tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post115812341911674082..comments2024-03-27T14:57:37.031+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: Thoughts on the MunnabhaisJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-21908869127741266952013-03-26T22:49:17.738+05:302013-03-26T22:49:17.738+05:30For the love of God! Munnabhai was a creation of s...For the love of God! Munnabhai was a creation of some creative mind n not a real person. Sanjay dutt is not munnabhai nor is he doing gandhigiri. Pls stop taking sanjay dutt's name in d same breath as Gandhi - an epitome of non violence. he says he suffered for 20 years then what about the ppl whose lives changed bcoz of the bomb blast; he says he has young kids n he's d only earning member then what about the families who lost their sole bread winners in the blast.. sorry but his reasons are a whole load of bull s***Hindi Love SMShttp://hindisms.org/sms/hindi-love-smsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-51195547638777688452012-01-30T12:50:03.150+05:302012-01-30T12:50:03.150+05:30A very similar cinematic device (leavening the dra...A very similar cinematic device (leavening the drama created by parental betrayal with sitch comedy) is used in kabhi haan kabhi na, in this scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bn9cmzqiaw&feature=related<br /><br />around the 2:30 mark.saperahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16553004590976656655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-85528106018022467132008-12-26T22:11:00.000+05:302008-12-26T22:11:00.000+05:30I'm a little surprised that it escaped mention tha...I'm a little surprised that it escaped mention that Munnabhai I is a straight comic repastiche of <I>One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest</I> ... nearly all of the elements of the 'original' feature in this. <BR/><BR/>Does not add demerit to the endeavour though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158625725801367362006-09-19T05:58:00.000+05:302006-09-19T05:58:00.000+05:30The only problem I have with this Munna Bhai franc...The only problem I have with this Munna Bhai franchise is the existence of two parallel directions for the development of the story.One is the social melodrama and other is the humour. Here, the social melodrama is as much,if not more, important that humour.The moral\social angle of the story is not just a vehicle to carry the humour,it is the focal point;which is not a problem per se, but it bores the hell out of me. Just a matter of taste,I guess. So, if I view a Munnna Bhai movie again, I would fast forward 75% of it , probably. Compare this to comedy classics like "Jaane Bhi do Yaron" or the more recent"Waisa bhi hota hai -II" ;which can be seen from start to finish after a certain period of time.<BR/>Question: Has anyone had the chance to see "Urf Proffessor", I have heard profuse praise for it; couldnt find it in Canada,though.Rahulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600228969911790479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158619878307783392006-09-19T04:21:00.000+05:302006-09-19T04:21:00.000+05:30Fine, I saw it a bit a late, and sorry for writing...Fine, I saw it a bit a late, and sorry for writing the comment so much after (aFter 8 large pegsand many MORE backspaces) but my view is that a lot of readers of your efforts here are a bunch of losers who thrive on criticising. I am sorry. I am no gerat critic of movies, nor a fast keyboard-punch(is it showing??) but I hav eacted as a part time reviewer of a movie critic for The patriot in 1993; and I kno that criticising is so fucking damn (i nearly wrote gasm) easy than to praise. fuck. keys are becomojng difficlt to handle nw. will write later. but Jai, yor review was true to a fault (it took me 20mins and as many gulps of awter to write but I agree with you word by wod syllable by syllabel) sam crashing off. cya<BR/>\<BR/><BR/><BR/>ps: i lost the word vdrification once for reasons easy to understand (ourAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158237439617512912006-09-14T18:07:00.000+05:302006-09-14T18:07:00.000+05:30circuit the real heroine? c'mon bhai...it reminds ...circuit the real heroine? c'mon bhai...<BR/>it reminds what my father says about the amitabh-shashi kapoor pairing, hmmm, they didnt need a heroine then too.<BR/>bad luck vidya.<BR/>(vugsbs)delhidreamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04613041484425960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158209840104662572006-09-14T10:27:00.000+05:302006-09-14T10:27:00.000+05:30J:It's not about the "heroines". It's about the wo...J:<BR/>It's not about the "heroines". It's about the women. In fact it's probably true- a film where the conception of women runs to this hair and ear and bangle, ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga thing - can only have the heroine be in the Circuit figure. Which is like lots of Hindi movies including the delicious Dharam-Veer so perhaps it's in a hoary tradition. I'd love to elope with Circuit, though, I must say.