Lajja (2001): item numbers & eye candy, or could I say aankhon ladoo?

Yaar!

I watched Lajja (2001) (translation: Shame) and got carried away with the screen capping knowing I must do a post.  Yet what to post when I see the wonderful bloggers have already said it so well?  You know I specialize in the more superficial enjoyment of all films, so I’ll share my likes here by showing some photos and focusing on the item numbers, but please go and see the great reviews and thoughtful insight on Lajja at the post punk cinema club, Upperstall, Filmi Geek and at philip’sfil-ums.

Starring as pictured above Manisha Koirala (Vaidehi); Madhuri Dixit (Janki); Mahima Choudhary (Maithili); and Rekha (Ramdulaari).  All four of the woman stars have a form of Sita for their name.

Epithets: In common with other major figures of epic literature, Sita is known by many epithets. As the daughter of king Janaka, She is called Janaki; as the princess of Mithila, Mythili or Maithili; as the wife of Raama, She is called Ramaa. Her father Janaka had earned the sobriquet “Videha” due to his ability to transcend body consciousness; Sita is therefore also known as Vaidehi (Vaidehi Vaydehi, or Vaithegi) (Sanskrit: वैदेही)). (source) Thanks to Philip’sfil-ums, I know that Ramdulaari (Rekha’s part) tranlates to Ram’s darling.

This is a girl power film, and unfortunately there’s certainly large amount of misandry, (and misogeny, go figure) but worry not since there are some super male heros played by the always satisfying Anil Kapoor and Ajay Devgan to help tip the scales back in the favor of good men. Even super bad guy played by Jackie Shroff is redeemed by movie’s end. The film opens with this statement by the director:

The music numbers covered here are all written by Anu Malik. Choreographer Ganesh Acharya puts together 3 wonderful dances which serve to hold the sometimes disjointed picture together. Ganesh Acharya really does some provocative choreography with Urmila Matondkar here, clearly showing life in the fast lane at an American nightclub. I did wonder a bit about the reason for putting those masks on the background dancers, but why not?  Jazz hands! Can one really ever get enough of the jazz hand?  I think not, so I had to share not one, but two screen caps of the jazz hand:

Aa Hi Jaiye with playback singer Anuradha Sriram picturized on Urmila  Matondkar:

Our story starts with Vaidehi (Manisha Koirala) who finds herself married to a womanizing millionaire crorepati and living in the wicked west, New York City that is. You can see in the item number above the loose moral environment Vaidehi’s husband subjects her to. It’s all about the sex, drinking and money for her evil husband played by Jackie Shroff, but Vaidehi herself must keep up the family name.  Vaidehi makes her plea for a moral lifestyle and he won’t stand for it and ships her back to Hindustan. Of course there’s retribution for the husband’s evil ways and after sending Vaidehi back to Bharat he gets in an auto accident, rendering him impotent. Ha! Well we see that even the very rich, amidst their leaded crystal laden mansions in the USA have problems!

But…lekin, there is a simple solution! Evil father ( Suresh Oberoi ) suggests:

Meanwhile back in the safe arms of India, Vaidehi meet a bandit with a heart of gold played by Anil Kapoor, who is called a biscuit wallah and scoundrel here:

In order to hide from her husband’s men hunting her down, Raju (Anil Kapoor) andVeidehi crash a wedding and blend among the crowd.  It’s there they meet the bride to be Maithili (Mahima Choudhary)and meet her snobbish in laws. Look at Maithili’s sweet mother (Farida Jalal) be snubbed in her gift offering:

The bride has an admirer who I thought tried to imitate yesteryear actor Johnny Walker. The second great item number is Saajan Ke Ghar Jaana with playback singers Alka Yagnik and Richa Sharma, picturized on the lovely Sonali Bendre:

Eventually Vaidehi makes her way to another safe haven, where she meets Janki (Madhuri Dixit ) who is an actress. Her first exposure to Janki is her acting out a seen on stage from the 1960 epic Mughal-e-Azam .

