tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post6987972353322624592..comments2024-03-29T15:45:04.867+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: PoV 10: How to stop worrying and lose your moustacheJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-83097089517302421892017-06-05T06:21:37.375+05:302017-06-05T06:21:37.375+05:30This comment has been removed by the author.madraskaarihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09950814593117445934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-9482502619929923732013-02-18T14:46:33.357+05:302013-02-18T14:46:33.357+05:30"Kishore Kumar’s singing and Gulzar’s writing..."Kishore Kumar’s singing and Gulzar’s writing can do that to anyone!"<br /><br />You forgot to mention the 3rd—& arguably most important—angle of the triangle: RD Burman.<br /><br />Having said that, I completely agree with your analysis of the film, & of the mistake viewers [esp. in our country] often make in labeling films as 'serious' & 'entertaining', as if the two are exclusive of each other.Andec Tankerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07544967005834331980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-10758677690094603572012-04-17T02:49:15.469+05:302012-04-17T02:49:15.469+05:30Okay, this might be a little too late in the day, ...Okay, this might be a little too late in the day, seeing as your piece was originally posted in 2010. But I simply couldn't resist commenting, if only for the feeling of relief brought on by encountering someone else who was similarly "moved" by Gol Maal. You hit the nail on the head. It's a funny film. But that's not all it is. Your comments on <i>Aanewala Pal</i> and what it adds to Gol Maal remind me of my own favourite sequence from the film:<br /><br />Urmila and Lakshman having their secret rendezvous at a friend's place - a converstaion she ends with <i>Yahan baatein nahi ho sakti. Kal Juhu beach pe milte hain.</i><br />Cut to Ramprasad's lesson on Kabir - <i>Jo milte hain, woh nahi milte, aur jo nahi milte, wohi vaastav mein milte hain. Kaaran jo hai, woh nahi hai, aur jo nahi hai, wohi hai</i> and so on, ending with <i>Isi hone na hone, milne na milne ke beech... maya ka samudra hai.</i><br />Zoom in to the painting of the "samudra" on the wall behind, and we segue into the sunset on Juhu Beach... the music strikes up with the second stanza of <i>Aanewala pal</i> and takes it away. <br /><br />Probably a one-off sequence in all of Hindi cinema which manages to be profound, poetic and downright funny all at once. Fabulous combination of screenwriting, directing, acting and music.Sriramnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-15944098461909578182010-09-29T18:15:14.090+05:302010-09-29T18:15:14.090+05:30What a wonderful piece on one of my all time favou...What a wonderful piece on one of my all time favourite films!dipalihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01070862196307376073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-42645497374231918062010-09-21T10:10:36.478+05:302010-09-21T10:10:36.478+05:30in dev d towards the end dev is sitting in a daru ...in dev d towards the end dev is sitting in a daru ka theka(from which he eventually gets kicked out) and in the corner the protagonist of gulaal is sitting with his glasses tied with shoelaces, wearing a tacky helmet. he's just sitting doing nothing. gulaal as we know released same year later.Nikhileshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13924578117019678710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-54102944177557671212010-09-12T22:10:01.980+05:302010-09-12T22:10:01.980+05:30Jai, would you say that Rajkunmar Hirani is the mo...<i>Jai, would you say that Rajkunmar Hirani is the modern Hrishikesh Mukherjee?</i><br /><br />Nigam: that's an interesting point. Do see <a href="http://jaiarjun.blogspot.com/2006/09/thoughts-on-munnabhais.html" rel="nofollow">this</a> old post I did about the Munnabhai films. Those movies were more overtly serious than <i>Gol Maal</i>, but I thought their best scenes did capture something of the Mukherjee mood.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-42091924743662730612010-09-12T16:08:18.377+05:302010-09-12T16:08:18.377+05:30This is one of my favourite movies too, followed c...This is one of my favourite movies too, followed closely by Chupke Chupke. I also didn't know those scenes were from actual movies being shot. Thanks for reviving good old memories. Makes me feel like watching the movie again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-78903713347465867052010-09-12T12:51:58.495+05:302010-09-12T12:51:58.495+05:30"company" (2002) didnt get national awar...<i>"company" (2002) didnt get national award coz it didnt give any "message" ,imagine scorcese born in india and cursing his luck </i><br /><br />Rahul: Scorsese's only Oscar was for <i>The Departed</i> which I'm told is among the least of his works. So it isn't as though Scorsese has been much honoured in mainstream Hollywood.<br /><br />Movies, like any other art form, must strive to say something, regardless of genre. Certain directors take the easy way out by spoonfeeding audiences with messages articulated by the protagonist (Taare Zameen Par for instance). A few others are skilful enough to bury their more nuanced thoughts beneath the narrative. In Hollywood, I've noticed that though audiences have always been smart enough to appreciate the latter category of films, the "Academy" prefers to honour the former.shrikanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-24175599877539183502010-09-12T05:19:44.640+05:302010-09-12T05:19:44.640+05:30Jai, would you say that Rajkunmar Hirani is the mo...Jai, would you say that Rajkunmar Hirani is the modern Hrishikesh Mukherjee?Nigamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10611946794216121900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-57627377447909664282010-09-11T15:22:08.634+05:302010-09-11T15:22:08.634+05:30very nice post . i love gol maal and i must have s...very nice post . i love gol maal and i must have scene it 10 times but never got the connection of "Aane wala pal " song in over all story line . thanks for pointing it out ..its delightful :)Prashant Singhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10079032946958487411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-75309102355625005312010-09-11T12:01:56.918+05:302010-09-11T12:01:56.918+05:30Had it been "kal", there would be an &qu...<i>Had it been "kal", there would be an "aaj" in between. ;)</i><br /><br />Heh. But wouldn't even "Aane waala kal jaane waala hai" make sense on a level? As in, "The tomorrow that isn't yet here will soon come and go". Convoluted, I know, but still...Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-6185318715384820802010-09-11T11:59:52.214+05:302010-09-11T11:59:52.214+05:30Narayan: thanks for the Kabir doha. About "aa...Narayan: thanks for the Kabir doha. About "aane wala pal" - I had made the correction in this post. The version on the Yahoo site has a typo.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-37460593531951967822010-09-11T11:48:28.828+05:302010-09-11T11:48:28.828+05:30Very nice post, Jai. Loved the trivia.
