Tough Films to Remake

 My list includes Hindi films here-

1. Chupke Chupke

2. Padosan

3. Sholay

4. Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi

5. Guide

Each of these was magical, in its own way. And that magic, I don't think anybody can re-create. The casting, particularly, was bang-on. I can't picture anyone other than Waheeda and Dev Anand in Guide! Or anyone filling the shoes of Mehmood and Kishore Kumar in Padosan. Or Om Prakash in Chupke Chupke. The three brothers with their own quirks brought so much to the table in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, along with the Mesmerising Madhubala. Sholay had Asrani, Jagdeep, A.K. Hangal, Viju Khote apart from Amjad Khan in unforgettable roles. Mac Mohan too, with just one dialogue.

Of course, the music too. 

Shaukeens- Film Review

There is a feeling I get when I watch remakes of good films done amateurishly or in a crass manner. I got that with this film. Last time I had it was with Humshakals, which was not a remake, but crass and stupid nevertheless.

There was this movie called Shaukeen directed by Basu Chatterjee in the eighties sometime, which had three very good actors in the lead roles, Rati Agnihotri as the object of their affection (or lust, if you prefer), and a hilarious series of events unfolding. At the time it was made, this theme was quite novel, but apart from that, the three oldies (Ashok Kumar, AK Hangal and Utpal Dutt) brought such class to the proceedings, that it would be tough to emulate. And Shaukeens shows how true that is.

The stories are similar- the three lustful old men going off into the woods to get themselves a girl, and funny ending to their attempts. Whereas the first one made you laugh or smile, this one ends in a whimper. Akshay Kumar tries his best to infuse life into the second half, but that only brings on a half-smile. Maybe I'll go read Chetan Bhagat's Half-girlfriend to get over this one.

Pannu Times

I have a list of heroines/actresses I like from present times. They are- Chitrangada Singh, Aditi Rao, Amrita Rao, Vidya Balan, Yami Gautam, and now I am going to add Taapsee Pannu (that's an odd name, but what the heck, she is cute). Much of the film revolves around her- I am talking (new) Chasme baddoor here- and she pulls it off with her charming presence. Of course there's help from the cutie-pie (for female viewers) Ali Zafar, and a rocking performance from oldies Bharti Achrekar, Rishi Kapoor, and Anupam Kher.

For me, the heroes- all three of them, came second, or third, after all these. David Dhavan has cleverly used take-offs on films and film stars, and inserted his old songs (What is mobile number used to be my favourite for a long time when it first appeared) to add to the fun.

The standout song is of course, Dhickyaon Dhum, dhum.. and it is a very catchy, hummable song. But I think it is a combo of a couple of songs from Khel Khel Mein starring Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh. Probably Ek main aur ek tu and Khullam khulla pyar karenge hum dono. The musical know-alls can try and figure that one out.

Entertaining, and worth a look, though a bit crass compared with the original. But then, one should not be comparing Deepti Naval and Farooque Shaikh with anyone, to start with. Or the original Lallan Miyan, played so well by Saeed Jaffrey.

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 (!).