DDLJ by SHRESTHA

Aasish Shrestha

Review #3

DDLJ

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was directed by newcomer at the time (1995), Aditya Chopra, and stars newcomers Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. Who would’ve thought, especially the three of them, that the movie would go on to become the biggest Indian film of all time. SRK plays Raj, a spoiled, first generation, twenty-something Indian, who was raised in London. He is very uncultured and the only failing student in the London University. Though he is an immature, annoying, drinking and lying rascal, he is a great athlete and musician and can be really charming. Then there is Simran, who is also a first generation Indian raised in London, but is the exact opposite of Raj. She is religious, respectful of her parents, and well cultured. She is the ideal daughter in the eyes of her typical Indian parents, especially the patriarch of the house, her “Bauji.” He is Simran’s super strict and serious father who works in a convenience store. However, they are still very well off. Unlike Bauji, Raj’s dad, “Pops”, who is apparently a millionaire living in London, is a super cool father whose relationship with Raj is like beer drinking buddies. Anyways, Raj and Simran meet in the railway station where they’re both traveling across Europe with friends. After they meet, the two are inseparable. Raj is a flirty playboy who doesn’t leave Simran’s side, while Simran is the mature one who is annoyed and wants to avoid Raj. After missing their train, the two are left alone in a journey of newfound love. The two see the good in each other and fall for one another. Raj becomes the man of Simran’s dreams and after falling in love with the “ideal Indian girl,” Raj begins his transformation into maturity and becomes the ‘dilwale.’ However, Simran’s marriage was already pre-arranged by her Bauji to a guy she’s never seen before. And Bauji turns furious to the point where he makes his family move back to his hometown of Punjab in India after he finds out about Simran’s affair. The dilwale Raj follows Simran and even gets well acquainted with Simran and her fiancé’s family. His charm and charisma wins everyone over to the point where they consider him family. Simran pleads Raj to taker her away but he refuses to elope. He believes that her stern father will eventually willingly give him his daughter’s hand. Raj and Simran continue to secretly meet during her wedding festivities, but Simran’s mom catch them together one night. Simran’s mother realizes that Raj is Simran’s true love and does not want her to sacrifice her life like she did. She too asks them to elope, but Raj gives her mom the same speech about winning his bride rather than stealing her away from her family. Raj thinks he knows what he is doing until Bauji finds out about him and Simran. Everyone is furious with Raj and Simran’s fiancé and his gang assault Raj at the train station, after Bauji strike him several times and order him to leave. However, since Raj is the hero, he overpowers Simran’s fiancé’s gang and beats them to a bloody mess. He is stopped by Bauji, and then as Raj prepares to leave, Simran tries to run after him until Bauji stops her. A couple of minutes after Simran’s pleading to let her go with Raj, Bauji finally lets her go, declaring that no one will ever love her as much as Raj. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge translates to ‘The Lover/Brave-heart/Big-hearted will take/win the bride,’ which explains the ending with the lover Raj leaving with Simran as his bride.

The Indianness in the movie is well constructed. Bauji is a protective father who lives in London, but keeps the heart of India alive. Pops, another Indian living abroad, yearns to return back home, which he considers, “my country, my soil.” He also states at one point to not “let the clothes fool you,” and that he is “Indian at heart.” This is reminiscent of Raj Kapoor’s dialogue in Shree 420. Raj is an immature and uncultured rascal in the first part of the film, but he becomes this mature and intellectual citizen right after he arrives in India. He also explains to Simran several times that eloping would be un-Indian and the right way to perform every action is the Hindustani way. Religion isn’t a major aspect in the film since both the hero and heroine are Hindus. Simran is seen praying and singing to a Hindu god and Bauji is also seen praying to a Lakshmi idol in his store. Their family is religious and well cultured; they are still practicing their Hindu rituals and maintaining their Indian culture while living abroad. The only other religious scene in the film was the church scene in Europe, but I think this was just part of the plot and setting. Like the scenery of Europe, Raj thinks of Simran as pretty, pure and untainted. He respects her honor as a Hindustani woman and didn’t take advantage of her innocence. He showed not only respect for Simran, but for the Indian women in her when he decided to fast with her on Kurwa Chauth. The women in DDLJ were portrayed as submissive and obedient. Simran’s mom had spent her life sacrificing her desires and aspiration in the name of her family, either as a daughter, a sister, or wife. Her education was cut short since she was becoming a woman and had other responsibilities and had an arranged marriage as well. Simran’s faith was similar to her mother and all the women in her family. However, Simran’s mom understood where her daughter’s heart was and that Simran wouldn’t have to go through with the sacrifices that she made. This is similar to what Raj’s dad told him in the beginning of the film. Raj’s dad had spent his entire life working so hard that his youth vanished before his eyes; therefore, he wanted his son Raj to live his life for him and do all the things that he missed out on.

The soundtrack to DDLJ is one of the best in bollywood history. Every single song in the movie is catchy and memorable. I consider all the songs to be classic. Award winning songs like Mehendi Laga Re Rakhna and Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jaana Sanam are typical bollywood songs where the hero and heroine can interact and perform in a dance sequence. The song Ghar Aaja Pardesi is an important song because it depicts the theme of the movie in its lyrics. The song is targeted towards all Indians living abroad to return back home. The song represents people like Bauji’s desire to return to his motherland and how much he misses his family, his people, and his home. Everything about this movie is great, from the songs to the dialogues to the performances. I though everyone in the film did an amazing job. SRK and Kajol nailed their parts. I don’t think anyone in the world could play Raj and Simran like they did. Everything was perfect; this is the perfect bollywood movie.

K3G by SHRESTHA

Aasish Shrestha

Review #2

K3G

First of all, I would like to thank whoever messed up the Hum Aapke Hain Kaun disc so that we could watch one of my favorite films of all time, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. I know the film is super long and plot-less, compared to other bollywood blockbusters from 2001 such as Dil Chahta Hai or Lagaan, but I would still rather watch K3G over the two. Dil Chahta Hai and Lagaan, which I have to admit, are amazing movies, but after you’ve watched them once, you probably wouldn’t want to see them again for a while (maybe give it a couple of years…especially Lagaan, which is exhausting.) As of 2010, I have seen K3G about literally a hundred times. I think it is the most entertaining movie ever made because of the little slapstick comedy, which I find hilarious every time; the amazing soundtrack (I love every single one of the songs); and a plethora of bollywood’s biggest film stars all in one movie. And I’m not just saying this because I like SRK more than Aamir Khan, since K3G is an SRK film and Dil Chahta Hai and Lagaan was Aamir Khan’s. I also think K3G is more entertaining and a lot better than Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, which is also another super long and plot-less movie. HAHK has good catchy songs too but I haven’t seen the film more than once so that explains why I don’t care for it so much.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, short for K3G, translates as Sometimes happiness, sometimes sadness. This is basically the sum of the 3 hour plus film, that in life, there are times of joy, then again, there are times of sorrow. The joy in the movie provides the comedy and relief, and the sorrow contains the intense drama that tends to unfold in life. I like the translation for the film in the title track, that “weather smiles or weather tears, we will get through it all and prevail in the end.” This is what happens in the end, where everyone is happy, and so is the audience after witnessing a wholesome entertainment masterpiece. The movie did insanely well in the box office, especially overseas, becoming the highest grossing Indian film at the time. This is because of the diaspora, which is the heart of the film. Many people overseas, especially NRI’s, could relate to the film, which itself portrays characters living abroad. K3G was directed by Karan Johar, who previously made his directorial debut with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. K3G stars the three leads from KKHH, Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukherji, who made a special appearance. SRK and Kajol play Rahul and Anjali, which is the same name of the characters SRK and Kajol play in KKHH. The actors and the character names weren’t the only thing reused from his first film, KKHH; K3G’s soundtrack contain music from KKHH in the background at scenes with SRK and Rani Mukherji. You can also clearly hear the KKHH tune during the song ‘Suraj Hua Madham’ (which is my favorite song in the film). Besides SRK, Kajol, and Rani Mukherji, the film had Bollywood legends Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan coincidently playing husband and wife, and others like Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor, who were the rising superstars at the time.

