How 2017 gave a new turn and Newton to good cinema: A snapshot of Bollywood films through the year

What is common to Rangoon, Tubelight, When Harry Met Sejal, Sarkar 3 and Jagga Jasoos? They are all films that singed their fingers at the box office and will go down in Bollywood as the shining duds of 2017.

As the year comes to a close and trade pundits are busy drawing up their list of hits and misses in 2017 and how much profit or loss the biggest film industry in India made this year, let's take a brief look at what shook and hooked us as far as Hindi cinema goes.

1. There ain't no thing as a sureshot Khan superhit: Yes, whether it was SRK wih Raees, Salman with Tubelight, Aamir with Secret Superstar or even Saif Ali Khan with Rangoon and Chef, all these films proved that just having a reigning superstar or a sale-able Khan in a film does not guarantee box office success.
2. Romance, affairs and break-ups don't create sizzle among lead pairs: Katrina and Ranbir- the IT couple for a while decided to call it quits during the making of Jagga Jasoos. Did people run to catch their chemistry one last time especially in light of the fact that the leading lady swore she will never work with him again, even while she was promoting the film? Nah!
3. Star appeal or not, even good filmmakers can fall out of line: How else do you explain talented and capable directors like Kabir Khan, Imtiaz Ali and Vishal Bharadwaj delivering duds like Tubelight, Jab Harry Met Sejal and Rangoon respectively?
4. Successful star pairings do not mean a good romance: Nobody cared Jab Harry Met Sejal successfully proving this theory.
5. We need to give Chetan Bhagat some rest: Bollywood is so hellbent on turning every film this guy spins out in to a novel that he must be gasping for breath churning out his stories, at the pace the industry seems to be chasing him. Not every book he writes is going to be a 5 Point Someone turned 3 Idiots, so can we not let all his half-hearted books become fodder for celluloid please?
6. Feminism rocks but the script still rules: A good story with a female protagonist is a recipe for fabulous cinema like Queen proved. A lot of times unfortunately, the former part is compromised to stretch our liking for a female central character way too much as seen in Naam Shabana, Behen Hogi Teri, Simran and Meri Pyari Bindu and Noor. Begum Jaan had potential but also highlighted the fact that what's good for regional cinema may not always draw the masses in to the theatre. Not every film is a Sairat or Bahubali.
7. It's all about loving your sequels or franchise films: 2017 spelt this out in block letters like no other year. Just think about the films in this genre that went on to become the highest grossing films of the year- Golmaal Again, Judwaa 2, Jolly LLB 2 and Badrinath ki Dulhania. Commando 2 of course failed as an exception and with good reasons. Vidyut Jamwal flexing his biceps doesn't exactly make a good film you see. Finishing the year on a similar note will be Tiger Zinda Hai as far as speculation goes.
8. Rajkummar Rao- While it has been a fairly good year for Varun Dhawan, the real scene-stealer is undoubtedly Rajkummar Rao, someone who has created his own brand of substantial cinema- his films resonate with a message like Newton, they are gritty even when humorous like Bareilly ki Barfi and celebrate individuality in both characterisation and story like Trapped. He has been a busy man this year and I am hoping for the sake of good cinema- he stays that way.
9. Old wine in a new bottle doesn't always get us piqued- Remember Sanjay Dutt in Bhoomi and the Deol brothers in Poster Boys? Although they dared to be different by exploring unconventional roles for which they deserve full points, sadly they didn't exactly make us scream out 'nostalgia'. Sridevi's 'Mom' however, made an impact after her much-touted English Vinglish which shows how versatility can be strutted, even in your middle age!
10. Content is King, no matter the budget- And finally, I can't emphasise on this aspect enough. Haraamkhor, Trapped, Phillauri, Anarkali of Arrah, Mukti Bhawan, Hindi Medium, Sachin: A Billion Dreams, A Death in the Gunj, Mom, Lipstick Under my Burkha, Bareilly ki Barfi, Shubh Mangal Savdhaan, Newton, Qarib Qarib Singlle, Tumhari Sulu...the fact that the buzz these films created far outdoes the profits that commercial films made sends out a clear message. Content-driven cinema with novelty as a strong element is bound to find an audience in the country at present amid widespread disappointment with regular, cliched fare. This is a strong statement against the urge to stick to the tried-and-tested formula and the audience simply cannot get enough by the looks of it. Long live good cinema and considering Padman is opening 2018, may the trend continue.   

Why #Padmavati deserves a walk of dignity

There has been a huge hue and cry over the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s latest magnum opus, starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor. Those who follow Bollywood news will realise that this is not the first time we are witnessing a brouhaha over a film and its content. Let us believe for once, that the fringe groups that are protesting and crying hoarse over the film’s subject and treatment have a decent idea over the authenticity of the historical characters that are being essayed in the film. Now let us suppose that Bhansali has read his history lessons wrong and thus has taken the liberty to turn the film upside down as per his whims and fancies. In this case, the rabble rousers would be justified in nursing a grouse and even taking certain measures to make sure that the wrongdoers are not allowed to malign a much-venerated historical personality’s name. 

There are several problems with these two premises in themselves. Firstly, nobody knows what SLB has made. Nobody who is protesting at least, unless they have been offered a special dekko of the film before its release or were part of the script reading sessions with the cast or were given a special preview of the story by the makers of the film. So now that we don’t know what the film is depicting and how, how do we assume it is distorting content? Now we come to content itself, how are those claiming to know their history so sure that they have researched and got to the bottom of what these characters were doing in a previous century only available to us through documented records? Who is to claim the authenticity of those writers? How do we know whether Padmavati was indeed a reigning  queen of her time or a figment of someone’s active imagination? How well have historians been able to understand the period she was living in, how engaged were they in the daily events that were unfolding in that era and do we have enough substantial proof to support different points of views of historians during that time to be able to distinguish fact from fiction, fable from reality and creative liberty from a more pragmatic approach?

And yet, there has been a horde of people trolling the release of the film. I am surprised at how many educated people are part of this, not driven by any political agenda or personal malice against the makers of the film. What triggers so many very sensible people otherwise to launch a tirade against an entity they barely know? How many of us were reading chapters on Padmavati in school? Whose reality are we basing our viewpoint on? And how practical is it for us to be raging against a popular piece of art, that is a mere perspective of its maker, who has amply claimed it to have no foundation on actual events that might have happened? Unless we can swear that we have read every piece of material that exists on the saga of Padmavati, we cannot even start calling someone else’s fraud as what we may be doing is equally heinous- throwing up our own intentional ire on forces that run parallel to our highly averse and poorly formed judgement.

I do not wish to defend any filmmaker or film or writer who wishes to give history its own spin, with a deliberate attempt to damage someone’s reputation (may it be a living or dead person). I also do not wish to say we are wrong in questioning the right of such individuals who choose to challenge socio-cultural beliefs around a certain public figure. However, let’s also understand that when one tends to eulogise about a real-life person on screen, lauding his/her work and putting him/her up there on a pedestal, we are still not mirroring reality but presenting our version of facts, a mere essay that projects our point-of-view on others. Be it criticism or praise, when we choose to take a side as a maker potraying a real-life personality, how much objectivity can we claim to achieve allowing different points of view about the same person? For example,  Mahatma Gandhi remains a world-renowned freedom fighter with plenty of those who worship him and those who do not hesitate to be harsh in their review of his political stance, his decision-making as a statesman and an ambassador of satyagraha. While there are some who will vouch for Indira Gandhi’s leadership prowess, they are others who shun her divisive policies and inability to rise above nepotism. There are other public figures who are clearly contentious in character- Vijay Mallya, Hugh Hefner, Michael Jackson…all of them inarguably hold powerful positions in people’s minds: as those who should be looked up to as role models and equally derided by others as people who misused their power for their own selfish motives.

