Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani - old wine in a new bottle!

Good news ... you get your money’s worth, at the almost ekdum start of ‘Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani’! Madhuri Dixit Nene, lights up the screen, as she spins her ghagra & gives us more than a jhalak of her ‘ek do teen ...’ days, along with a very willing & nimble footed Ranbir Kapoor! La Dixit is ravishing, dances like a dream & special mention has to be made of her spectacular gold & silver ghagras, from the house of Manish Malhotra!

100 years of Bollywood & yet our love stories are still old wine in a new bottle .... Karan Johar, the producer, has obviously taken his role as a judge on ‘Jhalak Dikhla Ja’, because ‘YJHD’ is a cleverly tossed salad, with jhalaks of scenes, from every conceivable Bollywood romance, including his own magnum opus, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’:

• From 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge' – like the bespectacled, nose in her books, ‘Om Jai Jagdish Hare’, chanting Kajol, YJHD presents Deepika, as Naina, bespectacled, nose dug in her medical books, carrying a Ganesh ki Murthi on a life changing trekking holiday!
• Yawn – the ‘Train’, of course, from DDLJ & ‘Jab We Met’, & yeah, yeah, Ranbir, the flirtatious, fun-loving hero, a la Rahul/SRK, helps her board the rail gaadi!
• Three buddies – Ranbir, Aditya Kapoor, a bohemian Kalki & a gate crasher, Deepika, going on a holiday - in ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, it was spectacular Spain & apna YJHD goes trekking to Manali.
• Some K-Jo sensibilities – a serious medical student (Deepika), wears pretty, little dresses & tiny skirts, for a trekking adventure, but then, neither Ranbir, nor the men in the audience were complaining!
• The Big Fat Indian Wedding: who would dare make a Bollywood masala phillum, without the grand shaadi routine – again an audio visual treat: Ranbir, with his Shammi Kapoor moves, in the ‘Badtameez’ number, burns the dance floor! Deepika is drop dead gorgeous in some spectacular shaadi outfits, in a riot of colors! We also learn, that once desi shaadis begin, they never end! Kalki’s wedding, to her slightly idiotic boyfriend, is a non-stop party, where there is a grand reunion of the buddies (‘Love Aaj Kal’?), alcohol flows like water, dances & songs happen, outfits are changed a million times ... when the actual marriage ceremony takes place, it is almost an anti-climax!
• Like in every love story, one person loves unconditionally, but the other can’t make up his/her mind! (‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’!) You have to go through many excruciating scenes, before both come on the same page & that happily ever after happens!

Yep, so old wine in a new bottle – but that’s the redeeming part of YJHD – the bottle is pretty, with a stunning looking Deepika, a very suave & dapper Ranbir Kapoor (even if he falters in the serious emotional scenes), a foot tapping music album by Pritam - Rekha Bharadwaj’s voice soars magnificently, in a couple of the numbers, a surprise cameo by Farooque Sheikh, as Ranbir’s father, some amazing locations in India & across the globe, as the foot loose, fancy free hippie, Ranbir, travels the world & captures it on his len ....

a well packaged bottle, by Dharma Productions (they need to stop playing that ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ music!), so what if the taste is thoda sa familiar?

Review: The Great Gatsby

The secret to watching, “The Great Gatsby’, is to detach your expectations, created by the genius of Fitzgerald & to view it as an isolated, inspired movie experience.

A visual treat, ‘The Great Gatsby’ undoubtedly is a celebration of the decadent 1920’s, of opulence, vulgar displays of wealth, showgirls, flowing wine, loud music ... as reflected in the parties, at the mansion of the mysterious Jay Gatsby, which are attended by the rich ‘n famous, though strangely, most of the guests at the Gatsby parties, have never met their host!
Tobey Maguire is the narrator of the story, a first time writer, who takes us through this bitter sweet story of greed, love and betrayal – our friendly neighbourhood Spiderman is back as Nick, the friendly neighbour of Jay Gatsby! Maguire has this extraordinary ability to connect with your emotions & makes you sense his innocence & towards the end, his disillusionment, at the shallow society around him!
But the movie rests squarely on the shoulders, of the time and trusted Leonardo Di Caprio , who from his first mega block buster, where the ship sank, but his career rose & soared, has rarely disappointed – is he the perfect Jay Gatsby – maybe not, but he comes close, with his piercing eyes, in contrast to his vulnerable persona, as the obsessive lover, who with twisted logic, moves opposite Daisy’s house, throws parties full of glitz & glamour to attract her & befriends Nick, who he hopes will help him, in getting close to Daisy. There are times when you want to shake him hard and ask him to get real, but not sure whether Fitzgerald, or the movie, inspires that feeling.
Carey Mulligan makes a pretty Daisy – but scratch the surface & look under the perfect hair, make-up & clothes & you miss the depth that reveals her ruthless selfishness.
The feminist in me has always been outraged about how it is ok for Daisy’s husband to very openly have an extra marital affair, with Isla Fisher, as his hard as nails mistress, but the same husband, is intolerant, at the thought of his wife taking the same liberties, with Jay Gatsby!
Call me old fashioned, because I know the new age music has created quite a buzz, but for me, personally, it didn’t work & discredited the sets and the ambience created.
So against the book, this film may come across as a pale imitation, but still, worth a dekho!
For the poignancy of the moment when Leonardo, who is willing to take the blame, for an accident caused by his lover, Daisy & the manner in which he waits, in the stillness of the night, for the phone to ring, while Daisy, played by Cary Mulligan, has moved on & is, without a backward glance, leaving town with her husband and daughter.
The loneliness of Gatsby’s body, in the large mansion, with no visitors, is a telling testament, to the opportunistic society around him, which thronged to his parties, took advantage of his generosity, but has no use for him now & is disinclined to pay their respects!
But then, as a wise man said, without greed, betrayal, passion & heartbreak, there would be no great works of art, or literature!