My Top 10 Bollywood Disco Song-and-Dance Scenes

Glittering balls hanging from the ceiling, electronic beats and/ or a strong bass and people dancing. 

That's what most people, including me, think of when we hear the word "disco". But in my mind, there is another thing which I'm sure won't pop into the mind of people who are unfamiliar with Bollywood: the disco song-and-dance. 

The disco song-and-dance assumedly made its way into Hindi film tradition in the 70s, especially after the superhit Disco Dancer, and was very popular in the violent/glittery cinema of the 80s and 90s. It also appeared in a lot of more or less commercial films and especially the big blockbusters of the early 2000s, representing the "new, modern" youth. It also found its way into a few more independent productions and also some more recent films, but is currently only seldom seen in films, as the disco background-song has been gaining popularity. At the same time, film parties have moved away from discos and now often happen elsewhere.

In a disco song-and-dance, all the three elements I named to start with are included, but what defines the disco song is that a) people sing a song themselves, and b) a bunch of people dance to the same choreography.

Thoughts on: "Tagore Stories on Film"

Biting the bullet: silent, black-and-white, Bengali.

On occasion of the 150th birthday of the acclaimed literature-nobelprice winner from India, Rabindranath Tagore, the Indian government published a filmset consisting of six films concerning the literary legend. This was done with the help of the National Film Development Corporation. 

There have been many filmatizations of the stories and novels that Tagore has written, but the government and NFDC have selected the following for the compilation:

Khudita Pashan (1960) - Tapan Sinha, Bengali

Teen Kanya (1961) - Satyajit Ray, Bengali

Kabuliwala (1961) - Hemen Gupta, Hindi

Ghare-Baire (1984) - Satyajit Ray, Bengali

Char Adhyay (1997) - Kumar Shahani, Hindi

BONUS DVD:

Natir Puja (1932) - Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali

Rabindranath Tagore (1961) - Satyajit Ray, Bengali

I promised you to write about the filmset by the time I'd be finished watching all seven films, so here I am, talking about three things I thought I would never fully be able to appreciate as much as I wanted:

1. Silent films (Natir Puja)
2. Black-and-white films (Natir Puja, Khudita Pashan, Teen Kanya, Rabindranath Tagore)
3. Bengali films (Natir Puja, Khudita Pashan, Teen Kanya, Rabindranath Tagore, Ghare-Baire)

With the exception of the silent film, which I simply cannot truly adjust to, I've grown fonder of the latter two than I had excepted initially - but what am I rambling; let's start to dive deeper into the subject...

MY THOUGHTS ON THE FILMS

(including a few of those essential trying-to-be-objective remarks)

Rain according to Bollywood

„ Sullen clouds are gathering fast over the black fringe of the

forest.

O child, do not go out!

The palm trees in a row by the lake are smiting their heads

against the dismal sky; the crows with their dragged wings are

silent on the tamarind branches, and the eastern bank of the river

is haunted by a deepening gloom.

Our cow is lowing loud, ties at the fence.

O child, wait here till I bring her into the stall.

Men have crowded into the flooded field to catch the fishes

as they escape from the overflowing ponds; the rain-water is

running in rills through the narrow lanes like a laughing boy who

has run away from his mother to tease her.

Listen, someone is shouting for the boatman at the ford.

O child, the daylight is dim, and the crossing at the ferry

is closed.

The sky seems to ride fast upon the madly rushing rain; the

water in the river is loud and impatient; women have hastened home

early from the Ganges with their filled pitchers.

The evening lamps must be made ready.

O child, do not go out!

The road to the market is desolate, the lane to the river is

slippery. The wind is roaring and struggling among the bamboo

branches like a wild beast tangled in a net.  “


- The Rainy Day
Rabindranath Tagore

~ ~ ~

If this was the way Indian people experienced rain in the time of Tagore, that view has certainly changed under the influence of not only Bollywood, but surely also the South Indian film industries.

Kapoor Khazana: "The Start of Something New" - How it all began...