It is extremely detrimental to take sides without knowing the truth. What sets the educated class from the ignorant or the easily gullible is that we are bestowed the power to be able to acquire knowledge, analyse, reason out and then make our estimations about the world around us. Let us not be misled by miscreants to assume a falsified stand. As someone who loves cinema and has enjoyed watching the SLB brand of filmmaking for its sheer grandeur and dramatic gratification, I would like to respect the makers’ need to tell this story. How relevant it may be or how twisted in its tale is best known only to them and will unravel only after watching it. If after watching the film, people still surmise that its content is sullied/malignant/defamatory, they can voice their protest by seeking legal aid. Until then, let us lift our finger from our keypad and recognise the true meaning of the words ‘silence is golden’. 

When beauty has millions of beholders

It has been ages since I wrote a celebrity-driven blog and there have been a number of reasons why I have refrained from writing about films or filmi personalities for some time now. Anything about Kangana Ranaut seems stale the next day as she has already said something new to add to the burgeoning controversy that has become her life. I have nothing new to write about people like Aamir Khan who continue to hold up the baton of ‘good content can make good cinema’ in an otherwise heavily commercialised (read formulaic) world of Bollywood. And no new stars have particularly piqued my curiosity to make interesting observations about them after say my last post on Vikrant Massey. 

So I am myself a bit amused writing this post today about a Bollywood diva who I am not even personally a fan of! I have been following her journey in glamour from the time she won the Miss India first runner up crown only to win the country its much-coveted spot under the sun as Miss World in 1994. With beauty pageants being the rage at that time and none so venerated as the Miss Universe and Miss World titles, the 22 year old Aishwarya Rai let none of the glory that Sushmita Sen won with the Miss Universe crown faze her own victory the same year. She was toasted as the new ambassador of the nation while her beauty was extolled with copious amounts of newspaper and magazine odes dedicated to her mersmerising green-grey eyes, her boundless grace and elegance and a cultivated smile that she knew when to flash and at whom.

Miss Rai carried the pride of being the new representative of India’s bountiful beauty and intelligence as a 21^st century woman with aplomb. She soon became the idol every teenager wanted to grow up to emulate and parents were suddenly naming their daughters Aishwarya after her, so that they might inherit some amount of the fame she claimed. Solidifying the trend of beauty pageant winners going on to become Hindi film actors, Aishwarya soon set a fine foot in to the industry in the year 1997 with the much-hyped Aur Pyar Ho Gaya opposite an equally fresh off the oven Bobby Deol who had made his debut with the forgettable Barsaat two years before her. It probably helped that Gupt that till date remains one of his biggest hits released in the same year as Aishwarya’s debut film but it didn’t help Aur Pyar Ho Gaya from sinking without a trace at the box office. The film may have not won her any great acting plaudits but it got her registered as someone who was here to make a mark. Pity that the film was a weak canvas for a competent actor who could have done well under a more capable filmmaker- as evident in Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar which released the same year but had a small audience thanks to its regional flavour.

Since then, in a career rich with as many hits as misses, Aishwarya has often earned herself rave reviews as well as blistering brickbats as both critics and audience have taken turns to applaud or pan her depending on each of her performances. Even after establishing herself as someone who can hold her own against reigning superstars like Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan in films like Devdas and Jodha Akbar respectively, there have been people who questioned her presence on the jury of the Cannes Film Festival every year and chose to instead deride her fashion sense with every appearance on the red carpet. In fact, to summarise Aishwarya’s journey under the spotlight so far, her enamouring appeal has brought her down as much as it has catapulted her standing as a hot-selling star. It has made her constant fodder for those who choose to never look beyond the external lure of her face. Her flawless appearance has overshadowed the efforts to come across as a serious actor, as a skilled diplomat when it comes to international affairs and as a smart and savvy celebrity woman who has known how to balance her professional and personal life pretty stably, in spite of a highly torrid affair with a superstar before marriage and her subsequent entry in a renowned A list sasuraal. 

So on her 44^th birthday, I choose to be nice and trace how the very essence of her popularity- her looks have gone a long way in making some of her films memorable so far. Instead of the flaky veneer we assume make up and styling to be, in Aishwarya’s case it has gone on to add oodles of oomph to her personality and the character she essayed in each of these films, proving that the grooming of a star often has a great impact on her overall appeal among the masses.

In order of release then, here’s a list of five films that have made the alluring Aishwarya’s star quotient scale heights few have been able to measure up to so far:

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)- Still raw and hungry for recognition as a full-fledged actor, Aishwarya discovered a new school of acting under Sanjay Leela Bhansali and so beautiful was the transformation in to her role as Nandini that we were forced to nod in approval. The plunging necklines, the backless cholis, the ethnic jewellery and the very Indian make up were carefully drawn up to bring alive a sprightly and gorgeous Gujarati belle who knew her mind. The voluminous ghagras were replaced by body-hugging sarees in the second half of the film, draped to show off a mannequin-like fragility under the cold demeanour of a woman married off against her wishes. Minimal jewellery accessorised her person in the latter half as she pined for her lover and struggled to understand the motivations of her husband and yet the intricate detailing with a juda pin or the sole focus on her mangal sutra acted as part of the endearing character that she played.

Devdas (2002)- Her next outing with Maverick Bhansali showed a natural progression in confidence. Although trolled for not being able to bring out the simplicity of a Bengali lass in a British era-based Kolkata, Aishwarya infused her own delicate vulnerability to the role of Paro as she essayed the complex transition of being a humble, passionate lover to a wealthy, married landlady. Considering nothing in an SLB film is short of grand, she managed to outshine the classic and more glamourous appearance of Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi with her swan-like stance, matching steps with the senior and more talented actor literally and figuratively. She managed to not get buried under the weight of the heavy zaree-laid sarees while nursing a broken heart and voicing her pain at her lover’s tumultuous destruction.

Dhoom 2 (2006)- Giving her traditional couture some rest, Ash got in to urban street style mode with this Indian spin off on an Amreekan flavoured cop-crook drama. She had the overtly sexy Bipasha

Basu to contend with for top honours but even with her apparently demure personality, she managed to steal the attention of the audience with her leggy footwork, flirting with dramatically revealing bikini tops and mini skirts. With a wardrobe flavoured with a spicy Latino lilt, she managed to shed the ‘desi’ avatar and don a more millennial-worthy western chic look, complete with an Angelina Jolie style pout and (ahem) lip lock with the equally sizzling Hrithik Roshan.

Jodha Akbar (2008)- Two years later, she was letting Dhoom 2 become history for her fans with her complete U-turn as Jodha opposite Hrithik as the formidable Akbar Badshah. In a role

where she was to look as breath-taking as she was to seem bold, this Rajput princess convinced us how the mighty Mughal emperor may have fallen for her. With costumes that could suit royalty and jewellery that flaunted old world charm, she looked as comfortable as Jodha as she had as the city-bred Sunehri in Dhoom 2.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)- And just when we were beginning to write off her sojourn as an actor to look out for after motherhood, she came out all guns blazing with her turn out as Saba, an Urdu shayari spewing poetess settled in Vienna. With her flowy trench coats and slinky gowns, she rocked the role of an older but heart-wrenchingly attractive lover who could reign in the lost and lonely Ayan Sanger. Her exclusive shoot with Ranbir for the film where the two seem comfortably intimate with each other may have set tongues wagging in a country unfamiliar with married, older female actors oozing so much raw sexuality, but fans weren’t complaining. The film was a hit, everyone who had anything to do with it went home happy and Aishwarya managed to even win the critics with most adjudging her the most palatable part of the film.

Considering her years in tinseltown, Aishwarya is now familiar with what efforts must be endured in the green room to look like a peacock every time she struts out, and I am sure she is not done reinventing herself yet. At 44, that is more than you can say for most actors her age so here’s toasting a new era for Indian women beyond 40, stay haughty or get naughty but never let the curtains roll down for a time of rediscovery has just begun!

The Pihu Diary: The hand that rocks the cradle

Many people poohed-poohed my vision as I earnestly laid out my future plans before them. Some betted on how many months it would take for me to show the white flag on my mission impossible. And others even tried to ‘comfort’ me saying I was just tired and needed a break and would bounce back, eager to get back in the fray. I mean, whoever heard of quitting a glorious, full-fledged, roaring career in the media for which you slogged and struggled for a good many years of your life to achieve the status and position you did and then gave it all up on a whim. It was hard and yet it was a decision waiting to be made. It was no longer the drive to achieve something further or a better ambition that prevailed. All I wanted is to sit back and enjoy a phase of my life I had simultaneously ushered in while balancing work, without actually calculating the ramifications or the intensity it held for me and the people involved. I no longer wanted to walk the tight rope, in danger of swinging right off it and in to an abyss deep down below, never to be able to rise up again.

I realised that while steadily walking up the professional ladder had given me immense satisfaction, a thriving social life and adequate intellectual exercise with a chance to flex my creative muscle not to mention the security of financial support, it had also left little space for me to indulge in any responsibility that was deeply personal, time-consuming or intrinsically thought-provoking. I seemed to have reduced myself to a mere pawn on a chessboard, moving the fixed or pre-planned number of paces to attain a definite goal laid out before me. Suddenly I wanted to let go, take a risky plunge and find out if I had it in me to not play safe for once. I wanted to find out if letting go of the familiar was going to end up making me feel like a fish out of water. Also, if the challenge I had taken on would overwhelm me into crawling back in to the tunnel I had got out of or help me explore a side to me I never knew existed. Thankfully I am glad I did what I did and have no regrets giving up everything I knew I was good at to try adding a new life skill to my existing ones- being the primary caretaker to my two year old kid!

Initially, it felt easy and before I knew it, I was already matching steps to the new jig. Taking my kid through the paces of a new environment of play school, adapting her time-table to mine and generally being there for her at all times, without resenting the sleepless nights or the endurance-testing tantrums I was subjected to came naturally to me. Having been raised by a mother who was a homemaker has actually built a different understanding of being a mother in my head- it meant that no matter what happens, you have to shoulder the child’s responsibility- from attending to her biological needs to training her to work on a schedule, developing her social and mental abilities to understanding her desires without her having to express them. Having experienced a childhood where I have seen my mother be a loving, dedicated and selfless caretaker who evolved into a confidante, friend and companion for life, I wanted to follow the same pattern. Being the mother who leaves home with a cursory hug in the morning to her kid to the one who comes back home too famished to even put up with the child’s newest antic therefore made me shudder.

No matter how much we argue about this, being a working mother highly limits our interaction and motivational levels as far as motherhood is concerned. Since a lot of tasks that were earlier primarily a mother’s domain get shared or distributed right from cooking, teaching manners and language skills, taking a child through the discovery of hobbies and talent, holding on a conversation without a particular purpose, playing etc. one is reduced to choosing one or two tasks out of these that can be realistically squeezed in to the remaining hours of the day left after one comes back from work. This would mean a child’s interaction and activity in your presence is marginalised and there is always the risk of missing out on a lot that a child learns and absorbs as he/she grows up. Observing this process of development and nurturing the inner potential that a child has is crucial for his/her future. It is this part of Pihu’s life I wished to be engaged in knowing that this will never come back again. Even if I plan to have another child, the mental enrichment that you get from this process yourself will only help you in raising your next. Lastly, I didn’t wish to be the 7 pm mom who comes back home to ask her child how was her day at the age of 3, when she is too young to even grasp what comprises ‘summing up’ really, and when she would rather have me be a part of it. After all, most of the new skills she is picking up on are lost in translation between her limited communication skills and your eagerness to assume that she is doing just fine.

I once went to a friend’s office to meet her where one of her colleagues seemed rather panic-stricken and trying to get through to someone on her phone. After numerous attempts of trying to call someone up, she finally got through, asked a few pertinent questions to an adult briskly and finally asked to speak to her toddler who was apparently bawling away in the background. The one-sided conversation went somewhat like this I believe:

Mom: Eeshu, aap ro kyu rahe ho? Maine kaha na theek ho jayega. Aap aunty ko pareshaan nahi karo. Haan. Haan. Chocolate mil jayega. Chips bhi. Cycle? Nahi beta. Cycle birthday pe milegi kaha tha na? Nahi...Papa? Papa ne kya kaha tha? Toh pehle aap acche bachche bano toh sahi. Aap roge toh kaise milegi? Nahi birthday pe, abhi nahi. Abhi nahi Eshu. Eshu, chalo ab mujhe phone rakhna hai. Haan ok. Main baat karungi Papa se. Nahi cycle maine promise nahi ki thi. Main baat karungi. Ok bye. And stop crying please!

If dealing with kids can be difficult at home, imagine how tough it can be to deal with your kid sitting in an office far away while he decides to kick up a fuss over something irrelevant. In our guilt to absolve ourselves from our absence in their lives, we are even willing to pander to their every whim and who can blame us? This is our attempt to fill the void we have created from the child when we entrusted him to the care of people other than us. This is not to say that children of working parents have lesser or lighter bonds with their parents. Children these days are so adaptable that they actually manage to figure out their situation pretty soon and willingly adjust to their new environment- made up of grandparents, teachers, nannies, friends and neighbours in the absence of their parents. A majority of these kids become self-disciplined, smart and extremely social given their circumstances and as per studies, appreciate the fact that both their parents are financially independent go-getters at later stages of their lives.

So yes, in stead of judging those parents who leave the responsibility of child-rearing to others, I would rather stick to my perception of why I decided to stay back home and put my career on the backseat and my child on my lap when she turned two. My decision is more selfish than selfless the way I see it. While a lot of my friends applaud my courage at being able to give everything up for my kid, I feel this is my way of ensuring that I have my fill of seeing her grow up. This time with Pihu has helped me gain key nuggets to understanding her personality which is just about developing- what irks her, what makes her smile, what she likes, what she dislikes, when she is likely to be upset, what will raise her spirits etc. Seeing her learn to make choices, imitate us (because parents are usually the first role models kids have), take decisions, express her opinion and most fascinating of all, gauging her ability to understand real-life situations from her perspective, answering her endless questions to quench her thirst for knowledge, holding her hand as she discovers the world around her- there is so much more to being a parent than what I thought it entails. Every minute you think the child enlightens herself is a lesson of discovery for you as a parent as well.  Every child’s journey of growing up is personal as it is unique and you play a big role in shaping it right. I am just trying to play my part well. So that whenever I actually do get back to a professional environment again, I will not have to rue the fact that I missed out on the magic of raising a child through her most fragile stages.

Meanwhile, here are five easy DIY tips to how to make the most of being a stay-at-home mom, no matter how short- lived this tenure might be:

-          Pick up a hobby yourself.

-          Exercise, get fit, get in shape.

-          Keep a journal. Write a book. Share your stories on a parenting platform.

-      Build a circle of reliable and progressive friends, relatives and well-wishers who ALWAYS think POSITIVE!

-          Take up a job that you can pursue from home, join an NGO part-time or simply spare no opportunity to spend time with your loved ones especially elders in the family. They will treasure these moments more than you realise it. It’s not just the young or too young who crave companionship and good listeners.

