About the Author
I promise somewhat irregular posts on (in no particular order) Indian politics, cinema, and anything else that catches my fancy... Why "Qalandar"? So-called "liminal" religious traditions are a particular interest of mine, and "qalandar" is the sort of untranslatable, ambiguous, yet enormously evocative word that for me touches upon and articulates the experience of the sub-continent's "little" traditions in a particularly memorable way...not to mention the fact that in popular lingo the word has more than a merely religious/spiritual connotation, and can mean a bunch of other things, including a smart alec, wannabe, what-have-you...
Comment by satyam on 27 April 2008:
Outstanding review here Qalandar even if this film did not work for me at just about any level..
Comment by Simply Som on 27 April 2008:
Wonderful review!!
Comment by Aarohi on 27 April 2008:
Great review Q. I am watching this one on Thursday.
Comment by satyam on 27 April 2008:
I read this again Qalandar and this is really one of your best reviews. Paradoxical as this might sound I agree with just about everything here except that I think the execution of the film goes completely awry. The film is ‘about’ everything you so insightfully describe in your review but to my mind it doesn’t have the narrative to be more than a ‘work in progress’.
I will disagree on the ’spoof’ bit. The film isn’t one per se but there is enough of the ’spoofish’ here at many different levels.
Comment by satyam on 27 April 2008:
On another note I revisited JBJ recently. The problem with this one (though I quite like it) is that it’s structurally very interesting in the first half but the material is only intermittently engaging while in the second half it’s a more linear narrative that is really energetic and zany . Shaad Ali somehow kept things a bit too low key and deadpan in the first half (which is what leaves me ambivalent about the film! I prefer the conceit of the first half and yet I enjoy the second one more!). Except for the Bol do halke halke sequence which is a tour de force. I liked ABhishek’s performance even more this time around. And again Shaad does alternate a bit between plain comedy and the spoof in the first half and gets the balance right only in the second half.
Comment by akshay shah on 27 April 2008:
Whoa..fab review Q..one of your best!!!!
Comment by akshay shah on 27 April 2008:
Whoa..fab review Q..one of your best!!!!
Comment by Aarohi on 27 April 2008:
Tashan sounds more and more like a Shaad Ali film that he didn’t make. Is it the film that Shaad Ali was to direct for YRF before JBJ fiasco?
Comment by Jesse on 27 April 2008:
Excellent Review Q. Finally something that just doesn’t trash it. Although I haven’t seen it, I think it is obvious that YRF could have gone for a far more generic film but they choose to step out of the box ala JBJ.
Comment by Aarohi on 27 April 2008:
btw, Ayananka Bose also filmed JBJ and I loved his work there.
Comment by satyam on 27 April 2008:
Aarohi: That’s right. Shaad Ali could almost have made this film though it would have had more energy in his hands. This is not the movie he was looking to direct incidentally.
Comment by Jesse on 27 April 2008:
“Tashan sounds more and more like a Shaad Ali film that he didn’t make. Is it the film that Shaad Ali was to direct for YRF before JBJ fiasco?”
Doubt it Aarohi, as I think Tashan was launched before JBJ released.
Comment by satyam on 27 April 2008:
TheSkeptic: Q outdoes himself, with one his best reviews, from what I have read of criticism. One is abashed to be seeing movies so shallowly oneself - and I cannot think of a higher compliment.
agreed completely skeptic..
Comment by satyam on 27 April 2008:
Jesse: Yes that movie was called Tevar..
Comment by satyam on 27 April 2008:
“Although I haven’t seen it, I think it is obvious that YRF could have gone for a far more generic film but they choose to step out of the box ala JBJ.”
That’s a fair comment.. except that I don’t think Yashraj saw either film as particularly risky at the time of production.. but yes the pattern seems to be that if they think they have a major star they’re willing to give the director far more latitude.
Comment by sheeru on 27 April 2008:
Hell fucken n…was Anil the worst in this film…Saif and Kareena were doing nothing in this film…Saif was just being himself and kareena was showin off her body how does that beat Anil’s performance…the man actually tried…insteada the other cast members. Yes its not a good performance but its not a really bad one either like u pointing out here Q.
Comment by Jesse on 27 April 2008:
“but yes the pattern seems to be that if they think they have a major star they’re willing to give the director far more latitude.”
Perhaps. Or perhaps YRF were thinking something bigger - a creation of a new sort of “genre” that stems off of BnB. I mean I don’t think it’s just a coincidence that both Tashan and JBJ seem to have some similarities.
Comment by Qalandar on 27 April 2008:
Sheeu: bhaiyya, par anil kapoor ka standard bhi to alag hona chahiye! Plus, the script didn’t give saif and kareena 1/10th the irritating moments (as I said in my review I blamed the writer/director for anil’s badness here)…
Comment by akshay shah on 27 April 2008:
“Perhaps. Or perhaps YRF were thinking something bigger - a creation of a new sort of “genre” that stems off of BnB. I mean I don’t think it’s just a coincidence that both Tashan and JBJ seem to have some similarities.”-I agree with you here Jesse….BNB, JBJ and now TASHAN!
Comment by Simply Som on 27 April 2008:
There could be few positives here and there, but there are far more negatives one can easily find out which make this one a terribly bad movie.
Comment by akshay shah on 27 April 2008:
Thanks Som..it does NOT seem like a case of JBJ here even….with JBJ people either hated it or loved it..with TASHAN you either HATE IT or KIND OF LIKE PARTS OF IT!
Comment by satyam on 27 April 2008:
Jesse: That’s a good point. Yashraj though might have seriously overestimated the extent to which the ‘irrevent’ is in vogue.
Comment by jayshah on 27 April 2008:
Thanks Q for your review
Comment by sheeru on 27 April 2008:
I just seen JBJ today…I cant sit through that movie…but I dont know if I would wanna see Tashan again hahahaha.
Comment by sandy on 27 April 2008:
Thanks for this Q, one of the few reviews to have given this film a fair chance.
Comment by rks on 28 April 2008:
Samikshaa badhiyaa hai, par pehle do parished samajhne mei takleef hui.
Comment by N I T E S H on 28 April 2008:
Excellent review Q.
The best on Tashan so far and probably your best.
Your comparision of Tashan with D2 and your analysis of how Tashan scores over D2 and your commentary on Akshay’s superb portrayal of Kanpuria is an ace.
Your analysis in the last para sums up the fate of this film.
Comment by Ravi on 28 April 2008:
Nice review as always Q bhai, has been some time since I read your review.
Comment by rudresh on 28 April 2008:
kash every viewer had/has been like Q.
This look like a wish every one associated with Tashan would have
Comment by ILG on 28 April 2008:
First of all, Q unfortunately cant access your review from work.
Bit its great that you have put up a review after a long time. You still owe us a review of JA. Am still waiting for that.
One thing, I always like about your reviews is your take is always different from mainstream reviewers. If I discard your syrupy CDI review, you are always make total sense and so I am willing to trust your favorable take on Tashan. It seems you have all but taken on D2 bashing as a full time occupation, tho. With time tho I have become less sensitive to it.
A sad thing with YRF is, when they try a different take on a not so different theme, they seem to fail. Probably they put too much faith in the intelligence of the audience. First JBJ and then Tashan with LCMD and AN, in between. They might find more comfort and security in their usual predictable, mediocre fare they have been otherwise dishing out since Aditya took over.
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
ILG: I paste it below:
It would be a mistake to think of Tashan as a “retro” film, unless by that term one refers simply to any film that is conscious of the cinematic tradition it is heir to, or one means simply that the director in question has great affection for the films he grew up watching. Both of these are manifestly true of Tashan, but the film is no mere homage. For homage, ironic distance from the past one wishes to not so much capture but allude to is an essential ingredient. Tashan is in fact a rarer bird: it plays it straight, essentially seeking to present a thoroughly masala movie in 2008 garb. But what separates it from the likes of Halla Bol is director Vijay Krishna Acharya’s instinct (indulged in liberally though not uniformly in Tashan) for packaging designed to appeal to contemporary multiplex audiences (by now, sadly, the only audiences that seem to matter to the Hindi film industry), and his breezy – albeit uneven – humor. Not to mention a sensibility far removed from the earnestness of Raj Kumar Santoshi: whereas Halla Bol seemed to hope that upwardly mobile audiences would overlook a cinematic idiom that seemed to be past its sell by date, Acharya seems well aware of the challenge before him. Indeed, Acharya renders the challenge explicit by making a film that is unabashedly on the side of the bhaiyya – specifically, one called Bachchan Pandey (Akshay Kumar) — cheerfully excluded from fluency in English – an abstraction given flesh in the form of Jimmy (Saif Ali Khan) – and set against the course of over a decade of Bollywood history. This sensibility is not just a question of dialect (although Tashan includes doses of what I am told is – but wouldn’t recognize as – Kanpur’s Hindi dialect) or of a character who isn’t a yuppie from a major metro, or of a story that doesn’t unfold in New York or Sydney or London. Rather, it is a question of an entire worldview: by privileging Bachchan Pandey’s character, and (more importantly) his story, and by ensuring that only the Kanpuriyas have a “history” in this film (Jimmy’s one minute of “flashback” isn’t even allowed the dignity of a real place, and serves as stagey contrast to the lovingly imagined Kanpur lanes of Pandey’s past), Acharya privileges the Ganga kinaare waala ethos (whether real or imagined), and puts “the heartland” at the core of Hindi cinema in a way we haven’t seen since Bunty aur Babli – and in a far more explicit, and (given the tastes of contemporary Bollywood audiences) more courageous manner than Shaad Ali’s 2005 breezy romp.
I wrote above that this sensibility is not simply a question of dialect – equally, however, the question of language is never very far from this film’s lead male characters, each of whom has serious language issues. For instance, Acharya is acutely conscious of the privileged status Jimmy’s access to English bestows upon him – not only is he a call center executive but an English-language instructor, granting Indians access not to the wealth of English literature or Anglo-American thought, but to the opportunity to serve customers who expect English to be the world’s lingua franca. But Jimmy’s privilege isn’t simply because of the greater demand for his services in the new economic paradigm; as Bhaiyyaji’s reverence for Jimmy’s well-turned out English phrases makes clear, to speak like Saif in the new India is to be the new uber-Brahmin, potentially able to intimidate even those north of one on the totem pole of wealth and power. Bachchan Pandey is the opposite of Bhaiyyaji: for him, Jimmy’s facility with English is itself suspicious, a sign of insufficient Indianness. For Pandey – who, in his name, incarnates two larger-than-life U.P.waalas, Hindi cinema’s biggest star and the 1857 sepoy who graced our cinema screens only a few years ago – and, one suspects, for Acharya, the “real deal” of the “asli” Indian cannot be found in the India of the call centers and the shiny malls, but in the sort of galee where boys steal electricity to impress girls (um, watch the film, you’ll see what I mean). As a corrective to the recent indifference of Bollywood to much of its erstwhile audience, and to the ease with which denizens of “the metros” in my experience dismiss “Bihar vihaar”, I found the spirit of Tashan irresistible – Akshay Kumar makes his entry dressed as Ravana in a sequence that is utterly, wonderfully, compelling, and he is clearly out to upset the complacency of audiences who uncritically see the recent arc of Hindi cinema as a narrative of virtue, moving from “cinema for the rickshawaalas” to the “advanced” cinema that won’t make them cringe – although Acharya’s essentialism is hardly unproblematic, and I can easily see just why this film might be alienating for an audience that prefers to watch just the sort of film Bachchan Pandey would sneer at. Acharya’s crude tonic is welcome to me, but I must concede that it doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of commercial sense.
Itna aagay nikal gaye, aur ab tak story ke baare mein nahin bataaya? Skirt chaser Jimmy falls for Pooja Singh (Kareena Kapoor, more skeletal than sex symbol) at first sight and agrees to give her private English classes – except the classes aren’t for her but for her boss, a U.P. don called Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor) with an addiction to broken English. Jimmy and Pooja fall in love (or so he thinks), until one 25-crore scam and an irate gangster later, Pooja is on the run, Jimmy’s getting the living daylights beaten out of him by Bhaiyyaji’s henchmen, and bounty hunter Bachchan Pandey is on the money’s trail. The three meet up and hit the road together, and by film’s end we have action, khoya hua bachpan ka pyar, and two extended flashbacks set in Kanpur’s lanes (one of which bizarrely pops up towards the end of the film). In short: paisa vasool for this viewer. And then some.
Acharya’s debut film is unquestionably superior to the last action/adventure film featuring two male leads and a female thief he was involved with – while both Dhoom 2 (which Acharya wrote) and Tashan suffer from egregious wannabe moments, the latter has genuine soul at points, and is never merely plastic (at least if you exclude song videos like Chaliya, Yash Raj Films’ latest ill conceived attempt to manufacture sexiness). Not to mention that it features far better visuals (a large share of the credit for which must doubtless go to cinematographer Anayanka Bose), music, and dialogue than 2006’s biggest grosser. And more affecting performances than anything in the earlier film, none more so than Akshay Kumar in what is for me his best performance since Khakee: he’s heavy handed here as he typically is, but nevertheless manages to plausibly incarnate not only a rowdy antisocial with Manoj Kumar’s soul, but also the wide-eyed air of a boy from the boondocks.
Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor are both effective, although Khan doesn’t have very much to do once Akshay enters the proceedings. Khan is perfectly cast though (although not perfectly styled; I was struck by how “off” Jimmy’s dressing seemed to be given the sort of chap the film would have us believe he is), and easily carries the film through its first half hour. Kapoor has rather more to do, and while her role does not call for much nuance (at least none that is very plausible) she is good fun to watch as the tease trying to get close to Pandey so that she can pull off one more scam. Somewhat surprisingly, Anil Kapoor’s is by far the worst performance in the film: his Bhaiyyaji is labored and downright unfunny, or, more accurately, Bhaiyyaji commits the worst sin a villain can. He is funny enough not to seem very dangerous, but not funny enough to justify the number of lines of broken English he is given. Kapoor’s non-performance must squarely be laid at Acharya’s door; Bhaiyyaji’s role is so farcical and contrived, the dialogues associated with it so bad, it would likely fell greater actors than Anil Kapoor. A special mention must be made of Yashpal Sharma, who is superb as the Haryanvi A.C.P. Hooda on the crooks’ trail – he has no more than a few scenes in the movie, and is the best thing about every one of them.
I must admit to having been somewhat ungenerous to Vishal-Shekhar’s music prior to Tashan’s release. In the context of the film the songs work quite well (although Falak Tak might as well be from a different film, or just about any film; a pity, given that the rest of the music is very far from generic), and the album’s nod to Urdu (in Chaliya); grand Hindustani lyrics in the tradition of Firoz Khan’s films (as in Tashan Mein; when was the last time you heard a song go “Apni to… har baat niraali hai / Apne to … Khoon mein ishq ki laali hai”?); and bhaiyyaspeak (just about everywhere) is refreshing after the endemic contemporary overdose of all things Punjabi.
Tashan certainly has its flaws: it isn’t always clear on what sort of film it wants to be, the dialogue should have been much better than it is, the song videos were generally underwhelming, and the action scenes are a let down (an unpardonable sin in these action-starved times). But I can forgive it much (even apart from its mouthwatering shots of Indian locales) because it is clear on the sort of film it does not want to be. That is, Tashan is no spoof, nor is it afflicted by the sort of retro-clever that borders on obscurity. By means of it, Acharya has placed his studio’s money on the wager that a relatively “straight” masala movie that turns its back on Bollywood’s recent history can, if packaged and sold right, be viable at the box office. I hope he’s right on that – certainly if convincing this reviewer were all that were required Acharya would be well on his way – although the irate theatergoers I walked past after the show had ended serve to underscore how daunting Acharya’s task is.
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
Thanks all for the encouragement…much appreciated as always…
Comment by Tuenkens on 28 April 2008:
Great review Qalandar! I myself enjoyed the movie quite a lot and am more than a bit disappointed at the mob lynching going on for the movie.
You mention a nice point about Jimmy not getting a proper “native place” unlike the Kanpurias. I am not sure if I missed it or not, but I don’t think Jimmy’s real name, leave alone the family name, is mentioned anywhere in the movie apart from his “phone name”, whereas the others have prominently mentioned “Singhs” or “Pandes” along with their first names. But I somehow don’t agree about the Mangal Pandey bit. I think here the Pande is perhaps used more as a generic UP-wallah, and Bachchan as a first name to emphasize the roots of one of our greatest stars.
You mentioned about Saif’s dressing, in fact I found it quite interesting. Akshay was wearing jeans throughout the movie and Saif cargos. Trying to distinguish between what is percieved as a Metro cool and a Kanpur cool, perhaps.
Also, as you rightly pointed out the flashback sequence(s) featuring Kanpur were so much more real/earthy than in previous YRF/Shaad films. The makaans, the galis, although clearly shot on a set, were so much more earthy than before (in a YRF movie). Even the characters chosen for them could actually have been born and bred Ganga kinare.
I have always thought (perhaps unfairly) that Akshay has been too lucky with women earlier and these days with films. But he totally belonged out here. And the response he received in the cinema has now convinced me of the kind of stardom he is enjoying these days. Its a pity he will be back to the Bazmees of the world now, but the first look of Chandni Chowk has me excited.
A lot has been said about Kareena’s anorexic look, but believe it or not I in fact liked her in this movie. And horor of horors, I actually thought she looked much better than Aish in D2.
The music was also totally rocking, I have been hooked since the first listen itself. But when the movie started with a heady mix of Highway to Hell and Kabhi Kabhie, man was I floored or what (btw, aren’t both are ‘79 creations?).
There were loose ends aplenty I agree. But as you rightly said, this deserves some forgiveness, if we can forgive so much in movies like Welcome and Race this is a much better bargain I fee.
JBJ didn’t deter YRF going the whole hog with Tashan, I hope (though I highly doubt now given the massive drubbing it is getting all round) Tashan doesn’t deter them from any future endeavors in this brand of film making.
