Griha Pravesh

Extra marital affairs in movies are shown with dramatic effects. A weeping wife, hysterical family members,moral value discourse and the unmissable packing of suitcase despite the wife wearing gazillion sarees and jewellery.

In Griha Pravesh ,direcetd by Basu Bhattacharya, I was looking for similar things and was happily shocked. The husband Amar is played by Sanjeev Kumar and his better half as Mansi by Sharmila Tagore. He goes astray with Sapna (Sarika).

I saw the movie some days ago and yet it lingers in my mind like an amazing dessert. All three actors did a fantastic job. Sapna was not seductive with any questionable hemlines and sparkling lipstick. In fact she looked tomboyish with her striped vests and de-glam pants. Amar's role seems to be concentrated on two aspects - his own curiosity as to why Sapna thinks beyond her age and second is, just the basic physical need of sex. Yet there are no sleazy scenes and thankfully no perfume-lingered-shirts to start a 'Who,what,why' exhibition.The attraction was 'mature' if not morally right.

At the same time,Mansi is not dumb or a doormat. In a brief intimate scene(which is at the start of the movie,thus surprising me even more) she depicts a a confident woman who knows her desires.

Mansi is practical yet a dreamer. She wishes of her own home while they manage in a dilapidated,paint peeled,rented house.She has witty replies to their state yet is vulnerable. On knowing about her husband's affair she doesn't confirm to Bollywood tradition by crying or playing blame game. The calmness with which she handles it is why such movies get side-tracked as 'non commercial' cinema.

The best part or the climax of the movie is not when they three meet at,
surprise 1 - Mansi's home,
surprise 2 - at the request of Mansi,
surprise 3 - without any shrewd plan or revenge in mind.
I was smiling at the fact that before the meeting, Mansi gets her house painted ,decorated and set up. She also gets a makeover at the beauty parlour. I'm still trying to think of the symbolism here and what it conveys. I assumed a supreme turning point where Amar realises how pretty his wife and home can be and does a volte-face on the mistress. But nah! The story surprises even in the end.

A movie which pokes in you small ,delicious ways.

Aalkkoottathil Thaniye

Aalkkoottathil Thaniye is 1984 movie about lost love,betrayal, sacrifice and moral questioning.

Rajan (Mammotty) is a village man who loves his cousin Ammukutty (Seema) but his stubborn father  Madhavan (Balan Nair) forces him to marry Nalini (Unni Mary). Nalini is an ambitious woman who wants to study further and achieve an educated status. Rajan on the other hand believes in simple living. They have come to a indifferent attitude to their marriage and live separate lives under one roof.

Years later when Rajan's father is bed ridden,the only person who makes time to look after him is Ammukutty. Inspite of his children only she is available and does so selflessly and without past grudges. In the midst of the ill father,property disputes and jealousies are shown as the norm of a middle class Malayali family. The old love of the two people and happier times are shown in glimpses.

I felt this movie also had a unique feature in Mohanlal's portrayal as a friend of Rajan. Not a friend who bird-watches with him or plans revenge plots. A character who expresses his love for a friend and of life. A friend who later chides him on leaving Ammukutty and questions on his morality.

Overall the movie is a drama which shows the state of thinking in a family. As it is with most, the husband expects a wife to perform and live in a certain way. Whether she is a good wife or a good mother is without meaning, if she is too ambitious. That she should be sacrificing and selfless is a norm to be accepted by most women is the message of the movie. How acceptable is the story in today's changing world maybe debatable. Nevertheless, Aalkkoottathil Thaniye was one of the few movies of that time where a woman protagonist is essayed in a strong, independent way rather than a crying, hollering, helpless waif.

Arth

Shabana Azmi vs Smitha Patil. Passionate vs Sharp. Luminous vs Astute.

If ever you wanted to make synonyms of Arth movie, then the above words should suffuse. So much so that I still have to remind myself Khulbhushan Kharbanda was there too.

A story about betrayal is not just what Arth is. After Inder(Kharbanda) leaves Pooja (Shabana) for Kavita (Smitha), the story, according to me, starts then. Prisoned in loneliness and penalised with the struggle to survive, Pooja is like a hungry,desolate little girl. After having her home snatched away from her, one which she furnished like a mother dresses up her toddler, the acceptance of life in paying guest is not easy for her. Her independance, grit and dissent blossoms.