A journey in to a bygone era: Mughal-e-Azam

Love has given itself over to many interpretations and romanticisations over centuries since men and women realised it exists. Many a ballad and many a tragedy have been woven around it serving as the core of the narrative, and yet there are some that just stay with you long after the words have been sung, the melody faded and the characters turned to mere relics of the past. We move on, seeking contemporary pleasures that are in sync with the times, resorting to tweets and status updates about the inane drama in our lives, snatching bits of gossip from our peers, catching the latest sensational web series on NetFlix and grooving to the latest ditty from Rihanna. In a world where technology and our evenly matched fast-paced lives juxtapose into a perfectly chaotic routine, where do we make space for lilting shayaris, melliflous qawwalis and poignant guftagoo with our beloved? And who is mad enough to propose that we need to give such romantic forms of expression some attention in our time-crunched schedules where there are at least ten chores vying for our attention at any given point of the day?

One man and his motley crew and cast beg to differ and have put aside all and sundry to breathe life in to a long-forgotten era and its reigning love saga that entranced viewers of the past century to declare it the most sublime tale of its time. Seasoned director Feroz Abbas Khan known for his renditions of more gritty dramas like Gandhi My Father in celluloid and Tumhari Amrita on stage went against the grain and decided to lift the veil on an epic tale of unfulfilled desires, undying passion, shocking betrayal, the tilt of power, the cruel hand of justice and the questionable rule of an emperor who deemed to forfeit his son at the altar of honour-bound duty. Only this was a father who happened to be the erstwhile Emperor of Hindustan, the high and mighty Mughal emperor Jallaluddin Akbar and his rebel son Salim who defied his rule to surrender his fate at the mercy of his love. 

People especially of our parents’ generations may swear by K Asif’s 1960’s film Mughal-e-Azam and how irreplaceable it is in their memories of Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Prithviraj Kapoor and Durga Khote, that had Lata Mangeshkar belting out enthralling melodies helmed by Naushad. A remake on screen today would probably be mocked to death so taking up the challenge of moulding the story to adapt to a proscenium stage with live artistes singing and performing the narrative would seem a tad bit absurd. 

The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) and Shapoorji Pallonji thankfully did not agree and lend weight to Mr.Khan’s idea to blow away the dust of time from this work of art, known to be one of the most expensive films of its time that took 16 years in the making.

To put up such a grand act on stage replete with the cherished songs from the original film, with actors rekindling the flames of a long-extinguished romantic tryst between a young scion to the Mughal throne and a lissome and nubile nautch girl at the court, is commendable in itself. But to actually visualise this with a 70 member cast, bedecked in over 500 costumes, with lighting and mersmerising backdrops that add aura and ambience to the ongoing drama, the perfect synchronisation of the dances (whether it’s the whirling dervishes or the kathak dancers that chastise the scorn-worthy love between the two lovers), rendered soulfully by the female leads on stage is beyond imaginable. Not until you actually witness all this happening seamlessly does it dawn on you that it has to be sheer ambition, a gnawing zest to create the extraordinary and an eagerness to exhibit the same without a flaw that propels a director to take up such a project. And to this end, Mr.Khan leaves no stone unturned.

So what we do get in the theatrical adaptation of the famous tragedy even if you have seen the film is a pleasant revival of all that we have seen on screen, but with a more realistic feel of the pace and emotions of the actors performing it. We see the story rendered with technical finesse and an aesthetic prowess that is unmatched on stage till date. We are expected to be moved and swayed by the gentle waft of romance, and equally disturbed by the fractious relations between a family torn by love and loyalty for each other. The musical does succeed in doing all of this but is unfortunately marred by its length and the inadequacy of its lesser-known actors playing the principal characters whose rawness overpowers the back-breaking preparation and talent that serve as their strengths. While roping in celebrities for a venture like this may have diluted the impact of the actual story by turning the focus to the glam factor, it would have probably also fortified the formidable scale on which the stage adaptation is built. Especially for the exorbitant ticket rates that have been set for the show running over 2 hours, people will be looking forward to get a big bang for their buck. At its crux, a play no matter how grand you make its dressing and treatment, leans on the ability of its actors to emote and engage the viewer with a stage presence that is irrefutable.

Having said that, Mughal-e-Azam is a story that needs to live through the ages, as the tenets of human nature ensconced in its tale are immortal. While I am not a great fan of the original story myself, and nothing can probably surpass the magic that Madhubala as Anarkali wove with her enchanting beauty and grace, I still believe that a modern-day version that encapsulates much of the era of the Delhi sultanate with its tehzeeb, gustaakhi, shaan aur shaukat, intehaan and mohabbat is worth a dekko just to reinstate a timeless sense of lost love in a flitting generation with its equally fickle sense of relationships.

Game of Adulation

It has been a year of mixed reactions for the ever-increasing GOT fandom. While new entrants to the madness that is the series are trying to get past the awe and speculation of how things are and how things will be, sworn loyalists of the most watched show on television all over the world are crying foul. Indeed, the way this famous fantasy tale has built its fan following over the past seven years is worth a case study in itself. What has been similarly baffling is the copious amount of conversation and opinion generated over each episode, series and character. Such is the intrigue borne out of the televised version of George R R Martin’s original eponymous book and subsequent volumes in the series of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’, that it has made people want to dig deeper in to the hows, whats and whys of each move on the engaging drama. It has also spurred an entire generation of English entertainment viewers to criticise, nag, squabble, grumble and flounder over the nitty-gritties of each plot device, cryptic dialogue and cliffhanger endings.  Such is the craze over this epic adventure with millions glued to their screens no matter where they are and what nationality they belong to, that people get in to complete battle mode in order to argue over the importance of each character and why he or she or it should have got more airtime or space to evolve. Endless articles and blogs have already covered why Jon’s loyal pet direwolf Ghost should have at least had some presence against the sweeping influence of the dragons in every episode in this season. Apart from the usual banter around possibly deleted scenes and questionable jumps in time sequencing, I even found an article that analysed every final shot across the series to understand how it was used to lure the viewers in to waiting for the next season/episode with bated breath. People with any sense of music are busy trying to get a hold on the signature theme of the show while others are buying memorabilia like tees proudly declaring ‘Khaleesi’, I am a Lannister, Hear me Roar’ and ‘Winter is Coming’. And of course, piracy levels have been at an all time high with script secrets to episode leaks breaking the internet, recording new highs with every season.

So coming back to the latest season that wrapped up as abruptly as the monsoons in Delhi, the makers would have already surmised that eyebrows would be raised over the hurried way in which everything sort of leads towards the culmination of Season 7. Everyone knew this year was going to be the prelude to an imminent war, building the atmosphere for an inevitable face off between the Living and the Undead in the final season. However, narrative loopholes, irregular plot sequencing and sudden omissions have left fans disappointed no doubt. To say so much in so very little, precisely seven episodes after spending so much time interweaving plots, subplots and suspenseful repartee is indeed a tad unjust on viewers who are literally hanging on to every televised moment. What has worked for GOT besides the scale and spectacle that it offers, is that it has the power to make you root for characters no matter their questionable morals, unyielding attitudes and grey personas, so much so that you flinch even if a potentially minor character to the main plot, like Sandor Clegane or Tormund might be in harm’s way. How many of us were rooting for Gendry (amiss for most of the seasons and strangely reappearing in this one) while he made a rather unrealistic run for Castle Black with his SOS for Daenerys to rescue the stranded participants of Jon’s ‘wight’ expedition on the wrong side of the wall?

