The League of 'Extra'-ordinary Films (April, 2004)

A weekend studded with two extra-ordinary films.Indeed we are witnessing the quintessential winds of change in Bollywood..and a long overdue one at that. But the question remains whether the change is for a pareto superior state or not. The much awaited Boom, Kaizad Gustad's second venture after Bombay Boys, would only count in that respect, if Vilfred Pareto would have either been the iconoclastic intellectual or the cleavage-hungry front bencher. If he belonged to the quasi-elitist wannabe middle class, very much like yours truly...the film falls flat on its face. For the rising middle class in contemporary India likes change within the parameters of norms..a linear combination of the expected and the unexpected (Matrix was a hit due to its special effects and shock value arising from a non-linear plot..make no mistake about the fact that it was an aberration). The class, which prides itself in a discussion of films with a patchy base of film festival and cineplex stuff, appreciates nevertheless, a story well told.Boom,in the absence of a concrete script, fails on that account. The performances are again expectedly different as per the eerie undertone the film maintains throughout. The histrionic abilities of the three super models are blatantly inadequate and even the ample show of their USPs seem contrived.(Though it will undoubtedly affect the collections ). This even overshadows the moments of relatively adequate elegance of the otherwise jaded Big B and the loud whackiness of Javed Jaffrey. Jackie Shroff...again fails leave a mark. In all, the film is definitely 'extra' ordinary,and would have been a whole lot better if it tried to optimise the suffix.Infact, despite the immense physical effort of the models, the fact that the film flatters to deceive, makes this film a booby trap which should be avoided by like-minded people as yours truly.
Coming to the second extra ordinary film, the usage according to me should emphatically positive. For Jogger's Park is a film which according to me is the third best film to be released in India in 2003, after Teen Deewaarein and Samay. Maintaining a delicate tone throughout(apart from the indiscriminate use of Uthup vocals as the title song in the initial part and that of Adnan Sami's 'Ishq hota nahin' which sounds suspiciously like 'Yaad na jaaye' from Dil Ek Mandir, in the latter), the film delivers where Silsila failed. Both chickened out at the climax, but Jogger's Park established the short story of love outside the novel of marriage as something which, as Tagore put it, defies termination despite physical end. And one of the finest actors we ever had, a certain Mr.Victor Banerjee, contributes in no mean measures to that.Watch out for his facial muscles in two scenes-the kheer wallah scene at the end and the last scene at the airport. Even his confusions and dilemmas and his return to adolescence is handled with aplomb and points out to certain super actors that you can emote sensitively without without being epileptic about it. Right from the start when he held his own against one of the greatest of them all in Dui Prithibi, and plastered another great in Ghare Baire, the doctor from A Passage To India trail blazes the silver screen. Once again. Perizaad is competent (discounting for the accented hindi) and this love story between a 62 year old retired judge and a 24 year bohemian femme fatale is probably one of the brightest feathers in Mukta Arts and Mr.Ghai's cap. Though his is a generally loud sense of music, here relief comes in form of a Jagjit ghazal and a peppy Asha number, both quite good. Add to that Usha Uthup's zest and modulation in the title track and Tabun, after his two minute fame with Yash, makes a decent comeback. The director, Anant Balani, however tragically passed away before he could see the fruits of his labour. His short but remarkable stint in Caribbean Lawrence Rowe-ish mould will remain as one of the unique chapters in Bollywood.