For a clearer overview of the Kapoors, view my Kapoor Family Tree.

Ever wondered, how all the Kapoors got their careers started? What the begins of each one were like?

Though you probably all have one, or more, favorite Kapoors, and know all about their careers and private lives, I'm sure there's some stories you haven't heard yet (me neither).

That thought then led me to creating this post, on the filmic origins of the Kapoors (those I could find out about), and here it is.

Prithviraj Kapoor - The Handsome Founder

Finding out anything about Prithviraj's oldest films is very hard - there seems to be no information left whatsoever. His first role, however, seems to be "Be Dhari Talwar" - but I'm not a 100 percent sure, as there really is no information. According to several sources, though, his first big role was in 1930's (some say 1929's) "Cinema Girl". He also played in India's first sound-film, "Alam Ara", from 1931. 

Prithviraj's was later on considered as the founder of the Kapoor family, being the first one of this khandaar to pursue acting. His last film was "Judaai" from 1980 - according to IMDB, which is weird, because he died in 1972. However, he was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for contribution to Indian Cinema, after his death.

I haven't seen any of his films yet - but I'm sure I will.

Trilok Kapoor - The Forgotten Brother

Trilok Kapoor, Prithviraj's brother, made his debut in 1933's Char Dervesh (also known as "Merchant of Arabia")... The film is known by some film fans as a classic - I didn't know it - but Trilok never gained as much recognition and success, as his elder brother. Today, he is very much forgotten by the fan community of Bollywood, even the fans of the real classics, and there's not even a wikipedia-entry on him. We don't even know, when he died.

Trilok's last filmic appearance was in a TV movie called "Akanksha", where he was credited as "Late Trilok Kapoor" - so I think he was already dead by then.

R. I. P., man whose films I have not seen.

Raj Kapoor - "The Show Man" AKA The Man Who Was Loved By Everyone

Today, everyone knows Raj Kapoor. For some people, he is the best actor who has ever sat his foot on this earth. I don't know anyone who doesn't like Raj Kapoor. Maybe some people haven't seen any of his films yet, I also watched my first RK film this year (Anari), but if they do, they love him.

He was a genius, no doubt. In his first film, he shared the screen with his father Prithviraj. "Inquilab" (1935) is rated high on IMDB, but not much information exists otherwise. Raj, though, was only 11 years old in it, and his first "real" role was in 1943's "Hamari Baat". 

Raj Kapoor also directed 10 films, and gained a good reputation as a director as well. 

Raj's first work as a director: "Aag" (1948)

In 1984, four years before his dead, he made his last filmic appearance in the TV movie "Kim".  

A little anecdote: When I was in Hamburg in April, buying all those new DVDs, I went to a lot of stores, and in each one, the Indian employees were like "These are Indian DVDs... They're in Hindi...", sounding like "Get outta here, this is for Indians only... bla, bla", but in the last one (also the one where I bought most), there was only one employee, and he was so nice. When he asked me, if I'm searching for anything in particular, I said, well... Raj Kapoor? He almost fell off his feet! "Oh my God, you like Raj Kapoor! How cool is that? Wow, you're a real insider..." and on, and on. I think most customers in Hamburg just want to buy some German dubbed kitschy "typical" Bollywood - meaning the "typical" that Western medias made the masses believe that Bollywood is like. 

Shammi Kapoor - The Indian Elvis

Shammi is the smaller brother of Raj Kapoor, and also he has a big fan community. He was especially successful during the 1950s and 1960s, and is still alive today (turning 80 in October, he is one year younger than my grandmother).  Shammi made his debut in 1953, where he starred in 6 (!) films. 

Who will people be starring at - Ranbir or Shammi.... ?

During the 90s, and until now, he mostly appeared in small and rather unsuccessful films, the last time in 2006s "Sandwich" with Govinda, Raveena Tandon and Mahima Chaudhry.