How can you not adore Madhuri?  The third item number is Badi Mushkil with playback singer Alka Yagnik,picturized on Madhuri and Manisha:

That’s all the fun we get because Janki finds herself pregnant out of wedlock and her fiance is made to question her virtue by her Ravana-esque manager.  So when she’s doing her staged performance of Ramayana, she asks why should Sita  have to do the trial by fire to prove her virtue, why not Ram?

Backstage she continues to share what’s on her heart and mind:

Now that’s a great question, but I guess she forgot she was in India. It’s more than just an elephant in the room, it’s the elephant in the country.  The aftermath of the big question about equality has predictable results in a man’s world:

The crowd beats Janki and as a result she miscarries.  Infuriated, Vaidehi goes to confront the evil, gossiping, lecherous pervert manager of Janki and get a load of what she says:

Yeah!  She said it! Vaidehi escapes that mess and finds yet another safe haven with  Rekha’s Ramdulaari. Do you see how in Rekha’s world they keep it real, cow dung patties drying on the wall.  Now that says “village!”

And while I speak of cow dung patties, here’s a photo I took of some I saw on my trip to India:

Back to Rekha and Manisha and their suffering:

Another hero that comes to Vaidehi’s rescue is the super human Bulwa (Ajay Devgan) who handles dacoits on a train as well as the evil town leader Gajendra( Danny Denzongpa ). Now Bulwa has held a grudge ever since the Gajendra boiled Bulwa’s moms hands in oil.   This resulted in Bulwa amputating one of Gajendra’s arms back in the day, which of in turn caused Gajendra to hold a grudge against Bulwa.  Years pass and Bulwa returns for another confrontation and Gajendra whips off his pashmina to reveal that arm he’s been missing for years:

Amputations are one of those things I look for in a Bollywood film.  Nothing says revenge like an amputation. Bulwa even commits a double arm amputation on another scoundrel.

Bulwa is once again to the rescue when Vaidehi’s evil  NRI husband catches up to her. The sword wielding hero is ready to chop off her husband’s head, but to Bulwa’s horror, she stops him:

Well Bulwa does have a valid point there Vaidehi, hai na?

Here’s one more screen cap to show what a bad-ass Bulwa is:

Since I’d like to end on a positive note, feast your eyes on the ever beautiful Madhuri:

If you’ve seen Lajja, tell me what you thought.

“AIDS Sutra:Untold Stories from India” with a touch of Bollywood

For time-pass I watch a lot of movies and I also read books.  I suppose it’s normal to find stories about films in books about India, since the film industry infiltrates the culture. Even in this anthology on the serious subject of AIDS,  I was able to find a bit of very uplifting Bollywood material.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is pleased to announce the publication of AIDS Sutra: Untold Stories from India, a landmark collection of essays that presents a complex and gripping picture of the disease. Sixteen of India’s most well-known literary writers go on the road to tell the story of people affected by the epidemic and the stigma that surrounds them. “This book reveals the human side of the disease,” write Bill and Melinda Gates in their introduction to this groundbreaking anthology. (source)

Bhoot Ki Kahaanian by Jaspreet Singh references Taare Zameen Par (2007).

 

 

Return to Sonagachi by Sunil Gangopadhyay presented a delightful dilemma: where on earth do we hide the whisky?  I bet it was Johnnie Walker.  Read on to see how the dilemma reminded me a bit of Umrao Jaan (1981) and (2006):

 

 

 

 

Now here’s the Umrao Jaan-ish part:

(p.158)  

See!  A poetry writing prostitute with a heart of gold, just like Umrao Jaan.

Love in the Time of Positives by Nalini Jones  describes how Baghban (2003), and in particular the part played by  Salman Khan, ended up saving someone’s life.

