Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 115

25.5.2013, Mumbai

May 20/ Monday: Sanjay wakes up with a sinking feeling. It is evident to him now that the police have no intentions of shifting him to Yerwada Jail in the near future. If only they would shift him out of this dark hole without air or sunshine. He wonders what time of the day it is and what his children would be doing at this time. His wife Manyata had put up a brave front when she accompanied him to the court but he wonders how long she can continue to be strong. He wonders how long he can continue to be strong. He recalls consoling his sister Namrata visibly shaken by the chaos outside their home in Pali Hill. The media was literally camped outside the bungalow blocking privacy of all the buildings in the neighborhood which was so unfair. She wondered what has happened because it was not like this the last time her brother went to prison. “Or was it because the last time dad was there to protect us from all?’ a vulnerable Namrata asked her brother.

She had not accompanied the rest of the family to the court because somebody had to stay back with all the kids at home so she was saved from the frenzy on the streets. There was no security to escort them to the court, cars bikes followed them on the sea link and jammed into their vehicle. Sanjay hoped he would never have to deal with a similar frenzy again where no one listened or showed sanity.

(To be continued)

Bhawana Somaaya/ Twitter: @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 114

A car for youth

Jyotin Goel ki Hum Hain Rahi Car Ke bachpan ke doston, Rahul aur Priyanka ki kahahi hain. Priyanka medical call centre mein kaam karti hain aur Rahul Banker hain. Priyanka mehnati, suljhi hui, zimmedar ladki hain aur Rahul hadh se zyada lazy, careless aur reckless hain.

 New Year eve ko Rahul party manana chahta hain magar Priyanka ko apni office se chutti nahi milti. Sanjog kuch aise ban jaate hain ke Rahul-Priyanka ko fauran hi, Mumbai se Pune by road nikal jana padta hain. 

Rahul sochta hain ke wo do ghante mein Pune pohanch jayenge, magar raaste mein kuch aisa hota hain ki dono mushkil se shaadi mein pohach paate hain.

Ye kahani hain unke Mumbai se Pune tak  ke safar ki, ya yun kahiye unke badalte rishte aur apne aap ki pehchan ki.

Film ki pace dheemi hain aur Juhi Chawla, Chunky Panday, Rati Agnihotri ke friendly appearances ke bawajood entertainment or humour quotient kum hain.

Thoda bohat agar film mein koi hume hasata hain toh wo inspector Karate ki bhumika Sanjay Dutt.

Director Jyotin Goel, Dev aur Ada ki youthful jodi dwara young audience ko target karti hain.

Film ka asli hero, lead pair ki kabhi na ruknewali gaddi hain.

Hum Hain Rahi Car ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hain 2.5 stars.

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As beautiful as Paris

Preity Zinta ki Ishk in Paris kahani hai do ajnabiyon ki, jo Rome se Paris ki train mein milte hain, raat Paris ki sadkon par guzarte hain aur subah, dono apne raaste chal padte hain!

Ishk yaane Preity Zinta, photographer hain aur Paris mein rehti hain.

Akash, yaane Rehan Mallik celebrity agent hain aur London mein business karte hai.

Dono commitment free zindagi jeena chahte hain, isliye bichadne se pehle ye vaada karte hain ki iske baad, wo ek doosre se kabhi nahi milenge!!

Kismat phir dono ko saath laati hain, dono phir Paris ki galiyaan raat ghumte hain aur iss baar bhi, dono ek doosre se ek vada lete hain.

Ishk in Paris mein koi highs and lows/ twists and turns ya surprises nahi hain, phir bhi film dil ko bhaati hain, aur wo isliye kyon ki film ki likhawat aur kirdaar sache hain.

French actress aur Shekhar Kapur ki jodi casting interesting banati hain. Naya ladka Rehan Malik Shah Rukh Khan jaisa charming na sahi, apne role ke liye bilkul sahi hai aur strong ladki ki bhumika mein sensitive Preity Zinta film ki jaan hain.

50 saal pehle, director Shakti Samanta pehle Indian filmmaker thhe, jinhone apni film An Evening in Paris dwara humme France ki rangin sham dikhayi thhi.

Ab itne salon baad, director Prem Raj hume Ishk in Paris  dwara Cannes dikhate hain.

