Kisi ko kuch nahi pata. Sab andhere mein teer maar rahe hain (No one knows anything. We’re all just shooting in the dark). Here’s part 1 of my take on the evolving business of entertainment (Part 2 here).
Valid for all of us. While we all write articles, curate content revolving around the entertainment business, sharing our two cents of post analysis – the truth remains that none of us really know what’s right for the biz.
Recent trends followed by the earth-shattering reception to Pathaan and Jawan suggest how it is the era of masala and mass entertainers and everything else is conducive for the digital space. Even numbers suggest the same. But, numbers, for their design, will always tell you what is clicking in the market and not necessarily what would click for you.
Still from Jawan
Let’s understand some key metrics of the business that aren’t actually that key or vital.
Right off the bat, is the good-old Indian Sensibilities schtick.
You’d often hear makers proclaim that their film or show caters to the Indian sensibilities. While quite smart sounding, the concept is shorthanded. It is not possible to gauge the Indian sensibility for it differs from every household.
Let us take the example of a story around infidelity or adultery. While most of us would call it a sensitive subject, it is rather relative, subjective, and individual. For one sexual infidelity might be a huge setback, a taboo that gut wrenches them. For the other, it may mean anything substantial.
Still from Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
Precisely similar would be the consensus on a religious or devotional story. For some, religion might be a very sensitive issue, a topic they are rigid and conservative about. For some, it might be okay to critique the folly and flaws of faith and doctrinaire. Perception is a varied term. And claiming to have a uniform code or ethos of a variable factor leads to thought leadership, which conniving in usage becomes propaganda.
For folks working in the marketing and communications space, the letters “Target Audience” (TG) would sound like a throwaway term. A concept that has been trivialized and overused to the point of irrelevance.
Yeh humare TG ke liye work nahi karega – a line often thrown at creatives by highly educated but short-sighted focus groups who supposedly have the vast and diverse market base assessed as a sample size.
The audience has since decades been segregated into the mass, the multiplex, and the single screen public. Again, let’s zoom out and evaluate how proficient this demarcation is.
The single screen audience mostly constitutes the multiplex audience. They’re mostly the same people. As class in cinema is not determined by income group but by mood and spending preferences.
Speaking for myself, I’ve watched films at PVR Luxe when the mood and monies coincided, and I am the same guy who’s whistled and hooted at Chandan Cinema. It is the small-town mindset. And majority of India is small town.
Still from Bariely Ki Barfi
Folks who’ve grown up watching cinema in Meghdoot and also relished the luxuries of Cinema in Dona Planet – the factors could trickle down to as basic a requisite like one’s idea of comfort.
A major part of our population is accustomed to watching films under that huge-arse fan in the single screen theatres and opt to head to the multiplex solely for them soothing air cons. And if one believes that families don’t tend to avail single screen film services, you’re not looking at the right scenarios.
Even today, in tier 2 and 3 cities, families find single screen theatres far more pocket and family friendly. The only space where multiplexes score are the night shows.
So there, Indian sensibilities differ in every home. Therefore, either you count them as the same set of audience or granulate separate films for each base. The former being always the feasible move.
I think my watching of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge now in 2023 should be a markedly shifted one, because while I don’t remember having seen the entirety of the 189 minute epic musical.
I have seen its derivatives, it’s countless inspirations, it’s begotten and completely irrational stepchildren in the form of the daily soaps which are still churned out utilising at least one or two of the ten or twenty tropes DDLJ introduced as well as perfected.
Its also fascinating to see how with the opening of the economy and the import-export gaining entryway into the nation by the abolishment of the license Raj, the movie was designed to cater to city kids with exposure of dozen tv channels instead of the two Doordarshans, while rural kids too had to be satisfied.
Its an engineering of storytelling, the screenplay of DDLJ, a form of compromise while simultaneously subverting.
Progressive outlook but still praising conservatism.
A film in which the Non Resident Indians (NRIs) had far more values of “Indian Culture” than previously shown in the last of the Bollywood movies of the decade of the 80’s with the Roberts and their chomping cigars and their Monicas.
All of these observations are hindsight, caused due to a result of pop culture osmosis. It doesn’t change the fact that the movie’s flaws are fatalistic and glaring, its high leaning into conservatism with Raj actually “earning” Simran instead of “stealing” her away doesn’t really account for the latter’s own freedom or her liberty to make her own choices. Also doesn’t change the fact that Raj’s “courting” of Simran will be looked at in a wildly different fashion.
But, with all of that said, why is it so popular? Why are some single screen theatres in Mumbai still running DDLJ?
Maybe because at the core of it, the movie’s efficiency of direction and the filmmaking truly stand out. Even in his debut film, filmmaker Aditya Chopra truly shows a knack of shooting splendour and colour, be it the corn fields of Punjab, be it the lush green meadows of Bern, or be it capturing the leads with all of their beauty and charm.
I have seen Kajol in countless other movies, but something about DDLJ struck me this time. She is gorgeous, at times independent, not as obnoxious as her character in Baazigar.
Shah Rukh Khan’s Raj on the other hand does need time getting used to. However, in spite of the screenplay’s myriad of issues, this is SRK’s Citizen Kane as a romantic lead.
He would always be chasing this combination of charm, vulnerability and an irascible cheekiness, and while he would come pretty close, it never truly gets replicated.
DDLJ is a time capsule, but what makes it timeless are the songs and the moments. Jatin-Lalit’s album is a true symphony of melodies while the key moments.
Bade bade shehron mein choti choti baate hoti rehti hai senorita or Palat or Ja Simran, jeele apni zindagi with her running towards the train trying to catch Raj’s outstretched hands are so profoundly ingrained into every Indian film watcher, that my opening statement still stands.
