Adapted Dialogues From Hindi Films

Elon Musk ko maska lagaana mushkil hi nahi, namumkin hai (Don)

Gates kabhi apna gate khud nahi kholta, Dawar (Deewar)

Branson ko Wheat Bran khilaoge? Bahut beinsaafi hai (Sholay)

Bezos hamare pehle pahunch gaya wahaan? Afsos.

Anhoni ko honi karde honi ko anhoni, ek jagah jab jama ho teeno, Tata, Birla, Ambani. (Amar Akbar Anthony)

Tamasha-Film Review

Could have been a lot better, is my first reaction on watching this movie.

Notwithstanding beautiful location shooting in Corsica (this is in France, not Italy), and some fun moments few and far between, like the take on Don and Ajit (Mona Darling is his moll)  the film is unnecessarily melancholic, and too long. The brooding of the hero is unconvincing (he does not behave like a grownup) and Ranbir looks unconvincing in those moments too. He is at his best in the humorous and upbeat segments. The scene where he gives up his job is in poor taste and looks like forced comedy of the worst kind.

If the idea was to show something different, it's not entirely achieved, as I could have predicted the story. The ending is regressive and cliched in a way, because it seems to suggest that a man has to have the final word in a relationship.

The film has some good music and photography, but too much of rambling makes it lose focus on the storyline. Deepika does a good job within her restricted scope. The technique of storytelling reminded me of Moulin Rouge, but that was far more effective. In summary, could have been better.

Pran- A Tribute to the Gentleman Villain

There are villains and there are villains. The stylised K.N. Singh, Jeevan with the hain hain hain dialogue-utterance, the leching Manmohan, the gun-toting MacMohan aka Sambha, the leering Prem Chopra, the rapist Ranjit, and the one with lots of Mona-Sona one-liners yaane ke Ajit, but there was a guy who was a class apart-Pran. These are my memories of him, in tribute. He passed away last night.

I think I clearly remember him from a few films, in which he was really bad. Brahmachari starring Shammi Kapoor and Rajshri was one of them. There were a lot of other films from that era. He was, I remember, always well-dressed, and might give a complex to some of the tapori heroes of today.

The next I remember of him was the role he played with such elan in Zanjeer. He was ther perfect foil for the angry young man of Amitabh, and I doubt if the film would have worked without him. His song was also a rage in a movie that had no good song situations. Yaari hai imaan mera is well-recognised even today-one of Manna Dey's best. He had also turned a leaf from his villainy by now.

Don was another classic pot-boiler brought alive by a good script (rare in India) and brilliant acting by Pran and Amitabh. His dialogue delivery was at times better than Amitabh's in the movie, and that's saying a lot. His song in another Amitabh film, Majboor 'Phir na kehna Michael daru peeke danga karta hai' also was a rage, and I still remember it.

One more fun film of his was Victoria no.203, where he and Ashok Kumar brought the house down with their antics, and the song 'Do Bechare bina sahare dekho pooch pooch kar haare'.

Johny Mera Naam where he played Dev Anand's brother, and Des Pardes where he reprised that relationship, this time with an NRI angle to it (he migrates to England, starts a pub and goes missing) were two other memorable roles. He also had a good one in Amar Akbar Anthony, and sang a song "Hum bolega to bologe ke bolta hai' in Kasauti.

Chinatown Starring Shammi Kapoor

A large part of its story has been used later in Don, I realised after watching this classic Shakti Samanta film in Black and White. It has an ebullient Shammi Kapoor in a double role, a pretty Shakila as his love interest and the beautiful Helen in the role of his love interest in the Don Avatar. Madan Puri is the Chinese Wong, the villain from Calcutta's Chinatown.

The story is presented slightly differently, the obvious difference being the missing Pran and his two kids (difference between Chandra Barot/Bacchhan's Don and Chinatown). There are also a few very good songs, the best being Baar Baar Dekho Hazaar Baar Dekho, Ke Dekhne Ki Cheez Hai Hamara Dilruba...but another two or three good ones- Yumma yumma tu Parwana Mai Shama, Hum Se Na Poocho Hum Kahan Chale. Music is by Ravi, though it sounds a lot like O.P. Nayyar's style.

Don added a twist in that the inspector who recruits the fake Don gets killed, thereby making it tough to prove that he is not the actual Don when the cops catch him. Here, he remains till the end, and helps catch the Don's boss. Quite a treat to watch, I thoroughly enjoyed it.