But this year, Shammi will be back in a film of one of the latest Kapoor-offsprings, Ranbir Kapoor: the long awaited "Rockstar". It will probably also be the first film I watch of his (speaking of Shammi, not Ranbir).

Urmila Kapoor never entered the film business, but married.

Shashi Kapoor - The One With the Pardesi Dulhan

Shashi Kapoor, the youngest brother of the Three Incredibles (though, let's not forget the small sister Urmila), has already acted in 168 (!) films - as a comparison: Raj Kapoor (who is dead) only acted in 67 films. Well, not everyone thinks that quality goes over quantity (like I do), but another reason might be that Shashi already appeared in many films as a child star - mainly mythology flicks. The first one was "Meena" from 1944 - and as always, I can't seem to find anything about this film. 

Shashi was also married to British actress Jennifer Kendal, and they appeared in various films together.

Today, Shashi Kapoor is 73 years old, and has been "retired" since 1998, when he appeared in the American production "Side Streets", along with some unknown foreign actors and Shabana Azmi.

No, I haven't seen any of his films - what did you think?

Randhir Kapoor - The Economy Class Son

Just like Raj Kapoor himself, Randhir (his eldest son) made his debut in a film with his father, which he also happened to direct. It turned out to be an average success, however, he never came anywhere near the genius-ness of The Show Man. Randhir worked his way through the years, directing and producing a couple of films, but mostly starring as the second lead, without ever reaching the big breakthrough. 

In 2010, Randhir starred in the two comedies "Housefull" and "Action Replayy", of which I have seen the later one, but was not in the slightest impressed by his acting - it was rather embarrassing, actually.

He will also appear in two upcoming releases this year.

Ritu Kapoor-Nanda, daughter of Raj Kapoor, never entered the film business, but is a "prominent Indian entrepreneur" according to wikipedia.

Rishi Kapoor - The One I Don't Really Get the Appeal For

Debuting in a film directed by your father, one of the biggest stars in Bollywood ever, is not a bad thing. Starring as the lead of a major hit of your decade after that, is not bad either - I'm talking of "Bobby", of course. Rishi Kapoor had luck by his side - but also, and I must admit that, talent. Until the 2000s, Rishi did a lot of romantic films after that kick-started career, and especially gained a big female fan community. From then on, and until today, he mainly played side characters as an older man, mostly in successful films like "Hum Tum", "Fanaa", "Luck By Chance" - and even God, in "Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic" (btw, one of the worst films I've ever seen... and also a flop). 

Yes, he is a good actor. But. I don't find him sympathetic at - all! Maybe you've heard about that Karan-Johar-conflict, maybe you haven't. Well, Ranbir, Rishi's son, shared his advice on how to keep several girlfriends or affairs at a time, without them finding out - and Rishi really appreciated his sons behaviour - and was FREAKING proud of that bastard (who though also happens to be a good actor, and, well, young people can be like that - but parents (who are married) should NOT appreciate that!). Rishi even grew very angry, when Ranbir's ex-girlfriend Deepika (whom I seem to like more after watching "Karthik Calling Karthik", btw), said some unpleasant stuff about Rishi's betaa. 

And that's why I don't like Rishi, Raj's most successful son.

Rajiv Kapoor - The One With The Short Filmography

It does look cheesy...

The youngest son of Raj Kapoor, only starred in 14 films, while he directed one and did some other behind-camera work for about 4 films.

His debut happened in "Ek Jaan Hain Hum" (1983), a rather unknown, cheesy-looking 80s fillum. I also haven't heard of his other films before, except for his directorial work "Prem Granth" from 1996, which I only heard of because Madhuri Dixit is in it.

After completing "Zimmedaar" in 1990, Rajiv Kapoor retired from his work as an... actor.

Rima Kapoor, the fourth child of Raj Kapoor, also never entered the film industry.

Aditya Raj Kapoor, son of Shammi Kapoor, worked mainly as a second unit or assistant director, and directed two unsuccessful films in 2007.

Kanchan Kapoor, daughter of Shammi Kapoor, never entered the film industry.

