Bengaloored

Have you ever been alone in a movie hall? If yes, do welcome me to the club. For over an hour into this movie, I thought I was the only person in the hall. Till the friendly usher @ PVR Mulund burst my bubble by informing me that there was a couple in the far right hand top corner that was coochy cooing in the dark. One of the biggest disappointments in my life to learn that I had to exit the club much too early L

Babruvahana…. If u can pronounce the name that is… is the name of Arjuna’s (Mahabharata) son during his exile in Manipur. Now why is this random piece of mythology relevant to this blog? That would be a very smart question I must say. The answer being the lead character of this movie is called by the same name. Very unforgettable name but very forgettable character.

Harish Raj (supposed to be a new star in the Karnataka circle… I wonder why) plays the lead role of an author who leaves Bangalore and returns after 10 years to complete his 2nd book. The first one was a best seller which I wonder how because the character does not show any signs of being capable of writing such a book. But then there is our respected Chetan Bhagat Sir who also is a best selling author. So I guess we can make leeway for Babbu (that’s short for Babruvahana… small mercies I say) especially since this is a work of fiction.

In those 10 years he is supposed have been in France and has returned without the faintest sign of an accent or being French. Highly protected upbringing I assume made sure that he stuck to his roots. More over, he returns to Bengaluru with a vengeance and desperation to ensure that he gets laid. He spends a good 5 mins of screen time (which is a lot) trying to call his old flames that are by now either married or surprisingly don’t want to see him coz he dumped them in his hey days. Now the latter I find it extremely hard to believe. Which girl in her right sense of mind would want to be seen or associated with someone who goes by the name of Babruvahana and looks like Harish Raj? Unless of course there are enough girls out there who do believe in Shakespeare. I would like to find one sooner than later.

Now his pursuits of chasing up old flames finally bears fruit when he literally stalks down Radha (played by one bad actress called Meghna) who tries her best to shake him off but funnily gives in to temptation. The only reason I think this happens is coz the story had to go on. Or maybe it was because Radha could speak with an American accent thanks to her stint with a call centre and poor Babbu had nothing French about him L. Within 2 meetings with Radha our hero is deeply in love with her. That was fast… or should I say desperate.

Nevertheless, in an attempt to add some new angles, there are a few other characters that come into the movie. An author by the name of Ramana who was Babbus’s inspiration and is now a 50+ year loser whose only pastime is singing “Bahaaron Phool Barsao” on his personal Karaoke system. Little do we realize that it is because of his long lost love that he refuses to marry because he does not believe in the institution.

The other is Babbu’s ponytailed dad (who Babbu hates to the extent of calling him a sick bastard… I would if my dad named me Babruvahana) has remarried and is now with one hot south Indian siren (if u know what I mean) ignoring her coz he is about to die…. Boo hoo. Babbu for sure is extremely elated but to maintain audience sympathies gives papa dear a big hug and tells him how never meant it when he wished out loud that Papa would die (LIAR!!!!).

The next character is new Mama’s aunty who as luck would have it, turns out to be Ramana’s muse and long lost love who is now married with children. Smart woman I say (if u saw how Ramana looks u would also say the same). However, our hero Babbu decides to play cupid and successfully gets them back together…. Yeah!!!!

The pivotal character in the movie is however, a tree. Yes you heard me right… a tree where Babbu's original Mama is buried. And since then the tree, which was almost dead, has grown into a huge strong one and of course Babbu credits his mama (may her soul rest in peace) with this miracle. And Babbu will not let her rest in peace. He keeps riding down in his mint condition Yezdi as often as possible to meet her and pain her with his personal problems

Somewhere along all of this, the story of Babbu’s 2nd book is revealed. It is about some dude who loses everything in life. As depressing as the movie.

I would hate to do this normally, but in the interest of saving you guys the pain of going through one of the most painful movies ever, I am going to give away the climax.

Babbu’s dad passes away, Babbu expresses his deep love for Meghna who very politely asks him to FO (you see she is married and is going to the US to stay with hubby dearie) and last but not the least Babbu’s house gets burnt down and his novel along with it. Now why does the house get burnt down? Coz Babbu in his enthu to tell Meghna about his true feelings does not stub his cigarette out well enough. 3 things result due to this
The BBMP which wanted Babbu to give his house away due to a flyover construction is now dancing with glee…. PAISE BACH GAYE BOSS… Babbu dear was refusing to part with it thanks to memories attached
Realisation dawns upon the viewer as to why the movie begins with the statement CIGARETTE SMOKING IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH… you bet it is!!!! Burns your whole freaking house down man!!!! What if u were in it at the time??? Ho gaya na injurious.
Babbu now has inspiration to rewrite the novel….. man who loses everything etc… good lord!!!!!

