March 2019

There were 4 posts published in March 2019 (this is page 1 of 1).

Made In Heaven: Satyamev Jayate packaged in a big budget drama

Remember Satyamev Jayate? Yes, the same TV show that had Aamir Khan crying at the drop of a hat? Now, imagine the same set of issues woven in a story and voila you have Made in Heaven creared by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti. Gay rights? check; Child abuse? check; Drugs? Check; Depression? Check? Basically all the issues that Satyamev Jayate covered is here in form of a wedding story. The makers of Made in Heaven would do a big favour if they It would not be wrong if the makers of Made in Heaven should thank Aamir Khan before every episode.

Ever since Indian language content creators discoverd web as a platform to show their creativity we have been inundated with series showing explicit sex sequences both hetro and gay, using choicest of abuses (F not A is the first alphabet) and the female actors love to smoke. So how different is Made in Heaven on Amazon Prime?

\"MIH

The lead characters Tara and Karan in the serial look cute together. Since the guy is playing a gay character, there is nothing going on between them except friendship. There will be no romantic angle between the two is quite evident from the beginning.

The serial has a huge dose of flashbacks. The wedding planners in eight episodes of first season solve a new problem in every episode while dealing with their personal ones. The weddings in the episode are not linked to each other and so we see different styles in the eight episodes.

In short, Made in Heaven is a big budget production. There is every possible wedding that you can think of. A Punjabi, Rajasthani and osld haveli too thrown in just to make it look cool. In the midst of all this are characters dealing with Section 377 of IPC, husband cheating, drug addict brother and lots of sex with random people.

\"Satyamev

So what is my problem with Made in Heaven? Well, its nothing and everything that is wrong with web series content. The Indian script writers cannot think beyond selling sex in any form. Its just that the web series platform allowes them to ignore the Censor Board and this is where the content for web series begins and ends.

I am still waiting for Indian web series creator to come up with something like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel where script works over everything else. Or even Breathe which was such a refreshing watch. The second season with Abhishek Bachchan as the lead replacing R Madhawan is being shot. Lets wait and see if Junior B can make it better than Madhawan.

Sadly the creators of Made in Heaven and so many others are using this opportunity to create good content, see this as platform to escape from the Censor board scissors. Somehow, I get the feeling that what Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar were trying to show their middle finger to the Censor Board.

Kalank Teaser: Will Kalank be another Thugs of Hindostan or will it break BO records?

Karan Johar\’s Kalank teaser released on Tuesday and the first impression was this is HUGE (in capitals for the impact). Yet to see any movie in the recent times looking this big. The last was Aamir Khan-Amitabh Bachchan starrer Thugs of Hindostan and I dread venturing in that territory again. Though I was in the minority who liked the film. I watched it again on Amazon Prime when it arrived a month back. But as I said, I am in minority as far as TOH is concerned and Aamir Khan is not going to reward me for saying this.

Since this post is about Kalank so back to Karan Johar\’s magnum opus directed by Two States director Abhishek Varman. The film boasts of a huge starcast rarely seen in Hindi films these days. Madhuri Dixit Nene, Sanjay Dutt, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha – these are just the lead characters. Obviosuly, there will be more and we shall know them in the coming days. The sheer scale seen is the Kalank teaser gives a feeling that no stone has been left unturned in making Kalank look big. But so did TOH and the film failed to set box office on fire. Here and also in China where Aamir Khan enjoys a huge fan base.

\"Kalank

The real test of the second directorial venture of Abhishek Varman would be the treatment and the script. Yes every frame in Kalank teaser looks grand. The sets, costumes, dance sequences – everything. It would not be unfair to compare the Kalank teaser to a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. But that is where the comparison should end. Because Bhansali films have everthing else working for them. Music, story, execution, cast. This is where I have my doubts. While the producer may have manage to get the cast including current hearthrobs Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, will it reply only on these two?

Sonakshi Sinha looks like she has walked in from Lootera set. Her looks are so much Lootera-ish that Ranveer Singh would have made the jodi complete. Instead we have Aditya Roy Kapoor. Now, after a rather promising start with Aashiqui 2, his career has been downhill to say the least. Even coming together with Shraddha Kapoor failed to lift OK Jaanu. Sonakshi Sinha made her presence felt through item numbers – the last one in Total Dhamaal. Missed it? Watch now and wonder WHY she agreed to do this.

Karan Johar himself had disclosed that late Sridevi was supposed to do Madhuri Dixit Nene\’s part. Madhuri even spoke to Sridevi\’s daughter Janhvi Kapoor after Sridevi\’s untimely demise on February 24, 2018, before coming on board. The change in the cast resulted in Madhuri sharing the screen with her ex-lover Sanjay Dutt after 21 years.

Johar had said that Kalank was his father late Yash Johar\’s dream project and the script was lying with him for the last fifteen years. Director Abhishek Varman showed interest in the script and rest is what we now know.