Kunal Kapoor - The One Who Wasn't As Hot As THE Kunal Kapoor

Again, someone who debuted in his father's film - and "Siddhartha" was, if I'm right, quite successful. After acting in some of his father, Shashi's, films, Kunal launched his own company and produced commercials. He only appeared in 8 films.

Karan Kapoor  - The One Who Was Just As Unsuccessful As His Brother

Karan's career was pretty much a copy of his brother Kunal's. He started it in "Junoon", a Shashi-film, and stopped after seven films. He also modeled.

Sanjana Kapoor - The Pioneer Woman

Calling her a pioneer might be a little over-the-top, but Sanjana Kapoor, daughter of Shashi Kapoor, was the first female Kapoor to pursue acting. She started out co-starring her parents Shashi and Jennifer in "36 Chowringhee Lane", and later on also appeared in the acclaimed "Salaam Bombay", after which she though quit acting. She then focussed on theatre, where she had more success.

Karishma Kapoor - The One I've Been Impressed By Lately

Looking a bit masculin... But this was a dream debut!

Karishma Kapoor, daughter of Randhir Kapoor, made a dream debut in 1991's "Prem Qaidi", and after that became not only the first successful female Kapoor, but even one of the most-loved actresses of a whole decade. 

Before I saw any of her films, I often felt that she looked weird on pictures, and not as sympathetic as her sister Kareena. Kareena is still my favorite, but after having some difficulties with Karishma in among others "Dil To Pagal Hai", "Shakti" and (though she was better in this one) "Raja Hindustani", Karishma came near to blowing me away in "Fiza" (2000). It was the first time that I really could see her great acting skills, and I was very impressed by her performance - especially the well-known crying-scene.

After her career high in the 90s, Karishma slowly vanished during the early 2000's, and only made films every couple years.

Her last appearance was in 2009's "Zamaanat" - a major flop - and she has two (or one?) children today.

Kareena Kapoor - The One I Love, Love, Love

Kareena made her debut along with the offspring of another legend: Amitabh's son Abhishek - completely stealing the show from him. While Abhishek had to struggle a lot to gain recognition, Kareena was almost immediately at the top. However, she had problems proving that she could handle serious roles, after having a lot of success with her "bitch" image, especially after doing "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham". You know that K3G was my first Bollywood film ever, so Kareena has been with me from the very beginning. I've seen almost every film of hers (excluding "Refugee", though), and she really is one of my favorite actresses. I love how she manages roles that are so different from each other, how she is incredibly sympathetic, and how her acting skills improved during the years.

Kareena will appear in various releases this years, many of them long-awaited, such as "Agent Vinod" and "Ra.One".

Nitasha Nanda, daughter of Ritu Kapoor-Nanda was credited in "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham", as Thanks.

Nikhil Nanda, son of Ritu Kapoor-Nanda is a business man, and married to Bachchan-daughter Shweta Bachchan-Nanda. 

Riddhima Kapoor, daughter of Rishi Kapoor and sister of Ranbir Kapoor, is 31 years old and has not entered the film industry.

Ranbir Kapoor

Ranbir Kapoor is the latest offspring of the Kapoor khandaan, and the first one that I'm able to really "follow" through his career. His 2007 debut "Saawariya", a Sanjay Leela Bhansali creation, was longly awaited, and extremely pre-hyped... by me. As you all know, I was let down. The film was a failure, also at the box-office. 

By the way, Ranbir had also appeared in two short films before. After "Saawariya" though, both Ranbir and his co-star Sonam had their feet inside Bollywood, and both of them respectively launched their careers quite successfully. 

I'm even able to see away from the mentioned KWK-episode (and I wouldn't be able to like Barney from How I Met Your Mother otherwise - the major heart breaker), because I really like Ranbir. 

My favorite film with him until now is "Wake Up Sid". But the best is: I think we haven't seen all of his talent yet.

