Emotions engage in a scuffle
Love, longing, hope
All vying for attention.
Home and distance sickness
Inflicts both our worlds.
Trying to remain unaffected
New life awaits us every nine months
Up to us now
To stick around
To keep the word still
By our resolute will.
ulia
The Saheb is in search of lost paisa. He has rutba (class) in abundance.
The Biwi is in search of izzat lost to the baharwali (courtesan). She has sex appeal in abundance.
The Gangster is in search of ‘class’ he never had. He has attitude in abundance.
It’s a deadly milieu. Set in the badlands of UP, where politics, relationships and anything to do with anyone is only dirty. The sanctity of nothing is preserved, not of the palace, the royal bloodline and even of the marriage of Saheb (Jimmy Shergill) and Choti Rani (Mahie Gill). Irreverence is the order of the day and all those involved unapologetically go about their life, their style.
Biwi loves the Saheb, Saheb loves the mistress. Enter Gangster who now loves the Biwi. Throw in a bit of politics and that’s roughly what SBAG is about.
Director Tigmanshu Dhulia etches out his characters with care. All well-fleshed out, none overshadowing the other, ever. There are some characters in the periphery too, Deepraj Rana as Kanhaiya, Shreya Narayan as mistress Mahua, Vipin Sharma as Genda Singh and Deepal Shaw as (I don’t remember her name). All make the most of the screen time they’re given to pack in good acting and dialogue delivery. Deepal Shaw can act and proves yet again she’s left her item girl past far behind.
What Jimmy does in SBAG make me desperate to see more of him on screen. Directors, please take note. He’s suave and rugged at the same time, a desirable yet undesirable royal.
Mahie’s character gives justification to all those betrayed men and their hatred for womankind. She is naturally bitchy and cunning while Randeep is one bad guy you want to love. They follow the director’s vision to the T, to take you through a ride you enjoy from the beginning to the end. A journey so charged with varied emotions, you can’t help but wonder ‘Dude, how could s/he he do this?’. But you always end adding ‘WOW’ to that sentence.
Tigmanshu’s script is most engaging, peppered with witty dialogue, wry humour, supported by an assortment of actors who take their roles very seriously.
In an interview I read, Tigmanshu said his film was “not a frivolous sex film”. No doubt passions run fast, the need of love and revenge run faster. He is of course allowed to take his liberties on how much sex he wants to show in his film and I can blame my discomfort on my conservative Catholic upbringing. It’s convenient that way.
Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster is recommended viewing, explosive and appealing. Go have a rassi bomb of a time!
Shabri
Directed by Lalit Marathe
Cast: Isha Koppikar, Raj Arjun, Zakir Hussain
Rating: ***
My friend Jane recently wrote the deservedly much-publicised book Mafia Queens of Mumbai with her boss Hussain Zaidi. I remember how she’d narrate heroic tales of the many women she met during the research of the book. You must read the book to know the kind of effort that went into its making. It’s gripping, well-written and real, all at the same time. The idea of women dons is exciting nonetheless. And this exactly what is explored in Shabri, a film with a female don protagonist.
I happened to meet Shabri’s director Lalit Marathe, who told me that the idea of a female don in a man’s world came to him by an anecdote narrated by his mentor Ram Gopal Verma. It goes like this: a gangster was once arrested, and with him was one woman. He pleaded that the woman should be let off as she didn’t have a clue about his wrongdoings. Turned out it was because of the woman that the man had, firstly, landed in the police net.
He said he did not find women per se interesting as gangsters. His debut film Shabri which has been ready for release for five years and finally opened to critical acclaim on August 26th.
Khallas Girl Isha Koppikkar plays the lead. Poverty and the hunger for revenge of her brother’s death set Shabri on the path of gangster-giri. It’s all in her eyes, the anger, the love and the grief caused by her brother’s death in police custody.
As Shabri, Isha is extremely convincing. Her make-up, dialogue delivery and body language oozes confidence even though this is the first time she’s faces the camera in a de-glamourised avatar. Lalit Marathe knows his subject so well he manages to extract stellar performances from his cast. Raj Arjun as Murad is understated in a good way, naturally delivering a performance that stays with you, complicated and played with conviction. Raj has been associated with theatre and had a miniscule role in RGV’s Company. Zakir Hussain who plays a cop is introduced only in the second half, impressing the audience all the way to the end.
The story may be predictably familiar throughout, but it’s definitely hard-hitting and realistic. In a chat with the director, he admitted that references from his own life had been incorporated heavily in the film. The chawls, matka scenes, chases are all well-perceived and executed.
The only problem I had with the film was its background score. Somehow it didn’t seem to be in sync with what was happening on screen. It was too loud, too creepy or too serious. It sounded overdone just to make an impact and convey seriousness, but fails to make the cut.
Overall, it is a film made by a passionate man, wanting to tell his story. Like his mentor RGV, Lalit Marathe does resort to theatrics but it’s all good in the end.
Watch Shabri for its great performances!
Here's what Independence Day and "freedom" is to me this year.
Film: I Am Kalam
Director: Nila Madhab Panda
Cast: Harsh Mayar, GulshanGrover, Pitobash Tripathy
Rating: ***1/2
Answer these questions, one by one.
Who is your idol?
Did you love to go to school? College?
What games did you enjoy? How did you treat your pet?
How many times have you taken for granted your education and position?
How sensitive have you been to the needs of those less-privileged, seeking you help without asking for it?
Chances are you may write me off a Catholic convent-educated oldie brainwashed to put the world before yourself.
I Am Kalam is one of those films which asks you questions of your own upbringing, how many times we value it an dhow many times we take it for granted.
Eight-year old Chhotu (and endearing Harsh Mayar) is sent away by his mother to work at his uncle Mamasa’s (Gulshan Grover) dhaba in the
His choice of idol and ambition is in stark contrast with that of his uncle’s assistant at the dhaba. Laptan (Pitobash Tripathy) dreams Bollywood, adores Amitabh Bachchan and wants to be paired with the industry’s best heroines. An anti-hero in I Am Kalam, Laptan’s greatest enemy is Chhotu’s hunger for education, a better life and willingness to work towards realising these dreams.
Director Nila Madhab Panda has a heartfelt and simple story, which he peppers, very subtly with social messages that get the audience thinking. A strong comment on the differences in modern society, how one’s karma can upstage one’s kismet and how one man’s story can change the outlook of the many following in his/her footsteps.
Mohana Krishna’s cinematography captures the barren lands of Rajasthan perfectly, juxtaposing it with the fertile mind of Chhotu. Harsh Mayar is a gem, his eyes expressive, his acting skills natural. The background score minimal, while the running time is just about perfect.
Watch this one for a heartfelt account of what happens to those who dare to dream. No one can come between you and your dreams, not even fate, is what I Am Kalam conveys, subtly and beautifully. A must watch, touching and inspirational.
