Waiting for the year to come to an end, and two biggies still to go, just a few stray thoughts:
When films aim more at the box-office revenue than at quality or audience satisfaction, then every time a film does not do as well as expected, the filmmakers have to take great pains to prove that it was actually a hit… but does anyone care? The audiences that bought tickets already spent their money. If the film didn’t work for them, they won’t get it back.
Why did so many people howl in protest over the suspense in Talaash being revealed? In any case, after the first show on the first day, nothing remains secret any more. Why do stars today make such a big show of altering their appearance for a film? Firstly, they are paid enough to take some pains for their parts; secondly, actors from the realistic school of acting did this year ago… Shabana Azmi, for instance, put on weight to play a brothel madam in Mandi, and lost it to play a waif-ish character in Khandhar. So what’s the big deal if Imran Khan did workshops to learn to speak in Haryanvi style? Naseeruddin Shah did accents and dialects for any film that required it. His Parsi character in Pestonji is still remembered by those who saw the film.
The intense, often bitter rivalry between the top three Khans seems to be rubbing off on the rest of the industry, their leading ladies in particular. Actresses have enough to worry about in any case, why add pettiness to the list?
It is a good thing or bad, that well known theatre actors are being cast in bit roles in big movies. Shernaz Patel has a proper role in Talaash, but Shivani Tanksale, Suruchi Aulakh, Tariq Vasudeva are too talented for inconsequential roles.
Happy to know that Om Puri is back in theatre seriously… When an actor like him gets to play Nana Patekar’s father in a lousy film like Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal, it’s time for him to reclaim his dignity. That voice was meant for theatre.
Happy to know that Divya Dutta is giving theatre another shot too, the first round (a forgettable play called Mujhe Rang De) was not a happy experience; her talent deserves more exposure.
Even happier to know that Paresh Rawal’s Kishan vs Kanhaiya is still raking it in, even after the film Oh My God was a hit. And finally, if it wasn’t for Naseeruddin Shah, the Mumbai theatre scene would be very dull indeed.
The stage connection doesn’t end there... reports have it that Rekha is doing a film based on a famous play Baa Ae Mari Boundary that starred Padmarani in the lead. Actually, if actresses over 40, fed-up of getting poor roles (or no roles) in movies looked around, they’d find great parts for women in theatre. Lillete Dubey has hit the right notes.
Joke doing the rounds: The Mayans were right, the world will end in 2012 – Dabangg 2 is releasing!