It's not that she was pampered in a rich luxurious home, its the confusion of this sad,new reality that is heart-touching.
It's brave to have a character portray an emotion which is much less obvious than what the viewer assumes - in this case, Pooja should have been angry or heart broken about betrayal,but she is more confused and disillusioned about her new environment, heart broken about a lack of a house of her own, always having been an orphan.

Kavita has totally different tangents on which she flies. She is wanton, innocent and dominating all at the same time. She rules her lover both with her physical want and her loneliness. Smitha could have let Kavitha be just a bed-magic but being such a deep actor she didn't leave it at that. Her role is strentghened by emotional, childlike qualities too. A role with intensity and Smitha played it well.

Raj Kiran is winsome as the happy friend of Pooja and even more when she politely declines his love for her. No walking sadly with a jhola and singing songs of unattainable love. No speech on sacrifice either. This dude is happy enough to understand her need for freedom and respects her decision.

Arth is a seesaw of remarkable acting between Azmi and Patil.

Gharonda 1977

A movie which should be actually a documentary on Mumbai's housing problems. As a story about a couple in love and planning their life together, its like an everyday picture of Mumbai's lower and middle-class folks. All of the maximum city is the Sudeeps and the Chhayas, the house plans visible on their foreheads as the wrinkles.

Sudeep and Chhaya, played by Amol Palekar and Zarina Wahab are in love and their sweet-nothings are about their dream house and the chatter is about rent negotiations. But after a hasty decision of dealing with a fraud, the foundations start cracking. Sudeep becomes disillusioned and in a hasty moment tells Chhaya to get married to their aging heart-patient boss who already likes her. His frustrated,naive,but not cunning mind says once the boss dies,the inherited money by her will solve a lot of problems. Unfortunately, Chhaya,also wounded,both in heart and self-respect,does so.

However, Chhaya knows her duty  and takes care of her husband. Collectively through their love and humanity, they are able to convey to Sudeep the futility of trying to pursue success through shady bends in the road.

Beautiful songs and a story which will keep your heart on the edge. A tale of relationships, big city living, responsibilites not just towards family but to one's conscience.

Directed by Bhimsain Khurana. Written and screenplay by Gulzar.

10 things I like about Ennum Eppozhum

1. Mohanlal not acting like a one-man-show. I'm happy also that two women also get meaty roles in this movie. Ok Reenu Mathews doesn't get as much beef,but still plays the snazzy boss to Lal well. (hey, we Keralites love beef ok so quit judging me on the cholesterol levels of this sentence)

2. Manju Warrier's down-to-earth acting. No tears (they must have given all the glycerin to the Asianet serial ladies), no preaching, no silliness and no Oh-my-gawd-its-Lalettan looks.

3. Actor Innocent. Director Anthikad's pillar or man Friday I guess. There's no movie of his where Innocent hasnt acted in.

4. Actor Lena. The spunk her character brings to the movie and the cute schoolboy-schoolgirl fights which she and Lal has.

5. Lack of focus on the past of both the lead characters and concentrating on the present. No flashbacks. Simple straightforward story.


6. Jacob Gregory :) The Akkara Kazhachgal and ABCD actor. Has his own brand of comic sense.

7. The cinematography.


8. The housing colony where she lives. Simple,small,cozy but spacious homes. Far cry from the Gelf-returned money's circus palaces which are usually shown in Malayalam movies. I hate big houses and I cannot lie.

9. This is for the ladies. Manju's costumes. The vibrant designs, the ease with which she wears westerns and the trimmed figure showcases subtlety and grace. Also note, NO sari with jasmine flowers and gold exhibition. (that's national award winning point!) Everytime I saw her in those fresh colorful kurtas, I almost had a complex about my wardrobe,even though I was miles away from my Lifestyle and Westside Rs.499 sale ones(shhhh!) and in a dark theatre.

10. The hope that corporate India will also someday have facility of bath and towel-drying for employees just like Lal had in his office!

Charulata - here's to literary,passionate women!

Thank God for a movie about women writing and reading and being proud about it instead of cooking!

The above may be a small aspect of Charulata movie but integral. Literary passion, ambition for a successful paper and words shared in the garden are what will make you tuck this treasure of a movie. A story of love and betrayal. And literature.

Charu is a quiet wife but only till you challenge her. Whether it is to a game of cards, the worth of a Bankim novel to others or making Bengali samosas. She is organised and meticulous. Messed up in her heart and mind though. She cares for her husband Dutta but her smile makes her radiant only when her cousin-in-law comes. Much like the metaphoric storm which blows on his arrival the clean, marbled bhavan is slowly making crevices for the deep barriers between Dutta and Charu.

But Satyajit Ray will not warn you. There are too many lovely hummings of Bengali folk songs, occasional paan made by the bhabhi for the devar and so much dreams for literature knitted that you really cannot imagine anything untoward happening in the mature household where the husband and wife discuss and not just 'get my coat ready'.

Brilliant performances by Madhabi Mukherjee as Charu, Soumitra Chatterjee as the happy-go-lucky Amal and Shailen Mukherjee as Dutta ,who is equally passionate about his Press. Individuals who played the different human emotions with depth.

Thank you Ray, for movies like this in 1964 which lets Indian women of 1870s express her feelings the way she wants.

Saw this beautiful poster and had to upload too.

Mahanagar - A classic Bengali gem by Satyajit Ray

So many movies,so little time. This is what happens to movie lovers. We are in a constant film coma. TBWs (to be watched) and wish lists keep our BP high. Ironically its the movies which destresses! So you try your best to not leave any movie worth its reel,somehow a gem will slip out from your greedy hands,as you try to gather what the sea of classics washes to you. One such gem,for me,was Mahanagar - the Satyajit Ray masterpiece.

Being a Keralite, it's only right that I watch Malayalam cinema and then Hindi. I have done so since quite some time. So 'planning' to watch a Bengali film was not in the works. Nevertheless, one of my favourite hobbies is to list movie makers of yesteryear,who made a difference to their art by their courage,whims and 'wierdness'. Which in turn becomes gold,adulterated only by poor replicas.

Mahanagar is a movie about a 1960 middle-class Bengali family's reactions to their daughter-in-law going to work. Also, it's about the woman's shedding of skin to conquer her fears and the cocoon she leaves behind. Arati (Madhabi Mukherjee) is a cheerful mother of a small son and manages a family where no one is demanding. Jaya Bhaduri is the mousy but endearing sister-in-law.The husband Subrata (Anil Chatterjee) is also non-fussy and apparently witty.

So its a household that isn't at war,stretched at ends or sly stories at corners. In this mild pond the ripples begin when expenses pinch Subrata. When Arati suggests her support by working,he doesn't mind (either he doesn't believe she will get or he doesn't prepare for how to deal with it). He even puts in his one liners which probably is the sprinkling of humour in the film.

'Should I sign the application form?' she asks
'Who else, Lady Mountbatten?' says Subrata. Mind you, without smiling even. (sarcasm eh!)

Thus Subrata and Arati march on to the next phase in life, a phase solely focused by Indian families - when the wife leaves house to work. The in-laws are upset, not angry or bitchy. Just that the order of the medicine-bringing woman and in-the-kitchen lady isn't there. Even the son is not happy that the bosom where he rests on, wont be available from 9 to 5.

Eventually, the complexes start trickling in. Surprisingly not the in-laws but the well-educated Bernard Shaw quoting Subrata.

From teasing Arati about what Shaw says about over-worked women to shocked on seeing her in a cafe with a paraya man, Subrata cannot decipher this sun shades spotting,lipstick in bag (not on lips..she still doesn't dare), coming-in-late wife of his who now is the only earning member of the family. Yeah he loses his job so double the wrinkles.

The movie isnt just about a family's perceptions to these changes. There is an office environment where the boss is ambitious,not sleazy though and a Anglo Indian colleague who is kind hearted and not flimsy. The film breaks through stereotypes ever so gently that you almost miss it.

Mahanagar is not bold but courageous. It isn't feminist but about a woman's emancipation. It's not a family movie but about individuals who think,argue and feel together.

You dont need reasons to watch this epic. And not just women or husbands should watch it. Watch it to know togetherness of a different kind, frank discussion with parents, courage to put fears out in the open and of course to see Jaya Bachhan as the original guddi.