On the day he planned to die, he decided to spend his last afternoon at the movies. Basavaraj described the film he saw at great length-a family drama starring Amitabh Bachchan called Baghban. It is the story of loving parents who give everything they have to their son and look froward to a happy old age.  But their children have grown selfish, caught up in their own concerns, and the parents are left destitute until an unlikely saviour, a street boy the couple had adopted and educated, comes to their rescue.  Sitting alone in the theater, Basavaraj began to worry about this own parents. He realised he was their only son, their best hope for ‘a good old age’. He wanted to be like the adopted boy in the film, the only one who doesn’t forget what he owes his family.  Basavaraj went home, threw out the pills, pored away the alcohol, and cast himself as the unlikely saviour- the son who is secretly HIV positive. (source p.320)

 

So if you’ve seen Baghban, I suppose the credit would go to Salman Khan  for saving the life of Basavaraj! Who would have thought!?  I wonder if Salman-ji knows about this.

 

The Daughters of Yellamma by William Dalrymple includes an Amitabh Bachchan siting!  In some parts of India young girls are “married” or dedicated to the temple goddess as prostitutes.  Dalrymple interviews one of the women and she recalls the time she lived in Bombay:

I ate fabulous biryani at the Sagar Hotel and once when I was in the streets I saw Amitabh Bachchan pass by in his car. (p. 226)

As much as I enjoyed to Sunil Gangopadhyay’s piece, I enjoyed The Last of the Ustaads by Aman Sethi which both mentions and pays a great tribute to Gadar, Ek Prem Katha (2001).  Maybe I loved Sethi’s piece so much because Gadar is one of my favorite movies.

Questioning the plight of truck drivers in India and their higher tendency to have HIV than the general population, Sethi interviews a truck driver:

Is it just ‘modern life’? When finding answers to sudhcomplex questions in a country infested with faux holy men, one must turn to the sole oracle of truth—Bollywood super hit film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha(Gadar: A Love Story), Tara Singh the truck driver, played by trucker demigod Sunny Deol, is asked a poignant question by Partition refugee Sakina, played by Amisha Patel.  ‘Tara Singhji,’ she asks as sh expertly ties hi turban, ‘why don’t you get married?’ Tho this, Tara Singh shakes his turbaned head, and gives her an answer that made practically every truck driver in India nod his head approvingly and say ‘Wah!’ ‘Madamji,’ says Tara Singh, ‘I live in Khana Buddur; today my truck is parked here, but tomorrow I might  be in Delhi. After that why would anyone want to marry a truck driver?’ Thought the movie is set in 1947, Tara Singh’s question touches upon an issue that is relevant even today.  Truck drivers aren’t particularly discriminated against when it comes to marriage partners; but some of the younger drivers I spoke with said that finding partners was becoming harder and harder.  I watched Gadar on the recommendation of Sanjay and some of his friends Played out against the backdrop of the Partition riots in 1947 in the border states of India and Pakistan, Gadar tells the tale of how a heroic Jat-Sikh truck driver rescues a wealthy Muslim girl from a rampaging mob; wins her trust, marries her, rescues her once more–this time from her rampaging father–and finally settles down, in a happy ending. While several films have had their heroes careen up and down highways in trucks, the heroes. are rarely truck drivers;l the truck just happens to be the closest vehicle at had to make good their escape, rescue their lovers, or run over their enemies.  Gadar is perhaps the only mainstream hit in which the protagonist is a truck driver who proves to be a good husband, father, patriot, and all round nice guy.  Unfortunately, Gadar  too starts with Tara Singh accepting that fate has dealt him a poor hand by making him a truck driver.  He obligingly sings and dances and plays the part of the happy truck driver, but he understands the distance between him and the object of his desire.  As he says, ‘Even if I wanted to, I can’t touch the moon, can I?’ The rest of the plot is a story of redemption–of proving that truck drivers are honourable, powerful , and patriotic.  Why does truck driving lack izzat?  Why are truck drivers victims of negative stereotypes?  Is it class? Is it their association with a high-risk behavior group? Does, in fact, being categorised as  a high-risk group stigmatise them even further? From Gadar to their portrayal in the Indian press, truckers are regarded as rough and ready and reckless, dirty and dissolute.  Prone to drink, driving accidents–and now disease. (p. 306-7)

For more about the book,  read a review  from The Telegraph, Calcutta India, and another from The Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. Listen to the NPR Podcast on the book: ‘AIDS Sutra’ Challenges Widespread Denial In India’

Also, if you want to get filmy with it, here’s something else.