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Last but not least, my favorite Kapoor:

My favorite male Kapoor is Raj Kapoor

My favorite female Kapoor is Kareena Kapoor

----------------

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

Kapoor Khazana: The Family Tree

While thinking about the things I could write about for Kapoor Khazana (in this last week that is left to me, because I'm leaving to Greenland after it), I remembered something that I had done a really long time ago - I think last summer or so, when I wasn't stressed out or anything: The Family Tree.

Yes, I made a family tree of the (official) Kapoor family (by official I mean, the Shammi and Kareena ones, not the Sonam and all those other ones).

There might be some little flaws in it, I'm not sure, but I tried my best, and I will now present it to you.

I think it's a bit too large to fit in here, so just click on the image, then you'll be able to see it more clearly.

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

Introduction to Hindi Parallel Cinema

Including mini-reviews of 

BHEJA FRY (2007) and MIXED DOUBLES (2006)

 

When thinking of Hindi films, your thoughts immediately turn to the films that could be classified as mainstream Bollywood, even though many of them are good films. Mainstream is not a bad label, it is nothing the more intellectual viewer should be afraid of watching or "being caught" watching.

But one should always be aware of the parallel and independent cinema, which also exists as a part of the Hindi film industry, as in every other film industry I'm familiar with. The difference between mainstream and independent Hindi cinema is actually very small; basically, the independent cinema films have a very small budget, and you can sense that they're made for a special audience. Off course, most directors and producers would like to earn money with their films, mainstream or not, but the the mainstream cinema tries to appeal to the biggest audience possible. Meanwhile, independent films know they have a rather narrow amount of viewers, but for them, the most important thing is just a few people liking and thinking about their films.

The Hindi independent cinema has its roots way back in the time of silent black and white, when the well-known director V. Shantaram released his Sawkari Pash in 1925. The film is about a poor peasant, who looses all his money and is therefore forced to try his luck in a big city. (Source). I have not seen this film, as I'm not that familiar with Indian films before the 60s, but it sounds like being worth a watch.

Guru Dutt and Satyajit Ray are remembered as pioneers of Indian independent cinema in the 50s and 60s, especially Satyajit Ray's films are also famous in the Western hemisphere. Guru Dutt's Pyaasa (1957) was featured in the TIME Magazine's 100-movie list of "All Time's Best Movies". Again, I must disappoint you by not having seen the independent works of that era, but I will live up to that as soon as possible. However, it was only in the 70s and 80s, that the Indian Parallel Cinema reached a larger amount of viewers, also in India, and some of the contributors were Gulzar (which most of you probably know as lyricist of many well-known soundtracks, for instance this year's 7 Khoon Maaf), Shyam Benegal (still making critically acclaimed films today) and Mahesh Bhatt, who especially made some famous thrillers like Jism, and is the co-owner of production house Vishesh films.

This was also a time for many new talents to be discovered in Parallel Cinema, like Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Om Puri. Rekha and Hema Malini also took a chance to work in some Independent films, which had been rather unusual for popular actresses before. Today, it is a more commonly seen phenomena. 

Meanwhile, the movement (at that point called "Indian New Wave") dispread to various regional film centers, such as the Tamil and Telugu film industries, and the Malayalam film industry even experienced a so called "Golden Age" with its contribution to the Indian New Wave. As I've only watched three regional Indian films, this is obviously not my field of expertise, but my plan is to investigate this era and movement further.

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1989)

After those years of joy and exhilaration for Art-house, Independent and Parallel Cinema, came the 90s. If you've ever seen a Bollywood 90s film (honestly, who hasn't, except for some of my non-BW-bloggers or readers maybe), you know that this was a time far from experimentation or cinematic independence. The romantic comedy Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, released in 1989, was a guideline the largest part of films released in that decade. It was a blockbuster, and the two main actors Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla became famous over night. The story line was based on stories like Romeo and Juliet, but however, it still brought some fresh air into the mainstream Hindi films. But because of its giant success, film makers orientated themselves by this film, producing thousands of cheesy, overlong, incredibly colourful and fashionably horrible films that overshadowed the independent productions. Off course, this is generalizing, and there were also good and unusual films in the 90s. While Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is not what I'd call Art-house, it's a great film that I could watch over and over again, just like Darr or Baazigar were entertaining thrillers (Darr was a tad better). Speaking about those films, you made have noticed they're all starring Shahrukh - the 90s were the times of his big breakthrough, and he starred in a lot of crappy nonsense, but also in some of my favorite films. One of them was actually what comes very near to Independent Cinema, personally I consider it to be so, and one of my all-time favorites: Dil Se, which if you haven't seen yet, you must see immediately.

Vikram Bhatt's Ghulam, released 1998 and produced by Mukesh Bhatt, is also known for focusing on social aspects and problems, and I would also recommend it - if you can stand the seas of blood, and the fact that Rani's loved, smoky voice was dubbed, for whatever reason. Deepa Mehta also directed to famous pieces of Independent cinema in the 90s, which I have already written about here - the boundary-breaking film about two lesbian sisters-in-law, Fire, and the Indian-independence-investigating acclaimed Earth.

Another reason for the lack of Parallel Cinema in the 90s, was the big influence the Indian mafia had on Bollywood at that time. It was hard to find sponsors for controversial films, because the mafia basically was the sponsor of Bollywood back then.

With the millennium change though, Hindi Parallel Cinema slowly regained its strength and is again recognized as an important part of Bollywood, and I think the future looks bright for these films.

There are various labels for these films nowadays, as the border between Mainstream and Parallel Cinema is also beginning to smudge. Yuva, Omkara, Bas Ek Pal, Dev.D and also last year's Tere Bin Laden are examples for films that had success and are often described as "Off-Beat Films". Within the 2000's, another new label/ genre has evolved in Bollywood: Mumbai Noir. The term has already been used in the late 1990's, known as films that revolve around the Indian mafia based in the underworld of Mumbai. Pioneer of this genre is known to be Raj Kapoor, who already in the 50s made films concerning this particular subject. Nowadays, it is Ram Gopal Verma who seems be a leader in this genre, though some of his newer films turned out to be more or less disasters. However, his latest project, Rakht Charitra, which has been filmed in two parts, has gained much success and also good critical response. I've seen the first part only, and I think that RGV is back in his best shape, which is delighting. But Mumbai Noir is today also used as a label for urban-set films that deal with social problems in the city of Mumbai, such as this year's Dhobi Ghat - Mumbai Diaries by Kiran Rao, which I'm dying to see. Another trend inside Hindi Parallel Cinema is films spoken in Indian English, which might be useful for attracting an international audience. Deepa Mehta was one of the first ones to take advantage from this, in 1996's Fire. Also, like in various Independent cinemas all over the world, Hindi parallel cinema is often based on literature, western or Indian. Omkara, for instance, was based on Shakespeare's Othello. 

Independent and critical Coming-of-Age films are also up-and-coming, last year's Udaan being a good example. It was even nominated, and won, several Indian awards, which is actually uncommon, as the awards tend to focus on Blockbusters and big names (not what awards are supposed to be about, I think).

I'd like to finish this article off with my mini-reviews of two often discussed Independent Cinema films, which by the way can be viewed free and legally on bigflix.com - though I'm sad to tell you, that only Bheja Fry has English subtitles. Bigflix seems to offer various films of Hindi Parallel Cinema, which is something I really appreciate, and will definitely take advantage of in the future. 

BHEJA FRY (2007) Sagar Ballary

Plot: Rich music producer Ranjeet and his friends meet every friday for a special dinner, where everyone has to bring at least one "idiot", which they all find quite amusing. For one of those dinners, Ranjeet plans on bringing Bharat Bhushan, a tax-office-worker, who thinks he's the best singer in the world. When Ranjeet invites Bharat to come to his house before the dinner, the madness begins...

According to Wikipedia, "Bheja Fry"-director Sagar Ballary is planning to produce a sequel of the film this year, this time with a larger budget and an international setting (Malaysia). Therefore, it was high time for me, to watch the original film. 