It is also surprising how so much is left unsaid, between characters meeting after eons like siblings Sansa, Arya and Bran, or such little time spent on establishing newly forged love ties, like the one between Dany and Jon, a union that has been long awaited but that was merely got over with in the closing episode of this season. You could almost hear the poor actors mutter, ‘Ah, let’s just get on and be done with it already’ under their breath in that crucial lovemaking scene. Considering there are a lot many characters left standing who we thought will get washed away in the furor of impending war and ominous hatred, Theon and Yara Greyjoy, Brienne of Tarth and The Mountain are still breathing which means there are more exciting revelations for them next season.

To cut short a long tale, what is the audience eagerly waiting for as we reluctantly move towards the great ending of a mighty battle and a game that has kept our attention rivetted for these many years like no other show before? Here are a few of my own speculations:

    Will we see Sansa remain Lady of Winterfell? Will she finally meet her match in a handsome knight or lord or prince who will sweep her off her feet and make a worthy suitor for the twice-married daughter of Eddard Stark?

       Will Arya return to Braavos or will she become a knight herself, sworn protector to the Seven Kingdoms much like Brienne of Tarth has been to the Stark girls, only less than half her size?

          Does Bran get his legs back, does he marry Meera Reed or simply gets rooted to the Godswood in Winterfell, serving as omniscient seer to generations after?

       Everyone knows Cersei must die for all the misdeeds she hasn’t answered for including being responsible for her own husband and children’s death for so long. But who will do the deed? And how will her defenses collapse? After all, it is not a question of belling the cat, but slaying a lioness who refuses to bend or break even in the face of stiff opposition from her own beloved brother Jaime.

            Jaime, who we have grown to love and pity both from the immense distaste we developed for him since Episode one when he pushed poor Bran off the tower is finally at his wit’s end when it comes to his sister. Will he swing to the other side now that he is declared traitor already by Cersei or will he become a banished outlaw, ready to strike Dany’s side, only to make a last-ditch effort to prove his loyalties to the Queen of his kingdom and his heart? In any case, a death on the battlefield at the hands of a worthy opponent is all we ask if die he must! 

        Ser Davos, Gendry, Ser Jorah Mormont, Bronn, Podrick, Varys, Melissandre, Missandei, the Commander of the Unsullied, Sandor Clegane, Gregor Clegane, Theon and Yara Greyjoy as well as Brienne of Tarth, they are all worthy of their own survival in this mammoth narrative. No matter who dies, the loss will be mourned deeply by fans who have bestowed much faith in these characters holding their own in many an episode till date.

        Tyrion Lannister, even more if any of you have followed the books happens to be singularly prominent not merely for his deformity but more because of his intelligence, wit, diplomacy, charm and genteel character in the face of all odds. We have been rooting for this Imp from Day One, hooting at all his humorous and sharp-edged comebacks and yet, how this character will finally stand, we know not.

8      Finally, Dany and Jon, who have emerged as the pivotal characters of the story, have set the stage for a spectacular dance between wolf and dragon, snow and fire and how these opposites will come together to usher the dawn of a new age remains to be seen. Will they emerge unscathed from the ravages of war, I dare not predict but the seven kingdoms will be watching on to see how these principal characters can mend barriers, cross fences and melt defenses to fight for what is good and to make us believe that ‘justice will prevail.’ Fans across the seven continents will be praying for their Kingdom (or reign in this context) to come and their will to be done, on earth as it is in Heaven and this we swear by the old Gods and the new!

Lights, Camera....Action Replay!

It’s a tried and tested technique and an entire film industry seems to be raking in the moolah out of it. The reason you take notice is because it is the most ubiquitous, omnipotent celluloid dream factory that caters to the whims and fancies of a nation worth 1.3 billion people and more. The Hindi film industry, lovingly called Bollywood (because of course everything has to be a rehash of Hollywood, including the name of its Indian counterpart), enjoys a dominance over markets, both Indian and overseas like no other film industry in the world. Alas, it is built on a fluffy, fragile and superfluous premise: of churning out over a hundred films every year, mostly inspired/recreated/reconstructed material from successful ‘formulae’ that have never let producers and our mega heroes down film, after mind numbing film. After all, to achieve the grandeur and hype that our blockbusters demand, you need to convince an awful lot of people that this is worth your two hours and INR 200 investment. So you have sequels, prequels, remakes, remixes and then the tragic so-called original films- which are mere reflections of older movies past.

The decade of the ‘90s flourished on this premise: poor boy meets rich girl, college romances, villains in the name of fathers, villains who were always sniffing out a rape scene to get mileage from, tacky fashion sense, whacky dance moves, five songs with at least one rain song or with the lead pair singing around the trees, revenge dramas, comic sidekicks....the list goes on. Film after film was created with these massy tropes and the audience applauded every single one of them. How else do you explain the rise and rise of Govinda for instance? With due respect to him, his high-octane histrionics earned him so much fame with these familiar shenanigans, he was pelvic-thrusting his way to the bank, red shirt and yellow pants intact. He enjoyed this kind of monopoly at a time when the Khans were setting the foundation of their superstardom, with films that were similar albeit, ranked for a classier audience that went to good colleges and were very modern while respecting Indian traditions. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for him two decades later, when he tried to summon the same kind of hero worship from a vastly different audience this time with his silly caper of a film, ‘Aa Gaya Hero’. Someone please tell him it’s 2017, not 1995!

At the turn of the new millennium, fresh faces on the block like Hrithik Roshan were followed by Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor and the like, while the Khans hit middle age and were forced to share box-office space with other, not less talented adversaries like Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn. Heck, even an atypical but inimitable hero like Emraan Hashmi was allowed his place in the sun, with his own brand of cinema: bold, brash and erotic, airbrushed with melodious songs and long-lasting smooches that became the talk of tinsel town. Everybody was minting their signature styles, which were reaping great profits with each film. So Hrithik was the rare all-rounder who seemed to be a director’s dream come true- what with his Greek God-like gorgeous looks, Michael Jackson-like groove and Sylvester Stallone-like muscles to flex in all those delish action stunts. Ajay Devgn had the perpetually angry and intense persona to heave onto every Godforsaken villain in town, Salman was fine-tuning his clean romedy act, Aamir was hitting the ball out of the park with his gritty roles the critics couldn’t get enough of, and finally SRK alias King Khan swept the chiffon-clad ladies off their pretty feet, with those adorable dimples and those crinkling eyes.

All was well so far but come the invasion of the internet and a sudden burst of films borne out of the web, and the grammar of cinema seems to have turned upside down. It’s no longer about making an audience sit through 3 hours of an assault on your senses just so you feel ‘entertained’. Entertainment has found new outlets, new vistas, and new languages. As an audience, you don’t need to walk to your neighbourhood cinema hall to be entertained anymore. You can watch a short film on the web, log on to Netflix to devour the latest international bestselling shows or simply download foreign language films on Torrent that are all the rage at film festivals like the Cannes. And if all this bores you, there’s always the last/latest season of Game of Thrones or reruns of Malgudi Days to catch up on. Where oh where does that leave our wonderful Bollywood, licking its wounds of neglect and apathy and now relegated to an occasional raising of the eyebrow only for an offbeat film like ‘Udaan’, or a norm-breaking ‘Queen’ or a casting coup like ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’. What do our blockbuster-prone producers or the Bollywood royalty do? After all, you do need films to run the meticulously built empire, which can be awarded at the inane and n number of film awards shows that celebrate good cinema. Hit the books for new research, go scout for new talent, weave realism in to scripts to make them more ‘relatable’, scrape off the old tricks to make way for some new, zany ones that are more attuned to today’s youth....?

