Posted by Sari
It is no
accident that Om in Om Shanti Om is reborn as Om
Kapoor. Not only are the Kapoors royalty of Indian cinema, there are a number
of actors and actresses with the same name not related to The Clan. This was
brought home to us on Sunday when we were watching two movies with rising stars
starring Ranbir, Sonam, Shahid and Kareena Kapoor. Now, Ranbir is son of Rishi Kapoor, 1970s
hearthrob, Kareena is Ranbir's first cousin, daughter of Rishi’s big brother
Randhir. Sonam Kapoor on the other hand is not related to Ranbir or Kareena,
but is the daughter of another famous actor, Anil Kapoor. And Shahid (whose
name is sometimes translitterated as Kapur) is again wholly unrelated to all
the other Kapoors. It is almost as bad as all the Khans!
First film
we watched was Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s latest which lost the Diwali box office
battle to Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om. Bhansali’s movies are always sumptious
affairs, but Saawariya really goes above and beyond his previous films in its
color-coded, artificialness. Its like moghuls meet Disney’s idea of Venice in Switzerland. Everything happens at night so the
palette is blues and greens with some dark red. The story seems somehow like an
afterthought. Ranbir is a poor musician playing in a night-club. Sonam is a
girl waiting on a bridge for his lover. They meet, Ranbir falls in love but
will Sonam love him back? It is awful pretty but that is about it. Neither of the Kapoors can really carry the movie, and though there was a general feeling of a
fairy tale about the movie, the relentless visual artificiality does make one
yearn for a glimpse of bright natural colours. So despite the equal opportunity
objecifying and Rani’s excellent performance as the
hooker with the heart of gold, I still have to say it was not a keeper.
The Second
movie of the evening Jab We Met starred Shahid and Kareena Kapoor which, again
had not that much plot. Shahid’s dad died and his ex married someone else, so
just walks out of his life and on to a train where he meets a madcap Sikh girl
Kareena who is on her way home to Punjab and is plannig to elope with his boyfriend. It is
basically a modern indian take on1930s screwball comedies. And I think it works
beautifully despite the mountain of cliches. I have always liked Kareena and
Shahid was truly excellent in his Gary Grantish role. The music has been a hit
for a good reason, and I just have a soft spot for filmi punjabis always having
a party.
Eating Muffins 