The AIDS Jaago (AIDS Awake) project is four short dramatic films which aim to dismantle myths and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. These films were funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and made by acclaimed Indian filmmakers Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding; The Namesake), Vishal Bhardwaj, Santosh Sivan and Farhan Akhtar. Designed to use the immense power of moviemaking to wake people up about AIDS, the project was the brainchild of Mira Nair and was produced by her company Mirabai Films. (source)

Watch for Free on Jaman HERE. 

other Bollywood Movies on HIV

Bollywood Insider for May, 2009

Here’s the latest chugli from Suzi Mann with Bollywood Insider for May, 2009:

Click on the links below to find out more.

Bollywood Insider Friday 01 May 2009:  Tributes from stars to Feroz Khan, IIFA venue and nominations announced, Shahrukh takes IPL break to cast vote

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Bollywood Insider Friday 15 May 2009:  Our Insiders at Cannes bring us Aishwarya and Abishek on the red carpet – IPL filling movie void with Shahrukh, Shilpa, and Preity

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Bollywood Insider Friday 22 May 2009:  This week in Cannes, we ask Barbara Mori and Hrithik Roshan about ‘those’ rumours, and speak to them about all things ‘Kites’

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Bollywood Insider Friday 29 May 2009:  Bipasha Basu gets together with Billy Zane – Kal Kisne Dekha – It’s a Wonderful Afterlife

Parichay (1972) and Baby Pinky

 Parichay (1972) is inspired by The Sound of Music (1963), except for it’s splendidly Bharaticized.

Jeetendra is sent to teach Pran’s five grandchildren, the eldest of whom is played by Jaya Bhaduri. Their father Sanjeev Kumar, a talented musician, died after his wife’s death, so the children were sent to live with their paternal grandfather. The children have driven away their previous tutors and in turn, get corporal punishment by their aunt. After Jeetendra comes, the children play tricks on him too, but his gentle manner and patient methods win them over. He and Jaya Bhaduri fall in love, and the end credits indicate that there will be a wedding between them. (source)

I found this Parichay poster pictured below in Karen’s gallery. I wanted to include it to ask you if you’ve noticed in a lot of Jaya’s earlier work how she sticks the tip of her thumb and finger to her teeth and lips in an attempt to look coy and bashful. I don’t think that’s too cute, and once I noticed it, I kept noticing it. Look! If I ever meet Jaya, I’m going to do that myself while looking at her and see how she likes it.

You get your Pran, Jeetendra, Jaya and cute kid fix with this film, but my favorite performer of all was Baby Pinky!

Jeetendra’s character is called in to straighten up and teach Rai Saheb’s (Pran) unruly and orphaned grandchildren.

I’ll go out on a limb and say the grandchildren may be acting up because their parents are DEAD and now that they live with grandpa, they’re treated like this:

and like this:

Enter Ravi, who meets the cute kids:

Look at the especially cute Sanjay (Master Raju) and Meeta (Baby Pinky):

Now let me indulge you with more of Baby Pinky. Good thing this is an old movie and I’m in the USA, because I’m telling you, if I were anywhere near Baby Pinky during the time this film was made, I would have kidnapped her! Who would you kidnap from the film?

 

 Please note in the photo below that Jaya is holding Pinky:

She has to clamp Pinky down, because if she does not this is what happens:

I can’t get enough of Baby Pinky:

I know you’ll enjoy Sa Re Ke Sa Re with music by R. D. Burman, lyrics by Gulzar and playback singers Kishore Kumar & Asha Bhosle. Be sure to watch Baby Pinky’s super dance scene 2 minutes into this video.

Thanks to yuanyuanyuanyin for posting this video. Stop by her youtube channel for many Hindi treasures.

Extra credit:

Watch the Do Re Mi clip from Sound of Music to compare it with Sa Re Ke Sa Re.

You can watch all of Parichay online HERE.

Now go  see  Memsaab’s Parichay review.

Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008) Beware, O beautiful Ones!

In Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), I enjoyed seeing Ranbir revise his baap Rishi Kapoor’s  Bachna Ae Haseeno tune from Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin (1977), with playback singer Kishore Kumar and music by R.D. Burman. Out of respect, let’s view the senior’s version first:

Now here’s a modern reworking of the tune with Rishi’s son, Ranbir:

Great job Ranbir, but sorry to tell you your dad wins this round, simply for the fact that he wore that great heart necklace. Old is gold. Which one do you prefer?   Now here’s a bit about the movie:

The film follows the journey of Raj Sharma (Ranbir Kapoor) from the age of 18 to 30 and how he meets three girls at different stages of his life : Mahi (Minissha Lamba) – a small-town girl from Punjab, Radhika (Bipasha Basu) – a model from Mumbai and Gayatri (Deepika Padukone) – a NRI taxi driver and student from Australia. The film is about a boy who goes from one love affair to another, only to run into true love. (source)

Raj has had 2 girlfriends, Mahi and Radhika. He leaves them both without too much thought about their feelings and the consequences of his actions.  Then he finally falls for a girl who can’t commit to him, the taxi driving, convenience store working, college attending Gayatri.

So now the shoe is on the other foot.  (Is that also a saying in Hindi? The shoe is on the other foot?) Finally Raj  understands how Mahi and Radhika must have felt when he wouldn’t commit to them. To make amends for his playboy living and redeem himself for true love, he goes back to apologize to the 2 women he’s hurt years earlier.

When he first met Mahi, Raj played into her romantic  DDLJ inspired fantasies. Mahi overhears him talking crassly about her to his friends at the airport. She’d been tricked! She’s devistated  and looses her trust in love.

Years later we return to Mahi’s home in the Punjab, and to place us in Amritsar, there’s a requisite shot of the Golden Temple.  Her husband is the super hot  Kunal Kapoor, I mean Joginder Ahluwalia. Joginder is a proud Sikh man, who loves his wife.  Joginder is wealthy, and wears a Hermes scarf. 

 

I must add that I was in Amritsar a few months back and saw nobody wearing a Hermes scarf, but I did see a guy wearing a shower cap covered in strawberries.  I drove by him so fast, but I wanted to shout to him, “Yaar, did you ever see Strawberry Shortcake?”  See the Strawberry Shortcake Sikh.

  

So Raj makes the trek to Amristar to apologize to Mahi, but encounters her husband first. Jogi has all the trappings of marriage from Mahi, but not her love, since Raj robbed her of her belief in romantic love years before. Joginder takes Raj out to the woods to so he can talk man to man, drink some Johnnie Walker (Black Label) and threaten him with a gun.

Raj finally gets his chance to apologize to Mahi who wears this smashing sari.  I LOVED that sari!

Look at her bangles, and all that gorgeous fabric in the sari:

The song I really loved from the film wasJogi Mahi.  Can you listen to  it and not move?  Impossible not to at least bob your head, or tap a toe to this. Vishal-Shekhar wrote the catchy tune and it’s picturised on Ranbir Kapoor, Minissha Lamba & Kunal Kapoor. The playback singers are Sukhwinder Singh, Shekhar Ravjiani & Himani Kapoor

The second woman Raj goes back to apologize to is Radhika (Bipasha Basu). They been shacking up in Mumbai are all set to get married.  Radhika and her pals plan on meeting Raj for a civil shaadi ceremony…

He leaves her waiting on the stop of city hall in Mumbai, and she never gets that marriage license. 

Then he goes to Australia, just to make it clear he’s really gone.