Dude...you are really dim if you thought any producer with  self-imposed royal status was going to go through so much effort to please you, you measly audience! No, Hindi films these days are made to please especially you- they are made to feed a superstar’s ego or help him thrive in his comfort zone, they are made to milk the stereotypical, archaic formulae (that have served the purpose these many decades) dry, they are made to appease to brain-dead, obsolete imaginations that have no room for novelty as long as you pay for a ticket at your friendly multiplex playing 18 shows to a packed house, day in day out. But look where it got the industry? A film like Bahubali, not even made from Bollywood money or for the regular Hindi-speaking audience, went on to trample every Hindi film record in history, with its sheer magnitude, star appeal in the name of a never-before known Prabhas and a story that eclipsed every creative possibility conceived of till date.

The only exception to this rule has been Aamir Khan who seems to have mastered the art of making cinema resonate with enough solid and universal messaging that it wins over both the masses and the classes. His film-making discipline is rigid as much as his cinematic persona is amorphous. Hungry to innovate with every film- through plot, story, characters and appearance, he has struck gold with every film in recent times for its juicy content without falling for gimmicks or age-old conventions. Even the otherwise commercially driven Akshay Kumar has had to hone his craft to accommodate a new style- more profound, hard-hitting and socially-connected as evident from his latest spate of films- Holiday, Airlift, Rustom and the upcoming Toilet or Padman.

Where has that left Salman? The brawny actor full of machismo and bravado may have spawned a legacy of films based on his ability to prance, romance and look askance every time another superstar gives a hit, because he inevitably manages to shine even more on the box-office scorecard. After all, who can resist that tight six-pack and bulging bicep that refuses to be tamed and hidden inside a shirt, or the endearingly innocent man-child like purity of his soul every time he goes on emotional overdrive mode. Ah! A tender heart beneath that tough exterior- every woman’s dream come true, every man’s aspirational icon. It worked for Bodyguard, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Ek Tha Tiger, Dabangg and even Sultan. No surprises then that his next film may have given you a feeling of deja vu right from the trailer of Tubelight- innocent kid who could do with some rescuing from the baddies, the innocuous philosophy of life oversimplified for the masses, tough circumstances playing the villain and the real evil emitting from circumstances rather than moustache-twirling ruffians....similar elements in a new packing. Surprise, surprise, it didn’t work! Suddenly the same fans of Sallu bhai who swore on every film he made, were walking out of the theatres because it looks like, well, the impossible came true and that they had simply had enough. Oops! Time to put that thinking cap on again may be, after what, decades of building a castle in the air?

The bane of our superstars these days is also the fact that most of the younger crop of actors are not afraid to go miles in order to reinvent- take Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor or even Shahid who fast seems to be catching up from where he left off. They are taking on new physicalities to hit the nail on the head, changing their image to suit a new mould as per the film at hand and singing a different tune with every roll call. It keeps their audience on their toes, makes it possible to spring surprises and yet, helps them to maintain their well-earned star status through out. Of course, even Ranbir was ‘accused’ of falling in to the rut of forever playing this ‘coming-of-age’ kind of hero who simply couldn’t do without a female co-star showing him the ropes. It may have won him his fan following but also got the critics’ thumbs down, made evident as soon as Tamasha flopped. In fact, everyone cried foul over ADHM walking the trodden line, even if it went on to be declared a hit. Jagga Jasoos is being seen as his attempt at being redeemed off his folly but only time will tell if it earns him back the respect he deserves otherwise.

The only Bollywood impresario who is repeatedly struggling to find coherence in the cacophony is SRK- upheld as the eternal Romeo for too long and unable to break out of that bubble no matter how many films like ‘Chak De India’ or ‘Swades’ he does. Blame it on Yashraj or KJo, but everyone loves the lovey-dovey SRK- so all he can do is choose to bring back the golden heydays through a glimmer of hope that is ‘When Harry Met Sejal’. Unfortunately, this film through its brief glimpses so far, is again aping every marketing ploy to sell itself to its audience- it’s almost like he went back to all his past films that helped him win his label of ‘King of Romance’ and mixed it generously with Imtiaz Ali’s brand of love potion to churn out a romedy. Good old DDLJ borrowed ‘sarson ke khet’, Punjabi bhangra a ‘Nagada Baja’ style, girl-boy gallivanting in a foreign locale like in ‘Tamasha’, tourist impersonation inspired from Dev Anand’s Guide or Aamir Khan’s ‘Fanaa’- you take your pick and a foot-tapping retro number like the one he pulled off in Kal Ho Na Ho – ‘Dil hai mera deewana kya’ which was so much zingier even though it seems to have been born generations ago. How many films will it take before SRK realises the actor in him needs a major overhaul. Wouldn’t it be better to bid farewell to the relics of his past before his loyal fan base which seems to be moving on gets tired of the same old, same old? Suffice it to say, the lyrics of his new song ‘Safar’ from the aforementioned film tell his tale like only he could:

Ab na mujhko yaad beeta
Main toh lamhon mein jeeta
Chala ja raha hoon
Main kahaan pe ja raha hoon,
Kaha hoon?

Ye umrr, waqt, raasta...guzarta raha...
Idhar ka hi hoon na udhar ka raha
Safar ka hi tha main safar ka raha
Main raha...

The Pihu Diary: What not to expect of a three year old!

It’s amazing how kids cross these milestones so speedily, making you wonder where did the days go by! Of course, if one would ask me to summarise this last year, or the span of time where Pihu transitioned from being from two to three years old, I would be joking if I said it was a breeze. In reality, it was anything but that because besides managing a toddler’s inexhaustible energy for exploration and making sure her growth is healthy, happy and disciplined, it’s an exercise in patience understanding and dealing with her many moods, mannerisms and mischievous tendencies. This has been an important year for Pihu- physically and socially, sending us parents in to palpitations in order to balance the nature-nurture act! So while we were trying to ease her passage from being a home-bound infant to a smart preschooler, little did we know that we were grappling with a phase that would see her catch every virus that ever flew by meaning she would miss a lot of school and we would be feeding her a lot of medication while she healed her way through countless infections. It was also a period that would make us experience her first tantrums and realise that our little munchkin had finally come to terms with new skills she had picked up along the way like communication. This was and still is also pretty much the time when our little daughter has oriented herself to some wonderful privileges having tasted the luxury of being an only child!

We as parents often start building up expectations for and from our child early on- that she will be a bright spark in preschool, that she will be well-mannered, that she should be obedient and disciplined, that she should eat healthy, that she will be popular among her newfound friends, that she will become suddenly much more smarter and well-adjusted in life now that she is a pre-schooler, that she even might be a child prodigy etc etc. Thanks to reality shows on TV now we know, that your child may be barely three but she can sing like a nightingale, she could dance like Sridevi and even act like Kareena Kapoor. So what if she can barely spell ‘three’, at least she is ‘talented’ and this exception will take her very far. Sky is the limit when your toddler is spouting Sanskrit shlokas at an age when all she should be using her tongue is to lick lollipops and ice candies. So here’s a handy parents' guide to what not to expect of a three year old because, hell, you don’t even remember what you were like when you were at that age so let’s not even start building castles in the air already!

So don’t expect them to:

• ·        Bury their inquisitiveness: Yeah, so you think you can escape that incessant, urgent and exasperating interrogation? Whether it is Baby TV, the morning newspaper or a movie, Pihu is full of questions- from what is that honeybee doing flying around the screen like that, to what is Trump’s hair colour to what is that gentleman wearing a skirt planning to do with his sword....there is no end to it. Try ignoring those and you will be subjected to an endless attack of repetition- the weapon that kids use against parents who dare to neglect their pointed queries! And you thought you could watch or read something in peace anymore! Hahaha!  
  