I am seriously not going to waste my time on the ratings. Don’t see this movie unless u are a massive Sucker for Punishment OR you just love to get your trips from seeing boring, badly made movies.

Raavan (Hindi) / Raavanan (Tamil)

GENRE - DRAMA
DIRECTION / SCREENPLAY - MANI RATNAM
PRODUCTION - MADRAS TALKIES
CAST - HINDI - ABHISHEKH BACHCHAN, AISHWARYA RAI BACHCHAN, VIKRAM, GOVINDA, RAVI KISHEN
CAST - TAMIL - VIKRAM, AISHWARYA RAI BACHCHAN, KARTHIK, PRABHU
MUSIC - A R RAHMAN

I am increasingly beginning to believe that Abhishekh Bachchan has gone into a shell of fear. A Fear that he will not be able to recreate the magic that he created with Lallan. Lallan for my money's worth was probably no. 2 in the list of all time great villians in Indian cinema. AB Junior was on his 17th movie and had to probably prove a point that there is acting in his blood. The result was an awesome on screen performance that made one's blood boil whenever Lallan came on screen.
To AB Jr - Lallan was your moment of truth to date but the more u pitch yourself against that performance, the more you will fall short. Thats probably what went wrong with your performance in Raavan. Still believe that your best is yet to come. Hang in there.

Raavan starts with the controversial dive from the top of a cliff in one of the most scenic shots ever seen in Indian cinema. Pity that there was a controversy surrounding the same. Dont know who is to blame for the same but i do hope producers in Bollywood give credit where its due. Not happened in the past but i was hoping that things had changed. Guess they haven't. Would be glad if proven wrong.

For those who are yet unaware of what the entire concept is, Mani Ratnam has drawn wonderful parallels from the Ramayan in creating his latest offering. The Story revolves around Beera (or Veera in the Tamil version) who is a modern day Robin Hood in a manner of speaking working for the betterment of his community and believes in an eye for an eye. He is the most feared and respected person in the village. A series of unfortunate events leads to him masterminding a kidnapping of Ragini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) who is the wife of Dev Pratap Sharma (Vikram) the new SP of the territory. The idea was to kill her in 14 hours (parallels drawn to 14 years from the Ramayan) but unfortunately Ragini turns out to be a spunky one who refuses to be killed by a vagabond and promptly jumps off the cliff. The rest of the movie revolves around how Beera develops an immense sense of respect / love or whatever one would like to call it and the 14 hours manages to extend to 14 days eventually.

The search for the abducted lass sees the entry of Sanjeevani (Govinda / Karthik) who has been a notorious forest gaurd for the past 28 years and knows the forest inside out. Parallels drawn here again to Hanuman. After 8 days of searching for Ragini and several killings, Sanjeevani tries to broker peace between Beera and SP Dev which unfortunately results in the killing of Beera's younger brother by SP Dev and the pre climax sequence between the SP and Beera on a suspension bridge over a deep ravine.

Eventually, Beera's love for Ragini overcomes his desire to seek revenge and he releases her no questions asked. SP Dev, however does not trust Ragini to be pure anymore and offends her on the train journey back home prompting her to leave him and go back to Beera to clear the air in a manner of speaking. Yet again a parallel to the Agni Pariksha if people are unaware of the Ramayana.

However, the character of Raavan (Beera) just does not come alive. AB Jr just cannot manage it. Vikram however does a good job of it in the Tamil Version

Coming to the scores
1. Start - 7 on 10
2. End - 7 on 10
3. Story - 8 on 10
4. Lead Actors
AB Jr. - 5 on 10 / vikram - 7 on 10 - shows why he is popular in the south.
Ash - no comment
5. Support Cast
Govinda - 7 on 10 / Kartik 7 on 10
Ravi Kishen - 6 on 10 / Prabhu - 7 on 10
No one else worth writing home about.
6. Screenplay / Dialogues - 6 on 10 nothing much in the Hindi version. 8 on 10 for the Tamil version. gets the concept very alive.
7. Cinematography - 9 on 10 - really really good. one of the saving graces of the movie
8. Editing - falls sorely short. several gaffes - for e.g. how in the blazes did Ash get changed into a freshly white salwar after getting saved. Surely SP Dev had the time and the inclination to pack one up for the wife when he releases her from the clutches of the evil rakshas :)))) - 3 on 10
9. Direction - Mani Sir tries his best but i guess this is as much one can achieve with the cast that he had. one of his lesser movies - 6 on 10
10. Music - Brilliant. one of Rahman's best. 9 on 10

GRAND TOTAL - 5 on 10 for Hindi / 6 on 10 for Tamil