Ishk in Paris ishk ki tarha mulayam aur Paris ki tarha suhani hain. Ishk in Paris ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hain 3 stars.

(For the complete review tune into 92.7 BigFm over the weekend)

Bhawana Somaaya / @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 113

23.5.2013, Mumbai

May 18:  Sanjay wakes up in cold sweat thinking it is Sunday and what his family must be doing at this time without him at home. For the last many years he had made it a point to not work on Sundays so that he can spend time with his kids. 

There are talks that he may be shifted to Yerwada Jail in Pune tomorrow morning and hopes he will be able to see his family before that. The mere thought of meeting his wife and sister once again fills him with hope and he prays that his wish be granted.

Wife Manyata and sister Priya Dutt arrive at the court but the media havoc outside delays formalities and at 6 pm the doors of court are closed on visitors. Sanjay learns about what has happened from a guard and does not react. It is his second night in the ill ventilated cell – and the midsummer heat is terrible! Sanjay spreads his thin mattress on the floor with then drops his head on the pillow brought from home. He shuts his eyes to dream, not sleep...

(To be continued)

Bhawana Somaaya/ Twitter: @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 112

22.5.2013, Mumbai

May 17: Barrack number 12 at Arthur Road Central Jail is where Ajmal Kasab was put up a few months ago. Kasab was on the first floor while Sanjay and Yusuf Nalwala are on the first floor. The cell referred as Aanda is dark and suffocating so Sanjay spends the night chatting with Nulwala.  At dawn he distracts himself reading religious books he has carried from home and at 5a.m Sanjay rises to do his regular workout followed by snacks served in the prison. Time moves slow inside prison. At shootings, Sanjay never remembered lunch break but inside the cell -lunch, tea break and dinner are indicators of movement of time, of day embracing night followed by another day and night...

Bhawana Somaaya / @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 111

21.5.2013, Mumbai

May 16: Sitting by the window looking at the first ray of the orange sun stream into his bedroom, something triggers inside Sanjay and his mentor Mahesh Bhatt is the first to notice it when he arrives a few hours later at Imperial Heights, Sanjay’s residence. Mahesh senses that something has happened overnight that helped Sanjay find strength within him to face his destiny. 

He is scheduled to leave home at 1.30 and minutes before that the entire family with all the children forms a circle holding hands and chants a prayer. His sister applies a vermillion tilak on her brother’s exactly the way their mother had bid farewell to all of them every time anyone departed a long journey. One by one Sanjay embraces every member of the family and staff and after a long, lingering look at his home, he steps out of the house towards the iron gate of the bungalow behind which wait innumerable media cameras.

A motorcade of cars led by the police jeep blaring a siren drives from Pali Hill but there is a further road block from the media at the Tada Court  that prevents him from stepping out of the car. Sanjay pleads with the media to let him go inside because he has a deadline but they are unrelenting. Finally, Sanjay jumps out of his Innova car and walks through the crowd hit on the shoulder and chest by TV camera crews.

Inside the court Dutt is ushered into the accused box, while his advocate Rizwan Merchant seeks permission from judge to allow his client to carry thin mattress and pillow as he suffers from steno stenosis in both his limbs and electric cigarettes without which he is prone to migraine attacks. Merchant requests home food and family visit for his client. Home food is granted for a month while order for family visits is yet to be passed. Judge agrees to all except cigarette, says ‘Quit smoking’.

(To be continued)

Bhawana Somaaya/ twitter: @bhawanasomaaya  

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 110

Jail Diary

20. 5. 2013, Mumbai

For three months, Sanjay Dutt had been dreading the moment when he would have to leave all his loved ones and surrender himself to Tada Court. 

For three months, he had been breaking down at home, on the sets and at press conferences.

For three months, he had been preparing himself for his moment of truth but the harder he tried, the more vulnerable he turned.

Jail Diary is a journey into the mind space of a man serving his term inside the prison.

A man reared in the lap of luxuries and an actor loved by millions.

May 15: It is the day before Sanjay Dutt has to surrender and he is nervous as hell. He has not slept a wink in many days and as the hours go by, Sanjay trembles with fear. He wants to be brave but cannot fight his tears. If only he could turn the clock and live his life again but all he has now is regrets. His family has been rallying around Sanjay for many weeks now yet nothing they say or do can take away his fears. Late night when everyone has retired, Sanjay and Manyata and Sanjay tiptoe into the children’s room and watch the twins sleep peacefully. They stay awake all night holding each other’s hands waiting for the dawn that that will change their life forever.