You immediately notice, that "Bheja Fry" is a low-budget-production, but in a positive way. The makers wanted to produce an independent and unusual film (even though it's based on the French "Le Diner de Cons"). Especially the 1,5 hours of play time are almost revolutionary (even though there are films as short as this one, it's still not very common). If you're used to films with at least 2 hours of play time (normal is 2,5), this shortness can be quite refreshing. I don't mean to say, that long films are bad, but a equation of longer and shorter films would be desirable. With shorter films, however, the danger of being amusing only, is very big, and "Bheja Fry" does suffer from this at times. It's also a little disappointing, that even though one smiles almost end-to-end, there's no way we're talking about real hysterics or grand joviality. For that, the jokes are just to foreseeable and half-baked, though in a charming kind of way. Rajat Kapoor is an actor, from whom I haven't heard or seen to much until now, but also nothing negative yet. He plays the role of the rich anti-hero very well, though maybe a little bit too understated. Vinay Pathak, who's supposed to portray the "idiot", seems very familiar to me, and one gaze at his filmography tells me why, but funnily, I cannot remember a single one of his roles. In this film, however, he delivers a brilliant performance and masters the difficult tightrope walk between slapstick and good humour. 

I don't know anything about the director, Sagar Ballary, except for my little pearl "Mixed Doubles", in which he was Associate Director. But I'm excited for a sequel, even though a little skeptical because of the increased budget and "international setting". 

Rating: 6.7

MIXED DOUBLES (2006) Rajat Kapoor

Plot: To heaten up his 10 year old marriage, shy office-worker Ranvir asks his wife Malti to take part in a thing called "wife-swapping", where they'd swap their partners for one night. After a couple of discussions and fights, Malti finally agrees, without being really sure about this decision...

The name of my latest obsession is: Rajat Kapoor. After seeing "Bheja Fry", I discovered his work as a director in "Mixed Doubles", which I had only heard about in an interview with Konkona Sen Sharma, and a couple of reviews.

The film is a low-budget and independent-production, just like "Bheja Fry", but in contrary to last one, it was not at all successful at the box-office ("Bheja Fry" turned out as a surprise-hit). All the same, I find "Mixed Doubles" a lot better than the hit, because it's not only more recondite, but de facto even funnier. It is that subtile humour, which is not only caused by Rajat Kapoor, but also the rest of the cast (except for Koel Purie, she was good, but not that funny).

The second actor that I had already noticed in "Bheja Fry" (negatively), is Ranvir Shorey. He truly demonstrates talent in his portrayal of the shy, but at the same time nagging and somehow sweet husband. Most of you might know, that I admire Konkona Sen Sharma. She's not only one of the best actresses of India, but of the entire current film world (and I'm not overdrawing). By the way, I was very disappointed by her 3-minute role in 7 Khoon Maaf. She deserves so much better.

What I especially liked about the first half was, that everything seemed so incredibly realistic: the interplay between the young, but long-married couple, the small apartment, that every-day-life, which seems so familiar, even though it's actually unknown (I hope you know what I mean). 

Perhaps this was also due to the fact that there were no parents-in-law living in the apartment, which is otherwise very common even for Indian middle class and rich families.

The second half is slightly different, as most of it takes place in the apartment of that other couple and also in a situation, that most of us are not familiar with (especially not teens like me). 

But still, one can relate to the characters, and the second half is really fun.

Actually, I could imagine what was going to happen at the end, but it was still nice to see my thought confirmed.

With its 1,5 hours play time like "Bheja Fry", "Mixed Doubles" serves airy and entertaining reflectiveness off the beaten track, and all that without side-effects.

Rating: 8.0

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I don't yet know, if I'm going to have internet or even time to write during my internship, so this might be the last post for the next two weeks. I hope you enjoyed reading, at least I had writing, and please wish me luck (and maybe watch some Hindi Parallel Cinema while I'm gone). 

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.