The song y...Very nice post, Jai. Loved the trivia.<br /><br />The song you were referring to is "aane wala pal", as in "live every moment". Had it been "kal", there would be an "aaj" in between. ;)<br /><br />Regarding the "itni jaldi kya hai" quote, it's a play on the famous _doha_ by Kabir "kaal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab / pal mein parlay hoyegi, bahuri karaigo kab?"Narayan Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04741381132095685417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-33886206214243483892010-09-11T04:50:19.619+05:302010-09-11T04:50:19.619+05:30very "moving post" ,very good point rega...very "moving post" ,very good point regarding this thinking about that message based movies are automatically good ,"taare zameen par" is highly over rated due to this only<br /><br />also in india ,we have a special criterion for judging performances etc ,i read somewhere that "company" (2002) didnt get national award coz it didnt give any "message" ,imagine scorcese born in india and cursing his luck <br /><br />also,gr8 piece on hrishikesh mukherjee as a director including the last one also ,i think one of his most underrated movie is "satyakam" with dharmendrarahul mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08950805987812880334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-71045548861027135452010-09-10T20:44:25.119+05:302010-09-10T20:44:25.119+05:30Well, I seem to remember reading similar sentiment...Well, I seem to remember reading similar sentiments from you, more than once. But I'm guessing all readers of this column won't be followers of your blog - plus, it's a good point, and I nod along every time I read it.Unmanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02430139387595895191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-61584720576197690212010-09-10T19:06:16.089+05:302010-09-10T19:06:16.089+05:30Unmana: thanks. Think I suddenly realised I was wa...Unmana: thanks. Think I suddenly realised I was way past the word-count and decided to stop. Perhaps I should have taken out some of the more general stuff about "serious" vs "light" cinema.<br /><br />Akshay: I think <i>all</i> those scenes in <i>Guddi</i> are from actual movies being filmed around the same time. The Amitabh scene is from Parwana, the Shatrughan Sinha-Vinod Khanna one is from Mere Apne, and there are a couple of others, I forget which.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-22380112517376209512010-09-10T19:05:34.629+05:302010-09-10T19:05:34.629+05:30Didn't know the Bachchan scene was from an act...Didn't know the Bachchan scene was from an actual movie. Thanks for the info, Jai. Golmaal and Chupke Chupke are probably my fav Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies, tho Chupke Chupke is perhaps more starry and even lighter than Golmaal (as such, there are no stakes in Chupke Chupke, so it is a movie carried solely by the performances).<br />And there's a sequence of film shooting scenes in Guddi as well, as Guddi is sort of introduced to the 'filmi' business. I always wondered if any of them was from an actual movie or not.Akshaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-41216931654989536082010-09-10T19:05:09.048+05:302010-09-10T19:05:09.048+05:30like the film's absurdist tone especially the ...like the film's absurdist tone especially the parts involving Utpal Dutt. It is very different from the highly deliberated sophistication one sees in a Lubitsch screenplay or in an overt satire like <i>Dr Strangelove</i>.<br /><br />Mukherjee's style is more spontaneous and less deliberated. His comedies are more akin to someone like Frank Tashlin (Artists and Models, The Girl Can't Help It!)<br /><br />The absurdist tone enables actors to improvise and leave their mark on the film (Eg: Utpal Dutt in this film, Jerry Lewis in Artists and Models). That's something one misses in a highly deliberated satire like <i>Dr Strangelove</i> where the writer's influence is supreme.shrikanthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03898755392584822638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-18370996841747974762010-09-10T19:03:56.298+05:302010-09-10T19:03:56.298+05:30Lovely piece. But it ended too soon!
I always fou...Lovely piece. But it ended too soon!<br /><br />I always found Golmaal emotional. The bond between the siblings: they seemed so comfortable with each other. And how they create a family of people not related by blood: the fake mom, the kind uncle, the friends.Unmanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02430139387595895191noreply@blogger.com