Comment by Tango on 28 April 2008:
Very good points raised/highlighted by you Q.
And a good analysis.
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
Re: “I don’t think Jimmy’s real name, leave alone the family name, is mentioned anywhere in the movie apart from his “phone name”, whereas the others have prominently mentioned “Singhs” or “Pandes” along with their first names.”
Tuenkens: his real name is mentioned a couple of times, it is Jeetendra Makhania or something (precisely the sort of name one does not mention when a customer calls)…
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
Re: “But I somehow don’t agree about the Mangal Pandey bit. I think here the Pande is perhaps used more as a generic UP-wallah, and Bachchan as a first name to emphasize the roots of one of our greatest stars.”
You might well be right, although I note that Kanpur was of course the site of some of the heaviest fighting of the 1857 revolt… in fact that’s probably the most famous thing about Kanpur’s history…
Comment by Tuenkens on 28 April 2008:
Yes, you do have a point with the uprising.
It was Jeetendra Makwana (a Gujju?). I got it in the promos but somehow missed it in the movie.
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
Yeah that one: it’s there when saif mentions his mother-and-teacher, and comes up again a second time much later in the film…
Comment by beld o beld on 28 April 2008:
Q on a tangent. Steyn and misbah back for blr. And they seem to be rocking. Game on
Comment by ILG on 28 April 2008:
Thanks Q for pasting it.
Now I can see what all the hoopla is about.
Very, very well written as always and thnaks to your review am going to give this one a dekho.
Now how long do I have to wait for JA review?
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
ILG: as you know my workload made me miss the film in the cinema — and I feel it would be a grave injustice to the scale/visuals of the film to see it on a pirated print. Hence I won’t see Jodha-Akbar until the original DVD release. But I will certainly do a review then, even though it will be pretty stale by then…
Beld: Yes Chennai’s vaunted batting is being tested here for the first time.
Thanks all for the kind wishes. Work permitting, I will likely watch Tashan again in the cinema.
Comment by rks on 28 April 2008:
Q:”Work permitting, I will likely watch Tashan again in the cinema.”
Judging from reactions, Yashraj should invite you to preview of ‘Bachna Ae Haseenon’
.
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
Tuenken: while I certainly think Kareena Kapoor with her kohl rimmed look in Asoka was a hundred times sexier than anything in Tashan, I too feel she pulled that whole scene off much better than Ash in Dhoom 2. I mean…fake tan?! Puhleeez!
ILG: at least I’m equal opportunity! [You take me to task for reflexively bashing Dhoom 2; TheSkeptic feels I do the same where Sarkar is concerned; and Sambaba and kmkm13 felt my ideological critique of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai etc. was alsoout of left field; Street felt likewise about my comments on Rang de Basanti. I must be doing something right
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
RKS: actually, given my views on NRI love stories etc. etc., I think Yash Raj will have a bouncer just to keep me away from the preview! Dharma too might borrow a page from their book (the media reports I read on Dostana’s story make it seem quite lame indeed).
Btw, a prediction: a lot of people I am sure will pick Dostana as Abhishek’s safe film (as opposed to Drona or Dilli-6), but I have a feeling those films will perform well but this one might just disappoint at the box office. Especially if Sarkar Raj, Drona, and Dilli-6 work, Dostana will have even LESS chance of working. IMO, the audience’s “preference” for abhishek in intense, serious roles will be quite marked, making the Johar kinda scene a dicey proposition.
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
RKS: i saw Jhoom Barabar Jhoom 3 times in the cinema! Even Shaad Ali hasn’t seen it thrice
The third time was purely for the ravishing Bol Na Halke Halke video.
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
Beld: bhaiyya that 19th over from Steyn could be the difference…I’m at work so am not watching it, but the scoreboard itself made for thrilling reading…the commentators are saying the pitch is such that 178 is a very good scrore, so let’s see (Chennai’s bowling hasn’t struck terror in the hearts of anyone so far; even lame Sachin-less Mumbai made 202 or something in a narrow loss)…
Comment by beld o beld on 28 April 2008:
Q just saw that over in the airport. What an amazing display of power hitting by dhoni. Steyn didn’t know what hit him. Btw the pitch is doing things so I think chennai is going to win this too but hey they replaced murali with morkel this game. Interesting eh.
Comment by Simply Som on 28 April 2008:
Dhoni went berserk in the last couple of overs,kept on hitting fours and sixes which helped its team to reach a very good total at the end.I doubt if Bangalore will be able to win this match.would have been better had they kept the chennai team under 150.
Comment by satyam on 28 April 2008:
“ILG: as you know my workload made me miss the film in the cinema — and I feel it would be a grave injustice to the scale/visuals of the film to see it on a pirated print. Hence I won’t see Jodha-Akbar until the original DVD release. But I will certainly do a review then, even though it will be pretty stale by then…”
ILG, don’t accept this excuse! Both you and I know there is never a good excuse for missing a Hindi film!
Qalandar, your review of JA will be welcome whenever you get around to it.. good writing is timeless.. and some of us will probably revisit JA based on your review..
Comment by satyam on 28 April 2008:
Qalandar: You make an astute point about Dostana..
Comment by Simply Som on 28 April 2008:
“But I do think that this stalling between multiplexes and producers actually benefits the former. Because the Fri of release gives both sides a sense of how much the film is being accepted. let’s say it’s being disliked like Tashan. The multiplex has the total upper hand and need not compromise at all.”
exactly!! now after all these bad reviews Tashan has got so far and the poor WOM,the multiplexes may not show their interest in screening the movie at the first place,forget about making a compromise with Yash Raj.
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
Anyone know what this site is? http://vs.lyricsindia.net/ Is this an official Vishal-Shekhar site or not?
Comment by rks on 28 April 2008:
Q:” i saw Jhoom Barabar Jhoom 3 times in the cinema! Even Shaad Ali hasn’t seen it thrice”
It looks like you have affinity to movies rejected by masses
. Even I found JBJ good except for the last part where JBJ song was played three times and it gave me a good headache [ First half could have been little short]. A good dance competition was in JJWS where it didn’t feel that you have watched three songs in one stretch.
