We also went to White Castle but I don't have that picture.
A big welcome to my Super-bro Raja Sen (some of you might know him as the Rediff Critic and/or as the most hated Indian online) to WordPress. Go to his official home now.
Archive For March 27th, 2009
Aloo Chaat: Leftovers from another plate
Genre: Comedy
Director: Robby Grewal
Cast: Aftab Shivdasani, Aamna Sharif, Linda Arsenio, Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Storyline: Hindu boy loves Muslim girl, brings American girl home to convince the folks believe any Indian girl is better than American.
Bottomline: How to give your Dad a heart attack
There are many reasons why Aloo Chaat is bad for you.
1. Attacks your senses: Right from the robot-voice that goes Aloo Aloo Aloo Aloo Aloo Aloo, Aloo Chaat… [and repeat again and again] accompanying the interesting opening credits (probably the only high point of the film), this is one good-idea-spoilt-by-a-bad-one after another. By interval, you want cotton buds to filter out that annoying Aloo Aloo Aloo… And by climax, you want to stab the music director, who seems to have scored more pot than music, unleashing upon us the entire library of wack-a-doodle sound effects minus the laughter track.
2. Contains artificial flavours Aftab Shivdasani, Linda Arsenio and Aamna Sharif: Okay, Aftab turns in one of his better performances and quite earnestly but there’s very little help coming from the director or the writer. Aamna Sharif and Linda Arsenio in author-backstabbed roles have absolutely nothing to do. Aamna just needs to look like a complete idiot who cannot memorise lines without goofing up and Linda’s character, after a promising introduction sequence (where she is made to watch Purab aur Paschim to understand how to play Gori for the Indian audience) lacks motivation (she has no reason to play along and so seriously at that). Even a mannequin would look hot in a bikini but Linda, she’s still just flat-out plain.
3. In very bad taste (especially if you are pure vegetarian): ‘Stand-up’ comedy hits new depths in the office of the sexologist Hakim Tarachand who offers solutions to the sexually challenged in scenes written purely to sneak in the innuendo. Certainly not family entertainment.
4. Beware of the side-effects – Indigestion and Gas: Is there any reason why the film should go beyond the scene right at the end of the first act where Aftab tells the father categorically that he has decided to marry the girl of his choice, irrespective of what he feels. The father submits helplessly but the son isn’t just happy with that. He wants to mess with his old man’s head. Yes, films are about willing suspension of disbelief but watching undercooked characters doing things devoid of any motivation results in indigestion and Aloo Chaat is full of gas.
5. Stale, diluted, et cetera: The application of the Dilwale Dulhaniya strategy of manufacturing consent for a Hindu-Muslim marriage within a conservative joint family set-up, though inventive, loses focus as the makers are content watering down the socio-political subtext. It is rather unfortunate that such a potent subversive premise is reduced to an excuse to showcase Sanjay Mishra play the butt of all jokes in yet another film. Kulbhushan Kharbanda is no Amrish Puri but what could’ve been a spicy pot-poori of libertarianism with a lot of masala, Aloo Chaat ends up like a soggy leftover dahi-poori spat out after a gag reflex.
Straight: Virgin’s Record
Genre: Drama
Director: Parvati Balgopalan
Cast: Vinay Pathak, Gul Panag, Anuj Choudhary, Sid Makkar
Storyline: A shy virgin man in his thirties begins to wonder if he’s gay after he has a dream involving his one of male employees.
Bottomline: A silly light-hearted romantic comedy
The romantic comedy genre, a staple of Hollywood’s assembly line productions, strangely here in India comes to us as multiplex fare, starring one of the finest actors arthouse cinema has given us.
So yes, there’s nothing even remotely arthouse about Parvati Balgopalan’s ‘Straight – Ek Tedhi Medhi Love Story.’ In fact, Straight plays it safer than even the mainstream films made with similar themes treating homophobia and sexual confusion with light-hearted political correctness.
It wears a multiplex film badge only because of the profile of the leading pair, so don’t walk in expecting another ‘Dasvidaniya’ or ‘Dor.’
As we have read from the previews, the only talking point of the film is that Vinay Pathak and Gul Panag get to make out. Everything else is an excuse to get to that point. So we have a few inspired adventures lined up before this as Pinu Patel (Vinay Pathak pretty much like ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’) tries to lose his virginity – one that involves him popping pills and getting admitted to the hospital with a tent and another with him setting off the fire alarms in the bathroom because his equipment fails to work.
Very few actors can pull off slapstick of this nature with an innocent endearing charm and Vinay Pathak gives this sex-laced romantic comedy the much needed human face, making the most bizarre situations seem believable.
But for a couple of songs right at the beginning of the film that try hard in generating sympathy of the lead character, the rest of the film breezes through with a some feel-good moments.
Especially, the one where his new male friend (Sid Makkar Anuj Choudhary) tells him to narrate his biggest tragedy like it happened to someone else and when the girl he likes (Gul Panag) observes that it is the imperfections that make us all real. But that’s the thing about cinema – unless the technical aspects and the writing is perfect, it doesn’t seem real.
Gul Panag plays the perfect foil to Vinay Pathak and their chemistry towards the end is heartwarming (and then, the cornball climax sets in). The guys Sid Makkar and Anuj Choudhary break a few stereotypes associated with gay people and the fact that we never find out if is Sid Anuj is gay or not makes it all the more interesting.
Straight surely had more potential than it realises but ends up watchable anyway with the leading man stringing together a few good laughs.
P.S: Thank God for blogs. Unlike print where the errors are preserved for posterity, here at least we get to set the record Straight. 🙂
MADRAS INK. 