Coming to the music of Kalank, like you I also heard the singer who will never ever sing for Salman Khan, Arijit Singh crooning just one line. I checked Twitter and his fans were going gaga with just that six word piece in the Kalank teaser.

It was a meh teaser. Until Arijit voice kicked in. Then it was awesome #Kalank https://t.co/b8O2ZUlAnS

— Musal (@FoniLunbo) March 12, 2019

So TOH director Vijay Krishna Acharya regular Pritam who was dumped for the magnum opus, is doing the honours here. Varman dropped the trio of Shankar Ehsaan Loy who scored the wonderful soundtrack of 2 States. The album was adjudged Album of the year, so I have no clue why SEL were dropped. Actually, SEL are losing out on lot of Dharma projects while Pritam is getting all the big ones. This needs some investigative journalism so wait for it. Will Pritam be able to manage justice to the period film of this scale?

Kalank releases on April 17, on a Wednesday and not on a Friday April 19 as announced at the time of launch. Another TOH similarity. It also released on Wednesday to gain the maximum from Diwali holiday block. Kalank will have a proper trailer with all the dialogue baazi. This reminds me of Alia Bhatt. The Twitterati cannot get enough of her dialogue.

\”Jab Kisi Aur Ki Barbaadi Apni Jeet Jaisi Lage… Toh Hum Se Zyaada Barbaad Aur Koi Nahi Iss Duniya Mein\”

Incidentally only two voices can be heard in the teaser. The second one I have mentioned first because the first one is nothing to write about. I mean why do they give Varun Dhawan dialogues? He can emote much better without opening his mouth much. Case in point is October. What a performance Varun. But Kalank is just not suiting him. Body, biceps, dance steps are all fine but can you please do something about that voice of yours? May be take a tip from Gulzar saab?

Here is the teaser (if you have managed to miss all the links that came your way). Do write in the comments section if you liked the piece, hated it or want to call for a boycott.

How to come to terms with loss of a loved one

The only thing certain after we arrive on this planet is death. I would say this very often about death and yet realised once again recently that we are never prepared for it.

I recently lost my cousin to cancer. She was undergoing treatment for close to two years but eventually lost the battle. She was one of the toughest individuals I have met in my life and to see her life end like this was painful – to say the least. It took me days to come to terms with what has happened and part of it was possible with her last three days when we saw her slipping away from us after doctors gave up any hope of her recovery.

Loss of a loved one is really difficult and there are whole lot of questions that are left unanswered. Eventually we all come to terms with their absence and move on with our lives but there are moments, times when the loss hits us. While we take other failures/setbacks in our stride and move on, we seem to be least prepared for our departure or that of others.

Much as I try to understand this, there is little to understand. So how do we cope with it? Here are the five simple things I did to come to terms with the loss.

  1. Accept:The biggest lie we live is denial. That it did not happen while the truth is completely the opposite. It is hard to accept that someone who till moments ago was full of life and the centre of our lives is no more. We may accept their physical absence but the emotional absence of a dear one is hard to accept.

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  2. Let your feelings out: I remember it felt little awkward when I started crying while my cousin was being taken for her last rites. No before that as well when I started crying in the hospital as it became clear there was nothing we can do except wait for her to peacefully leave us. There are people who are strong, very strong and they don’t shed a tear. Does that mean they are not sad? Well, they have different method of processing their feelings. To me crying is the easy way to let it all out. I feel better, light.

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  3. Talk to someone:This is actually very important after someone you love is not there. Talking to a relative who was close to the departed soul helps in coming to terms with the absence. Talking about the past good times spent together or that incident which brought you close, it all helps.

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  4. Give yourself time: Things wont return to normal just after the mourning period is over. It will take time. Take all the time to process the loss. It was a living being who shared the space with you, so even little things like the morning cup of tea will continue to remind you about him/her. It’s a process that will continue because just when you think you have moved on and accepted the loss, something will happen to bring back the memories.
  5. Celebrate life: Its only when someone dies that we realise life is much more than that latest edition of the mobile phone or the limited edition of that car. Small things that may make no difference to others but mean the world to us – do that. Even if it is as simple as enjoying a hot cup of chai at a roadside tea stall. Also I find it lot more relaxing if instead of grieving over the loss, we celebrate the life that spent time with us. Like I wanted to play songs my cousin loved while she was lying in bed unaware of us surrounding her.

