Master storyteller reignites my love for Indian cinema Bollywood Scene:
'Docky' Dockrat's Published:Jul 12, 2008
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ELECTRIC CHEMISTRY: Genelia D'Souza and Imran Khan, making his big-screen
debut, excel as a couple hell bent on denying their love for each other in
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Jaane Tu Ya Jaane NA (9/10): Twenty years have passed, yet it seems like
just the other day.
As the 1980s drew to a close, Hindi cinema, for me, had lost its charm:
Manmohan Desai's lost-and-found formula had run its course, gratuitous
violence was the order of the day, love stories weren't gelling and
emotional dramas had become melodramatic.
Things had become stale and depressing.
Then along came a quaint romantic film with a tragic ending that dazzled me.
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak reignited my love affair with Indian cinema.
Since then, each time I've felt the onset of the blues, there would be a
Maine Pyaar Kiya or a Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, a DDLJ or a Kuch Kuch Hota Hain,
a Lagaan or a Baghban and, of course, a Black or a Taare Zameen Par — films
that made the writing of this column a pleasure.
This film reinforces that experience. It's engaging, sigh-inducing and
inspiring.
The involvement of Aamir Khan as a producer brings the wheel full circle. In
the 20 years since his debut in QSQT, he has come to represent class.
>From the moment this film opens with its hourglass logo, through to its
tried and tested ending, it features scene upon scene that is dipped in
familiarity, and yet it is constantly delightful, oozing innocence while
always being streetwise.
There have been umpteen films about friendship turning into love, but the
treatment sets this one apart.
The sincerity with which a cast of relative unknowns immerse themselves in
it enables it to soar. It demonstrates, without a shadow of doubt, that
storytelling is an art. Master it, and the audience will be eating out of
your hand.
And director Abbas Tyrewala, who previously wrote the Munnabhai films and
Main Hoon Haa, is a master storyteller.
In one of the best scenes, a group of friends are busy relating the story of
a couple who were hell bent on denying their love for one another.
When one of the narrators is urged to divulge more details, he pauses for
effect and then suggests that the trick to a good story is to reveal every
juicy detail at the appropriate time. Given away too early, the effect will
be lost; wait too long and it'll lose interest — and Tyrewala applies his
own advice by balancing it beautifully.
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na — meaning "whether you know it or not" — is a refrain
from a song in the 1970s favourite Aa Gale Lag Jaa. And for Jai Rathore
(Imran Khan), it's his personal love theme. His friends all know that the
day he finds love, it will be the song he sings.
Those friends think it's a foregone conclusion that Jai and Aditi (Genelia
D'Souza) will marry, because they're perfect for each other. They're best
friends who spend every moment together.
Her parents adore him, and his mother dotes on her. Theirs is a match made
in heaven, but to get to heaven, one has to traverse the earth, to err in a
few ways and to learn from those mistakes. And since this pair suffer from
the "grass is greener syndrome", they make the mistake of agreeing to find
each other the ideal companion.
It's the start of a process that enables them to discover who they really
are. Is Jai as peace- loving (read easily trodden upon) as his mother tells
him he is? And does Aditi want a man who can protect her when she is quite
capable of looking after herself? Thus, what starts out as a bid to help
each other winds up as a need to help themselves.
Boredom has no place in this film. There is no time for anything other than
to marvel at the efforts of a first-time director and his relatively fresh
cast.
As in all of Aamir's films, it's the attention to detail that sets it apart.
Technically it can't be faulted, AR Rehman's music rocks and the
presentation is vibrant.
The performances match. I'm smitten by D'Souza, who is the only cast member
with big- movie experience, in Masti and Mere Baap Pehle Aap. She has fire
in her belly and an irresistible presence. From having fun to dealing with a
personal crisis, she makes it all look so easy and so believable.
Her chemistry with Imran Khan is electric. He is a worthy addition to the
long list of brilliant actors with that surname and has the talent to go a
long way. He wins the viewer over with a superb display of skill,
determination and flair. Adding to his attraction is an air of
vulnerability.
Four superb cameos complete the package. Naseeruddin Shah needs just five
scenes to demonstrate his class, Paresh Rawal is at his menacing best, and
the real-life Khan brothers, Arbaaz and Sohail, have rarely scaled such
heights as they do here.
It's through attention to detail that Tyrewala proves his mettle. Every
scene has been polished until it shimmers and sinks into memory.
Drinking from his fountain-of- youth spectacle enabled me again to reignite
my love affair with Indian cinema, as the song that inspired it goes... Tera
mujhse hai pehla ka naata koi (we have a link that goes back a long way) ...
Jaane tu ya jaane na (whether you know it or not)!
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--
regards,
Vithur
HELP EVER; HURT NEVER;
LOVE ALL; SERVE ALL
