Nana Patekar- Great Actor

A neglected (relatively) actor in tinsel town is Nana Patekar. He is an intense actor, and has delivered in any role that required it. In movies such as Tirangaa, Krantiveer, Ab Tak Chhappan, Welcome, and many earlier ones, he showed a flair for dialogue delivery that reminded one of Raaj Kumar, also known for dialogue delivery. Mostly into serious roles, an unseen side of Nana was seen in this song from the film Krantiveer, in which he matches steps with Bindu in a fun rap song titled Love Rap. His part of the song is sung in Marathi too. Enjoy- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiO2t7_e8vA

Kitnay Admi Thay- Book Review

Yes, this is the title of a book. About Bollywood's follies. Celebrating them. The author, Diptakirti Chaudhuri, is apparently a fellow-blogger too. Another reason to like his book.

There are chapters about the mother-son cliches. And brother-sister cliches. The mothers (Nargis, Nirupa Roy especially), the mothers-in-law (Lalita Pawar et al).

The hero's sidekick. The heroine's confidant, the daughter-father arguments, the rich-poor divide, the running around trees and how it is environment-friendly ( I just made that up).

And of course, the villains, the dialogues that made them famous (Mogambo khush hua?)- the book's title being one case in point.

And lots of trivia- completely useless, as the book's cover proclaims-that will leave you wondering why you haven't read this book so far! There are also some futuristic cliches that we might see in the future.

A must-read if you love Bollywood in spite of all its foibles. If we can love people with all their flaws (ourselves included), why not Bollywood? After all, all of the TV serials can't hold a candle to its larger-than-life entertainment.

Complete Entertainment Package

A certain god-man in India has left behind all the Bollywood releases this week and threatens to do so for several weeks. A typical movie made in Bollywood has certain elements we call masala, necessary for keeping different members of the audience happy. The way this man is going, he may become a one-man entertainment industry himself.

What are the masala elements a typical film has?

Dance and music- watch your neighbourhood channel for this guy doing a raas leela (thankfully, by himself) and a tandav. Just like the extras in films, there are a few hundred devotees also joining in.

Chase- There are two here. One for his own arrest, and another is on as we speak, for that of his son.

Drama- There was some before the arrest, in terms of feigning illness, then disappearing from one place and emerging in another.

Dialogue- "Prison is like Vaikunth for me", "No prison can keep me for long"- a la Gabbar Singh.

Sex- well, that started it all, with charges of misconduct.

TRPs of some channels must be skyrocketing.

Sharabi Arthur- The Reincarnation

While aimlessly flipping channels, Arthur caught my attention, and I watched most of it. What I found most engaging was the dialogue. I would rate it as superb, in these days of mediocre use of the language. As Wodehouse has demonstrated countless times, language itself can be great fun, when you know what to do with it.

Of course, it is a remake of the 80s phenomenon (in India at least, among college students of my ilk) starring Dudley Moore as the rich brat and John Gielgud as his butler, friend and philosopher (Jeeves?). It was a very good film, and Prakash Mehra promptly remade it, adding songs et al, as Sharaabi, which was not bad too.

This one stars Russell Brand (I saw him for the first time, but I am told he is a comic), and he was Ok. The nanny's role is the most powerful, and is played well by Helen Mirren. Though it's a predictable plot (which one isn't?), it's a fun watch, if only to recall your college years as a side-effect. The other hot movie of those times with Dudley Moore in it was '10'. That also starred Bo Derek (!).

An Unusual Film - On the Other Side

This is an unusual feature film in many ways. It has more music than dialogue. It stars only amateur actors in lead roles. It is not released in any theatre yet. It is a unique short film, made entirely by IMT students at Nagpur. Shot on a shoestring budget, it is more like an FTII student film- I saw a few tagged on to some World Cinema DVDs by Ingmar Bergman and so on a few times (one of them was made by Kundan Shah of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro fame).

The film is very well-made, focused on its subject of our existence in multiple dimensions, or lives. Starring only two major characters, it effortlessly transcends journeys of multiple lifetimes, through the girl's soul, which does the time traveling (or life-traveling).

The angst of a couple in this multi-life drama is captured very economically and effectively. You wouldn't know it, but almost the entire film is shot in or around the campus, except a sequence at the church. Minimalist in its dialogue, it resembles some good art films. Certainly not for the masses, the classes may find it appealing. Hope they do, at short film festivals and the like.

The director, Abhinav Kamal, an IMT student, and his team of actors and technicians (also students), deserve a few cheers! Youtube has a promo of the film.

Top Ten Dialogues from Hindi Movies

Keep it simple, stupid (acronym KISS) is supposedly a mantra for good management. I think it works in filmy dialogue too. Simple, and effective. Examples-

1. Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahin, naamumkin hai.

2. Loha garam hai, maar do hathoda.

3. Has beta has, tu muqaddar ka baadshah hoga.

4. Tum jis school mein padhte ho, uske hum headmaster hain.

5. Yeh koi khilona nahi hai, haath kat jaayega. (addressing a knife-wielding villain).

6. Mera naam Surma Bhopali aasay hi nahi hain.

7. Aapke paaon dekhe. Bahut khoobsoorat hain. Inhe zameen par mat rakhiye. Maile ho jaayenge. (from Pakeezah, by Raaj Kumar, about Meena Kumari)

8. Mogambo Khush hua.

9. This body is made of steel, Daddy. (Sanjay Dutt, unconvincingly, in his first film,
Rocky)

10. Ab main badi ho gayee hoon, Daddy (Vijayeta Pandit, unconvincingly and shrieking, in a fight over choosing her mate, in Love Story)

Dialogues from Movies

Powerful lines in films have the potential to make the films successful. What makes them powerful?

Should fit the character, the milieu, and sound credible. Even a simple line like Holi kab hai? can sound menacing if the right guy delivers it, of course, like Amjad Khan did in Sholay.

Tumhare paas kya Hai? and the reply, Mere Pass maa hai, is a dialogue from Deewaar worth a million bucks. Kabhi kabhi had a lot of lyrical or poetic dialogues (the hero was a poet), which enhanced the mood and effectiveness of the film.

Raaj Kumar had a lot of lines which were quite effective, like in Pakeezah, he sees Meena kumari's ankles while she is asleep in a train, and leaves her a note saying Aapke paon dekhe, bahut khoobsoorat hain. Inhe zameen par mat rakhiye, maile ho jaayenge...a very romantic message, delivered in a unique way.

Of course, we have a lot of the cliched stuff which catches the fancy of the movie goers, like "Kutte, main tera khoon pee jaoonga" or "Mogambo Khush Hua", or an older one, "Jis school mein tum padhte ho, usme hum headmaster hain" and many more immortal ones.

In a sit-com, dialogue is what drives the tempo. A lot of 70s comedies had brilliant dialogue and good acting. Recently, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai had some good dialogues, delivered well by Ajay Devgan.

Hus beta hus, taqdeer tere kadmon mein hogi, tu muqaddar ka baadshah hoga, is another I remember from Muqaddar Ka Sikandar.