Fast forward several years and Raj now wants to apologize to Rahdika, who has now become a huge diva with a new naam: Shreya! 

In order to gain forgiveness, Raj agrees to be Shreya/Rahdika’s personal assistant. For days she treats him horribly and attempts to humiliate him. Raj’s rejection fueled Rahdika to fame, yet she’s bitter and afraid to love. 

At last she breaks down and forgives him, only after telling him how she felt when he left her years before. 

  

 

As they say in India: Why buy the holy cow, if you can get the doud for free?

Let me know what you thought of the film, and as always my mitr, all the best!

Trying my level best

Don’t you love when “level best” appears in the subtitles?  I do. 

And speaking of level best, I’ll try my level best to post something soon yaar!

Mind your cleavage

Khabie khabie a subtitle appears that is worthy of its very own post. I mean how many times have you thought someone was showing too much cleavage, but never thought of actually telling them, let alone in those words? I’ve thought,  Hey you should really cover up, damn! I’ve never said that out loud.  Now after seeing this, I may just have to say, Mind your cleavage, love, fear the world.

The song where I found this subtitle is called Apun Ko Bas,  picturized on Anil Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty from Rishtey (2002). I’m minding my cleavage since I fear the world, now you please go do the same.

And speaking of minding one’s cleavage, thanks to Richard at Dances on the Footpath for alerting me to this woman who needs to mind her cleavage and her mujra.

Aamir (2008) asks, “Does every man write his own destiny?”

 Aamir (2008) is a gritty parallel cinema film shot in real time that questions whether every man creates his own destiny using an act of terrorism and the crowded streets of Mumbai as a backdrop.  

The film revolves around a young Muslim man Dr. Aamir Ali who has returned to Mumbai from United Kingdom and finds himself at the mercy of religious extremists who want to carry out a bombing in the city. The movie deals with the problems of the Muslim community in modern India and the increasing religious polarization in the country. (source)

It’s directed by Raj Kumar Gupta and stars Indian TV actor Rajeev Khandelwal, making his Bollywood  Indian Film Industry debut.  I did manage to find the masala style fun within the arthouse film with the small scene of a cabbie obsessed with baseball cap wearing, playback singer, Himesh Reshammiya.

I really don’t want to write much about this film, in order to avoid spoiling anything.  I will say that it starts out with handsome young NRI  doctor named Aamir being thrown a phone while he waits outside the airport in Mumbai.  Should this ever happen to you, I advise that you try to avoid catching the phone. In case you accidentally catch it, drop the phone and DO NOT ANSWER IT! Do NOT take the call! But Aamir DID take the call and the movie continues on with its tense story. While watching it, I just kept thinking, “how gritty!” And, “I wonder how one says gritty in Hindi?” Yaar, the film is really gritty hai! That’s all I want to get across. 

For a real write up of the film go HERE or, read Subhash K. Jha ’s review HERE.

This film was only about 90 minutes, a short story in the realm of Indian Films, and like most parallel cinema, it lacks item numbers.  It does contain some great music though, and  I especially liked the tune “Ha Raham (Mehfuz)” sung by Murtuza-Qadir, Amitabh & Amit Trivedi.  This song is currently stuck in my head.  Dig it:

Here are some of the lyrics translated from Urdu (sounds Urdu, maybe it’s Hindi though) into English, thanks to Simranjeet. They are a bit different from the subtitles the version I saw had, but you can get the idea.

Allah… aani jaani… hai kahaani…
(the stories of life will keep coming and going…)
bulbule si… zindgaani…
(and life is nothing but a bubble ready to burst…)
banti kabhi bigadti…
(…forming, and sometimes de-flating…)
tez hawa se ladti, bhidti…
(…fighting with and entangled in the strong winds…)

ha raham, ha raham, farma e-Khuda…
(remember Him, and keep chanting his name…)
ha raham, ha raham, farma e-Khuda…
mehfuz har kadam karna e-Khuda, e-Khuda
(… and He’ll make sure each step you take is a safe one…)
mehfuz har kadam karna e-Khuda, e-Khuda…

The entire lyrics are translated HERE.