Comment by rks on 28 April 2008:
I don’t think that is official website.
Vishal has it as part of Pentagram
http://www.pentagram.in/
Comment by beld o beld on 28 April 2008:
Q how prophetic. Steyn over cost them
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
Match Bangalore ke haath mein tha– I have to agree with the cricinfo staff who are bandying the “choke” word about. Very strange collapse.
Comment by Simply Som on 28 April 2008:
what a strange collapse indeed!! Bangalore should have won this match.
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
There’s actually plenty more one could say on Tashan: for instance, take the Dil Dance Maare video. It is routine these days for foreign extras to pop up in a song even if nothing in the setting would explain such an appearance. Acharya on the other hand actually makes the artifice explicit — and hence, paradoxically, more plausible — by setting the song on location at a Hollywood film shoot. The bhaiyya-centrism my review is so focused on is cheekily assertive here: the American director dismissively refers to the song and dance sorta film as “this other crap”, and his film’s title — “Holy Widows” — is an obvious (and uncharitable) dig at the notion that “the West” consumes films on India if they are focused on some social issue/poverty, etc. The ensuing song — featuring Akki, Saif, and Kareena in blonde wigs — functions as a double joke: while superficially the joke is at the expense of those like Bhaiyyaji struggling with English, it also functions as a barb at the expense of the Jimmys of the world (at least as seen from Bachchan Pandey’s perspective), re-making themselves in a Westernized image as it were (and, as the blonde wigs show with respect to Jimmy and Pooja and not just Pandey, ending up neither fish nor fowl). A cheap shot for sure, but what a fun cheap shot.
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
Call me a sap but I for one found the “I Love You” scene between Pooja and Pandey quite moving, especially when he giggles and says he’s too shy to say the three li’l words. [A marked contrast with the casual "hook up" mentality Jimmy betrays at the film's beginning and end; indeed Acharya institutes a much broader contrast between the Rajshri-ish notion of "asli Indian pyaar jo ek baar hota hai" versus what he sees as the sort of thing Jimmy is up to. I might add that there is something more than faintly unpleasant about the representation of Jimmy scouring his class for date-able women (he tells us his last three girlfriends have been ex-students).]
Akshay’s tough-yet-shy masculinity in this film’s second half is itself a throwback, to an era when Hindi films were a lot more comfortable with this sort of representation of a masculinity that was rendered vulnerable by love. The contemporary dispensation, informed by the less nuanced representation commonplace in Hollywood and music videos, substitutes for this the one-dimensional preening and posing of a virility that may not acknowledge any vulnerability.
Comment by satyam on 28 April 2008:
Great additions here to your review Qalandar..
As I read your review and these comments I want to actually give the film another chance. In a sense I don’t disagree with you anywhere to the extent that you’re getting to the ‘idea’ behind the film. I just didn’t find the content particularly engaging anywhere. Akshay was the exception though and that romantic scene you’ve referred to was indeed effective. As I mentioned yesterday I also liked the Falak song.
The problem with the second half is that despite the masala contours it doesn’t really have the energy or the emotion of masala. This film could have very easily been ‘configured’ a little differently with Akshay in more scenes than not (conversely Anil Kapoor just ruins things, he’s positively ‘bad’ here and got on my nerves beyond a point) and to my mind many of things you discuss could have been more effectively brought out this way.
A film ultimately needs to be more than a series of tongue-in-cheek moments. To this extent JBJ might have had similar issues as well. Certainly both films were not linear narratives for the most part (not a problem per se of course). One could excuse everything in both films if these were really ‘niche’ films. You can’t fashion a blockbuster out of the material of either film.
Still Tashan might well get better with reviewing. I certainly await a proper release here.
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
Re: “One could excuse everything in both films if these were really ‘niche’ films. You can’t fashion a blockbuster out of the material of either film.”
Satyam: the troubles faced by Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Tashan have increased my respect for the judgment of a Rohan Sippy, who with Bluffmaster! showed great awareness of the “niche” nature of the film, which was marketed, publicized, and released as a relatively “small” film. Perhaps the same should have been done with the other two, and perhaps Jaaneman too (Kashyap has gone on record to the effect that Jhoom Barabar Jhoom was intended to be a “little” film set in India, and not with a glitzy NRI backdrop).
Consider the contrast between how UTV and Yashraj go about things: both Khosla ka Ghosla and Aaja Nachle were written by Jaideep Sahni, with ensemble casts, and both had similar themes about a bunch of “ordinary” people coming together to take on the high and mighty. KKG was released on a much smaller scale and targeted toward a niche audience; AN was released like a major commercial film (almost), and disappointment was the result. Yashraj should know better, since they successfully adopted a strategy somewhat out of UTV’s book with Chak De India — another Jaideep Sahni film, it was only released on 400 prints and relied on word of mouth to become one of Shah Rukh’s most creditable successes.
Aside: the riskiest genre in Bollywood appears to be “zany”
Comment by NyKavi on 28 April 2008:
So once again YRF have ventured into intellectually rarefied territory with their latest treatise. So rare that every scene needs to be analyzed through some refracting mind prizms that can catch the ‘gotcha’ in the scene.
Too bad, they needed the likes of a daal-bhaat OSO type deal to lift their sagging fortunes. But their newly acquired sophistication (due to their Power Rankings I suppose) convinced them to serve us pedestrians with intellectual escargot.
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
NYkavi: whether one likes Tashan or not, I don’t think there is anything “intellectually rarefied” about it. It’s a pretty in-your-face and unpretentious film.
Comment by NyKavi on 28 April 2008:
A lot of reviews pointed out that the only good thing about the movie is the so-called 15 second skin show of the leading lady. So off course being the dyed-in-the-wool lecher, I had to catch up on it on youtoob.
**Sorry NyKavi, Edited the portion, I think it would have offended some members-rks**
Comment by NyKavi on 28 April 2008:
Q, mazaak kar raha hoon Bhaijaan… Shyam me 7:30pm hain yaar, ek scotch aur NG ka milan ho raha hai is barsaat ki raat..
Comment by rks on 28 April 2008:
Q: I agree with your take of KKG and AN. AN also points to the fact that the female lead (sadly) how ever strong they are in perception, they can not bring audience to cinema hall on their own. They can do value addition but never be the main component. ‘U Me aur Hum’ proved the point again.
ps: Malamaal weekly could be anlogous to KKG but on little bigger scale.
Comment by akshay shah on 28 April 2008:
“Consider the contrast between how UTV and Yashraj go about things: both Khosla ka Ghosla and Aaja Nachle were written by Jaideep Sahni, with ensemble casts, and both had similar themes about a bunch of “ordinary” people coming together to take on the high and mighty. KKG was released on a much smaller scale and targeted toward a niche audience; AN was released like a major commercial film (almost), and disappointment was the result. Yashraj should know better, since they successfully adopted a strategy somewhat out of YTV’s book with Chak De India — another Jaideep Sahni film, it was only released on 400 prints and relied on word of mouth to become one of Shah Rukh’s most creditable successes.”–On fire hereQ..very well summarized!
Comment by NyKavi on 28 April 2008:
RKS yaar..shudh hindi mein prakat kiye they woh khayalaat. Lekin aap maalik ho..jo aapka hukum.
The jist of the edited comments: Kareena needs curves.
Comment by rks on 28 April 2008:
“Yashraj should know better, since they successfully adopted a strategy somewhat out of YTV’s book with Chak De India — another Jaideep Sahni film, it was only released on 400 prints and relied on word of mouth to become one of Shah Rukh’s most creditable successes”
WOM needs some star to support; CDI and TZP were ably supported by their lead. I think there are many small movies with good WOM, but they drown in sea of new releases and their collection taper off quickly.
Comment by rks on 28 April 2008:
“Kareena needs curves.”
That, I agree completely. Actually I found her face bigger compared to rest of her body. I think in Chalia song, In few frames she looked like alien/animation.
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
Re: “Actually I found her face bigger compared to rest of her body…”
This is one of the more common symptoms of unnatural weight loss/eating disorders. It’s really sad to see people put their health at risk for this sort of thing — jab itne khoobsurat log bhi ye sab karenge to it’s a sad reminder of what various social pressures/messages can do.
Comment by akshay shah on 28 April 2008:
Even CDI opened quiet poorly..but WOM salvaged it!
Comment by akshay shah on 28 April 2008:
I liked Kareena with a bit of a**!
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
Re: “WOM needs some star to support; CDI and TZP were ably supported by their lead.”
I definitely agree with this: a star is a kind of insurance for a “small film”; however, the presence of a star should not mean that a Chak de is marketed as if it were an Om Shanti Om. But (IF we take the criticism of Kashyap, or my point on Khosla Ka Ghosla, seriously) Yashraj seems to be going wrong not only on the marketing front, but on the filmmaking front as well, by taking films that perhaps should be budgeted at maybe 15-20 crores, and making them into huge budget extravaganzas (Jhoom Barabar Jhoom was the most expensive Yashraj film ever; and now surpassed quite comfortably by Tashan on that front) — once the budget rises to these levels, the marketing and release strategy necessarily MUST follow the big film model. i.e. what we have is not a marketing failure but a business model failure (UTV seems successful, but it is surely no coincidence as to how modestly their films are budgeted; the exceptions there are films that have a USP justifying great expense– Jodha-Akbar (period piece/costumes/sets), or Don (stunts, etc.) — and even here the return on investment was probably not great on Don, but certainly must have made some money on it).
Comment by satyam on 28 April 2008:
Qalandar: Yes, great point on BM. And this film did well in Bombay (the opening week number was only 25 lakhs lower than the BnB one!) and some multiplexes elsewhere. The film made about 23-25 crores at the time which was as much as Baghban or Munnabhai. Today BM would have made a whole lot more. So Rohan made his kind of film but also got a degree of success out of it. I actually cannot think of any film in recent times that defines ‘cool’ as much as this one.
Comment by satyam on 28 April 2008:
Rks and Qalandar: as you can see every single point that the anti-Abhishek brigade brought against him as been deconstructed by events. UJ was a female oriented film and a period piece at that. I made the point then that nothing could explain the disastrous opening of the film other than the fact that people were not interested in the subject and were not interested in seeing female oriented films. Well LCMD and AN both opened more or less like UJ in contemporary settings!
JA a huge scale historical epic got an initial that’s way lower compared to anything else Hrithik gets in his key genres!
With JBJ this film would have supposedly been a hit with Akshay or SRK or whoever. Well we see what’s happened with Tashan. Of course we also saw what SRK achieved with Paheli or Swades. We also saw how much he did with the ‘masala’ Duplicate or Baadshah or PBDHH!
Not that ‘evidence’ was required to deconstruct arguments that were always absurd to begin with. But we nevertheless have it in the most irrefutable ways!
JBJ wasn’t Abhishek’s fault nor is Tashan Akshay’s fault. As simple as that.
Comment by satyam on 28 April 2008:
And to add to that Guru got to a very good start but this was denied by many in the media. There was a sense that it picked up by WOM and what not. Well SRK couldn’t get a bigger opening day than Guru nor even a bigger week 1! Even with the Yashraj banner he couldn’t do it! And Guru of course opened better than JA over the first week!
Comment by Jesse on 28 April 2008:
“Satyam: the troubles faced by Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Tashan have increased my respect for the judgment of a Rohan Sippy, who with Bluffmaster! showed great awareness of the “niche” nature of the film, which was marketed, publicized, and released as a relatively “small” film.”
With JBJ it was far more than possible for them to scale everything down. I mean besides Abhishek there wasn’t a whole lot that in terms of draw. But with Tashan and the fact that both Akshay and Saif were in it and with Kareena added to that mix (who I don’t think is a true “draw” of any sort unlike Ash, but she’s close) it would be very hard for them to scale things down. The better option here would have been to have gone with something more tried and tested along the lines of D2. I mean if they wanted to make a Tashan they could have done it just with Akshay alone as sort of an experiment and make it completely a Bachchan Pande film.
And yeah, they really botched the marketing on this one. And they have done this with all their biggies in the last little while - Fanaa, D2, JBJ, CDI, and now Tashan.
Comment by Jesse on 28 April 2008:
I also wonder how much leverage YRF hold over stars at this point. From my understanding of it other than the likes of Aamir who can demand their price, most stars are usually more than willing to take a price cut in exchange for a “guaranteed” hit. But now they really don’t have that sort of power. Aamir, Akshay, SRK, or Hrithik aren’t going to be signing their films regularly. And it seems that Abhishek has moved on now. The only in house actor they have is Saif, and I’m not too sure how happy he is to be doing films like Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic.
Comment by Jesse on 28 April 2008:
On the actress side of things, Ash is getting really good projects and she won’t work for pennies either. Ditto for Kareena. And the likes of Rani and Preity are in need of reinventing themselves.
If YRF really wants to stay atop the filmi world they really have to start making stars!!
Comment by satyam on 28 April 2008:
Jesse: Barring SRK they don’t have much leverage with any of the major stars at this point. And even with SRK the equation has changed. He’s co-producing RNBDJ.
In the past stars (barring Aamir) would be willing to sign on to a Yashraj because it was a pretty easy way of getting a hit. But since ‘07 all of that has been in question.
They can’t breed big stars all of a sudden. Any big production house needs a mix with all kinds of stars. They have a problem if they can’t get big ones regularly. But an even bigger problem they have is a real dearth of quality directors in the fold.
Comment by satyam on 28 April 2008:
Left this comment on Ash yesterday:
“Ash has had a hatrick with D2, Guru, JA and now looks to have a fourth one in a row with Sarkar Raj. In all of these films she has pivotal roles, she’s not just any actress starring in a hit. As a combination of critical and commercial success I think this sequence cannot be equaled by her male stars let alone her female ones! After Sarkar Raj she’ll probably have Robot, another certain blockbuster and then the next Rathnam.”
Comment by Jesse on 28 April 2008:
Satyam: Your right on SRK. But my gut feeling says that outside of a film for either a Aditya or Yash directed film I don’t see him doing anything for YRF. Unless of course he co-produces as you said.
As for breeding big stars, I know it isn’t a simple thing to do. But they haven’t even tried! Since they went corporate name they haven’t even introduced a new face nor have they taken someone from niche cinema and opened them up to a larger audience.
But I’ll have to disagree as far as talent in terms of directors go: Sarkar, Shimit Amin, Shaad Ali, and Anil Mehta isn’t a bad set of directors. But then again that doesn’t compare to UTV having both Rakesh Mehra and Ashtoush working for them.
Comment by akshay shah on 28 April 2008:
On BM..this movie did damn well overseas too!
SRK I doubt will do any other movies for Yashraj unless it’s with Adi himself now..or the “biggest” of the lot!
Yashraj need a whammy of 2-3 sound hits, including one big blockbuster!
Comment by Myna on 28 April 2008:
“JBJ wasn’t Abhishek’s fault nor is Tashan Akshay’s fault. As simple as that.”
A very funny statement. If a film is hit, major credit goes to the actor. And the fans (including me) will not waste even a second in making tall claims abt the actor. But if it doesnt work, its not their fault…..LOL!!!
Comment by akshay shah on 28 April 2008:
Myna: TASHAN Is a MULTI CAST film….HAD the film been a hit Saif would’ve got credit for the movie too (specially coming off RACE it would’ve been a double whammy!). In this case…..people have liked Akshay..I have yet to see ONE review which criticises Akki…he’s the “lifeline” of the movie from the looks of it..so the blame lies here with Yashraj and Yashraj solely…
Comment by Myna on 28 April 2008:
Akshay shah: I am not denying that Akki is the saving grace of Tashan. But as I said before an actors job is not just to act in a movie, but also to make the right kind of judgement and be associated with the right type of project. Ofcourse not everyone can make the right judgement always and thats when they have to face the failures.
The blame lies with yrf mainly bcoz of their multiplex issue. If not for this issue, I still feel Tashan would have been atleast a hit.
Comment by Simply Som on 28 April 2008:
“HAD the film been a hit Saif would’ve got credit for the movie too (specially coming off RACE it would’ve been a double whammy!). In this case…..people have liked Akshay.”
Akshay: I doubt Saif would have got any credit for Tashan had it done well that to after when Akshay has been praised by the critics for his performances.The opening of Tashan was not what we expected, it did open to much below the expectations even at the single screens where it got released.The lead actors have to take the blame, no two ways about it.with that kinda star cast, the movie not opening well is a dissapointment.If we could take a dig at Hrithik for the not so good opening of JA,keeping aside the genre factor and the multiplex problem on friday, we should do the same for other actors as well.It does not hurt if movies like CDI or TZP don’t open well as they are relatively smaller budgeted movies and so the stakes are not that high as compared to biggies like Tashan or JA.for biggies it is a must that they should take a huge opening before the WOM kicks in.if poor WOM is poor,still there is a chance that the movie may make some money on the strength of the opening alone,something which we saw with KANK and MP.
Comment by Simply Som on 28 April 2008:
“if the WOM is poor”, still….
Comment by rudresh on 28 April 2008:
“JBJ wasn’t Abhishek’s fault nor is Tashan Akshay’s fault. As simple as that.”
If thats so then Guru wasnot abhishek credit also.
Comment by Simply Som on 28 April 2008:
the recent example being Race,the movie despite of not so good WOM has managed to be a 60 cr grosser at the BO on the strength of the massive initial alone.
Comment by rudresh on 28 April 2008:
And more importantly fews are expecting it to make 100cr on basis of Akshay strength only and if it had made 100cr no one had even given a quota of that to YRF and all had been credited to the box office power of the Star.
may be one and few other had also been dethroned.
Comment by akshay shah on 28 April 2008:
Myna: I agree, had the multiplex issue not been there TASHAN would’ve been a hit at the very least….
Som: the movie had NO multiplex opening at all…..i think the movie would’ve opened reasonably well in multiplexes! But as you’ve said..”if poor WOM is poor,still there is a chance that the movie may make some money on the strength of the opening alone,something which we saw with KANK and MP.”—and this is something TASHAN doens’t have!
Comment by akshay shah on 28 April 2008:
Lets face it…TASHAN had EVERYTHING going for it..it’s a shock..all around..only one person saw this coming…Sandy….i must find out where she has bought her tarot cards from:)
Comment by Simply Som on 28 April 2008:
”if the WOM is poor,still there is a chance that the movie may make some money on the strength of the opening alone,something which we saw with KANK and MP.”—and this is something TASHAN doens’t have!!
exactly what i was trying to say!!
Comment by Eire on 28 April 2008:
Tashan did indeed seem have everything going for it except good story, script, and direction(this was known after the fact). It is a real shock how this has all turned out so bad.
Comment by Myna on 28 April 2008:
“only one person saw this coming…Sandy….i must find out where she has bought her tarot cards from”
add one more person…hardik from SB
rudresh:”..if it had made 100cr no one had even given a quota of that to YRF..
may be one and few other had also been dethroned.”
lol…thats very true. And Srk would have been dethroned and ripped apart totally
Comment by Ravi on 28 April 2008:
What is up Myna, how are u doing? what are u doing up so late on NG? Your hubby will start hating NG if he sees u spending so much time on it even at home.
Comment by Simply Som on 28 April 2008:
Good morning, shetty bhai!! not seen Tashan yet??
Comment by SHETTY on 28 April 2008:
Gud morning Som. Will catch Tashan in dvd.
Q: “I will likely watch Tashan again in the cinema.”
Hmmmm. You prefer Tashan & One two three over JA (Which you are yet to watch)
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
No shetty — my workload is lighter than when Jodha Akbar released. Plus One Two Three I didn’t see in the cinema at all, just at home.
The below the belt shot aside, good to see you on NG after quite a while…
Comment by akshay shah on 28 April 2008:
“And Srk would have been dethroned and ripped apart totally”_ I don’t think TASHAN being a super hit would’ve done this..though this does raise expectations for RAB NE BANA DO JODI!!!!
Comment by akshay shah on 28 April 2008:
Shetty likes things men have below the belt:)
Comment by mgs on 28 April 2008:
i havven’t seen this movie…nor am i interested in bo discussions…just curious to see if you guys think the movie would have done better if it had akshay, salman taking saif’s role, and sanjay dutt doing anil kapoor’s role?
Comment by SHETTY on 28 April 2008:
“Shetty likes things men have below the belt:)”
Men?? In that case you don’t qualify
Comment by SHETTY on 28 April 2008:
“if it had akshay, salman taking saif’s role, and sanjay dutt doing anil kapoor’s role?”
Salman will not play second lead to Akshay (MSK, Janemann…) ever
Comment by Myna on 28 April 2008:
Ravi: “What is up Myna, how are u doing? what are u doing up so late on NG?”
Ravi, I am actually working now,
yes, in a meeting with china folks…its so boring that I switched to NG. done now. Good night!
Comment by akshay shah on 28 April 2008:
“Men?? In that case you don’t qualify ” And how do you know? I knew that was you perving on me the other night..:P:P:)!
“Salman will not play second lead to Akshay (MSK, Janemann…) ever”–yes but Salman will sit there while Akshay walks away with the movie i.e MSK:)
Comment by Simply Som on 28 April 2008:
“just curious to see if you guys think the movie would have done better if it had akshay, salman taking saif’s role, and sanjay dutt doing anil kapoor’s role?”
MGS: honestly, no!! The movie itself is so bad that no actors would have come to the rescue.
Comment by mgs on 28 April 2008:
“Salman will not play second lead to Akshay (MSK, Janemann…) ever”
sorry didn’t know that akshay k. has a lot more footage than saif. i thought they were supposed to be pretty equal…haven’t read any reviews…i usually read the reviews after i watch a movie.
Comment by akshay shah on 28 April 2008:
from what I gather Saif is a side-kick in TASHAN!
Comment by SHETTY on 28 April 2008:
“from what I gather Saif is a side-kick in TASHAN!”
Yup. similar to Akshay Kumar in Janemann, Suhaag, Amaanat, Family…
Comment by Qalandar on 28 April 2008:
IMO he isn’t a sidekick, that wouldn’t be fair to say. He has plenty of footage, but the script’s center becomes Akshay once he enters, and akshay has the best moments.
Comment by Julie on 28 April 2008:
Some funny statements as usual from expected sources. “JBJ wasn’t Abhishek’s fault. Tashan wasn’t Akshay’s fault”, but hey presto JA not so great initial is definitely Hritik’s fault. Well if JBJ is not Abhsiehk’s fault, then Guru also does not go to his credit. An actor has to take responsibility for the failure of the film at the BO. In JBJ’s case Abhishek has to take the responsibility and in the case of Tashan Akshay has to take the flak. The end product is the outcome of many factors and the most critcial one is performance and script. After watching tashan I feel that whilst the story was weak, the performances all around did not add much to the story either.
Comment by Simply Som on 28 April 2008:
well said, Julie!! there should be an uniform standard for everyone, no point in singling out one actor.when a movie becomes a Hit, the actor gets the credit and so should also ready to take the blame when movie flops.
Comment by sandy on 28 April 2008:
“JBJ wasn’t Abhishek’s fault. Tashan wasn’t Akshay’s fault”, but hey presto JA not so great initial is definitely Hritik’s fault. Well if JBJ is not Abhsiehk’s fault, then Guru also does not go to his credit. An actor has to take responsibility for the failure of the film at the BO.”
Agree Julie. It’s the goose-gander anology.
Comment by beld o beld on 28 April 2008:
>“JBJ wasn’t Abhishek’s fault nor is Tashan Akshay’s fault. As simple as that.”
If thats so then Guru wasnot abhishek credit also.
Not that ‘evidence’ was required to deconstruct arguments that were always absurd to begin with.
well said satyam. i didnt realize you understood yourself so well.
Comment by beld o beld on 28 April 2008:
oh shit - that last comment was chewed - what happened there - half the words didnt show up. good in a way
Comment by akshay shah on 29 April 2008:
“Well if JBJ is not Abhsiehk’s fault, then Guru also does not go to his credit. An actor has to take respons