The Hindu : New Delhi News : It’s raining stars and more stars in Bollywood

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 10, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

It’s raining stars and more stars in Bollywood

ZIYA US SALAM

GOOD TIMES ROLL ON: Cinemagoers have little to complain with both “Super Star” (left) and “Mithya” (right) packing in some fine moments.

GOOD TIMES ROLL ON: Cinemagoers have little to complain with both “Super Star” (left) and “Mithya” (right) packing in some fine moments.

MITHYA

(At Rivoli and other theatres in Delhi and elsewhere)

Two cheers for Rajat Kapoor. His directorial venture, “Mithya”, is an engaging film though not without some obvious flaws. And in his own understated ways he takes Bollywood’s new-found fascination for disengaging with the stereotypes an inch or two forward.

Rajat may not be the most daring of directors, but he catches the pulse of the multiplex audiences with ease. Be it the choice of his roles as an actor or the choice of the subject as a director. Or even the casting of actors here. He has a feel for what the cola-sipping, Santro-driving crowd wants. Importantly, he delivers.

Not with a panache here, though, for the film does stumble here and there, and at times does not quite have the wheels to generate a uniform momentum. But in spurts “Mithya” is an unadulterated delight.

The source of this joy is Rajat himself, who takes an everyday story of a wannabe star in Bollywood but infuses each situation with such humour and love that the film becomes at least partially special because of the treatment.

His hero is a simple guy who wants his moment under the sun. That’s all. Not the neon lights forever. But there is a little hitch. This struggling actor finds himself playing a “bhai” in a real-life drama! A bit far-fetched, yes, but the director never lets that feeling hit you hard. All thanks to the humour that is a world removed from banana peels. The film is high on the smile quotient and low on slapstick. And actually a fine showcase for character actors.

All of them, in their own, even limited ways, are the hero here. There is the terribly unsung Brijendra Kala as Shyam. And Vinay Pathak as his cohort Ram. They share a fine chemistry, and the laughs flow with them on the screen. Pathak has a cameo which could have done with better development, though. There is the ever reliable Naseeruddin Shah bringing his professional ease to the role of a don. But the real hero is Ranvir Shorey, who mocks at the traditional image of a hero. No rippling muscles which seem to be a prerequisite for a mainstream hero role these days. Not quite the looks either. Separately, each part of his personality is not so impressive. Together, though, it is a fine blend, a rare mixture. His face lends itself to multiple emotions. And unlike more saleable names, he is no prisoner of image.

So he gets to try his hand at cameos in films like “Bheja Fry” and “Traffic Signal”. They were little cherries. This one here is the cake he has awaited for long. He is the soul of the film. And this story of a struggler impersonating a don, and not so sure of his love for a one-film wonder – Neha Dhupia, predictably a doll here – ends up as a little delight. Not a full-throated comedy like Rajat’s “Bheja Fry” but a film that offers enough joy despite its sudden end.

SUPER STAR

(At Delite and other Delhi theatres)

Stardust continues to mesmerise our filmmakers. Rohit Jugraj, who once gave us action-packed “James”, tries the tear-duct way to success. Unlike the super flop last time, he meets with partial success here.

His “Super Star”, starring the not-quite-a-star-yet Kunal Khemu, has arrived at the box office without much publicity. The low-key arrival might just work in its favour as this tale of yet another wannabe star is a pleasant little surprise. The air of melancholy that runs through the film overrides the predictability of the first half. And it makes sure that even the utterly repetitive sequences of an angry father and a doting mom don’t quite test the viewers’ patience. It touches your heart-strings with its tale of unequal distribution of fate’s riches.

Here Kunal is king. Barely two films old as a hero, he gets to play a double role! He is a struggling actor who, four years into the film industry, still stands in the third row among the extras swaying behind the hero! Barely would you have started sympathising with the guy that the director makes his look-alike – Kunal again – a top star who cannot sing, dance or fight but is a hero thanks to Mr. Moneybags as a father. As the struggler plays his duplicate, and the star gets the applause, the stage is set for a weepy drama. But it does not turn out that way. There is a nice twist there that gives the film a bit of a thrill. Will save the details but a hint: a little watch sequence with the star giving the struggler his precious watch reminds one of a coat sequence in the good old “Pyaasa”.

How the poor little guy finds his feet makes for good viewing. What is not so good is the complete absence of pace and uniformity in the narration. In between, the film just tends to stagnate before that sharp turn at the interval. And very little attention is paid to details by the director. It does not bother Jugraj that a star-struggler rapport needs to have a different tone for each character. And a star would not be so accessible for his duplicate’s friends! Also, there are stereotypes galore: beyond predictable parents and intrusive neighbours, Jugraj has heartless financers and sly secretaries in the filmdom.

But there are always some tepid moments when you are barely finding your feet in tinsel town as is the case with the hero and the director here. Allow them to grow in media glare, learn from their mistakes. Some day they might surprise us with a finely chiselled product. This one here, not free of faults of editing and narration, is pretty acceptable.

Kunal shows promise, almost like a reel-real life mixture here. And Tulip Joshi is worth a look too. The music is largely soft and soothing. The show? Not bad for a lean, lonely day.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi

News Update

Stories in this Section