Lyrical Bhardwaj and his Shakespearean Cinema

Bhardwaj once said he made films only because he got to make his kind of music. Or did he actually?

We already know most of the story linearly through Ruskin Bond, Twitter and Blog reviews. A few minutes into the film, Bhardwaj pulls the rug from underneath my feet in a neat scene where the dwarf jockey cum horse trainer openly rebels against the Housemaster Major Rodrigues (Neil Nitin in a straitjacket). Vivaan Shah’s dry voice over announces a duel. Both Major and the Jockey are with whips. The subjugated Jockey is giving it his best. What is his motivation? Why would he do that, is my thought? He loses and he also loses an eye in the process. Susanna (Priyanka Chopra) gets angry. The bells toll. Major is bumped off in an elaborate sequence.

Why would the Jockey, Maggie the cook and Ghalib the butler willingly take part in Susanna’s ghastly thought as if it were just another episode in their dysfunctional life. As Vivaan keeps explaining to us in the background!

These people are not afraid of circumstances, of their position or their future?
(In the meanwhile, a Christian Susanna has already been shown doing a Naag Devta puja in a well) I get nudged, I am winked at!

They are not. As they know their “Saheb” Susanna from before. (Here, I begin to understand the genius of Bhardwaj). They know that she is a murderer and that at some point in her relationships she’ll snap. So, it is the men who in most cases come to live with her. Not she with them. The Ghazal writer (Irrfan in all glory) being the notable exception. In her familiar environs she sets up her murders like a Sardar and his man servant in a place called Nithari, in real life! Nudged, Winked.
But, she is in a battle with herself, with her damaged psyche that has nestled evil right from her childhood. The house help know. They vicariously enjoy her conquests, live a cheerful life, have bacchanalian evenings recounting her exploits and even willingly participate in her elaborate murders. The Nudge is hard. The wink is Mischievous now.

Very lyrically, through an elaborate use of Western folk, Western Classical, Rock and Ghazals, we see the men meeting their nemesis and losing their life to her through the first hour.

Bhardwaj needs to sell the psyche of a cold blooded murderer to us. He does that with some of the most awesome music that I have heard in recent times. Not all the riffs, church choir songs, a great “I Do” version (sung by Dominique Cerejo, most probably, as I could not spot the tag anywhere), a superb waltz track done in a dark army mess ballroom, Dekh to Dil ki Jaan by Mehdi Hassan et al. Murders need to be dressed up too! Nudged Hard!!

These brilliant pieces set the tone for Susanna to move forward through her story, aid her in her macabre search for life, violins serenade when she walks the aisle with John, the rockstar, just after a church choir help her in shedding tears for her departed Major, who we know she has killed. In fact, John is from the church choir. So musical and yet so fatal for the poor church boy.

I have entered the House of Mirrors that Bhardwaj has set up completely.

So, I state again, Bhardwaj once said he made films only because he got to make his kind of music. Or did he actually?

Do her husbands deserve those deaths? As I have mentioned in the beginning that Susanna’s damaged psyche does not allow herself to even contemplate walking away. She has to kill. So, the characters are shown indulging in some form of sin.
So, back to the music again and now the brimming BG score. I have to take a notepad and sit the next time I would have to note the elaborate notes he spins around each episode, differently yet the focus is to stun us viewers into understanding the fact that Susanna had to do that murder! She had reason, you see!! McGuffin there. But we get sold. Wink. Wink..

The confusion for the viewer is in the second half. Vronsky first. Why? He tells her he would not want to get married then, she forces her into marriage and then gets those photographs. Then the elaborate kill wherein the butler Ghalib malevolently explains how “Saheb” has bumped off the earlier husbands. Now who is winking at me?
So, an Abala Naari who is kind of dysfunctional, has landed up with awful hubbies and so has a history of murders now needs to murder again just for the heck of it?
Hard to digest. All because he has another family or he is probably a double agent?

