A logical and innocent marvel is Phillauri

A poet’s masterpiece is Phillauri

*I have purposely not mentioned anything from the climax

The last time I was possessed by the afterglow of a movie was when I had watched Anurag Kashyap’s DevD.  It’s perhaps the splendor of colours which casts the first spell in the enigmatic journey.

I knew I would take back something from the movie, when I heard the song Sahiban for the first time. The magician who created such melody must possess the grace of God / Cosmos. What I take back is a bagful of grace, charm and love for the creative and the simpleton. I fear that the bag is so heavy and delicate at the same time.

The story of Phillaur that is weaved with heart touching songs and equally strong lyrics. The choicest of actors bring back innocence to what we celebrate as the larger than life Bollywood.

Yes it is logical that two talented souls of a generation in the village of Phillaur find each other. Because that is Darwin’s natural selection or the cosmos conspiring together in Coelho’s terms.

It is not seen very often that the male protagonist is given a chance to prove himself and rise up yet the dialogues and the sanctity of the actors make it so rational and wise. This also subtly shows the enlightened and powerful women of the foregone era. It is not just now that they are empowered but always had the metal to bring transformation.

It is logical that there is a ghost because there is a need of such a strong story to be told to an audience unaware of the pain and experience of the tragedy it takes us through. It is sheer grace that the director Anshai Lal preserves the same humor and spirit throughout the film. Imagine calling the ghost 'idiot' in the peak and rush of the climax. Though with utmost affection, it's always risky!

It is a brave film which reflects the conviction in the script. Anushka produced and acted in a movie about the supernatural, jumping through time periods and whose music spans the ancient Sufi and the nascent beat-boxing. Diljeet is a man of God and I am biased in my affection and decree about his valour. It is so logical that he would experiment with his image in his second Hindi movie because he believes in the meritorious power of the script. Phillauri also reveals the picture of the women of pre-independent India who withdrew from honing their talent. We subtly realise that among these women were our own grand mothers.

I am still glowing in the rapture. And among the visions that are still beneath my eyelids are the haunting eyes of the heroine’s brother, the blissful smiling Diljeet immersed in Dum Dum and his ektara, the divinity of Anushka in red, the silhouette of the poet and the singer by the big moon among many more.      

Would this intricate and innocent rhapsody sustain in the noise of Bollywood? It should and it mighty well will, among all connoisseurs of creativity and brilliance. 

The only thing Delhi doesn't have is...

Hyderabad has Tollywood...

Chennai has Kollywood...

Bangalore has Sandalwood...

Mumbai has Bollywood...

Kolkata too has Bengali Cinema sometimes referred to as Tollywood origining from where it all started - Tollygunge.

Even Bihar, Jharkhand and UP also have Bhojpuri cinema.

But, the only thing that Delhi doesn't have is a Dollywood!

Being in Hyderabad for quite sometime now, I have often found myself engrossed in discussions on Tollywood. The amazing thing is that these discussions take place with full intensity with the Auto-wale Anna, the maid and her family, my friends at some of the top IT companies here and with most of the industry friends. Almost everyone is in awe of the stars and their aura.

I have realised that the city dwellers have it in their genes and it has eventually become a part of their culture and routine. It is the same feeling that I had being a Delhite when I related with 'Janakpuri style' in Band Baja Baraat or 'Tilaknagar' in Oye Lucky Lucky Oye or 'Pahadganj' in DevD or 'North Campus' in Rockstar. Its more than just relating to the location; it is completing a full circle with society and culture forming cinema and cinema in turn depicting society and its culture.

As a Delhite watching movies which invariably were Bombay oriented, we most of the times saw them as, "oh, so once in Bombay there was a man or a woman who....". Satya, Rangeela, Bombay Boys, Chameli, Chandni Bar, Munna Bhai, Zanjeer, Agneepath are a range of fine examples. It was on very less occasions where we saw a movie with such belongingness saying, "Here in Delhi there lived a man or a woman who...".

