from some scene, some lines, some lyrics, some moments of a movie - hindi, english, marathi, any. so i just feel like sharing some of it. this is where i don't dissect but delightfully cherish a scene, a song or an entire movie. have you got your samosas and popcorn?