King of Spades

Am writing this article with a premise that all of us know Ramayana- the story of prince Ram. If not, kindly buy a book or rent the entire DVD collection of Ramanand Sagar’s epic serial –Ramayan, which is how most of India learnt about it! The Ramayana play is staged during the Navratri festival leading upto Vijayadashmi, the day when Lord Ram killed Ravan and avenged the abduction of his wife Sita. Ramleela is the name given to the play format that is staged during the festival every year, more so in North India. It’s become more like a tradition that has to be followed come what may. However what makes it interesting is the drama that is usually associated with its casting and the eventual screening. Today people have lost the interest in it, given mythology is uncool for the youth. Most stage actors, given the pittance of the sum they receive as remuneration for their performances don’t really care. Also women do not participate in such plays given the stigma associated with femal...

Nautanki Saala, coming from the house of Sippy’s was expected to be a good light-hearted entertainer. And why not, their last comedy- Bluffmaster was indeed one. This movie had the latest comic hero Ayushmaan ‘Vicky Donor’ Khurana in the lead. He even sang two songs hoping to replicate his debut success. However let’s not get into the comparisons and stay focused on the movie.  Went for it this weekend and rest assured its Nautanki delivered! The story revolves around its main protagonist RP (Ayushmaan Khurana) who comes upon this eternal loser of a character , Mandar Lele (Kunaal Roy Kapur) one night, as Mandar is about to commit suicide. What starts from that point is a complete comedy of errors. Inspired by a French movie ‘Après Vous’ meaning ‘After You’ , the humour here is situational and not over the top. There is no attempt made at to make the dialogues crass, which is the usual trend these days. Simple lines are delivered with such comic timing and punch that it gene...