Two Legends | Editor's Pen

Hi,

 

Recently we lost two icons of entertainment world. Yash Chopra and Jaspal Bhatti. Tragic.

 

Yash Chopra will be remembered for making big movies. Big not only on scale of budget but also on scale of story, star cast and drama. Who can forget Waqt? Who can forget Chandni? Not many directors have been able to achieve adulation and admiration of masses and classes alike. Yash Chopra managed that. It was not that he made only blockbusters. But whatever he made had substance. Remember Lamhe?

 

Today, TV channels are overflowing with comedy shows. In 90s, Jaspal Bhatti was the man. Satire, in true sense, was his forte. He never felt the need the adding masala to his jokes. He kept them simple and sensible. Though in Hindi films, he was not able to replicate his success in TV Show Flop Show, he remained an icon of Punjabi cinema. His ability to depict common man’s tragedy has inspired many and will continue to do so.

 

Indian cinema will miss them. The Show will go on but will the new Showmen scale the benchmarks?

 

Love,

Sujoy

When Husband And Lover Confront In Kabhi Kabhie | My Take | Under Lens

In Deewaar, Shashi Kapoor asked Amitabh Bachchan if he will sign the papers and surrender or not. Amitabh says no and questions the morality of his question in light of natural justice. In Kabhi Kabhie, a deja-vu moment comes when Shashi Kapoor comes across the fact that during college time, his wife played by an elegant Raakhi and Amitabh had an affair. He tells that he would have appreciated had he come upto to him upfront and told the truth.

 

The beauty of the entire sequence lies in the fact that as it begins, you know that Shashi Kapoor is very upset but is hiding disappointment. Then he curses himself because he doubted the faithfulness of a lady who is married to him for 20 years and gave up all her joys. He asks why all these years, they ignored each other. He tells that he would have appreciated their frank confession rather than knowing about it accidently. The transition of his character reveals the character so beautifully that one cannot resist giving a standing ovation.

 

The sequence follows up with Amitabh’s monologue expressing his reasons and defending them strongly. He defends Raakhi as well. Yashraj always brought an amazing streak to their characters. The way the conflict and mutual admiration between lover and husband of a woman has been explored in Kabhi Kabhie, its an example to follow.

 

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Yash Chopra Beyond Romance | Under Lens

Yash Chopra, by large, will be remembered for beautiful romantic movies. This impression is because he made some of the most mesmerizing romantic films of Hindi Film Industry. But Yashraj has made many movies beyond the chiffons and Swiss Alps. As we lost him, TRM remembers some of such gems:

 

Ittefaq: With Rajesh Khanna and Nanda, Yashraj made one of the finest thrillers. Ittefaq, based on a Gujarati play, plays with viewer’s prejudice against a convict. A convict charged with murder hides in a house. He threatens the lady of the house to ensure his safety. But later he realizes that what he saw was a hogwash.

 

Deewaar: Mere Paas Maa Hai. This iconic dialogue was an imagery of a son’s emotion for his mother and a true contrast. Loosely influenced by Haji Mastan and other mafia of 70s, Deewaar told story of two sons, born under same circumstances but with different outlook towards world. Deewaar made Amitabh Bachchan the Angry Young Man he was. Khush To Bahut Hoge Tum can still cause goosebumps.

 

Dhool Ke Phool and Trishul: Both DKP and Trishul dealt with a sensitive topic of illegitimate children. Yashraj always believed that a child cannot be illegitimate. If someone has to be so, the blame should lie with the parents. Though both the movies are different, the way the topic has been dealt is exemplar.

 

Daag: Though people might count it as a romantic movie, its basically a movie that talks about a situation and dilemma the protagonist is in. A man is convicted for a murder he committed to save his wife. As destiny desired, he escapes and meet another woman who is expecting. But her lover has dumped her. He decided to attain a new identity. But things go awry when he meets his first wife.

 

Jab Tak Hai Jaan - Thats The Untitled Film | Editor's Pen

Year 1975. Angry Young Man image became the flavor of the decade with arrival of Vijay Verma. Vijay and perhaps the most iconic tattoo of Indian cinema portrayed the angst brewing in the society. Deewaar was a big hit. References of Haji Mastan added more spice to the stories. Released on Jan 1^st, movie was heralded as the biggest hit of the year. Deewar was directed by Yash Chopra. On August 15^th, Sholay was released. At Filmfare, Deewaar was the king but on Box Office Sholay was creating a new history. The year 1975 is remembered for Sholay.

Who would have thought that Yashraj will have another moment in his life when he will share something with Sholay. Jab Tak Hai Jaan might sound like a lame title for a movie that stars Shahrukh Khan and Katrina Kaif, for the first time as a pair, it definitely a fitting moment to celebrate two iconic movies. Circle of life... I don’t know if this is an acknowledgement of a co-incidence... I would rather chose to believe the former.

JBTJ will be a sort of comeback for SRK. It has been long since we have seen SRK in a conventional love story. He had experimented enough and for good but it will be a pleasure to see him in true romantic colors. Katrina is perhaps the most bankable actress in current scenario and that’s make her combo with SRK even more lucrative. Anushka Sharma... is she playing a major role or an extended cameo. We need to wait for this. One last interesting thing... last time Yashraj directed, he opened up a Pandora box of hidden treasures. Music of Veer Zaara was a bliss. Now he is collaborating with A.R. Rahman. This is going to be epic.

Love,

Sujoy Ghosh

Statesmen: Yash Raj Chopra

Some people are born great and some achieve the distinction but there is a rare class that belongs to both. They are born great and they achieve new heights of greatness to assert the fact. Yash Chopra is a fellow of the league. The man behind the biggest banner of India and some timeless classics, Yash Raj is a person of ethics, values and traditions.

Yashraj saw many successes and few failures. Silsila achieved cult status. Deewar is often rated above Sholay. Dag, Kabhie Kabhie and Veer Zaara established new definitions to love and trust. Dharamputra and Lamhe failed on screen but sizzled on silver discs. Darr, Parampara and Joshila gave new color to story telling and… who can forget Dil To Pagal Hai.

Two path breaking movies by Yashraj were Silsila and Lamhe. Silsila was a complicated movie with a touch of reality and Lamhe failed on celluloid but meant a lot to the maverick.
Silsila had Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri and Rekha. Jaya and Amit were real life pair while the hottest news of the era was affair between reel life pair Amitabh and Rekha. In the classic, Amitabh was paired with Rekha who under unfortunate circumstances married Jaya. Yashraj poured all his efforts to bring the trio and with a brilliant script and excellent music, colored the screen.

Lamhe was an interesting movie. Anil Kapoor was in love with Sridevi who maries someone else and Sri’s daughter (again Sri) meets him after her parents death. She fells in love with him. Without a moustache (rare) Anil was brilliant and was greatly complemented by Sridevi in double role. Movie was atleast two decades ahead of time. Verdict Flop!!

But success or failure cannot define greatness. From Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor to Anil Kapoor and Shahrukh Khan… from Rekha, Rakhi to Priety Zinta to Rani Mukherjee… every star felt the aura. Yash Chopra is to Bollywood what no body can be to Hollywood.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh