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Satyam

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1. 

   Comment by satyam on 9 May 2008:

   Satyam says:
   May 9th, 2008 at 8:08 pm

   I shall add my Cheeni Kum piece here..

   The Charms of Cheeni Kum

   The two central protagonists of Cheeni Kum get through the entire film without saying ‘I love you’ or the equivalent of such to each other. This is Balki’s most remarkable gesture in his somewhat Shakespearean comedy of language. The lead pair and in fact the other characters engage in constant witty banter in a manner reminiscent of the Bard (even if no one can possibly match his intelligence and intellect) and while the film is rather obviously a love story between an older man and a younger woman it is more subtly about the ‘education’ of its male protagonist, who is in turn rather hilariously named ‘Buddha(dev)’.

   Cheeni Kum actually has the better first half when the director simply works off the superb chemistry shared by Bachchan and Tabu and the superb supporting cast headed by Zohra Saigal. In fact the whole film is structured as a series of encounters between Bachchan on the one hand and either Tabu, Zohra Sehgal, Paresh Rawal or a young terminally ill girl who is Bachchan’s neighbor (Swini Khara) on the other. In the second half though the film ventures a bit more into formula territory. The comedy becomes more situational, the director tries to inject drama into the film and there is a drawn out climax. This will probably help the film in box office terms but it is a deviation from the edgier first half. The film is still quite enjoyable but I missed the sharpness of the first part.

   Bachchan and Tabu make a wonderful couple here and complement each other in fine ways. At the same time this is still a film powered by Bachchan. The film might have been quite flat but for his presence in it. This is not to take away anything from the rest of the cast but Bachchan just sets the tempo of the film and breathes energy into it at every turn. This is one of his finer performances in recent years and he is truly a pleasure to behold here.

   Cheeni Kum is ultimately another reminder of how even at this age Bachchan still defines Bollywood’s horizon. For all his excess in terms of doing too many films, or inconsequential roles he is still untouchable given a part that inspires him. Even in the recent Eklavya and Nishabd he did not quite have the spark in some intangible way, it is very different here where he truly seems energised by the subject as opposed to enervated by it (this has often been true in recent times). There are moments where he’s perhaps a touch over the top but it works well with his character.

   Tabu right on the heels of the Namesake reveals once again her enormous charms as an actress. This is a wonderfully warm performance. Buddhadev is a bit of a man-child and Tabu is a lover who also has to ‘educate’ him in many ways, even ‘mother’ him sometimes. That Tabu can seem older than Bachchan, that the latter can seem younger is a great achievement on the part of both actors.

   There is never much to be said about the redoubtable Zohra Saigal but the young girl Swiny Khara puts in a rather assured performance here. In an very interesting way the relationship she shares with Bachchan mirrors the film’s central one. And there is much humor in the film about this. She also incredibly acts as ‘educator’ to Bachchan. Paresh Rawal is reliable as ever even if his presence is part of the more formulaic in the film’s universe.

   There is one bit of subversion that the director comes up in the second half that is in keeping with the intelligence of the first half. He introduces a humorous take on Gandhian ideals. To Balki’s credit it is always intertwined with the plot but it is done very well so that the take on Gandhi is far more sly and edgy than the one offered in last year’s Lage Raho Munnabhai where for all the film’s considerable pleasures the signature ‘Gandhi’ was rendered a ‘friendly’ item of consumption.

   On the technical side of the equation the film once again finds a nice balance between mere functionality and flamboyance. In other words the sound and visuals are handled just right. There are no cutting edge visuals here, the film demands none, but there is brisk editing all round. Much like everything else in the film the visuals are fresh without necessarily being particularly noteworthy. Similarly all the songs have more or less been used as background score. I would have liked to see a couple of these given proper videos but the director has made the better choice and has consequently not slowed down the pace of the film.

   Finally the Karan Johars of Bollywood should learn from Balki how a city can (and should be) represented. London much like the rest of the film acquires a certain character in the director’s handling that it entirely absent from all comparable representation of cities like London, NY and the rest in the work of contemporary commercial directors. Where NY loses all ‘identity’ in Karan Johar’s work London seems ‘new’ in Cheeni Kum precisely because the director does not ‘tour’ London but ‘localises’ it into his subject. The same goes for his somewhat more symbolic handling of Delhi in the second half. As a side note I should add here that Delhi’s history has been on display in recent Hindi cinema as never before. Cheeni Kum is one more example in a list that includes Rang de Basanti and Fanaa.

   Cheeni Kum does not aspire to be great cinema. It simply aims to be shrewd cinema on a ‘little’ subject. Balki can certainly take a bow.
2. 

   Comment by ILG on 9 May 2008:

   Well said Satyam.
   Did not watch CK till recently. Was very pleasantly surprised.
   Definitely one of Bachchan’s finest in recent years. Your observations are spot on. Totally agree with the last sentence.
3. 

   Comment by satyam on 9 May 2008:

   Thanks ILG..

   A film that also holds up very well on reviewing is Nishabd. I saw this in the theater, liked it enough even at the time but since then I’ve liked it more.

   On Cheeni Kum this film would have easily done 40 crores had it been released on a proper print count. Unfortunately after the Nishabd experience they went in for a smaller count. The film had great trending though and I’ve not met anyone who hasn’t liked this.
4. 

   Comment by ILG on 9 May 2008:

   I have nothing but praise for Nishabd and also for RGV for making it. There is no way he would have thought that this was going to work commercially and he still went ahead and made it.
   Inspite of its non performance at BO, Nishabd is a very significant film in Bachchan filmography. It was a bold attempt and quite a well made film at that. The collective Indian psyche that is rather prudish on surface and prurient underneath was bound to be uncomfortable with the theme and it never got a chance.
   Bachchan was flawless and this is one film, I am glad he did.
5. 

   Comment by henry on 9 May 2008:

   I didn’t find the theme uncomfortable at all; I just didn’t think it was tackled in an interesting way. The first half was fairly gripping but there was nothing in the second that held my interest.

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