TV Artists That I Remember

I have mostly stopped watching TV these days, as it generally has asinine programs. But once upon a time, I actually watched it, and recount with fondness some shows and artists.

The entire cast of Hum Paanch led by Ashok Saraf. It had a girl 'dada' among his kids.

Satish Shah, Ratna Pathak, Sumeet Raghavan ...of Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai

Rajit Kapoor of Byomkesh Bakshi

Rajni, starring Priya Tendulkar

Surbhi, with Siddarth Kak and Renuka Shahane

Karamchand with Pankaj Kapur

Tehkikaat starring Vijay Anand

Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi with Rakesh Bedi, Satish Shah Swaroop Sampat and Shafi Inamdar

In Praise of Pankaj Kapur

I find him one of the most under-rated and under-utilised actors in films. Most films in which he appears, he leaves an indelible mark. Even the not-so-successful ones. He is a trained theatre actor, and continues to act there.

A cult movie which was successful, and first drew my attention to him, was Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. Along with Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani and Satish Shah, it was a laugh riot. Then came TV serial Karamchand Jasoos in 1985 or so, which was a big hit among kids in particular. He played the title role. We as an M.R. agency had done some research on the show in Mumbai. He dubbed for Ben Kingsley in Attenborough's Gandhi.

Recent films of histhat I have seen were Matroo ki Bijli ka Mandola and Finding Fanny. In both, the film has gone a few notches higher because of his acting. I don't remember many of his serious roles, like Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, and others, but in comic roles, his dialogue delivery, expression, and timing are superb.

Finding Fanny and Myself

The 'finding myself' is one reason for blogging (and reading blogs). And having just crossed 150,000 views of this blog, I am sure there are a few more trying to find themselves. One positive thing about blogs according to me is that they are mostly honest, at least more so than your projected image on a few other social media (as in 'permanently cool' on fb, or 'eminently employable' on LinkedIn).

Anyway, I happened to 'Find Fanny' in our auditorium at the IIM Indore campus last evening. Also went out to see Omkareshwar nearby during the day, taking in Pataalpani waterfall on the way back, with some new colleagues. Pics will follow when official photographers (we management profs have a way with things, you see) send me those.

The movie was a fitting finale to a productive day, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Pankaj Kapur is one of our finest actors- I rediscovered this after watching Jaane Bi Do Yaaro again recently, as also Matru Ki Bijli ka Mandola- and here he is in great form. So are Dimple Kapadia, Deepika and Naseeruddin Shah. This is a quirky movie so unless you are somewhat warped, you will not like it. Don't expect syrupy love, larger than life heroics, or Bollywood dance medleys with 250 dancers with violently gyrating body parts.

Some episodes are laugh-out-loud, and some are more subtle. But great fun. Homi Adjania can make films, Saala!

Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola

It was a mixed set of reviews that prompted me to check out the film. And first of all, I must say I enjoyed the film. It is not dark, like Omkara was ( I didn't finish watching that, actually). It is a lot of fun, exuberance, and some lurking evil here and there.

Pankaj Kapur is one of our most talented actors, and he's got something to chew on here. His performances, even the one in Karamchand Jasoos on TV eons ago, were outstanding-of course, he was one of the villains in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro too.

His zany take on the man named Mandola is superb, and some moments (in the end, he does a doggy after the villain lady calls him a kutta in a damning dialogue) are absolutely ROFL! Anushka Sharma has lots to do, and with her mix of good looks and peppy acting, she does it well. I think she has rocketed after Band Baaja happened in her life. Imran Khan is the weak link here, and someone of Nana Patekar's calibre (younger, of course) could have added a lot more to his character.

Shabana is good in a new (for her) kind of role, and the supporting cast is good too. I watched it in Haryana (Gurgaon) and lots of people identified with the lingo the film uses - its setting is Haryana. The political satire is actually not very effective as in jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, but some sequences reminded me of it in their treatment. The take-offs on Mao and the use of the 'b'word- a popular curse word out here, are done quite well. The music is actually very lively, and adds to the mood in general.

Maybe 15 minutes chopped off would have added to its crispness. But I say that about all Hindi films. Anyway, it was paisa vasool for me!

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro- Second Viewing

In my teenage years, old movies regularly re-ran at theatres in Hyderabad. Why this practice was discontinued I don't really know-must be the DVDs that are rampant, and downloads, legal and illegal. But it is fun to watch some old movies in a theatre for the experience. We had one such recently, watching Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro at Pune's new PVR in a mall at Nagar Road.

The antics of all the characters are amazing- Satish Shah as DeMello, the Commissioner who takes commissions, eats Switzerland ka cake (Thoda khao, thoda phenko), and lives and dies for the gutter, the perpetually drunk Ahuja (Om Puri) in a perfect Punjabi accent, Pankaj Kapur as Tarneja the builder who gives good logic for extending buildings beyond permissible limits, Bhakti Barve the 'saviour' of society and editor of Khabardar, Satish Kaushik as Namboodripad the bumbling assistant to Tarneja, Neena Gupta as his sexy sidekick, and so on.

And to top all this, the lead characters played beautifully by Ravi Baswani and Naseeruddin Shah. Script, direction and dialogue are absolutely brilliant, and I think deserve an Oscar-equivalent recognition. Of course, the viewers have already recognised it as such. Kundan Shah, the maker, you are immortal just for this creation. So many dialogues are immortal. Wahan hum dekha, peene ka pani alag, gutter ka pani alag (about America which DeMello has just visited), Or Dhritarashtra's lament, "Yeh kya ho raha hai", through the twists and turns that Draupadi's cheerharan takes, or "Shaant, gadadhaari Bheem" in the same scene. Bhakti Barve also plays her part of seducing Naseer into doing her dirty work to perfection. All in all, a heady cocktail, though it was made in 1983- by a bunch of talented FTII alums (Sudhir Mishra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra are also in the team). Definitely should be on everyone's bucket list. My daughters liked it too, and they are in their 20s.