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158206848566913372006-09-14T09:37:00.000+05:302006-09-14T09:37:00.000+05:30Anonymous: true, the "heroines" in both films are...Anonymous: true, the "heroines" in both films are underwritten. But then one can argue, as Baradwaj Rangan does <A HREF="http://brangan.easyjournal.com/entry.aspx?eid=3065800" REL="nofollow">here</A>, that Circuit is the real female lead anyway.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158205023293290552006-09-14T09:07:00.000+05:302006-09-14T09:07:00.000+05:30WRT Vidya Balan, I think it's strange to attribute...WRT Vidya Balan, I think it's strange to attribute this characterisation to her acting. I mean there is such a thing as a script in a film, and when we praise it for it's achievements, we have to know the lacunae come from the same source. She was indeed promising in Parineeta, a script which gave her something to do and which in the end called for a thrilling sense of womanly sexuality - and annoying as shit in MB - a script which called on her to do various things with her hair, simper, be sweet to old people and be girlishly sexless. I too wanted to smash something everytime she put her hair back but it was a script point. She was given this characteristic as her point of attraction by the script -there are a couple highlit, underlined close-ups of the gesture and Munna later says "aur uska lat usne kaan ke peeche etc." - maybe he says it twice. I find it interesting that people who go on about the merit of one MB vis-a-vis the other (and I have to say I loved the first and quite liked the second) never fault these films for the way their female characters are conceptualised. Gracy Singh in the earlier one too had nothing to do except simper and look admonishing in the feminine way ("you're too much Munna!!"). Frankly Vidya Balan seemed to be doing what she could to break out of the awful dialogue and direction given to her, but it was tough going. Gracy Singh is anyway an awful actress so she just sort of did the bells on her toes and tight salwar kameez thing and faded out.After both films I've felt that anger against the writer for writing the women with the understanding of an adolescent boy for his school crush. Dia Mirza's role was a shade better written, because she wasn't a love interest I think. But oh, the sweetness, the sweetness. Like many enterprises where boys want to change the world, the industry or whatever context, the nice guys who made these movies don't really have an imagination of the presence of women in that world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158204458981775332006-09-14T08:57:00.000+05:302006-09-14T08:57:00.000+05:30I think I did not put myself across well. Let me b...I think I did not put myself across well. Let me be more clear. <BR/><BR/>You talked about how 'doing morally dubious things', should not sap celebrities of their celebrity status. I do not know, are you trying to say, helping to place a few bombs outside financial centres in Mumbai to be one of those few 'morally dubious things'... I am reminded of the 'acts of genocide' sequence in Hotel Rwanda.. if you catch my drift. <BR/><BR/>I found it offensive that someone who had tried to maim and kill Indians out of spite, would act and benefit from such a movie, where he is this kindly do-gooder... who is trying to change the world for the better. I also found it offensive that he had the audacity to use Ghandhi(ji) as a poster boy for his movie.Escape.... Great Escapehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05979124311629351839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158197616556920152006-09-14T07:03:00.000+05:302006-09-14T07:03:00.000+05:30cool review. can't wait to see what hirani will do...cool review. can't wait to see what hirani will do with FPS - his next.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158170166449200032006-09-13T23:26:00.000+05:302006-09-13T23:26:00.000+05:30I am personally disappointed that you choose to wr...<I>I am personally disappointed that you choose to write about this movie.</I><BR/><BR/>Avik: tough luck, and hope you get over the disappointment soon. But personally I find it quite easy to separate my feelings about the film from what the lead actor may or may not have done. If that makes me hypocritical (or amoral), I'll make my peace with it somehow.<BR/><BR/>Clarification: it wasn't my intention to put all celebs in the same moral basket. The last sentence of my earlier comment was flippant and off-the-cuff - should probably have avoided it.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158169353615328022006-09-13T23:12:00.000+05:302006-09-13T23:12:00.000+05:30Jai,You cannot put all the celebrities in the same...Jai,<BR/>You cannot put all the celebrities in the same moral basket. Laundering money, sleeping around are natural attributes on which the celebrities and page 3 thrives and which most of us can at least comprehend. Aiding and abetting against the nation is something else altogether. It is difficult to separate the movie and the lead actor in this instance. There is a definite feeling that the movie was released to evoke sympathy, yet again on Sanjay Dutt. With a congress MP as sister and mild bashing of RSS yet again in pop-culture he is going to be acquitted in a few days. <BR/><BR/>Irrespective of the merits of the movie, it is hypocritical to fight for justice for Jessica lal outside Rastrapati Bhavan and watch a Sanjay Dutt movie. Maybe this is the true “spirit of Mumbai and the Mumbaikar”. For god’s sake, he conspired against the country and as a commoner the least we can do is stay away from his movies.