The plot is simple yet complicated. Rahul was adopted by Yash and Nandini Raichand. He was welcomed into their family and their hearts as the first son of a very wealthy family. A family where tradition means everything, and if you break it, you’re no longer part of that family. Then, Rohan is born and their family is complete. Everyone knows of Rahul’s adoption, including Rahul, except for the younger brother Rohan. One day, a grown up Rohan overhears his grandmothers talking about Rahul’s adoption and departure from the family. Rohan is shocked and the grandmothers reveal everything to him. Everything was all ‘khushi’ until one Diwali where the ‘gham’ took place. Rahul fell in love with Anjali, a lower caste girl. This was unacceptable to Yash, who saw this as breaking the Raichand family tradition. Rahul was aware of this, but went forward with blossoming his love with marriage to Anjali. Yash not only kicked Rahul out of the Raichand house but also from the Raichand family. Rohan, now tall, grown up, and handsome, sets out to find his older brother and his sister-in-law and promises to bring them back home. This is the second part of the movie where Rohan meets Pooja, or ‘Poo’, who happens to be Anjali younger sister. After several flirtatious scenes and song sequences, Rohan and Poo team up to reunite Rahul and Anjali to Yash and Nandini. They trick his parents in coming to London, where Rahul’s family lives. They all meet, but now Yash is even more furious. They all return to India after the grandmother dies, which reunited the family again, but this time, for good. Rohan and Poo convince the egotistic Rahul to meet the even bigger egocentric Yash just once. After the two egomaniacs meet, they cant help but embrace with love and tears of joy. Parents and son finally reunite and Rahul and Anjali officially get married, along with Rohan and Poo. The ending is kind of lame, but after 3 and a half hours, you don’t care how it ends, you just want it to end.

The songs in the movie were all wonderful. The music in the film is similar to the director Karan Johar’s previous film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai because the music was composed by the same musicians, composers and playback singers. The music videos in the first half of the film depicted the culture of Indian families and their parties and get-togethers. Indian holidays and wedding ceremonies were also presented as a part of the songs. The songs in the second half of the movie were more flashy and represented the younger generation. They included filming abroad in London and the culture of first and second generation Indians outside of India. The songs also featured mostly Caucasian background dancers and the latest fashion. This was done to make NRI’s feel at home while experiencing Indian culture and life of other NRI’s in the film. The national identity is threatened in the film when Rahul is banished to London. He then refuses to ever return to his motherland and claims England to be his new home. Rahul and Anjali have a son, Krish, who is born in London and is show to be one of them. This is even more exaggerated with Poo’s character with the threat of the Indian youth raised abroad. However, both Krish and Poo realize their Indian identity after the arrival of the ever so Indian Rohan. Numerous Indian national anthems and theme songs are sung and heard by the Raichand while living abroad. Anjali, the typical Indian, reasons with Rahul that London isn’t their home and that the English aren’t their people, but is unable to break Rahul’s ego for a decade. However, all this changes after Rohan’s short visit to London. The Raichands’ return to India prove that living in a foreign land is only for duty or even out of spite and is just temporary as a means of studying or working, but it is no place for raising your Indian children and permanent residence. Everyone will eventually return to their motherland where it is home sweet home.

Bombay, Chris Norrod

Chris Norrod

HIND 2441

3/17/10

Bombay Review

Bombay (Mani Ratman) is foremost film about Indian nationalism and patriotism.  Its patriotism is heavily exaggerated.  It does not, however, cross into any kind of hostility, which can often be the case with patriotic or heavily nationalistic films.

Bombay tells the story of two lovers who defy traditional notions to be with each other.  Shekhar (Arvind Swamy) is a Hindu journalism student studying in Bombay.  He falls in love with a Muslim named Shaila Bano (Manisha Koirala).  Set in the early 1990’s, this is a time of particular tension between Hindus and Muslims throughout the nation.  This tension is reflected on the two families, as both fathers reject the marriage proposal.  Steadfast to marry, the two lovers flee to Bombay, were they are able to raise a family away from the Hindu/Muslim tension in their families.  This is the central conflict in the film: the tension between Hindu and Muslim groups, be them from the couple’s families or in the streets of Bombay, impedes the family making process for Shekhar and Shaila.

Some time after the birth of Shekhar and Shaila’s children, Kabir Narayan and Kamal Basheer, the Hindu family and the Muslim family come together.  During a trip to Bombay, the differences between the two are settled, and they learn to embrace the newer generation that Kabir and Kamal represent.  Kabir and Kamal represent the Indian metropolitan life, were differences are more tolerated than in the rural areas.  They are physically the union between Hindu and Muslim identities, and are something entirely different themselves.  This is most apparent when lost among the riots, one of the children asks a hijra what Hindus and Muslims are.

There is a general call for peace throughout the film.  Towards the end of the film, there is a scene were a Hindu community leader, a Muslim community leader, and Shekhar are all exclaiming how pointless all the violence is.  Shekhar pleads with a hostile group to stop the violence, saying that they are being forced to throw away their lives so that a politician might enjoy more influence.  This is another reflection of the period, where much of the violence in Bombay was instigated by political factions such as Shiv Sena.

Bombay, Pasang Sherpa

Pasang Sherpa

Screening India

Prof. Brueck

03-15-10

Bombay

Directed by:  Mani Ratnam

Produced by: Mani Ratnam

                      S. Sriram

Written by:    Mani Ratnam

Starring:        Arvind Swamy

                      Manisha Koirala

                      Tinnu Anand

                      Nasser

Music:           A.R. Rahman

Release Date: March 17, 1995

Running Time: 141 mins

           Bombay, a Hindi movie released in 1995, was directed by Mani Ratanam. The story takes place in a Tamil Nadu village located in southern India. Shekhar (Arvind Swamy), a son of a Hindu parents, has been studying journalism in Bombay. When Shekhar returns to his village, he sees Shaila Bano (Manisha Koirala), the daughter from a Muslim family. Shekhar falls in love with Shaila Bano, who cannot ignore his feelings for her, and eventually they fall in love. The story of the love between Shekhar and Shaila Bano seems impossible because of their different social backgrounds. Their parents won't let them get married. So, Shekhar goes back to Bombay and sends a train ticket to Shaila Bano. They meet in Bombay, get married in court and have children (twins). Their life is not good after they are married. The tension between Muslims and Hindus erupts in Bombay and puts their lives in danger. The fight between Muslims and Hindus does a lot of damage to the city and kills thousands of people. Finally the combatants realize that they were wrong and that they were just being used by political leaders. The movie ends with a Muslim-Hindu compromise .The movie takes place mostly in Bombay, with some early scenes  in the Tamil Nadu village.

          The movie is based upon the Hindu and Muslim conflict in Bombay, where people have been killing one another periodically. These religious fights have been disastrous, killing civilians, burning their homes and thousand bereaving. The Hindu attacks on Muslim communities and Muslim attacking Hindu communities has been spreading all over India. This conflict started when the Hindu population destroyed the Babri Masjid (Mosque) in Ayodha.  The religious conflict between these two groups is not about to settle down easily. The sense of nationality is not presented in the movie, but instead the factionalism inside the society seems to be the major problem. Muslim and Hindu were fighting in the interest of  their own groups; they were not fighting in the interest of the country. Even though the movie was based on both Muslim and Hindu perspectives, I think Muslims are portrayed as more violent and aggressive than Hindus. Muslims are the ones who were carrying the weapons and started the fight, even between Shekhar and Shaila Bano’s father, Shaila Bano’s father is always aggressive while Shekhar’s father tries to solve things. In the entire movie “Hijra” (the outcaste transvestite) is the first person to talk about God. He said to one of the twins that “Religion is the way to God”, and does not know why Muslims and Hindus are fighting. I think the reason “Hijra” was made to describe the way to god was that he does not belong to either the Muslim or Hindu; he is rejected by both religious group.

          The songs in the movie are more reflective of the love story between Shekhar and Shaila Bano. The song like “Ek Ho Gaye” (you and me became one) tells how they are together. Since they have to share their room with other kids and finally they were left by themselves. We see Shekhar cutting his wrist while waiting for Shaila Bano, reflecting that he will kill himself if she is not with him. They are ready to break the barriers created by the society for their love, they were even ready to leave their parents, instead of continuing to live with his family, as most young married Indians do. The songs are well connected the story, and provide a transitions from one part of the movie to another.

             This is definitely the best movie I have watched this semester; I did not expect it to be so good. Everything in the movie is perfectly organized and coordinated. The plot is absolutely amazing; the flow of story is smooth. I could watch this movie over and over. The acting is superb, and everybody does a great job. I would definitely recommend to everybody that they see this movie. I think it is a five star movie. The movie never bored me; it has all the qualities that good movie should have.

Roja, Kaely Mayes

Kaely Mayes

March15, 2010

Screening Bollywood

Laura Brueck

Roja

Roja, made by Mani Ratnam, came out in 1992. It was originally created in Tamil and later dubbed over in Hindi due to its popularity. This film centers around two main themes, Indian nationalism and melodramatic love. The plot of this film is as simple as it is complex. Roja is a young village girl from Sundarapandianpuram of only 18 years who is as free spirited as they come. She is excited for her elder sister to be marrying a wealthy man from the city who can provide her better life, but things are never as they seem. Shortly after arriving in the village the man from the city, Rishi Kumar, decides that he would rather take Roja as a wife instead. At first everyone, including Roja, thinks that this is a disgrace to the village and especially to Roja’s sister and family. What they were not informed of was the fact that Roja’s sister was the one who turned Rishi down because she was in love with another. This fact is not brought to Roja’s attention until she gets into a fight with Rishi about said disgrace, and receiving confirmation from her sister as well. Thus begins the first steps towards real love between the two. As a top cryptologist for the Indian Army, Rishi is asked to come to Kashmir as a replacement and Rishi accepts with out argument. Soon Roja and Rishi find themselves in beautiful, but deadly Kashmir. At first everything is going splendidly, Roja and Rishi are falling in love (which is seen through them running around Kashmir’s landscape together and through them finally consummating their marriage), Rishi’s job is going well and they seem to be in bliss. All that changes when one morning Roja decides to visit the local temple with out telling Rishi. In fear Rishi rushes out to find her, but when he finally finds her he was in for a terrible surprise. Rishi is taken hostage by Muslim terrorist in exchange for the release of their captured leader Wasim Khan. The rest of the movie is split into two narratives. One being Roja and her insistence and determination to get Rishi back to her. We watch Roja battle the Indian Army and politicians to get her husband back. This is a challenge due to the fact that she speaks only Tamil, and a little bit of English, whereas everyone around her speaks only Hindi. The other narrative is Rishi and his fight against his captors. Rishi becomes a moral compass of the “right” as he continually berates Jaquait, the temporary leader of the terrorists, and the terrorist’s objectives of separating Kashmir from India. Rishi humanizes both the terrorists and the nationalists by essentially bringing them both to the same level and showing the faults of the terrorists. For example, when Pakistani soldiers kill Laquait’s brother Rishi asks him if anyone (meaning Muslim or Hindu) likes to see the death of a child. Eventually Rishi’s words hit a cord in the terrorists, which allows for his escape and return to Roja.

There are multiple scenes of overly dramatic nationalism. The scene in which really displays this is when Rishi smothers the burning Indian flag. After the announcement that the Indian government would not trade Rishi for Wasim Khan, one of the terrorists takes an Indian flag and starts it on fire. Rishi seeing this makes a dash for the flag and puts out the fire using the “stop, drop and roll” technique. After the flag is saved Rishi stands up with pants ablaze and hands tied together to attack the terrorists in defense of India. He holds his own for a minute, but is over powered quickly. Other scene of nationalism by Rishi is when he is first asked to go to Kashmir by his boss. His boss tells Rishi he is sorry for having to send him to such a violent and deadly place, but is rebutted by Rishi. Rishi states that he should not be afraid to travel with in India, subconsciously admitting his nationalist nature.

Roja plays a complex part of the story as the instigator of everything that is happening (it is her actions that result in Rishi’s abduction) and as the opposite of what Rishi stands for. Roja is seen as the anti-nation, not because she believes in what the terrorists are doing but because she ultimately doesn’t care at all for the nation as a whole. Her only objective in this film is getting her husband back, regardless of what it means to the nationalist movement. She puts herself and her desires above all else. This is a very shocking idea, for the movies of the past; the woman was the physical symbol of the nation. The women did everything for the good of the nation, even if it meant killing her own son, and for the creation of the Indian secular state. Thus, it is astonishing how Roja can be the polar opposite of those women.

After watching this movie in both Tamil and Hindi I have to recommend watching it in Tamil first. It was much easier to understand what was happening with the Tamil subtitles. Especially the scene after Rishi is abducted and Roja runs to the police. In Tamil you can tell that she is speaking another language that the police officers do not understand. In the Hindi version it just seems like the officers are just ignoring what she is saying because she is screaming. There are also a few scenes in the Hindi version that were cut off or shortened, which in my opinion was a shame because the scenes added a little more emotion to the characters. The Hindi version seemed a little scattered and unorganized because it was missing those sections.

Other than that, I think that this is a movie that everyone should see at some point in their lives. The story of Roja is very beautiful and inspiring, as is the scenery of Kashmir. While this is supposed to be more of a political commentary on the relations in Kashmir, but be warned that this film has a very Indian Nationalist slant towards the situation in Kashmir.