HERE’S a version where you can see the band performing the same tune. 

 

 Here’s the film’s trailer:

I recommend taking the time to watch the making of the movie section of the supplemental material since it contains interesting interviews with the director and crew members and shows how they shot the scenes in the Mumbai slums. Gritty.

I feel the same way Aamir, I don’t want to be a leader, I’m just an ordinary woman.

Have you see this movie? What did you think of it?  Nicki from Hmong chick who loves Indian Cinema did a great post on Aamir and compares it to the Filipino film, Cavite (2005), that it was fashioned after.   For more blogolicious insight on  Aamir ( as well as Aamir) go to TheBollywoodFan. And for an extremely insightful and  thought provoking review of the film from someone who  grew up in the Chor Bazar, Bhendi Bazar, and Dongri areas where the film was shot, see Banno’s Aamir post.

The Outer World of Shahrukh Khan (2005)

As promised in my post on The Inner World of Shahrukh Khan, I will now cover part 2 of Nasreen Munni Kabir’s documentary set: The Outer World of Shahrukh Khan (2005).  Kabir’s experience working with Kahn is nicely reviewed in  the article Shah Rukh bahut sharif aadmi hai by Aseem Chhabra.

Towards the middle of “The Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan — the second of the two reflective and moving documentaries directed by British Indian filmmaker and writer, Nasreen Munni Kabir — the Bollywood star states: ‘There are three people in me: A person, an actor and a star. I try to keep as much in touch with reality as I can. Try to remember what the star did, what the actor did and what I did. Most people I know become so schizophrenic, they forget.’ Kabir’s two films, The Inner World of Shah Rukh Khan (produced for Britain’s Channel 4) and The Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan (produced for Khan’s Red Chillies International), do exactly that – show how Khan lives in three worlds at all times, trying to keep a balance, his sanity and also staying rooted to reality. (source)

The Outer World shows SRK on the road with the Temptations Tour in 2004. Khan is filmed smoking cigarettes as much or even more than in his Inner World disc. Khan is shown both on stage and more interestingly behind the stage with his Bollywood buddies, Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Rampal, Rani Mukergee, Preity Zinta, and Priyanka Chopra.  Khan is so incredibally hardworking, that he seems nearly manic.  He’s shown as so dedicated, enthusiastic and putting so much effort into the tour that I wish I could have seen it!  Also, I’ve found many videos of Khan’s Tour Diary, which makes me want to get a hold of that to watch. In my other post on the Inner World, blogger Bollywood Deewana commented that SRK seemed like a diva in some of the footage.  At first I didn’t understand where this was shown in Kabir’s video’s, but when I found footage of  The Temptation Tour Diary, I was able to see SRK having a bit of a fit HERE.

Aamir Khan shows up back stage, rocking his Mangal Pandey (2005) look hard. Too bad I couldn’t get a clearer shot of the Khans on the big screen together,  (see that theBolloywoodFan?) well not in a movie, a documentary, but still:

 

In the clips I saw of the tour within the documentary, the number that I’d want to see most is the one with Rani and Preity doing some classical dancing.  They both look fantastic.  Here’s a video of that portion of the tour HERE.

One of the more touching scenes is SRK doing one of the many back stage meet and greets with a young girl with what looks like cerebral palsey.  I  seeing how comfortable and caring he was with the child, since often times people act so awkward when dealing with people who have physical and mental disabilities.

And of course there are lots of smoking scenes. Lots!

Super star!

