Caught ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ on the weekend, was propelled to the theatre by the cast – Kay Kay, Irrfan, Paresh Rawal, Vijay Maurya. I’m not going to attempt a review, and will limit the post to a few nuggets and a strong recommendation to go watch the movie. I think the movie worked for me because almost all the lead characters were ones I could identify or empathise with.
Vijay Maurya (Dawood in Black Friday, Jam K in the horrible ‘Bombay to Bangkok.. hmm, thats a coincidence, all the 3 movies have a Mumbai link) for his rage and helplessness against the system he is part of.
Irrfan, for the agony that he feels, on the way he, as a citizen from the lower strata of the economy, is treated by those more fortunate than him, but for still retaining the innate goodness of his character.
Kay Kay, for the indignation and the impulsive mistrust of Muslims.
Paresh Rawal (bless the director and scriptwriter for reminding me of the original Paresh Rawal, the one before the morass of his recent movies and Priyadarshan happened to his career) for the cynicism and acceptance of the system he is part of, but still retaining a part of himself that can be stung by someone pointing this out to him. His cynicism is just amazing. Check out this nugget, “Arre, blast ke baad agar bar khule nahi rahenge, to Mumbai ka spirit kahan se aayega” and the part where he says (to paraphrase) ” a long time ago, we joined seven islands to make Mumbai. After the 7 blasts on 7/11, I felt we were being split into 7 again”
But most importantly, Madhavan, the 30+ corporate executive, who refuses to buy a car because he does not want to contribute to the city’s pollution, who refuses to take up opportunities abroad because of a sense of patriotism, who advises a roadside vendor to stop using plastic….
I could identify a lot with the last character, especially when he is shown doubting the choices he has made as well as his sticking with them, as people close to him berate him, doubting whether an individual can make a difference. A doubt that forces him to ask his NRI friend, on his India visit, whether he’s really happy there…the conversation that follows, that highlights how human beings are in the same situation across the globe. And one that reinforced a personal belief for me, happiness is within me, and the most important battles I have to win, are those against myself.
until next time, exorcise demons daily
Nice site. There
have to watch this. Bachna e haseeno and singg is kingg (i don’t know which alphabets they repeated. I just remember some of them were and I am doing whatever I want.)were not as good as i expected.
in the last hour, this is the second recommendation I am getting for Mumbai… will try to catch it 🙂
dekhneka ? paisa vasool?
Tough to do, that last line.
I got goosebumps while reading this post…more so when I read the last para …I guess there exist 2 kind of people ..one who listen to themselves , face life , take the message and keep moving on ..thye might doubt themselves but thats natural because unless u question and experience it the foundation of what u learn wont be strong …its the essence of struggle ..and the other kind who never do the above ..either they never try or they give up far to easily..and thats how the drama of life unfolds ..as someone wisely said to me Shruti ..learn to live in the moment ..can u derive happiness from the moment ..that has left me wondering ..that I need to truly be in the here and the now and life suddenly becomes so beautiful ..and happiness is always a matter of perspective …
rick : thx
arunima: hoping to catch ‘rock on’ next weekend..should be good 🙂
kunal: must 🙂
austere: vasool and dividend 🙂 ..yes, agree 😐
shruti: true.. we are but a stream of consciousness 🙂