100 out of 100

Indian cinema completes 100 years and every person associated with films is celebrating it in one way or the other. But with Dibakar Banerjee, Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar and Karan Johar collaborating to bring you Bombay Talkies, it is hard to disagree that if there is one way of celebrating the emotion of cinema that is better than others, it is this.

The film consists of four 25 minute short films, each directed by the aforementioned directors. Karan Johar's film is about a dysfunctional couple and a boy, who are all struggling to come to terms with the reality of their lives. Dibakar Banerjee's film talks about the struggle of a man who is trying to find his feet in a world and above all, earn the love and respect of his daughter. Zoya Akhtar's film is about a young boy who wants to follow his dream which is unacceptable to his father. And Anurag Kashyap's film is about a simpleton from Allahabad, who comes to Mumbai to meet Amitabh Bachchan and fulfill his father's dying wish.

Divulging any more details about the film would mean robbing you off the opportunity to experience and live the movie for yourself. This is exactly what makes the film special. It is all about letting the stories unfold and living them along with their characters, identifying with them and at times, just letting their lives overwhelm you.

Dibakar Banerjee's evolved storytelling makes his film the pick of the lot and its experience is enhanced by Nawazuddin Siddiqui's best performance on screen so far. Sadashiv Amrapurkar, who also plays a small role in the film, makes a lasting impression.

Karan Johar's film has brought out the filmmaker in him that probably he too didn't know about. The well crafted drama in his film is high on emotion, which is bound by some strong on screen performances by Randeep Hooda, Rani Mukerji and Saqib Saleem.

Anurag Kashyap's critical representation of the nation's psyche of reverence to superstars is very commendably captured through his story starring Vineet Singh. Zoya Akhtar's story, the only one not set in Mumbai, is an example of how cinema is where our dreams come from.

The star-studded showdown at the end of the film loosens the film's overall impact; but if you can ignore the force-feeding of that well-assembled song sequence which highlights the glory of cinema, the film is easily the best film of the year so far.

The film not only celebrates cinema, but shows you how your life is affected, influenced and at times, inspired by cinema. It invokes emotions in you that make you feel like you belong. And while we know films to be the property of those who make it, Bombay Talkies shows you how you, the audience, are also a part of the fraternity. Watch it, and be a part of cinema.

Rating - 4.5 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on May 4, 2013

A Family Car

Thanks to the past couple of decades of exposure to Hindi films and pop-music, all Indians are a little Punjabi today. There is a strong element in modern India, where urbanisation has walked almost hand-in-hand with Punjabisation of popular culture. Ashima Chibber’s Mere Dad Ki Maruti, set in Chandigarh, capitalizes on this cultural hegemony.

A situational comedy, the film is about an upper-middle-class family wedding, where the father (Ram Kapoor) has made his daughter a promise that he will marry her off with her groom in a brand new Maruti. His son, Sameer (Saqib Saleem) is a good-for-nothing collegegoer who wants to impress Jasleen ‘Chandigarh Ki Shakira’ (Rhea Chakraborthy). However, blinded by excitement, he misplaces the car that is due as a gift a few days later. The film is a simple joyride, which sees Sameer trying all possible options to get the car back by the wedding.

Following a visible formula of predictable clichés, the film unfolds on the backdrop of a Punjabi wedding, which all experienced movie-goers know to be a recipe for mayhem. But, moving at a brisk pace, the director doesn’t give you time to ponder over the misgivings of the film and you simply let yourself take a backseat in a seemingly smooth ride. Sameer and his friends get involved with an eccentric Haryanvi rental car businessman and a gangster Pathan and yet, on the day of the wedding, it all falls into place – just like it does in all Hindi movies.

Ram Kapoor is the highlight of this film as the distressed father of the bride, whose son has only been a pain in the neck. After his moving role in Udaan, Ram proves his mettle yet again as an adorable and quirky middle-aged man. Saqib, who made his debut in Y-films’ Mujhse Fraandship Karoge continues to be the new face for teenage-flicks and Rhea Chakraborty does a decent job to be the eye-candy with a good heart. The dialogues between Sameer and Jasleen are extremely hilarious, but they are also a back-handed slap in the face of a generation that lives in a grammatically wrong acronym-ridden world.

The film is a great example of how the business of cinema works these days. Identify your audience and make a film that, like the instant food of our time, is easy to cook and effortless to swallow. A well-positioned product in the market, Mere Dad Ki Maruti is good business. But for those who look at cinema as more than just a way to kill two hours at a time, the film may be an un-gratifying experience.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 16, 2013