Monday, July 14, 2008

The Tale of Two Movies

So finally today I saw the pakistani movie "Khuda Ke Liye", after a lot of procrastination and boy am I glad I saw it !! A stirring movie, if a little controversial in its interpretation of Islam but then again anything about Islam does tend to cause a little controversy, it depicts the problems faced by Islam in todays world. Two musicians, brothers, in Pakistan from a progressive well to do family go on different paths as one falls under the influence of a mullah and joins the taliban while the other goes to the US to pursue his music. Meanwhile a British Pakistani man marries off his daughter to the younger brother, her cousin, the one who joined Taliban in a rural part of Pakistan to stop her from marrying a british 'gora' (white guy). The other brother in US marries a girl he meets there but after 9/11 is abducted by the FBI on suspicion of terrorism and is tortured. Will Mary, the British girl married off against her will, be able to escape and return to Britain ? What happens to the guy being tortured in the US, will he get justice ? You have to watch the movie to see for yourself how it pans out. One thing I can assure is that you wont be disappointed. Featuring a special appearance by Naseeruddin Shah, the film is full of memorable moments, and though the cast doesn't do a spectacular job, they are borne out by the script. I mean, the acting is not bad at all, its actually rather good in patches but then the powerful storyline makes up for it. And in my opinion, I dont think any of our Bollywood mainstream heroes could have done justice to the script as much as the present cast did. All in all a beautifully made film and worth watching every minute.
Oh yeah I also saw the much hyped Jaane Tu ..ya Jaane Naa . Well lets just say its not a scratch on the abovementioned film. But then again its not meant to be. It is the cliched boy loves girl but doesnt know it / doesnt have the guts to say it until and unless she decides to go to America, and then chases her to the airport. But this done to death storyline is well handled in this film and it turns out to be thoroughly enjoyable. A good beginning for the actors, and yeah Genelia is cute. You get your moneys worth, I think, though I may be wrong as i saw it in a rundown theater and it didnt cost me much, then again my day was made thanks to Naseeruddin Shah (again) who, in a special appearance as a guy who is dead but for some reason or the other seems to fancy dancing around in his portriat, makes a priceless expression which is a mixture of pride, glee and happiness when his son is arrested by the cops. I almost shit myself laughing at that expression. You know that bears out my theory that its these small things in life that usually gang up to make your day. Then again, an enjoyable watch, but I'd rather watch "Khuda Ke Liye" anyday. Or maybe.. uhh I dont know... well watch both the films. But then Khuda Ke Liye is one of those films, in my opinion, that a person should watch atleast once.

Okay Okay is it just me or does that song "Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Zindagi" (admittedly a very catching song) sound eerily similar to "Appudo Ippudo" telegu song in Bomarillu.

NOTE : I have NOT seen the movie but I HAVE heard the song as have most other people in my college for mostly the geographical diversity of the students.

2 comments:

Arun said...

Hmm, I have not watched both films, I am a little scary of bollywood, but thanks to your review I'll try to watch them- esp KKL.Anyway, nice review.

BTW, Aamir (film) has a similar theme, I guess.

Palkush Rai Chawla said...

I had exactly the same reaction after watching Khuda Ke Liye...