  
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• Respect your privacy: Whether I am on the phone, working on my laptop or watching TV, you can rest assured that my daughter will have to barge in and first find out what I am upto, then demand to know why I am engaging in that particular activity followed by a detailed inquiry in to what that activity entails. Check this sample out to demonstrate the same.
  P: What is this you are watching? Me: Friends. P: Why are you watching it? Me: I like it. P: But you just watched it yesterday. Why are you watching it again? Me: It’s a different episode. P: No, see that guy over there, you just saw him yesterday. He’s Joey right? Why are you watching Joey again?
  Please note this is an essential tactic kids use to veer their parents’ attention from TV so that they get to watch what they want to eventually! And you thought kids didn’t know mind games.
  
  
  
  
• Remain a kid: So they may just be toilet-trained and already eating their meals without help, but their sense of independence goes beyond this. Pihu can hold an argument with my Mom on why the latter must not fuss over her eating while watching TV, she wants to choose her clothes every time she goes out and likes to believe she can switch the remote to what she wants to watch whenever she likes. Her sense of cleanliness will make her point out that little spot on the dinner table that you probably missed while cleaning up and a stoic sense of discipline will make her remind you to turn off the fans and lights once you are out of a room. She will notice that one element that has changed when she enters a room and even remember every toy she left behind at home after coming back from a long holiday.
  
  
  
  
• Be a grown up: But at the end of the day, a kid can’t escape her age and so don’t expect her to understand why she must go back to school everyday or why she can’t touch electrical equipment or eat in your favourite porcelain plate. Pihu needs reasonable explanations to why her Dad is locked in his room for an important official Skype chat, her attention-seeking tantrums need limiting and those big fat tears always threatening to overflow need plenty of hugs, tissues and kisses  before you can call it a day.
  
  
  
  
• And finally, help to retain your peace of mind: Yes, yes I am ranting aren’t I? But for all those parents who can’t stop raving about how having kids has been the best thing in their life, let me put it as blatantly as possible in case you never noticed- they make a rare commitment to sacrifice their peace of mind. It is nice to take it on your chin and call it an essential part of growing up and adulthood, a small compromise for the heartening satisfaction of having brought up a kid, blah blah but seriously, imagine the sleepless nights, the long lines for school/college admissions, the extra expenses, those emergency medical rounds to the pediatrician, the piles of homework, the messy pranks they will play, the adjustment problems puberty will bring with it, that shocking revelation they will make once they are ready to fly out of the nest....phew! And closer to my present timeline- the mental test of endurance that your toddler will put you through every time she falls ill or has a fit of anger, refuses to eat or do as instructed. It is advisable to keep that BP in check and really, take very good care of your health because you are going to need every ounce of it to tackle that bundle of joy who trundled in to your life to shake up your ‘happily ever after’ marital ambitions!

So why am I still smiling if it sounds so terrible? Ah, simple- because I signed up for it much like that much-hyped and much-coveted job you get hired for and then come to grips with the warts and all. It also immensely helps when Pihu occasionally looks into my eyes and asks, “You are my friend right?” and goes on to hug me tight or plant an affectionate kiss on my cheek when I agree. She also likes to take my face in her tiny hands and call me beautiful. Try ignoring that kid of adulation some time. Like my Mom always likes to sum up by saying, “Life is not a bed of roses”.

I find succour amidst the grim reality of being a responsible parent from the fact that at least I will know I grew a rose of my own and nurtured it right from the root to the bud she has become and from the aspiration of seeing her in full bloom one day. Bringing up a kid in that way is much like a work-in-progress or WIP as  you may call it- but isn’t life that too?! 

Queenstown: A hidden gem in New Zealand’s crown

When William Rees first discovered Queenstown back in 1860, hardly could he have imagined the amazing bounty this land was going to bear in the years to come. And I am not even talking about the gold that was excavated two years later which changed the history of this beautiful city forever. To put it in a line and I have really given this one some thought, this idyllic dreamland has everything one could possibly want in the name of indulgence- nature, adventure, peace, gastronomy, cruises, excursions, safaris, culture, history and not to forget, rare cinematic charm. Queenstown is so photogenic that it is like shooting a ravishing woman on your camera, she will come out looking like a million bucks everytime! You can take all the credit for it but the truth is, this is one good-looking holiday album you just simply cannot go wrong with. The best part- it still manages to feel humble, warm and welcoming, almost like its indubitable beauty is a given, something that the city wears effortlessly, reminiscent of an alluring woman who wears her charm like a shining brooch.

From gushing rivers, placid lakes, glacier hot pools to gaping valleys, towering peaks and mersmerising fiords, Queenstown offers a stunning amalgamation of sights and sounds. Whether you are out with friends or looking to relive the good times as a couple, trust this city to help you unleash the wild side in you with innumerable action adventures to count on. So if you wish to lose yourself in the lap of nature, try bungying to a jaw-dropping depth at the Kawarau Bridge- the ‘world home of bungy!’ You can choose to ziptrek or skytrek, paraglide, skydive or hang glide your way through the scenic alpine views. For those who can dig deeper in their pockets, there is the helicopter ride or flight that glides over the state’s expansive national parks, glaciers, mountains and lakes. Many of these are accompanied with gourmet picnics, extreme golfing, wine trails and fly fishing to make them truly exhilarating experiences.

Whether you go for these aerial stunts or not, your adventure is incomplete without a cruise through either Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound. One can try kayaking through the crystal clear waters and behold the untrammeled wilderness. Also touted as the ‘eighth wonder of the world’, Milford Sound is a piece of timeless beauty you are likely to remember for years to come. Observed as the place of silence, a visit to Doubtful Sound will help you enjoy rare moments of tranquillity you can treasure for a lifetime. If you lack time for the whole cruise trip, a lake cruise through the majestic Wakatipu is a must to soak in the sight of the sturdy Remarkables mountain range, the plush urban settlements around the shore, and the translucent waters gushing under the boat as you sip from a glass of refreshing white wine. While if you want to play explorer, one can go ahead and look out for the Hidden Island, Frankton Arm and Cecil Peak’s secret waterfalls, a la Enid Blyton style, for those who like to enjoy a toast on the lake, the vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw packs in a farm tour, gourmet BBQ meal at the Colonel’s Homestead Restaurant and a guided cycle tour to Mavora Lakes. Itineraries around Queenstown are customised to suit your time in the city, so if you can’t squeeze in so much, just slip in to a harness and get an awe-inspiring bird’s eye view of Lake Wakatipu on a paraflight, that lifts you 600 feet above the ground!

Need one for speed? Drop the cruise and head out to jetset or raft across the fiesty Kawarau and Shotover rivers on a jetboat and let the rapids, cliffs and willows thrill you through the jagged canyons. Wish to dig deeper in to the white water- opt for riverboarding that takes you around Mt. Aspiring National Park, try a rough rock jump or peer in to a rock pool and lose yourself in the gorgeous chasms. Don’t blame yourself if you feel you have washed up right in to the ‘The Lord of the Rings’ franchise because this is exactly where parts of the series as well as The Hobbit were shot. In fact, 45 kms away by road from Queenstown is the frontier village of Glenorchy. Tour on horse or a quadbike to take in the spectacular scenery that is now immortalised as ‘Middle Earth’ in cinema. Let local experts guide you through film locations of Isengard and more as they regale you with stories from the films’ making. My fan moment however, was when I almost ended up buying a replica of the Evenstar necklace that Arwen gifts Aragon as a token of her love in the film! If only I could rub it and land up in Lothlorien and perhaps bump into Legolas....sigh!