The Inner World of Shahrukh Khan (2005)

The Inner World of Shahrukh Khan (2005) was sure a treat to watch.  If you haven’t already seen this documentary, I’m sure you’ve at least seen the many ads for it that run before you watch your Bollywood  DVDs, hai na?   It’s the first part of a set of documentaries, the second being  The Outer World of Shahrukh Khan, which I’ll cover in my next post. The Inner World, by filmmaker Nasreen Munni Kabir, focuses on just that, SRK’s inner world, which is full of medical treatments for his back, spending time with his family at  Mannat, behind the scenes of Main Hoon Na, and lots and lots of smoking. I got second had smoke damage to my lungs from watching SRK in this film. King Khan has a true pyaar for his cigarettes!  He works hard.  He smokes hard.

 

The documentary titled: ‘The Inner World of Shahrukh Khan’ is of 49 minutes duration and has tried to cover the snippets of star’s early struggling days to his reigning ones. The documentary starts with speaking of SRK born in a Delhi family in November 2, 1965. SRK was found be always an intelligent speaker and brought laurels to his college, Hansraj College. SRK completed his film television and Journalism degree from Jamia Milia Islamia. The film portrays struggling days in Mumbai, how he came to Barry John’s theatre classes, his mother’s death and then sister grew ill and the college romance with a Hindu girl, Gauri. Notwithstanding, Nasreen has done a wonderful job in keeping the viewers engrossed. Though Nasreen had earlier worked with Lata Mangeshkar, Javed Akhtar and Amitabh Bachchan, getting Shahrukh Khan to say ‘yes’ was quite an upheaval task. Firstly, SRK has a limited amount of time at his disposal and then SRK prefers privacy. But SRK ultimately gave in to Nasreen. Interestingly, Shahrukh later told that sometimes when he was clamoring for fame, he would have been anytime ready for a photo shoot or an interview. The documentary has been shot mostly on and off the sets of MAIN HOON NAA. Nasreen has traveled alongside SRK to his Delhi’s school days. The film traces moments of solitude as the king Khan prays for his back in his mother’s graveyard. Nasreen however ruled out any sparks of controversy to be any reason behind the documentary. She tried her level best to keep a clear picture of the person, but gave SRK enough time and privacy. SRK watched the film thrice before giving its approval and was in quite deep thoughts after watching it. SRK is a family-centric person and loves to be with his lovely wife and kids. The document comes to an end with Shahrukh’s birthday. Produced and directed the first television series on Indian cinema to be broadcast on UK channel 4; it surely is something that SRK’s fans would die for. (source)

There are some very sweet scenes with his family at their home, Mannat, celebrating diwali. Shahrukh explains that his son understands what he does for a living but jokes that his little daughter still thinks that he’s Aamir Khan.

In case you decide to stalk Mr. Khan, his driveway and front yard in Bandra look like this:

You can follow THIS LINK and as long as it lasts it will show SRK and his cute little beti and some scenes at Mannat that I’ve screen capped here.

Khan’s back problems and treatment methods are covered.  He sees a doctor and physical therapist.

He also sees an energy healer for his back pain. SRK even demonstrates his back massaging skills that he’s probably learned from his own treatments on his friend, director and choreographer, Farah Khan, behind the scenes of Main Hoon Na.

One of the sweetest scenes for me in the documentary is Shahrukh’s trip back to the school he attended as a kid in Delhi.   The brothers are so happy to see him and SRK states that he felt so touched to be back in a place where people knew him before he was famous.

The documentary did have one disturbing segment to me; Karan Johar fawning over SRK, giggling about how he would be so afraid to ever have Khan yell at him.  I recall Johar saying something like, “I just don’t know WHAT I’d do if he ever yelled at me.  I think I’d just start crying!  I’ve gotten a lot of help and advice from Gauri about how to handle Shahrukh and his moods.  When he’s angry, it’s best to stay away.  I would just never want him to yell at me!”  I wanted to get up and go through the TV screen and give Johar a tight slap to the face to snap him out of his fantasy.  I think he’d actually LOVE to have Shahrukh yell at him.  Then he could cry and hope that SRK would gently cradle him in his arms and stroke his hair.

 

Alright Dosto, thanks for reading and check back for the next post which will be on The Outer World of Shahrukh Khan.