(To be continued)

Bhawana Somaaya / Twitter: @bhawanasomaaya

Cutting Chai with Bhawana Somaaya - Day 109

Gatsby is mesmerizing, Fundamentalist is thought provoking

17.5.2013, Mumbai

Iss hafte do International filmein release ho rahi hai – jisme Indian actors ne kaam kiya hai.

Baz Luhrman ki The Great Gatsby mein Amitabh Bachchan hai aur Mira Nair ki The Reluctant Fundamentalist mein chaar Indian actors –Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, Chandrachur Singh aur Naseerudin Shah ka beta - Imaad Shah.

Itna hi nahi, Fundamentalist ki editing Ab Tak Chappan ke director Shimit Amin ne ki hai aur film ki closing mein aakhri message, Javed Akhtar ne likha hai.

Dono filmein Big American Dream ke baare mein hain aur dono kitabon par bhi adharit hai.

Scot Fitzgrald ki Great Gatsby Long Island mein basse amiron ki 1920 ki kahani hai jab America pure josh mein tha! Mohsin Hamid ki The Reluctant Fundamentalist post 9/11- America Pakistani ke badalte rishte ki kahani hai.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist ka scoring point real incidents, real locations aur lajawab music hain. Great Gatsby ka scoring point film ki kahani aur presentation jo 3D mein aur bhi alishan lagta hai!

Dono filmein bahtareen likhi –edited - photographed aur performed hain.

Jay Gatsby ki bhumika mein hero Leonardo DiCaprio aur Changez Khan ki bhumika mein hero Riz Ahmed flawless hain. Amitabh Bachchan Gatsby mein sirf ek scene mein aate hain aur purre screen par chha jate hai. Reluctant Fundamentalist mein Shaban Azmi aur Om Puri hero ke maa baap ki bhumika nibhate hain.

The Great Gatsby sapnon ki tarha sundar aur kanch ki tarha nazuk - Reluctant Fundamentalist haqeeqat hain isliye disturbing hai, magar ashavadi bhi.

Dono filmein apne genre mein extra-ordinary hain aur dono ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hai 4 stars.

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Cocktail of Don & Do Kaliyaan..!

Yash Raj Films ki Aurangzeb, waise toh kahani hai do beechde bhaiyon ki, magar iske ke alava, film mein bohat saare parallel tracks chalete hain.

Aurangzeb ko hum family drama keh sakte hai, ya phir corporate world mein badhta corruption ka expose!

Writer director Atul Sabharwal police /politics aur business world par sawal uthate hain aur action genre ko realistic formula mein pesh karte hain. Isiliye film hero centric hote hue bhi, baki characters, chahe wo sirf ek scene mein Anupam Kher ho ya do scene mein Deepti 

Naval ko ahmiyat deti hain.

Film ka plus, film ki likhawat, anokhi casting  jaise Jackie Shroff - Amrita Singh ki pairing aur Arjun Kapoor ki maa ki bhumika mein Tanvi Azmi hain. 

Saare performances competent hai, nayi ladki -Sasha Aagha - Ghulam ki Rani Mukherjee ki yaad dilate hai. Aiyya ka hero, Prithvi aaj ka angry young man hai aur Rishi Kapoor itne dashakon ke bawajood bhi hume surprise karte hain!

Arjun Kapoor agar Ajay ke roop mein baahosh aur besharam hain, toh Vishal ki bhumika mein khuddaar aur samajhdar hain. 

Film ka minus, film ki slow taking hai, jo ek hi sur mein Gurgaon aur Delhi ke ird gird ghoomti hain. Bohat saare kirdaar hain, aur sabki apni back stories bhi.

Aurangzeb ab tak ki bani double role filmon ka mishran hai, kuch Don aur kuch Do Kaliyaan se churati hai, isliye thodi lambi hai, magar kuch alag hai.

Aurangzeb ko Big Entertainment Ratings milte hai 3 stars.

Bhawana Somaaya/ www.bhawanasomaaya.com