Roja, Kaely Mayes

Kaely Mayes

March15, 2010

Screening Bollywood

Laura Brueck

Roja

Roja, made by Mani Ratnam, came out in 1992. It was originally created in Tamil and later dubbed over in Hindi due to its popularity. This film centers around two main themes, Indian nationalism and melodramatic love. The plot of this film is as simple as it is complex. Roja is a young village girl from Sundarapandianpuram of only 18 years who is as free spirited as they come. She is excited for her elder sister to be marrying a wealthy man from the city who can provide her better life, but things are never as they seem. Shortly after arriving in the village the man from the city, Rishi Kumar, decides that he would rather take Roja as a wife instead. At first everyone, including Roja, thinks that this is a disgrace to the village and especially to Roja’s sister and family. What they were not informed of was the fact that Roja’s sister was the one who turned Rishi down because she was in love with another. This fact is not brought to Roja’s attention until she gets into a fight with Rishi about said disgrace, and receiving confirmation from her sister as well. Thus begins the first steps towards real love between the two. As a top cryptologist for the Indian Army, Rishi is asked to come to Kashmir as a replacement and Rishi accepts with out argument. Soon Roja and Rishi find themselves in beautiful, but deadly Kashmir. At first everything is going splendidly, Roja and Rishi are falling in love (which is seen through them running around Kashmir’s landscape together and through them finally consummating their marriage), Rishi’s job is going well and they seem to be in bliss. All that changes when one morning Roja decides to visit the local temple with out telling Rishi. In fear Rishi rushes out to find her, but when he finally finds her he was in for a terrible surprise. Rishi is taken hostage by Muslim terrorist in exchange for the release of their captured leader Wasim Khan. The rest of the movie is split into two narratives. One being Roja and her insistence and determination to get Rishi back to her. We watch Roja battle the Indian Army and politicians to get her husband back. This is a challenge due to the fact that she speaks only Tamil, and a little bit of English, whereas everyone around her speaks only Hindi. The other narrative is Rishi and his fight against his captors. Rishi becomes a moral compass of the “right” as he continually berates Jaquait, the temporary leader of the terrorists, and the terrorist’s objectives of separating Kashmir from India. Rishi humanizes both the terrorists and the nationalists by essentially bringing them both to the same level and showing the faults of the terrorists. For example, when Pakistani soldiers kill Laquait’s brother Rishi asks him if anyone (meaning Muslim or Hindu) likes to see the death of a child. Eventually Rishi’s words hit a cord in the terrorists, which allows for his escape and return to Roja.

There are multiple scenes of overly dramatic nationalism. The scene in which really displays this is when Rishi smothers the burning Indian flag. After the announcement that the Indian government would not trade Rishi for Wasim Khan, one of the terrorists takes an Indian flag and starts it on fire. Rishi seeing this makes a dash for the flag and puts out the fire using the “stop, drop and roll” technique. After the flag is saved Rishi stands up with pants ablaze and hands tied together to attack the terrorists in defense of India. He holds his own for a minute, but is over powered quickly. Other scene of nationalism by Rishi is when he is first asked to go to Kashmir by his boss. His boss tells Rishi he is sorry for having to send him to such a violent and deadly place, but is rebutted by Rishi. Rishi states that he should not be afraid to travel with in India, subconsciously admitting his nationalist nature.

Roja plays a complex part of the story as the instigator of everything that is happening (it is her actions that result in Rishi’s abduction) and as the opposite of what Rishi stands for. Roja is seen as the anti-nation, not because she believes in what the terrorists are doing but because she ultimately doesn’t care at all for the nation as a whole. Her only objective in this film is getting her husband back, regardless of what it means to the nationalist movement. She puts herself and her desires above all else. This is a very shocking idea, for the movies of the past; the woman was the physical symbol of the nation. The women did everything for the good of the nation, even if it meant killing her own son, and for the creation of the Indian secular state. Thus, it is astonishing how Roja can be the polar opposite of those women.

After watching this movie in both Tamil and Hindi I have to recommend watching it in Tamil first. It was much easier to understand what was happening with the Tamil subtitles. Especially the scene after Rishi is abducted and Roja runs to the police. In Tamil you can tell that she is speaking another language that the police officers do not understand. In the Hindi version it just seems like the officers are just ignoring what she is saying because she is screaming. There are also a few scenes in the Hindi version that were cut off or shortened, which in my opinion was a shame because the scenes added a little more emotion to the characters. The Hindi version seemed a little scattered and unorganized because it was missing those sections.

Other than that, I think that this is a movie that everyone should see at some point in their lives. The story of Roja is very beautiful and inspiring, as is the scenery of Kashmir. While this is supposed to be more of a political commentary on the relations in Kashmir, but be warned that this film has a very Indian Nationalist slant towards the situation in Kashmir.

Roja, Kim Crater

Kimberly Crater
“Roja” Film Review
      Mani Ratnam’s Roja is, at its core, a romantic and overtly patriotic love story set against the backdrop of terrorism in Kashmir. Despite starring two relatively unknown actors (Arvind Swamy and Madhoo) and an unknown musical director (A.R. Rahman), Roja was a success. Time magazine listed A.R. Rahman’s score for Roja as one of the top 10 in 2005. Richard Corliss wrote, “This astonishing debut work parades Rahman's gift for alchemizing outside influences until they are totally Tamil, totally Rahman.” The movie score and the blatantly nationalistic themes helped make the film, released in 1992, a hit.

      Rishi Kumar (Arvind Swamy) is a computer engineer specializing in codes who works for the government. Having spent most of his life in a city, he goes to the country to find a bride from a village he had fallen in love with. Rishi marries Roja (Madhoo) and the two move to the city. Not long after the wedding, Rishi learns he must go to the tumultuous region of Kashmir for work and Roja accompanies him. While in Kashmir, Rishi is kidnapped by a group of Muslim militants fighting for an independent Kashmir. Roja works to get her husband back while Rishi defends his country against the terrorists.

      The opening sequence of the film shows the capture of a notorious terrorist. Gunshots and the sound of soldiers hurried footsteps as they run through night to catch Wasim Khan. This scene is juxtaposed with the introduction of Roja in her village through song. The audience sees Roja as carefree and untroubled, playing pranks on those around her. When Rishi Kumar first arrives in the village, Roja has blocked the road with goats so she can see him. The song that introduces Roja is carried throughout the film. However, as the film progress the tone of Roja’s song and the other songs in the film begin to shift. In this way, Rahman’s songs “not only serve the drama, they create their own,” Corliss said.

      The union of Roja and Rishi could be interpreted as the unification of the village (Roja) and the city (Rishi). It is his love for Roja that allows Rishi to stay alive and so ardently defend his country. In the same way, Rahman blended a myriad of influences, both modern and traditional, to create the score for the film. The song “Rukkumani Rukkumani” which is performed just after the wedding of Roja and Rishi exemplifies this blend. The song, which speaks about the supposed coming together of the couple as man and wife, carefully combined several different types of rhythms. The conscientious combinations of rhythms blended musical influences like reggae and bold orchestra pieces while keeping the music, as Corliss explained, intrinsically Tamil.

      The representation of the terrorists and conflict in Kashmir is decidedly one-sided. The terrorists, all Muslim, are made intentionally difficult to empathize with as they fail to justify their cause. Wasim, the head of the terrorists that kidnap Rishi, both in appearance and demeanor, appears to personify evil. Even Rishi would rather die than allow Wasim to be free. The crimes of the terrorists, like kicking villagers out of their homes, murdering innocent people and kidnapping loyal patriots (like Rishi) are highlighted while the atrocities committed by the Indian army are either ignored or deemed necessary, almost heroic, in the defeat of evil. In one scene, the terrorists light an Indian flag on fire and Rishi jumps on it to extinguish it. The terrorists appear relentless in their pursuit to tear apart the nation. They are even willing to burn the symbol for the nation, the flag. In every way the terrorists are shown to destroy the nation, Rishi is shown to exemplify it. From sacrificing his body to extinguish the flaming flag to questioning the motivations of the terrorists, Rishi’s patriotism is unquestioned. The negative associations connected with the terrorists are apparent when Rishi questions Liaqat (Pankaj Kapur) on the teachings of Islam and whether it is the destruction they are causing is justifiable in his religion.

      In Roja themes of national unity, through the union of Roja (village) and Rishi (city) and Rishi’s passionate pleas with the terrorists are highlighted and were a major draw to the film. The brilliant score by A.R. Rahman connected the film, its characters and themes. Despite being overtly biased against Muslims, the film was a huge success and helped make Mani Ratnam one of India’s most prominent directors.

      Works Cited

      Corliss, Richard. "Roja - ALL-TIME 100 Movies - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Time Magazine, 12 Feb. 2005. Web. <http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1953094_1953153_1954874,00.html>.

Roja, Laine Bulakites

Laine Bulakites
HIND 2440
March 15^th, 2010

Roja Film Review 

      The nationalistic love story, Roja, inspired pride in many Hindi Indians. From the beginning to the end, there is no doubt that this movie would cause proud shouts from the audience, especially after the destruction of the Babri Masjid a few weeks prior. There are many examples of this – from the movie claiming that Kashmir is in India, to the extinguishing of India’s flag. However, Roja is different from other Hindi films I have seen in the sense that there isn’t a whole lot going on – the plot is very linear, while most typical Bollywood films are a mix of many genres.
      Roja is a film mainly about Rishi Kumar, a computer programmer who comes to a small village in hopes of marrying Roja’s sister. Because Roja’s sister does not want to marry Rishi, he opts to marry Roja instead. Though they originally don’t quite get along, Roja ends up falling for Rishi. When Rishi’s superior falls ill, he is sent to Kashmir in order to decode a message. Roja accompanies him, and in the beautiful setting of Kashmir, they have their honeymoon.
      During their stay in Kashmir, Rishi gets kidnapped and held hostage by a Kashmiri terrorist group led by Liaqat Khan. The terrorists offer the government the release of Rishi in exchange for the release of Wasim Khan, a jailed terrorist who has killed many people. The plot of the movie revolves around Rishi’s imprisonment and Roja’s struggle to get Rishi home safely.
      The soundtrack of Roja is one of the best I’ve heard. All of the songs were extremely catchy and easy to get stuck in your head, especially “Roja Janemaan” and “Rukmani”. While the songs in this movie don’t really add that much to the movie, a lot of them displayed beautiful settings and inspired the audience to long for Kashmir. “Rukmani,” while very sexual and frank, was also a very beautiful song about arguably the biggest night/event in one’s life.
      One of the things I noticed throughout the movie was the contrast between Roja and Rishi’s personalities. Rishi was the example of a “perfect” citizen – he makes self-sacrifices and he serves, loves, and is loyal his country. Rishi is the ‘modern’ nationalist; he wears Western clothes, and is generally more modern/Western in many ways, yet he is the embodiment of the extreme nationalist – for example, he goes out of his way and risks his life to save a burning Indian flag, and would rather sacrifice himself than let Wasim Khan out of jail. Rishi is not seen as a superhuman hero like we have seen in Hindi films in the past, instead he is seen as realistic. Hindu males watching the film see Rishi as who they are, not who they want to be.
      Roja, however, is a selfish, almost negative character. She doesn’t seem to care much about the nation – Roja just wants her husband back. She is belittled quite frankly in the movie: when the government decides to release Wasim Khan in exchange for Rishi, Colonel Royappa comes to her and sarcastically talks about how “happy” this makes him. He speaks of the countless soldiers who lost their lives to catch Wasim Khan and how their death will now be in vain for the sake of one man. Roja, of course, basically ignores this.
      Though there is a love story in this movie, it is safe to say that the love story between Rishi and Roja is secondary theme to the love story between Rishi and his nation, and the idea of tradition and modernity. Rishi is more modern than we have seen in other movies – in fact, the only times we see him in traditional clothing is on his wedding day and in the montage during the song “Roja Janemaan”. Modernity – or the new middle class – becomes the acceptable norm. Even Roja, who is described as the typical Indian village belle, is breaching the modern era: she knows how to work a telephone, she has a TV in her house, she calls her father “Daddy”, and she feels at home in Rishi’s city house.
      All in all, I enjoyed the film Roja. I thought the imagery and aesthetics were beautiful, and I thought that the love story between Roja and Rishi was very adorable. However, the movie was extremely biased and prejudiced, which made me uncomfortable at times, and I’m sure made many of it’s viewers uncomfortable too. Roja would be a much better movie if it looked at both sides of the story, instead of just leaning in India’s direction.

Roja, Alixandra Padnos

Allie Padnos
Screening India
Roja film review
3/13/10
      Roja is a melodramatic patriotic love story which deals with political domestic terrorism. The film redefines a new Indian middle class of clear traditional and modern aspects intertwining together, which can be seen through ideas of secularism, nationalism, and gender. The movie opens up with intense combat between the Indian Army and the Palestinian terrorist in Kashmir, to give the audience a preview of the central issue shown throughout the film. The next scene shifts into a beautiful village, where we find out a city boy Rishi Kumar is planning to visit the village in order to find his wife. After Roja’s sister politely begs for Rishi’s approval of marriage, Rishi turns to Roja to marry and they both move back to the city.
      National identity is present throughout the entire film and it’s depicted through the celebration of the new Indian middle class. The first symbol of pride for the nation can be seen through the scene when Rishi is presented with a delicate assignment from his boss to travel to Kashmir. Rishi’s boss apologizes for having to send him so far away and Rishi responds by saying “Kashmir is in India, and to go anywhere in India is part of my job”. This quote shows the devotion Rishi has for India and displays heroism since he does not fear his assignment, despite the present political issues in Kashmir.
      Rishi and Roja travel together to Kashmir and undergo their romantic honeymoon which is displayed through the beauty of nature and the love they have for each other. When Rishi is kidnapped by the terrorists, whom are depicted as Islamic, the narrative shifts into contradicting traditional ideals of the nation between the hero and heroine. Roja demonstrates religious and family orientated values, while Rishi portrays the principles of the state since he is willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the nation. Roja can be seen as a representation of the state since her absence led Rishi to search for her, which set up his fate of being kidnapped because she directly disagrees with the state’s political logic and is willing to put the state in danger by the release of the ultimate terrorist Wasim Khan. Overall Roja believes the state’s main concern is security to all Indian individuals, which is contradictory towards Rishi’s view. This different understanding of the state creates a division between genders.
      While Rishi was held captive by the terrorists, there were two instances where Rishi’s national identity was symbolically depicted. The first scene was when the terrorists held up a recording device and told him to say something to the Indian army to assure he was still alive. Rishi commented “Hail India” and was punished with physical aggression from the terrorists. He continued to proclaim “hail India”, despite the unbroken painful abuse. Another significant scene which truly demonstrated nation pride was when the terrorists set fire to an Indian flag after they found out their negotiation of prisoner exchange backfired. Rishi converts his pain into nationalism by symbolically sacrificing himself for the nation since he forced himself onto the fire with his body, allowing himself to catch on fire. This scene clearly showed the differences between Islamic principles against India nationality.
      In the end Rishi stands between freedom and the leading terrorist Liaquat. Rishi begs for his life and questions Liaquat’s motives of killing through emotional recall of the recent death of Liquat’s brother. He brings in political, patriotic, and emotional knowledge which convinces Liaquat to draw his gun and step aside, allowing Rishi’s liberation and his reuniting with Rosa. This scene is extremely important because it shapes a new idea of the middle class by redefining what it means to be secular. Traditionally India was seen as a secular state and the Islamic forces were depicted as non-secular. Humanism becomes the root idea of nationalism, allowing integration into India, meaning the norm is shifted to the idea that everyone becomes humanistic enough to embrace and allow other religions in the nation.
      Many of the songs embraced the love between Rishi and Rosa, which were sung in the beautiful nature. A lot of the songs were extremely explicit, which was something semi new for us to view. There was one specific song that sticks out to me the most because it directly represents what happens during a wedding night. The rocking of the bed seemed to be explicit for Hindi film because usually the idea of sex is discreet. The songs promoted realistic true Indian values.
      I thought Rosa was a wonderful film, despite its narrow minded view. It was narrowed minded because it promoted a one sided story and the Palestinian’s were viewed more negatively. I liked the film because it produced a wonderful love story through a political issue that was very easy to detect and understand. I think the ending is the most significant scene throughout the entire film because it truly embraces the new idea of Humanism.

Roja, Saira Siraj

Saira Siraj

March 14, 2010

Screening Bollywood

Laura Brueck 

Roja Film Review 

      Mani Ratnam’s Roja (1992) is a movie that is focused mainly on the troubled state of Kashmir. As is common for Bollywood, there is a love story intertwined with the story of terrorists fighting against India. The main characters are newlyweds named Rishi and Roja Kumar, and the story revolves around a project Rishi receives for which he must go to Kashmir. There, Roja wanders off to a temple, and this leads to Rishi’s kidnapping by Muslim terrorists who are trying to free their leader.

      Being a Kashmiri Muslim, this movie was very personal for me, and I disagreed with many of the points brought up in the film. It was very biased and one-sided in many ways. First of all, the fact that the terrorists all had the last name “Khan” gave the film an anti-Muslim tone. To add to this, the terrorists were shown praying every time they were about to murder one or more people. This very obviously suggests that their actions were connected with their religion. To counter the Islamic terrorists, the movie shows law-abiding citizens who are, of course, Hindus. Roja is a very devout Hindu and she goes through the trouble of finding a temple in Kashmir; when she finds one, she also finds the amiable Hindu guide who helps her throughout her stay in Kashmir and her quest for Rishi. Besides these two, there are many other characters (such as Rishi, Roja’s family, the policemen, the army men) who are clearly Hindu and have overall good personalities. Near the end of the movie, many young Kashmiri boys are killed by Pakistani militants; after this, Rishi tries to talk sense into one of the terrorists, Liaquat Khan. He uses the argument that Islam does not teach violence, which was the one positive remark made about Islam in the entire movie; however, it does not have much of an impact on the overall feel of the film, considering this remark was made by a Hindu rather than a Muslim. After Rishi talks to the terrorist, Liaquat takes off his distinctively “Muslim” hat; this could be taken in many different ways, but my first reaction was that the violent, bloodthirsty terrorist was finally humanized by taking away his Muslim identity. The topic of religion is extremely sensitive in India as a whole, not just Bollywood. So, I believe that if Ratnam was trying to show every religion as equal, he should have gone for a more balanced approach in which each side had an equal number of “good” and “bad” characters.

      Aside from the fact that Muslims were unjustly depicted in this film, I was also very offended by the portrayal of Kashmir and the issues its people face. Not once in the movie did Ratnam show how brutally the Kashmiri people are treated by Indian soldiers. Throughout the film, Rishi shows his nationalist pride for India and he attempts to save his country from the violence brought on by the Kashmiri terrorists. He especially shows his devotion to his country in a couple memorable scenes. The first is when the terrorists find out that their request to free Wasim Khan has been rejected and they try to force Rishi to ask the government to help him by releasing Wasim. Rishi, however, does not give in to them, and instead chants “jai Hind” (“long live India”) even while being beaten continuously. The second scene is a little more intense; when Rishi sees one of the terrorists burning the Indian flag, he breaks a window to get out of the shack he is in and runs to the burning flag to put out the fire. His clothes catch fire in his attempt to counter this act of hate against India, yet he continues to fight the terrorists while his pants are aflame. Both of these scenes promote the idea that the solution to all the problems in Kashmir is to first of all accept that Kashmir is a part of India; Rishi even mentions that it is in India in the beginning of the movie, when he says he would never be scared to go there or any other part of his country. These scenes may make Indians proud; Kashmiris, for the most part, have a much different sentiment. From personal experience, I can say that many people in Kashmir want freedom, both from India and Pakistan. The film did not show the fact that they have no say whatsoever in their government. It also failed to tell the stories of countless families who have lost young children in pointless raids by the Indian military. Had these aspects been added in the movie, the actions of the terrorists may not have been justified, but at least explained to its viewers. The blame should not have been put entirely on them; India is at fault for Kashmir’s current condition. This however, would have taken away from the nationalistic view of the film.

      In my opinion, Roja lacked in several areas; the only part that I enjoyed was the soundtrack. Besides A.R. Rahman’s beautiful contribution to the movie, it was biased, hateful, and overall quite insulting for Kashmiris and Muslims alike. As I am a part of both groups, I can say that the film seemed to attack them and promote the ideal Hindu Indian nationalist. This movie was a disappointment due to its portrayal of anyone that did not fit the norm of the Bollywood hero.

ROJA by Shrestha

Aasish Shrestha

Review #1

ROJA

As a fan of bollywood movies, I did not enjoy watching Roja nor found it bollywood-esque (except for the song sequences). Anyways, Roja was originally a Tamil film (which explains all of the bad dubbing and screenplay mix-up which I will explain later) directed by acclaimed Indian filmmaker Mani Ratnam. This was THE film that introduced him to a broader audience and gained critical and commercial success in bollywood after it was dubbed in Hindi. The film went on to win numerous awards and acclaim including National and International Film Awards in the popular category. This film also led Ratnam to spawn two similar concept/genre films making Roja the first of his domestic terrorism trilogy.

Roja is named after the heroine in the film, played by Madhoo. Roja is the typical village girl, innocent, religious, and sweet. I was under the impression that she was uneducated since she was brought up in the village, but there is a scene within the first song sequence of her in a cap and gown, and she even goes on to speak some English in the movie. Maybe the English was part of the Hindi dubbing or maybe not. Maybe she does say “I Love You” or spell “Sorry” in the Tamil version too. I don’t know why we didn’t just watch it in the original Tamil version, maybe to make the film more bollywood-esque (just kidding Prof. Brueck). Back to the movie… Roja is seen praying several times to a Hindu god with hopes that her sister finds a good groom and that their marriage would occur soon. This shows her as the ideal little sister. Then arrives the hero, Rishi, played by Arvind Swamy. Upon secretly seeing him, Roja describes him as fair and attractive to her sister. Rishi came to the village from the city, where he is some kind of a scientist, to find a bride who was born and raised in the village. Rishi and Roja’s sister finally meet, only to find out that she is in love with someone else, someone who her family opposes. Rishi, being the kind and compassionate man, complies with her request and asks for Roja’s hand in marriage instead. After, everyone’s shock and confusion, everything goes accordingly. Roja’s sister weds her lover and Rishi and Roja also marry. Then, they move to the city where everyone is happy except for Roja. Roja thinks Rishi rejected her sister and what not but she soon finds out what really happened and everything is okay again. Until now, the movie seemed interesting but it starts to get complicated.

In the beginning, a terrorist named Wasim Khan was captured by the Indian Army. So, his terrorist group, who are a bunch of Muslims, strives to free their leader by capturing an Indian hostage. Coincidentally, this hostage becomes none other than our hero Rishi, who was sent to Kashmir for work reasons. Before the kidnapping, the newly married couple sing and dance in what I thought was the beautiful Kashmir, but later found out wasn’t. Anyways, the movie starts to go downhill from here when Roja goes off to pray in a nearby temple and Rishi goes to look for her. He finds Roja, only to get kidnapped by a group of masked men with guns. I find this all to be Roja’s fault and begin to hate her throughout the rest of the movie. She rushes to the police and informs them of what just happened but they fail to understand her even though she was speaking Hindi. This was obviously a dubbing mistake which I later understood that she was supposed be speaking Tamil and the city police/politicians didn’t speak Tamil. The demands of the terrorists were that they would free Rishi only upon the release of Wasim Khan. Roja is portrayed as naïve, selfish, and stupid because she doesn’t care about the country and only wants her husband back. There was a time when a police guy explained to her of the consequences of releasing Wasim Khan, who was evil and murdered a lot of people, but Roja never learned and remains ignorant. Then, there is Rishi, who is the ever patriotic and noble citizen. He never gives in to the terrorists and doesn’t care about Hindus vs. Muslims; he only believes in one thing, that they are all Indians.

The Muslim terrorists want Kashmir for their own and are fighting for their freedom and independence. However, for terrorists, an ordinary man like Rishi is able to beat them all up while handcuffed. This sums up all the corny parts that lead to the infamous “G.I. Joe Flaming Pants” scene where Rishi is putting out the burning Indian flag with his crotch. Some scenes in the movie may seem ridiculous but in the time of its release, Roja was very significant and made a huge impact to Indians and politics. After all of Roja’s plead for Wasim Khan’s release, the nation sympathizes with her and gives in to the terrorists’ demand. The movie portrayed Muslims as the villains and Islam as anti-national, however there are also scenes showing their good side. In Ratnam’s films, like Roja and Dil Se, terrorists are usually the people that are fighting for freedom and independence. In Roja, the terrorists were nice enough to feed Rishi, giving him good hospitality at first, and even saying that the kidnapping was nothing personal.

The movie invokes national pride by reconstructing secular India as Hindu nationalist. Roja is a patriotic love story. The village girl and the city guy uniting is a symbol for the nation coming together. The plot of the movie is like a nation being divided, like Roja and Rishi, and then reuniting in the end. Roja is a symbol for traditional India. She is the allegorical desire in the sense of a selfish state. She is the young bride who is immature but represents those who rebel against their government. Rishi is a symbol for modern India. He was the ordinary middle class person involved in a national conflict. He is patriotic citizen who would rather starve and die than to give in to terrorists. The characters show how simple, descent, and patriotic people can appeal to the human in military and even terrorists. Roja served as symbols of Hindu nationalism with scenes like Rishi putting out the burning flag and his incessant saying of “Jai Hind”, meaning “Hail India”. The film dealt with mostly the middle class, and turned out to be really popular among the middle class audiences. The theme of the movie is humanity and what life is and what it’s worth. In the end, the terrorist understands this by stating to wipe tears instead of causing them.

I didn’t really enjoy the music in the movie but it must be a big deal since it was all composed by Academy Award winner A.R. Rahman. This was Rahman’s first feature film in which he produced the songs. The music was highly praised by fans and critics alike, and went on to win major awards and transformed Rahman into not only India, but also one of the world’s greatest music composers. The music was also one of the firsts in bollywood to have explicit content. The song after Rishi and Roja’s marriage uses explicit ways to express sex. This was a great filmmaking technique to show the village culture as well. To be honest, I did not like the Hindi version we watched of this movie or anything about it and would not recommend it to anyone. Please watch the original Tamil version so it would make sense to first time viewers. Other than that, this movie wasn’t all that good but I highly recommend its follow up, Bombay, which I thought was surprisingly GREAT! I thought this movie was the worst movie we’ve seen thus far because I did not like the actors, the music, the entire plot, and was bored throughout the movie and wanted it to end one hour into the movie. Maybe I would have appreciated it more if I had seen it at the time of its release during the early 90s. But watching it in 2010 was just painful. I guess it was a little less painful than Devdas since it wasn’t black and white. Also, at the end, I kept thinking, “What was the point of this movie?” I didn’t really get the movie until we actually discussed it in class and realized that the whole Hindi dubbing mistake and its importance in the early 90s dealing with Kashmir and turning it into a love story like Titanic and every other movie or love story.

Sholay, Chris Norrod

Chris Norrod

Sholay Film Review

3/7/10

Sholay (Ramesh Sippy) on its most basic level appears to be a standard Western of the American cinema.  It tells the tale of two men that have only each other, set against the isolation of arid, desolate location.  That is until they stumble across a town in distress, and there they find that they had always retained nobility buried inside their cynicism, and become martyrs.  For all the similarities it may possess, there is of course something uniquely Indian about the tale.  All that Sholay shares with the American Western is a central plot, while the character development, themes, and symbolism remain purely Indian.

Veeru (Dharmenda) and Jai (Amitahb Bachchan) are two petty criminals that have been wandering through the dusty Ramanagara of south east India.  They have recently been arrested by a police officer and are being transported to a jail.  The train soon comes under attack by bandits, and here, Jai and Veeru first show that they are truly noble individuals.  The officer is wounded, and rather than flee, they allows themselves to be arrested so the officer could be helped to a hospital.  Though they appear to leave this up to chance by flipping a coin to decide, it is later revealed that Jai had been in control of this “fate” all along.  Veeru and Jai then establish their relationship in the following song sequence.  They roam up a rural road embracing and professing their friendship to each other while riding a motorcycle.  After a comic segment in which Jai and Veeru are arrested and re-arrested, our heroes are then contacted by Thakur, their arresting officer and the man they had saved.  He wants to contract them as bounty hunters; he wants them to bring back a bandit leader that has been terrorizing Thakur’s home village. 

It is strange that it is Veeru and Jai that would be selected for such a mission, and not rather the state.  This could be an element of the period in Indian history.  This movie was released six weeks after Indian Prime Minister Indhira Gandhi had declared the Indian Emergency.  This was period where the Indian state could not control its violence, and it is a band of dacoits that are the antagonist force in Sholay.  The presence of the state throughout the film is small.  It is rather up to the people themselves to find justice and safety.  Jai and Veeru may represent the everyman of the period, whose security is no longer assured and must fend for himself.

 Jai and Veeru accept, and become increasingly involved with the town.  Veeru find love in a talkative cart driver named Basanti, and Raj develops an attraction to the widowed Radha.  Because she is widowed, it is unlucky that the relationship will develop, foreshadowing strife for either Jai or Radha (or both).  Because of Basanti’s talkative and forgetful character, and because Radha is a widow, the women in this film are secondary characters.  The film instead focuses on the male relationship between Veeru and Jai, and their friendship takes precedence over their love interests.  Basanti only serves as motive to drive the Veeru into action against the villains, and from there the male relationship is further developed.

 Sholay also has the “supervillain”, a character that has yet to have made an appearance in Indian cinema.  In our previous films, the villain was always motivated by power or wealth, but Gabbar (Amjad Khan) is truly sadistic.  His motive for raiding the village may have some basis in requisition of provisions, but his actions towards his own men indicate a kind of sadism that has been largely absent from previous villains.

Sholay - Movie Review

Fayaz Ghiasy

Directed by Ramesh Sippy, Sholay has been one of the most analyzed and quoted movies of Indian cinema. It is the highest grossing film in Indian cinema ever which was played for more than five years in some theaters when it first opened.

The movie begins with Thakur Baldev Singh trying to look for two thieves he apprehended long time ago when he was a policeman. Thakur wants the help of these two notorious thieves to get back on Gabbar Singh an infamous dacoit who Thakur put in jail long ago. Gabbar got away from prison and murdered Thakur’s entries family and Thakur now wants the two thieves to find Gabbar and bring him in alive.

Gabbar Singh is one of the most popular villains in Indian cinema and some of his lines are quoted by many. He appears in the movie later then usually villains do in movies, but you hear about his doings from the begging of the movie. Before he appears, he is heard walking on the rocks and his men’s face terrified of him. Some of his most memorable and quoted lines are “Jo dar gaya samjo margaya”, (those that get scared, are dead). “Are o Saambha, kitne admit ay”, how many men were there? “Bahut yaarana lagta hai”, you are hot for each other.

Veeru (Dharmendra) childish funny guy and his friend Jai (Amitabh Bachan), the other thief, are both brought to the village to help the Thakur with Gabbar. And like all other Indian movies there are songs, dancing, comedy, drama, violence. Veeru falls in love with Basanti, and Jai with Thakur’s widowed daughter in law. These four, Dharmendra, Hema, Amitabh, and Jaya were involved with each other also off screen and ended up marrying each other.

Sholay has influenced many blockbusters like Main Hoon Na, Musafir, and Main Pyar Kiya, all of which of either quoted the film or made some kind of reference to Sholay. Some places still continue to run this movie with full theaters, this movie’s songs are still heard in parties and taxis and many other places. They also tried to do a remake of the movie called Aag, but like remakes of any other great movie, Ram Gopa Varma did not get close to what Sholay was. The songs are not as good, the casting, choreography, the emotions drama and thrill are all missing.

I have loved Sholay ever since I first saw it more than 15 years ago and many more times since. The songs, the action, drama, humor, characters, the script, heroes and the villains are all amazing. I think anyone who is interested in Indian cinema should watch this movie, the most quoted, one of the most played and highest grossing film in Indian cimena.

Rachel Newsham

Screening India

Professor Brueck

7 March, 2010

Sholay Film Review

In following the pattern of a “Masala” film, Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay is interwoven with a myriad of issues, each evoking a particular emotion while carrying a weighty message that either directly affirms or opposes the underlying values of Indian society. Through the lens of a strong friendship, the audience is taken for an adventurous ride that touches on several cultural issues and injustices suffered by Indians. Many of these issues are not firmly resolved, but the underlying message is that justice, in the end, will prevail for the greater good.

As a “buddy film,” the focus of this movie is on the relationship between Veeru and Jai, the two main male characters. Veeru and Jai, are brought to a rural village in India where Thakur Singh asks for their help in avenging the death of his family and the loss of both of his arms by going after Gabbar Singh, the villain. Gabbar Singh has set himself up to be a warlord-like figure in the village, demanding a share of their crops while claiming to provide them with protection. Veeru and Jai, common criminals, accept this adventure finding love, sacrifice, and revenge along the way. Although Jai dies in the end, the villain is destroyed and, as typical in Bollywood films, the order of society is restored.

The role of women in this film has been significantly reduced compared to the female roles in the “golden age” era, where women were often a central part of the film. Although their roles are moderate at best, Basanti and Radha contribute important themes to the movie. When they are younger, both female characters are said to be “chatterboxes:” chatty, playful, energetic, and shallow. As the film progresses, the simplicity of their lives is countered by trials and hardships that force them to mature and leave behind their carefree days. In the case of Radha, this is accomplished through her marriage and later through her widowhood. In Basanti’s case, her maturity is realized in the scene where she must keep dancing in order to keep her lover alive. Their roles lend the movie the needed female character that represents the stability of Indian culture and traditions through acts of renunciation and the ultimate protection of their laj, chastity.

Basanti’s role as a widow brings up a significant cultural and religious issue in India. During the Colonial Era, the British pointed out the act of Sati, a practice of a widow immolating herself on the funeral pyre of her husband, as being inhumane and barbarous. Although Sati is now illegal in India, widows are often spurned in Indian society and are rarely allowed to remarry. Jai, aware of the social stigma attached, loves Radha and wants to marry her. When discussing the situation with Veeru, Jai comments: “Even thugs and criminals are given a second chance in life… Radha has done nothing wrong. Has she no right to start life afresh?” Thakur Sing, while discussing the matter with Radha’s father comments further that: “The society and community are meant to save man from loneliness. They’re not meant to isolate someone.”

These statements seem to be very bold for Hindi films. The movie Water was recently banned in India for making too strong of a statement on widowhood in India. Perhaps Sippy is able to get away with this statement by not letting the characters realize their relationship. As Jai lies dying in the arms of Veeru, he looks up at Radha and comments on how their relationship is “yet another incomplete story.” After viewing Jai’s funeral pyre, the melancholy sound of the harmonica leads the gaze of the audience to Radha who closes the window of her house representing the idea that she will never be able to find “color” again.

Imman, as a devote Muslim, was the central religious character within the film. His ultimate purpose is to remind the villagers that they are a community, and to point out the injustices of the villainous characters. His climactic role comes with the murder of his son. Although he only had one son, he claimed that his death was worth sacrificing on behalf of the village and his only regret is that he did not have more sons to give. I thought it odd that the producer gave such a weighty role to a Muslim. I was under the impression that the underlying principal of Bollywood films was to affirm Hinduism as the foundational religion of India. Perhaps this principal is fulfilled by the death of his only son, leaving no kin to carry on his religion.

Marriage also plays an interesting role in Sholay. Unlike Western society, the couple’s fathers traditionally arrange marriages in India. Because Veeru did not have a family member to arrange the marriage for him, he turns to his friend to fill this role. Although this situation is not as modern as a “love-marriage,” it may still be seen as overstepping the traditional customs. Marriage for these two criminals is seen as a turning point in their lives. When discussing the idea of settling down, they mention how their marriage will help them lead “straight and simple” lives. When Veeru asks how they will learn how to wield a plow, Jai answers: “Our vices taught us to wield guns; our virtues will teach us this.” Marriage, having a wife and children, is depicted as the social norm for a man who desires to live a good life.

The songs in Sholay also contributed to “making meaning” within the film. The first song is a song of friendship between Veeru and Jai in which they confess their undying love and devotion to one another. Some have interpreted the different phrases and symbolism throughout the song as opening up a space for homoerotic interpretations. Nonetheless, it is a song that emphasizes the uniquely intimate relationship these two men have for each other. The third song, Mehbooba Mehbooba was an overly sexualized song complete with a profusion of suggestive movements, camera angles, and lyrics that eroticized the female body. Because this song takes place within the villains’ camp, the underlying message may be that villains are so separated from Indian culture to the point where the woman no longer represents traditional values, but is seen merely as a figure of pleasure for men.

I was not sure what to think about the film after watching it. Overall, I was upset by the loose-ended messages that were presented and my inability to understand the deeper meanings, but it was also a very enjoyable film. Although the film brought up many important issues, it seemed to quickly glance over them and move on. Perhaps this is the only acceptable avenue for Indian film producers to make a political statement. Regardless, I enjoyed the Western-like setting with the wide-open countryside, rough terrain, and musical addition of the harmonica. It added a special dynamic to this film of revenge, making it more accessible to those familiar with Westerns. I also appreciated the promotion of fulfilling one’s duty over getting carried away by one’s emotions. I would definitely recommend this film to others.