As I find myself overpowered with the charm of Tollywood (and its insanely ravishing heroines), I  understand that Delhi might never have a Bollywood alike Dollywood; notwithstanding which, "Main aur meri tanhai aksar yeh baate karte hain,  Dollywood hota to aisa hota, Dollywood hota to waisa hota..."    :-)

Footnote:

Well, a conversation struck and a discussion kicked off on this at Chutneys. We realised how does it affect the lifestyle / culture apart from the aesthetic pleasure of living parallel to a  Tollywood. In Delhi at every instance of a road rage or any rage the most common line is, "Do you know who I am, my Uncle is the ....... or My aunty is the..........". In Hyderabad, the common man is 'a hero in himself'. He doesn't need anybody to strengthen his case. He alone can. 

Well, this holds true for the Telugu movies I have been watching; Jnr. NTR has all the time been a shanty colony idol, stylish hero Allu Arjun was an orphan turned Mr. Perfect, the lean Varun Sandesh hitting his senior in Happy Days or the nutcase Naga Chaitanya, wooing away the girl  of his dreams and living his dreams as well. So, there is a mutual respect in the city. People don't feel low about someone else and at the same time they don't feel they are lesser to anyone. I think that's the characteristic of Hyderabad, maybe a discussion awaits on this...

I understand that laws of gravity and physics are a bit lenient here but then that much for, 'entertainment, entertainment, entertainment'.

DevD: A Perfect Film

It is not very judicious to defend yourself when you find yourself ion a minority of 9:1. I committed that sin yesterday and suffered the consequences of being called the odd man out. I felt like Henry Fonda in the classic ‘12 Angry Men’. I still hold on to my opinion with utmost conviction that DEVD is the most wonderful film I have come across in life. Although I missed the version of Bimal Roy and Saigal but then it is certainly steps ahead of what Bhansali had created out of Sharat Chandra’s Devdaas. I might have an edge over others for having read the book in the mothertongue but that does not in anyway make the movie look alien to someone who’s been virgin on the subject of Devdas.


I would argue with my contradictors as to what makes a movie good or bad? Story? The story remains an eternal saga of an anti-hero. The book itself has been translated to numerous languages and remains immortal even after 100 years. Its Screenplay? Well, we commend the screenplay of movies like, Requiem for a Dream, Love and Loathing in Vegas, Dazed and Confused, even Ghajini for that matter. Was DEVD too difficult to understand? ‘No’, said my opponent. Does the background music make a movie good? Yes and doesn’t the movie have a great music. My adversaries will have to buy this point for it is they themselves who have been singing the songs of the movie. In fact the music score was never forced on to us, it spoke the soul of the movie. That is one point which made me love the film. I found a soul in it which I miss in many a movies. Any piece of art is a creation and giving it a soul is a very tough task. The legendary directors of the likes of Ray, Guru Dutt, V. Shantaram, Rakesh Om Prakash, have always laid emphasis on this. Anurag Kashyap comes out as a director who has had his lessons learnt really well.


My friends would agree that the Actors make a movie great. Abhay Deol did not take it long to establish Dev. Scene 1 was sumptuous. He does not make an extra effort to ascertain his character. I saw the rawness in him which is Devdas. Even after being in London, he remains the natural, impetuous, impulsive and reckless being. It was very much correct when Shahrukh Khan had said during his time that ‘everyone of us has a little bit of Devdas in us’. The phenomena is that the viewer does not sympathise with Dev but empathises with him. We reveal the same ego which Devdas has in situations alike. Devdas finds Paro beautiful however she’s not so physically. What makes him love her so much is the sensuousness and affection he has fathomed while growing up. The fresh Mahie Gill says all of this without any difficulty. A wonderful actor; I wouldn’t be wrong to say that I saw Smita Patil in her.


The special effects which showed the psychedelic Dev in intoxication and drunkenness are something new to the Indian Film Industry. The colours have remained dominant throughout the movie and it looks so dazzling and intense because of it.


Rarely did I find in Indian movies characters showing the sensitiveness, subtly projecting the feelings and expressing themselves without the dialogues. They have done it here. The scene where Paro standing on the door after washing his clothes says to Dev, “Tumhari aukaat yad dila rahi hun”, is too natural. It comes out with such an ease. Paro’s eyes and expressions say more than these words. Paro has taken her revenge. There is malice and contempt in the heart of both these people and equal is the love that they have, but the ego takes over them that moment. The scene so innocently drives on to becoming so strong and powerful.


It’s the beautiful mind of a very intelligent director which has given birth to a miraculous film. The consequences? Devdas still remains a rage in Indian cinema, but this time round He is DevD the Dude!