Sunday, September 25, 2011

Mausam and Misfortune

Pankaj Kapur, the highly acclaimed actor of ‘Maqbool’, ‘Karamchand’, ‘Office Office’ fame lures you into watching the first day first show of his directorial debut ‘Mausam’.

‘Mausam’ begins much like several Yashraj blockbusters, in the heartland of sadda Punjab. The funjabi Harry (Shahid Kapoor) spends his day singing ‘tutak tutak tutak tootiya’, chewing sugarcane and performing daredevil stunts in his car while chasing a train with his bros, just how an average village bwoy would unwind in the 90’s.

Harry falls madly,deeply and passionately in love with a seedhi saadhi Kashmiri girl Aayat(Sonam Kapoor). Their young love blossoms on rainy terraces and sarson ke khets (when Harry is not jumping from one terrace to another to catch a glimpse of his beloved). The lovebirds delight in looking at each other through binoculars, passing chits and smiling coyly as they whisper sweet nothings to one another. The endearing part of this movie ends here.

As the director goes forth with his mission of trying to squeeze in every possible act of violence (communal or otherwise) in this 3 hour long saga of eternal love, the plot is unfortunately lost. In the backdrop of political and religious upheavals like the Babri masjid demolition, the Kargil war, 9/11, the Godhara riots etc the lovers meet and part several times.

Harry - the pre-pubescent, chikna boy transforms into Sq. leader Harrinder Singh a suave, chivalrous, fake tanned, aviator-ed macho alpha male who is now an IAF officer. Meanwhile, Aayat is shown taking dance lessons amongst petite ballerinas. Ideally, Sonam Kapoor’s massive bone structure would be of no help when trying to master the art of pirouettes, and a pilot saying ‘I like your bird, it flies well’ ought to have been slapped but since when have hindi movies been governed by logic?

The fact that the movie is aesthetically pleasing cannot be denied. Both Sonam and Shahid Kapoor look their parts and Binod Pradhan’s sublime cinematography does pleasantly surprise one from time to time. The beauty of Punjab and Scotland is emphasized by long shots taken in amazing locations. But nothing saves the movie from its rather ridiculous end.

Harry’s left arm is paralyzed a la Rochester from Jane Eyre. But like a true blue filmy hero Harry risks his life to save the life of a screeching infant stuck on a Ferris wheel during the Gujarat riots, winning the eternal devotion of his saree clad heroine. One of the last scenes of the movie has Harry, Aayat, the rescued kid moving into the dark and a shaadi ka ghoda following them.

Where the director loses his focus and turns into an indulgent father trying to pull off another ‘Koi mil gaya’ for his son is hard to tell. Pankaj Kapur’s directorial venture had the potential of being one of the biggest blockbusters of 2011 but sadly for the audiences who waited with baited breath for this movie’s release and the producers who invested crores in this project this movie is perhaps as disappointing as Himesh reshamiya’s hair rebonding or Madhuri dixit’s comeback.

The National Award winning actor robs you of 3 hours of your precious life and 200 rupees that you will never be able to reclaim. So, boys and girls learn from my mistake and run away while you still can but if you insist on punishing yourself then sit at home and watch ‘From Prada to Nada’ instead.

4 comments:

  1. I'm so disappointed! I was all ready to go crazy fan-girl on a Shahid Kapoor movie and now I don't even have the heart to watch it-- everyone's trashed it so much.
    And given how Sonam Kapoor can't even execute a couple of Bhangra steps correctly, ballet's a major bit of wishful thinking.
    Damn!
    Should have watched it before people had a chance to become vocal about what a terrible movie it is!

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  2. -_- and I was looking forward to it.. Damn.

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  3. Haha too late !
    I already saw it & even forced my father to come along.

    Needless to say,wasn't a very wise decision on my part. :P

    PS : Write more often, you are hilarious ! :)

    Happy New Year <3

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  4. hehehe glad i didnt watch it..lol :)

    nice blog..

    http://cerebralrendezvous.blogspot.com/

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