The answer is in her darkening and wizening face. The demons inside her are out there for all of us to see. The tight close ups now and the haunting BG make us aware of the uncomfortable face and the mind behind it. Gruesome.

Then, she invites the investigating officer Keemat Lal (Annu Kapur) to her home, herself. Compellingly brilliant scene wherein she clearly states that she may be caught and Keemat keeps finding out a way of saving her while looking at the murder scene and then she coolly takes him to bed. Mind you, he is not so sure of this middle aged good looking woman and is just playing the lark. But, she is sure. Inevitably, she is on top in bed, bringing him to a climax that he has not known before. He is sold. He quickly goes through a divorce to come back and get married. Then, he is immediately killed. Why? This time, in church she is not even simpering!
Realization dawns to viewers and herself, Susanna. She ain’t gonna change. At all.
Then, the remorse sets in. She consumes pills to die. She is saved. The tables turn.

So, she plans one last time. She kills and then wants to die as she does not want to kill anymore. The fire results. The violins wail.

Then, the brilliant end. And the seventh husband. Faith! And the Church Bells…
I mean, how would this auteur go about filming this? So, let me get the scenes out of the way and then I’ll worry as to how I shall embellish it or get all the details in place, in head, in the screenplay, the music to the last riff and film it with all my actors knowing what they have to deliver?

The actors deliver, and how?!

The two Kinds of Cinema I see!

Two Days ago, after a long time, I used Facebook to have a strong discussion on the state of Indian films. KK, a good friend, completely rejected the latest film to have hit the theatres, Guzaarish. Fatema, another friend, and I had a different take altogether. We were of the opinion that this was a good film in spite of all its imperfections. The question is 'who's right'. There was no answer. The reader may say 'to each his own'! But really, truly, is that all that can be spoken about the state of Indian cinema and the concept of universal likes or dislikes.

Let me go little retro here. I remember when Natwarlal, Naseeb, Karz, Jyoti bane Jwaala came out in India. They all were big Silver Jubilee hits. Try and sit through those films in front of the telly. Go ahead, just try. Forget that they starred some of the biggest names in Hindi cinema for 2 hours and just try to gaze at the telly patiently. You may even hum the songs, but the films, you will not be able to sit through. But you will sit through a Silsila or an Anand or even Ghar as they would have a story, some takeaway that you would enjoy.

Now, in those days of 'Silver Jubilee' hits, we were not exposed to world cinema like we are now. TV channels, multiplexes releases, simultaneous world releases, et al. Our understanding of good cinema has been unknowingly redefined. So, a half baked 'Jhoota hi Sahi' shall not be palatable anymore, neither will a metaphoric, difficult to grasp Raavan too! There are no second chances beyond the weekend, as we would know how many Holly films this Hindi film has been adapted from and thus belittle the film totally. We would like to see how many stars the reviewer has given the film before we venture to the plex. So, the idea of a story rich, entertaining film shall take on another hue due to commercial constraints. Therefore, a Dabangg (Jyoti bane Jwala of 2010) shall be more tolerable than LSD! True then, true today too. So, why crib about this at all. There shall be those kind of films that shall be made catering to that kind of crowd those who are looking for over the top simple commercial films and they shall do well if properly made.

Then, there shall be films like Chameli ki Shaadi, Jalwa, Aakrosh, Satya, Udaan amd Ankush that shall be made with small budgets and score big because of the content only. Both of these kinds of films shall coexist happily, if they are not edged out by newer mediums that can deliver better stories to people.

Power to these different kinds of cinema!