<BR/><BR/>When will viewers of bollywood wake up? Avoid this escapism, just browse in the office for three more hours and that is morally more satisfying.<BR/><BR/>As a regular reader of your blog, I am personally disappointed that you choose to write about this movie. <BR/><BR/>AvikAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158165099561969462006-09-13T22:01:00.000+05:302006-09-13T22:01:00.000+05:30Escape...great escape: I don't understand the comm...Escape...great escape: I don't understand the comment. This was a post about the merits of the Munnabhai films, not a tribute to Sanjay Dutt the person.<BR/><BR/><I>How does sanjay Dutt still have a fan following?</I> <BR/><BR/>Do you live in a bubble? This is a world where youngsters routinely go about boasting that <I>Mein Kampf</I> is their favourite book (when they haven't even read it and scarcely know what it's about). Besides, if doing morally dubious things sapped people of their fan followings, there would be hardly any celebrities left.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158164300180031932006-09-13T21:48:00.000+05:302006-09-13T21:48:00.000+05:30Vineet: oh no, not the old "getting away from real...Vineet: oh no, not the old "getting away from reality" argument again. The movie-watching process is usually more complex than that, even for people who steadfastly claim they watch films "only for entertainment". Besides, the Munnabhai films in my view are good examples of tasteful escapism. Most people I know have a lot of fun watching them. If there was any pontification, it was more in my post than in the film (it happens when one tries to discuss a Bollywood film with a measure of seriousness!).<BR/><BR/>Anyway, all that aside, can you send me your email instead of all this comment-chatter? (I asked you to on one of the earlier comment threads as well. My ID is on the profile page.)Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158162283518642282006-09-13T21:14:00.000+05:302006-09-13T21:14:00.000+05:30and boy...did i forget to mention a must best for...and boy...did i forget to mention a must best forgotton Swades....!!!UnSanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03892741118718942189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158162082703196172006-09-13T21:11:00.000+05:302006-09-13T21:11:00.000+05:30Label me as one from the old school(in more ways t...Label me as one from the old school(in more ways than one...yes jai from your old school too) but pontification by a whole host of movies including the now famous ( is it another sacred cow now) Rang De Basanti and now an encore in preachiness...is this the reason for the title (Bollywood) lage raho... <BR/>I go to movies to get away from reality blues and there's a lot of it on TV now a days besides life....<BR/>This is not to deny that munna 2 might be as good if not better than munna 1. <BR/>But then again Munna 1 was a trifle irritating in its naivety. I guess I should stick to movies like Goonda (long live mithun da or is it the education in UP that has done me in)UnSanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03892741118718942189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158152260911614142006-09-13T18:27:00.000+05:302006-09-13T18:27:00.000+05:30Do you think if Kevin Spacey had played a part in ...Do you think if Kevin Spacey had played a part in 9/11 and then acted in "pay it forward' or 'life of David Gayle', people would have praised him?<BR/><BR/>How does sanjay Dutt still have a fan following?Escape.... Great Escapehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05979124311629351839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158144786782324242006-09-13T16:23:00.000+05:302006-09-13T16:23:00.000+05:30Nice post. I agree with you on Vidya Balan. Also i...Nice post. I agree with you on Vidya Balan. Also imagine our illustrious private FM radio jockey's going 'Good Mornnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnning Mumbai'. Would definetely give the creepsShyam Tallamrajuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13896444662472276247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1158142104705121472006-09-13T15:38:00.000+05:302006-09-13T15:38:00.000+05:30Frankly, I didn't see much promise in her in Parin...Frankly, I didn't see much promise in her in Parineeta as well. Similar reasons -- self-conscious acting, simulated half-smiles showing off perfectly painted lips, affected laughter, that purposeful flinging of the braid and the pallu artistically behind one shoulder (or am I confusing her with Ash Rai? Still, that's bad enough) and the effort to look pretty-pretty and photogenic at all times. Though she was admittedly better in the intense scenes of the film.The Marauder's Maphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05691114757718617846noreply@blogger.com