Haider

Directed by: Vishal Bhardwaj

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Shraddha Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon, Irrfan Khan

Released: 2014

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

What to say? Everybody loved Haider. Or not? Everybody praised it. Or not? Perhaps there is still hope that others, just like me, ended up confused and uncomfortable as the closing titles rolled and Rekha Bhardwaj sang. Few things which distinctly stuck in my mind were the way pain and innocence on Shahid Kapoor´s handsome face transforming into insanity, the song picturized on the undertakers and then also the pristine, elf-like beauty which seems to radiate from Shraddha Kapoor´s very being. Then I also recall being grossed out at unnecessary gore and blood, and how I hate open endings.

Haider was probably the MOST universally praised movie of 2014, but somehow failed to click with me as a viewer. I am therefore unsure of even how to rate it. On one hand one has to admit this was something very unusual and as such a risk for a prolific Bollywood filmmaker, no matter what his previous track record. It also cannot be denied that the movie is extremely well acted, is well crafted. And finally this is what a good adaptation should look like – taking the essentials, directly referring to the original inspiration through the dialogues and even imagery, but still adding different background, contemporary touch and even its own twist. Oh - the two Salmans and their version of Mere Rang Mein was funny.

Yet for all this I could not bring myself to like the film. It disturbed me, but not moved me. I tried hard to immerse into the world of the characters, but for all my good will I remained a detached viewer. Part of it, at least in the beginning, probably has to do with me not having enough knowledge on the situation in Kashmir during the 90s. I felt it all a bit hazy as the bearded men wielding firearms kept running across the screen. Tabu´s large tragic eyes were completely believable, but for all her sadness I shed not a single tear for Ghazala (and I am a total crybaby. Like seriously, sometimes a simple happy hug on screen can turn me into a sobbing mess). Perhaps the realistic approach went against the film in the end, making it so credible I started longing for at least a bit of the damned escapist cinema. The songs were unnecessary (and quite forgettable), except for the theatrical Bismil, a take on the staged play from the original. Bhardwaj did better job as a composer this very year with Dedh Ishqiya. I also felt the movie was dragging, especially in the first half, and I made more than five breaks meanwhile.

What makes the experience worth it is without a doubt Haider himself – Shahid Kapoor in his best form post Kaminey. He becomes the character, leaving no trace of his stardom anywhere, not even as he dances with extreme energy and grace to „Bismil“. I do not think any other actor could match up to his standard in the scene when we for the first time see him „loosing his mind“, with a noose around his neck. Tabu and Irrfan Khan are both very good, though I perhaps expected something more from the former, given the amount of praise. Me and Tabu still have a long way to go, this being the first film where she actually does some acting. Kay Kay Menon is excellent. Shraddha Kapoor seems bit of a lost baby among others, but does a decent job, even though her character is only needed as a source of plot triggers (which do not even concern her).

I suppose that when asked, I am going to say that Haider is a good film. Just not really what I would watch repeatedly. Among Vishal Bhardwaj films I very much prefer his other Shakespearean venture in the form of Omkara, and at the cost of comitting a sacrilege, I would even give more points to his (often condemned) 7 Khoon Maaf.  

Ek Villain

Directed by: Mohit Suri

Starring: Siddhart Malhotra, Shraddha Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh

Released: 2014

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

Unlike others I was not smitten with Mohit Suri´s “Aashiqui 2”, mostly because the lead characters were dumbasses. And while the level of dumbassness is not reached, Ek Villain still makes you raise your eyebrows quite a few times. (Unofficial) remake of a Korean movie I Saw the Devil (which Mohit Suri with a “How to Bollywood” handbook in hand switfly denied), that has received much praise from all sides, either did not stay true to the original, or the original itself needed an improvement on logic. Still, there was something about the story, which in spite of all, made it work.

The premise is rather simple: once upon a time a cold-blooded murderer himself, Guru fell in love and married the spunky Aisha and they were happy. But then Aisha is brutally murdered and Guru sets his mind on revenge. But who is the killer? Why did he do it? Was it a contract, a vengeance from the past? Or was Aisha simply on the wrong place in the wrong time that day? There is no mystery at all to the film, which took me by surprise as I had expected lots of twists and turns, while in fact everything is neatly lined up from the very beginning. The responsibility of a task to engage the viewer thus lies with the storytelling, which is done by numerous use of flashbacks. The screentime is quite evenly distributed among “then” and “now”, but it is never difficult to understand in which time period we are at a given moment.

The problematic bits of the film are the ones that make little to no sense. For example why in the world would a girl want to hire a man she knows nothing about (and who makes quite clear he is a ruthless killer) for one of her funny plots (why does she need to hire anyone for that matter since there seems to be no job actually)? Why does the police not arrest a man who they know is a murderer, and instead let him kill innocent women (WTF)? Why is not the police officer who risks the lives of civilians to pursue a stupid personal agenda still employed? What in the world is Aisha´s illness and how the heck does she get completely healthy after the doctors have given up on her?I could go on and on.

The reason why I liked the film in spite of all the stuff mentioned right above, is because it manages to set the mood well. Unlike most of Bollywood horrors, Ek Villain has considerable unsettling quotient, perhaps because the murderer kills with terrifying ease and clarity. The explanation for his behaviour is simple and effective. Riteish Deshmukh shines in this role like never before. His usually twinkling eyes and dorky cuteness made way to a dead gaze and expression which strangely mixes frustration and inner turmoil, even pain at times. The film belongs to him.

Siddhart Malhotra is presented in an image quite different from his previous two films, and much like in Hasee Toh Phasee he shows much promise. Sure, his face is so impossibly beautiful that it never bruises even after serious blows to it, neither it manages to be completely in agreement with his voice and situation, but the potential is slowly conquering the walls of inexperience. His character of Guru is not properly developed – a glimpse into his childhood may have been enough, but more of his criminal past should have been shown, the danger he represents more enhanced. After all, this is advertised as “a love story of a villain”, but Guru remains a conventional hero who had been wronged so let´s forgive him every crime he had commited. 

Shraddha Kapoor, a girl who is also as beautiful as a summer dream, got on my nerves for good 40 minutes. Why does Bollywood believe that a spunky, free thinking girl always needs to do silly things, talk loud and jump like a monkey all around? As the film progresses Aisha becomes bearable (and she is definitely better than what Shraddha did last year in Aashiqui 2). She is the weakest performance in the movie – even surpassed by Kamaal R. Khan in his (thank God) small role. Then again he plays a complete asshole so I guess he just slipped into his own routine.

Just long enough, moving in parts, silly in others, still more thrilling than majority of Bollywood thrillers, Ek Villain may be a less worthy (and less violent, which is actually a plus) copy of a Korean film, but among the 2014 films it stands reasonably strong.

Aashiqui 2

Directed by: Mohit Suri

Starring: Aditya Roy Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor

Released: 2013

Verdict: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

I still don´t get the massive appeal of Adiya Roy Kapoor among girls, but while he may have not gained another stan in me, Aashiqui 2 did managed to get a special entry into my „good Bollywood films of 2013“ book. It reminded me why 90s films, often flawed and far from perfect, are still ruling over hearts. It is not just about the technical aspects or acting, it is always about the story and the way it is told. Aashiqui 2 feels VERY 90s to me, and in a certain way reminded me of the first Aashiqui, even though it had nothing in common with it in terms of story, neither were there any references. I think it was the passionate love that just wants to exists, and also that the two leads are (were – till the film released) not well-known and not exactly great actors.

First Aashiqui was basically about jealousy on the professional level (where the boy couldn´t cope with the fact his girlfriend had a successful career – unlike him. Booo.) and judging by the first part of the film, I assumed it would be the same case for this one as well. A famous singer Rahul, who likes to see the bottom of the bottle, meets a beautiful, yet unsuccessful bar singer Aarohi. Taken by her voice and simplicity he decides that she should get a chance to become a superstar, and it doesn´t take him much to convince her to come to Mumbai. After few (later proven insignificant) blunders along the way Aarohi is the new sensation while Rahul himself is quickly fading away from the public mind and his career seems to have reached a dead end. Being jealous of a girlfriend would be in place, no?

It is not so though. We are not concerned about something as shallow and superficial. Love between the two protagonists has something not many movies can portray – purity. This is a love story that doesn´t waver. It stands strong. For better and for poorer. And not even death does them part, even though one of them stops breathing. In a way it reminds one of Rockstar (2011), which was even higher on emotion, passion and self-destruction, but the love in Rockstar has lot of selfishness to it. Aashiqui 2 love has none of it. It is a love of caring and sacrifice face to face in a fight with alcoholism.

However all these lovely (and painful) feelings I am having as I write come almost exclusive from the point in the story when Rahul for the first time fully admits he has a serious drinking problem and asks Aarohi to help him. That was the exact moment when I finally felt love between the characters, until then a lot spoken about but not shown in a manner that would move me. The film, for a long time, is actually rather boring. It is the last 40 or so minutes that arrive with emotions a viewer can really share.

Aditya Roy Kapoor is not a bad actor, and he does his job well, he however lacks screen presence for me, neither do I find him an eye-candy. Shraddha Kapoor, whom I previously loved in Luv Ka The End, is extremely lovely to look at, having a gentle grace of vintage actresses, sadly her dialogue delivery completely sucks (to the point I wonder if she was dubbed in LKTE) and is so monotonous it makes one cringe. She saves her performance by emoting with her eyes and face, but she will indeed have to work hard.

Since the first Aashiqui film was more about music than anything else, a lot was expected from this particular soundtrack. Does it deliver? Oh yes. All the songs are good, several deserve the label of beautiful. But ultimately on the music level the original film reminds to be way ahead of the sequel in terms or being memorable.