King of Spades

Had heard quite a lot about this play Massage. Besides being in the running for quite a few years now, what intrigued me was the concept of one guy playing plays 24 characters. The main protagonist was essayed by Rakesh Bedi, who is more known for his comic roles in Bollywood, but has more to him that just comedy. This play is a testimonial to that.  A seasoned actor in a play written by a seasoned playwright Vijay Tendulkar is a double whammy for any theatre lover. Had missed watching it on a couple of occasions earlier, hence this Sunday when I got to know that Massage was to be staged in Matunga, booked it at the first go. The play essentially is about the struggle that lakhs of Indians face when they come to the dream city of Mumbai, lured by the prospect of becoming a Bollywood star. Happy Singh as the name suggests is a happy go lucky guy who comes to Mumbai to chase his dreams of becoming an actor. Starts his struggle with an internship as the 4 th  assistant dire...

Macbeth-Maqbool Othello-Omkara Hamlet-Haider 3 indianised  takes by Vishal Bharadwaj  on the respective legendary works of William Shakespeare. The first time he attempted , the second time he re-created .But this time around, he not only does the above two but also succeeds in perfectly indianising miya Shaik peer. It’s ironical that the co-writer of Haider ( along with Vishal Bharadwaj) is a certain Mr. Basharat Peer! Reincarnation anybody? Seems unlikely given his credentials.Well we’ll leave that to some other blog. Set in tumultuous Kashmir, the state of India where god created heaven and man hell, Haider grips your attention right from the start.  Dr. Hilal Meer (Haider’s father) is taken away by the army for treating and sheltering a militant inspite of the prevailing insurgency.  Ghazala (Tabu) ,his wife takes refuge in the arms of his brother Khurram Meer (Kay Kay Menon) and that’s when the boy suspects a rat. Enter Roohdaar (Irrfan khan ) and the ...

“Main tumhare baache ki maa banne wali hun.   Mujhe chhodke mat jao ” she used to scream in the 80’s. “Yeh shaadi mat todo Ramesh, main barbaad ho jaungi. Babuji mar jaenge” ran another teary-eyed dialogue. Call it a reflection of the times back then or the safe ‘Tried & Tested’ formula method of filmmaking, the bollywood heroine never really got the spotlight she deserved. Oppressed, cast away and being taken for granted was often mistaken with the holier than thou -Bhartiya Nari image.   Time and again we saw many movies , where the heroine sometime raised illegitimate children suffering innumerable hardships, only to get solace once reunited with her lost lover. She committed suicide after giving birth , because the society just could not accept a Lawaris. A Failed marriage or engagement was reason enough   for the hero’s sister to drink poison or put the ceiling fan in the house to good use.   Sometimes wonder whether these scenes were on purpose, so ...

“Gujju Porn hai yeh …ekdum GUJUU PORN”!  “kaun dekhega, chod yaar. Boring picture che . Let’s do something else". Came the usual set of replies when I asked people about the most anticipated bollywood movie release this season- RamLeela. Well there was definitely something amiss admist all this. After all the movie looked to have all the perfect ingredients:-   Script adaptation of the evergreen tragedy Romeo-Juliet. Usually one’s first read.  And bollywood’s tried& tested success formula-Love tragedy. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a filmmaker known for treating every frame like a canvas. And this time after making black and blue experiments he was back in multicolour!   The songs, sets, their beautiful picturisation and… Actress of the year -Deepika Padukone. well she seems to redefine beauty in every movie she acts these days. So with all these and especially the last point in particular, i made up my mind to give it a shot. It was anyways a lazy Sunday af...

Opposites attract. Well that’s why they also gel. Yeh Jawaani hai Deewani just re-emphasises this old adage of love but does so beautifully.Right from the first time when Bunny (Ranbir Kapoor) meets Naina ( Deepika Padukone), you can sense an underlying chemistry waiting to explode.    He is the extrovert, chilled out ,self-centered guy who wants to explore the world. She on the other hand is the reserved, nerdy girl who is responsible but bored of her life. The common thing that unites them is his zeal to enjoy life and her underlying desire to break the monotonous ritual that she calls… her life!. They kick off instantaneously on the trek, where they meet and soon love blossoms gradually. The fact that they understand and compliment each other just makes it real. The beautiful Manali landscapes obviously add their own charm to the chemistry. Just as she is about to speak her heart out to him, comes the twist of fate that drives them apart. They do reunite 8 yea...

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...