Now if you like roughing it out on a tight budget and yet not compromise on the nature trail, rent a bike around Lake Hayes also known as the ‘mirror lake’ or the most photographed lake in the state. Zip through Arrowtown, Gibbston wineries or the stimulating Jacks Point trail. Or simply put on your walking shoes and trudge through a half day bush walk in the forested hills. Take a closer look in to Kiwi culture tracing the goldmining of Arrowtown, the origins of Merino wool at Mt. Nicholas High Country Farm or a wine trail that lets you get a taste of the local hospitality and cheese.

Oh wait, in case I made this sound like a trip for adults so far, and you are probably wondering where to dump the kids, read on! Don’t even get fooled by Queenstown’s reference to being New Zealand’s adventure capital, because this is a holiday destination meant for all ages. Got kids- send them off reeling into the Puzzling World with its whacky architecture, the Transport and Toy Museum that houses over 50,000 toys or the creepy Fear Factory. Say hello to the diving ducks, slimy eels or the heady trout and many more fauna at the Underwater Observatory or take a plunge into the city’s largest indoor swimming complex called Alpine Aqualand. Tamer versions of explorations include the Ziptrek Ecotours or a visit to the Lakes District Museum for some exciting insights in to the history of the Southern Lake District. Bringing in the cherry on the top is the absolutely addictive Luge ride (between me and my sister, we clocked 27 rounds!) that gives you breath-taking views of the mountain as you slide down the sloping and twisted tracks downhill.

After burning so much energy, all you need is a chilled cocktail to celebrate a heavenly holiday and the Minus 5 degree Ice Bar or the Below Zero Ice Bar sure keeps it frozen! Calm those senses with a rejuvenating bout at a neighbourhood spa. The city has plenty of those keeping in mind the sore feet you will have after so much of swashbuckling action! Craving some delish food- there’s everything from rustic Italian, authentic Indian or Irish to modern Malaysian to please your palate. While there are enough fine dining and fast food options, make sure you gorge on some prime lamb rump steak cooked to perfection and served with rosemary or creamy mashed potatoes, green beans or fresh herbs and harissa sauce or coleslaw on the side.

Putting up in Queenstown is easy as it offers a varied picking for the asking- from rented apartments for the whole family to campervans or caravans for those who like to stay close to the great outdoors. Before you fly out though, make room in your bags for some award-winning, handcrafted sheep, goat and cow cheese , organic produce and of course the full-bodied Otago pinot noir wines spiked with mixed spice, fruit or even chocolate to complement your meals back home. As for me, I stocked up on some candied fruit, kiwi-shaped souvenirs and opal and jade jewellery that would serve as worthy reminders of a trip so precious!

Queenstown rightly encapsulates the mythical proportions of J R R Tolkein’s imagined landscape and justifies his musing, ‘Not all those who wander are lost.’ However, given its fantastical backdrop and intoxicating exuberance, it is easy to lose oneself in the blissful wonders of Queenstown.

Much Ado About Massey: A New Rising

It was not until this post that I have had to make a revelation- that I have been an avid viewer of the TV soap opera that was Balika Vadhu much before it acquired its cult following. I have always deliberately stayed away from being subjugated to regular substandard and stereotypical fare that is daily soaps on Hindi GECs. However, I made an exception for this show for the sheer theme of child marriage and the protagonist’s journey as a Rajasthani child bride in a high-class, wealthy and influential household run by a crafty and feisty matriarch. It helped that substantial roles were given to very good actors including Surekha Siri, Anoop Soni and Smita Bansal. 

Usually, most soaps that drag on (and this one did for quite some time) lose their edge after they have made their point. So how much could you milk the backdrop of child marriage and how it is really harmful for all the evils the victim has to bear as a result? This one did go on and on for quite a credible while until it resorted to a time leap, again another ploy used by most soaps to add freshness and new twists to the sagging plot. After having borne the highs and lows of all the characters and their individual trajectories, out came a fresh crop of young and blooming brigade of actors who would achieve due fame and fortune with the passage of time thanks to their ability to hold their own amidst the already established ones. We all know of how the likes of Sushant Vyas, Pratyusha Banerjee and Siddharth Shukla attained instant stardom after being launched on this by then megashow. But one character managed to propel his career forward without being principal to the plot and that is the unassuming Vikram Massey who played Shyam- a village boy enamoured by the pure charm of a child widow who had lost her will to live and love after the untimely demise of her husband. Unlike the dramatic and overdone Romeo-like lovers, Shyam’s character was subdued, sobre and unusually mature for his age- just the kind of resolute support the nubile and vulnerable child widow needed during this time. And Vikrant managed to bring such earnestness and fortitude to his role, that he won the vote of the powerful matriarchal household the widow belonged to as well as the audience’s favour in no time.

In an ad with Alia Bhatt for Cornetto icecream

Vikrant has become a familiar face since then with several ads and TV appearances in ‘Yeh Hai Aashiqui’, ‘Qubool Hai’ and others. Like most actors who are eager to bite in to meatier parts to explore their potential, this budding star decided to toughen up his act and venture in to Hindi films. Not an easy path for TV actors and rarely so for character actors, Vikrant managed to grab significant if not major parts in films like Lootera where he played consort to Ranvir Singh’s crook character. We also saw him essay the role of a rich boy turned pining lover in Dil Dhadakne Do in a miniscule role amidst a stellar star cast where even a known actor like Rahul Bose got very little screen time. And recently, he is being called the only silver

In an ad with Shahid Kapur for Samsung mobile

lining in the dark cloud that is the film ‘Half Girlfriend’. Considering it stars star kids Arjun Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor who are many films old and have a fair background for delivering hits earlier, this is saying a lot. Also because even though I haven’t seen the film, I am sure he must have not got the best lines or ahem...even a quarter of the girlfriend in the end. (Don’t blame me, it’s the term that gives one bad ideas).

With Ranvir Singh in Lootera

If you are to look at the glorious history of character actors and I remember writing about this at length at an earlier occasion, it is not the length of your role but what you make of it that determines your success. Time and again, versatile actors like Om Puri, Kader Khan, Boman Irani, Anupam Kher and Paresh Rawal have proved this to us. So much that scripts are written keeping them in mind and their roles are lengthened in order to give more weightage to them as the audience seems to want more of them in every film they star in. They have the tendency to become inseperable parts of the whole film, in spite of the disarming presence of your favourite hearthrob, the charming lure of the lead actress or the light-hearted banter of the staple comic sidekick. Often, we even recall their roles in a film as much as the lead character because of the impact they leave on us.

Think Sanjeev Kumar in Sholay, Mohnish Behl in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (one of the most famous dialogues in Maine Pyar Kiya are courtesy a lecherous him saying, “Ek ladka aur ladki kabhi dost nahi ho sakte.”), Reema Lagoo or Alok Nath in Maine Pyar Kiya, Nawazuddin Siddique in Bajrangi Bhaijaan or Deepak Dobriyal in the Tanu Weds Manu series.

It is even more applaud-worthy when such character actors then begin to claim fair share of their role in building a film’s narrative. Vikrant is of course young and has a long way to go but his next film does make us believe that he is in for the long haul. Come June 2, we will see him as Shutu in Konkona Sen Sharma’s directorial debut film, ‘Death in the Gunj’. Giving him company will be actors like Tanuja, Om Puri, Ranvir Shorey, Kalki Koechlin among others and if his past repertoire of acting is anything to go by, he might just leave us impressed yet again with his sincere performance.

It is great that filmmakers are pushing the envelope when it comes to layering characters with more complexity, greyness and purpose. It makes room for actors like Massey to prove their mettle in an industry that only reveres a handful and remembers a chosen few.