Delhi 6, Billu, Dev D - a study in Strategy

Let me draw your attention to a very prudent Marketing principle:
“THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MARKETERS NURTURE THE STRONGEST RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR MOST PROFITABLE CUSTOMERS”
Delhi 6 is releasing this Friday. The net is agog with good news out of New York about the movie. Good to hear. UTV, again, as usual has done a tremendous job of getting the film to its required junta. The songs and the music are doing wonderfully well and are able to lend to the movie’s marketing a whole lot.
In fact, this brings me to the above principle. Delhi 6 was announced to the world some two years ago and R O Mehra took some time to get together his principal cast. But, he had done his script and had taken pains to give A R Rahman a complete narration of the screenplay. Rahman , on his part, started with his homework and it then took a painstaking process of much over a year before he got all the tunes in place. Tunes that were from all over the place, various types of music, even a devotional number that he had safeguarded for about nine years!
ARR knew Rakeysh’s story. He also could get the spirit of creativity. He nurtured it. So, look at the product we have at hand. ARR strove to provide us through Delhi 6 music the strongest relationship – love and honesty. These were tunes that were not hatched up in a Rum and guitar session. These were not ditties that were composed at 6 am in the morning because Shreya Ghoshal was not going to be available for another 3 months as she was going away on a Live tour! This was not poetry that was hatched up with stock words such as “Soniye”, “Munda”, “Mar Jaawan”! This is lyrics, as we know it from the “Aaa chalke tujhe main leke chaloon” days. Prasoon Joshi may not write another single line at all but shall be remembered for “Arziyan” forever. This is what I mean when I say “Strongest Relationship”.
When this kind of a relationship is created at the outset, the rest of the movie is created with the same fervour and devotion. I can very well imagine the cast, high value ensemble that it already is, would feel when confronted with such writing and such music. Top your best, shall have been the cry in unison. I can definitely say with complete confidence, even without getting a minute peek into the film, that Vijay Raaz, Dipak Dobriyal, Divya Dutta, Rishi Kapoor, Supriya Pathak, Waheedaji, Om Puri, Pavan Malhotra, Sheeba and the others would have just been driven by some unseen power to deliver acting standards that they themselves had not touched before. Such is the power of sturdy, hard, painstaking, honest work and craft!
The Marketing principle also stated “Profitable customers”. Fortunately, Indian cinema, the unique Entertainment juggernaut does have the entire country’s population as its “profitable customer”. Movies made with utmost honesty with true regard to story, plotting, music, language, idiom and communication shall always be able to reach out all the customers.
Billu – a moderate movie with a simple cast except Shahrukh Khan has not seen hysteria at the Box Office. Why? For me and many other people, it is that entry of Shahrukh and his dalliances with three heroines, promoted as they were. So, what happened?
a) It became a mass movie that converted into a multiplex movie
b) It was a multiplex movie all along but had tried to break into other markets too
I really have no problems with either marketing premise, but was the story or marketing true to its form. No!
Ideally, the movie was to have 3 – 4 nice songs from the heartland, like the location of the movie, based on new sounds, but heartland, with good and clear lyrics, not the Urdu symbolisms that fail to enthuse the normal paying people and that good cast to do some even more pithy lines of dark humour right through the movie.
But what we got is a Shahukh Khan starrer where he has pontificated about the goodness of our film industry. C’mon, people can see through all of this! So, Monday onwards the movie is taking a huge dip. At best, it will scrape through somehow and a thundering performance by Irrfan shall be consigned to the back pages of tabloids.
On the other hand, Dev D, a movie, that had an entirely different form, style, content and visual appeal has managed to stick through the last ten days quite merrily. The reason is very apparent. Kashyap and UTV focused on getting their customer right with the right story, the right pitch, the right music, hummable lyrics, easy to understand dialogues, everyday pronunciations and generally kept the vim and vigour flowing. Kashyap has gone on record saying that he bounced it off his mother too.
This is the hallmark of a good Producer, manufacturer or service provider. They keep it simple to make it easy for the customer to see some value in it. Thereby, a Brand is created and generates mindspace and heartspace.
Delhi 6 is on its way to become a huge trendsetting blockbuster.
Dev D has shown what a good small film can do.
Billu is where it is!!
The Best Startegy is still the best product, a great movie shall still result from a well told story and its accompaniments, other gimmicks can be kept back in the garage!