Death is one thing we all are afraid of. So we don\’t discuss it and when it happens, we come up with our own ways and means to cope with it. This was my way of coming to terms with the loss

वो हमसफ़र था – एक ग़ज़ल जो बयां करती है दिल और देशप्रेम की दास्ताँ

बहुत से गीत, ग़ज़ल और उससे जुड़ी कहानी सुनने, पढ़ने में बड़ा मजा आता है। मसलन वीर-ज़रा के गीत जो मदन मोहन जी की लाइब्रेरी से लिये जो करीब पच्चीस साल पुराने हैं। 1942-A Love Story का गाना एक लड़की को देखा तो ऐसा लगा महज पांच मिनिट में तैयार हो गया था। गुलज़ार और आर डी बर्मन के गाने बनाने वाले किस्से भी कम नहीं हैं। लेकिन आज जिस ग़ज़ल के बारे में मैं बात कर रहा हूँ वो मैंने सबसे पहले सुनी 2016 में।

उस समय ज़ी टीवी के एक चैनल पर पाकिस्तानी सीरियल दिखाये जाना शुरू हुए थे और हमसफ़र शीर्षक वाला ये सीरियल मुझे बेहद पसंद आया। फवाद खान और माहिरा का ये सीरियल क्यों पसंद आया कि लिस्ट में एक कारण था उसका शीर्षक गीत – वो हमसफर था। ग़ज़ल के अल्फ़ाज़ कमाल के थे और गायकी भी। कुरैतुलैन बलोच ने इस ग़ज़ल से काफी नाम कमाया था।

\"Humsafar\"

जब आप ये ग़ज़ल सुनते हैं तो सीरियल के क़िरदार अशर और ख़िरद और उनकी ज़िंदगी के उतार चढ़ाव ही ध्यान में आते हैं। ग़ज़ल के बोल भी किरदारों का हाल-ए-दिल बयान करता सा लगता है। मसलन:

अदावतें थीं, तग़ाफ़ुल था, रंजिशें थीं बहुत
बिछड़ने वाले में सब कुछ था, बेवफ़ाई न थी

इसको पढ़कर लगता है जैसे शायर नसीर तुराबी साहब ने क्या बखूबी बयाँ किया है किरदारों के दिल की हालत। सीरियल में दोनों क़िरदार किसी कारण से अलग हो जाते हैं और ये शेर उसको बखूबी बयान करता है।

हम ऐसे कितने ही गीत, ग़ज़ल सुनते हैं और लगता है उस सिचुएशन को वो शब्द बिल्कुल सही बयाँ करते हैं। लेकिन बाद में पता चलता की उन शब्दों की कहानी ही कुछ और है।

कुछ ऐसा ही हुआ इस सीरियल की ग़ज़ल के साथ। जब सीरियल देखा तो लगा ग़ज़ल के बोल इसके लिए ही लिखे गए थे। लेकिन पिछले दिनों ऐसी ही ये ग़ज़ल YouTube पर सुन रहा था तो पढ़ा की कहानी कुछ और ही है। दरअसल नसीर तुराबी साहब ने ये ग़ज़ल लिखी थी 1971 में और ये किसी प्यार में टूटे दिल के लिये नहीं बल्कि एक अलग हुए देश के लिये लिखी गयी थी। 1971 में पाकिस्तान से अलग होकर बना था बांग्लादेश और शायर ने इससे दुखी हो कर ये ग़ज़ल लिखी थी। जिस हमसफ़र की वो बात कर रहे हैं वो असल में बांग्लादेश है।

इस विडियो में खुद नसीर तुराबी सुना रहे हैं अपनी ग़ज़ल:

https://youtu.be/UqNjcjaXaYE 

कितनी क़माल की बात है कि जो शब्द कुछ देर पहले तक दो किरदारों की ज़िंदगी से जुड़े लगते थे वो दरअसल एक देश के लिए लिखे गये थे। इसे शब्दों की जादूगरी ही कहेंगे कि देश और दिल के हालात एक ही शेर बयाँ कर देते हैं। सलाम है नसीर तुराबी साहब को उनके इस कलाम के लिये।

वो हम-सफ़र था मगर उस से हम-नवाई न थी
कि धूप छाँव का आलम रहा जुदाई न थी 

अपना रंज न औरों का दुख न तेरा मलाल
शब-ए-फ़िराक़ कभी हम ने यूँ गँवाई न थी

मोहब्बतों का सफ़र इस तरह भी गुज़रा था
शिकस्ता-दिल थे मुसाफ़िर शिकस्ता-पाई न थी

अदावतें थीं, तग़ाफ़ुल था, रंजिशें थीं बहुत
बिछड़ने वाले में सब कुछ था, बेवफ़ाई न थी

बिछड़ते वक़्त उन आँखों में थी हमारी ग़ज़ल
ग़ज़ल भी वो जो किसी को अभी सुनाई न थी

किसे पुकार रहा था वो डूबता हुआ दिन
सदा तो आई थी लेकिन कोई दुहाई न थी

कभी ये हाल कि दोनों में यक-दिली थी बहुत
कभी ये मरहला जैसे कि आश्नाई न थी

अजीब होती है राह-ए-सुख़न भी देख \’नसीर\’
वहाँ भी आ गए आख़िर, जहाँ रसाई न थी

ये सीरियल के लिये रिकॉर्ड हुई ग़ज़ल का विडियो: