Salaam Bollywood: A mixed bag of films

Eros Pictures is the most happening producer of recent times juggling different subjects together and making them a success. They made a success of an offbeat ‘Badlapur’, followed by a controversial ‘NH10’, rocked with ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ and now presents a gem of a Bengali film, ‘Belaseshe- In The Autumn of My Life’ co-directed by Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy. Released in West Bengal on May 1, the film has been running house-full in cinema halls for over six weeks.

In Mumbai, special screenings were arranged for many senior stars including Waheeda Rehman and Asha Parekh. Amitabh Bachchan watched it and extensively tweeted about it. This is a heart-rending tale of an ageing businessman Biswanath Majumdar who decides to divorce his 66-year-old wife Aarati after 49 successful years of marriage. The movie projects the complexities of human relationships – marriage and social perceptions. Starring the renowned Bengali actors Soumitra Chatterjee, Swatilekha Sengupta, Rituparna Sengupta, Indrani Dutta, Shankar Chakrabarthy, it is a must-watch film for all married couples.

I recommend Shoojit Sarcar make the subject in Hindi starring Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan.

In Mumbai there were special screenings for many superstars and Amitabh Bachchan loved the film. So did Asha Parekh and Waheeda Rehman among many others.

In the olden days, if the artistes did not shoot for a single day, they were considered losers. Today, if an artiste does not take regular breaks he is considered a loser. Then artistes in between films spent time with family or went on holidays. Today, actors use their break time to pursue their passion, thus using their time productively. A few years ago when Tabu was not doing films, she enrolled in a French class, a language she always wanted to learn. Farhan Akhtar learnt to play guitar because he always wanted to master an instrument and this came in handy when he played a musician in ‘Rockstar’. Rumour has it that Ameesha Patel of ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hain’ fame, who is not seen on the big screen these days; is learning Latin and Ballroom dancing from choreographer Sandip Soparrkar.

Sandip, is well-known for his choreography in ‘7 Khoon Maaf’, ‘Mangal Pandey’ and ‘Kites’ among others, and has popularised Bollywood dance on international platforms. He choreographed icons like Britney Spears and Madonna and groomed Bollywood stars like Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Kajol, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan among others. His current student is Ameesha Patel.

It is not that difficult because Ameesha is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer and is now learning Salsa, Jive, Cha-Cha-Cha, Samba, Tango and Waltz. Ameesha says, Sandip is an expert in Latino styles of dancing. “Dancing is a feeling of divinity and more important, is to enjoy the experience.”

Sandip Soparrkar says, Ameesha is focused and pays attention to techniques. He is confident the audience will soon get to watch her play the role of a dancer in a film soon.

Monsoon is a time for film festivals. As MAMI Jiyo goes all out with their plans, the Jagran Film Festival begins in New Delhi’s Siri Fort Auditoria from July 1. JFF screens films across genres, documentaries and world classics apart from student films and ad films. An important aspect of the festival is to generate a discussion on the various aspects of cinema and its impact on society and popular culture participated by prominent members of the fraternity.

The opening film this year is a clash between tradition and modernity ‘Masaan’ -- winner of two prestigious awards the FIPRESCI, International Jury of Film Critics prize and Promising Future prize in the Un-Certain Regard section follows the stories of several individuals in Benares, the holy city on the banks of the Ganges.

After the unnecessary debate on Marathi films in multiplexes, all is hunky-dory with the Hindi and the Marathi industries. There are no clashes between distributors at the theatres and no clash between the artistes either. This makes one wonder, “Where was the need for all the hue and cry in the social and electronic media?” Frankly, there was never any acrimony between the artistes’ cause and the actors always stood by each other on creative issues. Recently, Anil Kapoor was invited to release the first look of producer Vijayshree Patil's first production ‘Manatlya Unhat’ directed by Pandurang Jadhav and Anil was all praise for the entire team. ‘Manatlya Unhat’ is an engaging story about the new generation, their dreams and how they impact the life of their parents. “The film is sensitive and substantial and will prove to be path-breaking in social dramas,” concluded Anil Kapoor.

‘Secondhand Husband’ released with Dharmendra and Punjab superstar-cum-singer, Gippy.

Gippy tells me that he started his career as a singer. He then graduated to telling the story of a film in a song on stage with all the requisite drama, and finally ventured into a feature film as a hero. Now his producer has faith that Gippy can be introduced to Hindi films, provided Gippy plays a Punjabi boy. That is how the story of ‘Secondhand Husband’ has been packaged. For Gippy, this has been the most enriching experience of his life – to work with an enthusiastic team and have the love and admiration of senior star Dharmendra. He says that Dharam Paaji treats him like his son Bobby and this is something he will never forget his entire life.

- Bhawana Somaaya / @bhawanasomaaya