Gippi

“Everyone gets big.  Only a few grow up”.  If you think that there is any pun intended in this line that is part of the trailer, wait till you watch Gippi.  The movie starts off with a 14 year old girl who says, “Tere aur bhi bade ho gaye? Mere toh ab tak chhote chhote samose jaise hain” (Yours have grown bigger? Mine are still small like little samosas) – I am sure that you know what “yours and mine” mean.

Gippi is the story of Gurpreet Kaur (Riya Vij) who is all of 14 years and has just moved into class 9.  Like most ordinary 14 year olds, she is coming of age and is struggling with quite a few things.  There is the aspect of her being larger – or should I say healthy ;). She isn’t the brightest in school.  She isn’t the most popular.  She doesn’t have a boyfriend – or as the high school hottie Shamira (Jayati Modi) says – she cannot have one.

 

And if these problems weren’t sufficient, there is the fact that her mother is divorced.  Her father is getting married again – to a hot woman who isn’t from this part of the world.  She is getting closer to puberty and is struggling with the thought.  So in short, the next year or so or maybe more isn’t going to be too great for Gippi.

 

In the recent past, there was a brilliant Marathi movie called Balak Palak (BP) that covered a topic of a bunch of kids and their first experience with porn.  A movie that was absolutely brilliant because it kept things simple.  It represented the lower middle class exactly the way it is supposed to be – lower middle class.  No over the top dialogues.  No flashy songs. Just a simple story.

 

And that’s exactly where Gippi gets it wrong.  Or should I say Bollywood gets it wrong.  Everything is dealt with in extremes.  So if Gippi stays in Shimla and she comes from a middle class family, she will still stay in a nice bungalow.  She will still be able to go to a swanky mall (wonder if there is one in Shimla) and buy the most modern of clothes.  The make-up is nothing short of what the best salons offer.

 

Gippi seems more like a tribute to Shammi Kapoor than an actual story.  By the end of it all, you can remember all the Shammi tracks that were used in the movie and not as much of the movie.  The music is imminently forgettable.  The performances are average – except Divya Dutta who is as always very good.

 

Guys – keep it real.  Please.  You have once again taken a good concept – one that is extremely difficult to make, but unfortunately for you, has a precedence of excellent “real” cinema.  It will give the average audience a temporary feel-good but not one that will survive the weeks (forget years) to come.  Memorable cinema is kept simple.  I was disappointed.  4 on 10.

 

Watch the trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czxdEjh2A1w