Even if you haven’t seen DDLJ, you have seen DDLJ.
The trailer for director Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s next directorial venture, 12th Fail, dropped today and drew an enthusiastic response from all quarters. Fans of Vinod’s distinctive brand of thought-provoking entertainers found the trailer to be ticking all the right boxes.
The trailer features Vikrant Massey in the lead and has glimpses of the protagonist’s journey from a small village in Chambal to the bustling nerve-centre of UPSC preparation in Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar. Initial reactions suggest that viewers have been impressed by Massey’s strong performance as well as his physical transformation. The ensemble cast is also very interesting and punchy dialogues are the highlights of the trailer. Set to the tune of a rousing anthem #Restart, the film is expected to be a roller-coaster of emotions.
12th Fail, based on a real story, draws from the gritty struggles of millions of students who attempt the UPSC entrance exam. But at the same time, it goes beyond that one exam and encourages people to not lose heart in the face of failures, and to keep fighting.
Talking about the film, Vidhu Vinod Chopra said, “In today’s times, I wanted to tell a story of hope, a story of never giving up. 12th Fail is all that and more. I have laughed, cried, sung along, and had fun making this movie. I truly believe that this film will find universal connect when it comes out in theatres.”
Shariq Patel, CBO, Zee Studios, shared his excitement, saying, “We’re thrilled to partner with Vidhu Vinod Chopra. This film truly captures the ups and downs of student life, highlighting the strength and resilience of these young individuals. It’s a celebration of the spirit of our youth as they conquer challenges.”
12th Fail, a film by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, is set to release worldwide on October 27.
Loneliness, fear and poverty are the biggest diseases. If either latches onto the other, what ensues is absolute pandemonium.
Mumbai Diaries S02 dives straight from the frying pan into the fire.
Seven months apart from the 26/11 attacks, the medical battalion at Bombay General Hospital is now doom-scrolling into the fangs of the infamous July floods of Mumbai. An unforgiving outpour that ripped the spirit of Mumbai into shreds. A ruckus ready to usurp the social and moral fabric of this hospital.
Season 2 of Mumbai Diaries puts a chokehold on the audience right from the word go. Alike logged waters, the tensile elements first leak in through the cracks to smash the fences wide open. The first season was about the doctors’ valor. This season is about their vulnerability.
Here the doctors are diseased and the common ailment is void. Each member of the hospital has a compulsion, a boundary they fail to overcome, until fate’s floodgates are let open. And once it rains, it pours. And pours. And pours.
Mohit Raina’s Dr. Oberoi is stacked with the baggage of guilt and unrest. In a world where water wreaks havoc, paranoia runs Dr. Oberoi’s world dry.
Mrunmayee Deshpande and Natasha Bharadwaj get author-backed roles this time as their characters swim against the current of fate for self actualisation and self-discovery. Just like logged waters become natural habitats to leeches, the bangarang state of affairs in Bombay General Hospital favour as breeding ground for the vindictive, nefarious yet competent Dr. Saurav Chandra, essayed with all the evil gusto and cinematic droop by Parambrata Chatterjee.
You want to punch his face six inches into his head. The sly mofo act is that convincing.
It was heartwarming and fulfilling to see Prakash Belawadi and Shreya Dhanwantry’s characters do the heavy lifting of reprisal, reconciliation and reconditioning of self, with a screenplay that balances inventiveness and social commentary like butter on a knife. This season is wired with moments to reflect, relate and yet reel for more.
In a tale of woe that brought the city to a stand still, Malay Prakash’s direction of cinematography is spellbinding. Quite possibly The Invisible Nurse, his camera takes you straight into the action, this time penetrating deeper into the psyche and perils of the humane.
It gets you closer to this medley of tales about empaths, divided by class and creed but united by chaos. Every unavailable ER makes your heart pound with panic. A possible outbreak clinches your nerves and an impending pregnancy pulls a theist out of you.
Writers Yash Chettija and Persis Sodawaterwala deserve special applause for not letting the story turn into a preachy, prejudiced faux pas. Each element of the narrative yearns its own respite rather than cleansis the ethos of every living being on the planet.
Letting Sanjana voice her grievances and not fall to the lure of the protagonists taking a stand is a sign of great writers sprouting out of the right kind of human beings. Nothing could’ve worked better than the poetic and sprightly closure to Tina Desai’s Ananya as a resolve to push forward Oberoi’s character arc.
These are strong decisions that writers often fail to take. Unless they don’t fall in love with their work. Very selfless of the writing and creative team.
The music is better and far more riveting this time around. The ethereal soundscape mixes gloom and grit in the same morsel and feeds you with soul food grilled to pitch perfect temperature. Blend that with Priya Suhaass’ eerily lifelike production design and you get one of the most immersive long format experiences in recent memory.
In an ensemble as such, the course of natural selection will often distribute screen time unevenly. There’ll be powerful cameos like the one by Jamini Pathak, the reliable Dr. Cherian played by Balaji Gauri or the conniving media mistress played to perfection by Vasundhara Kaul.
Like a chessboard, everyone gets a fair share. But the most commendable and stand out performances this season are of Konkona Sen Sharma and Satyajeet Dubey, for how much and how little respectively they’re provided with to do.
Dr. Chitra allows Konkona not only display her range but also exhibit the seamlessness with which she switches and toggles through moods. The consistency of her characters despite of emotional rebuttals is a work of fine art by a finer performer. One of the best ever to do it.
An actor’s prowess is gauged not by their flight in the excess or abundance of fuel but in the lack of it. And the best of performances stem out of selflessness, when there’s no gluttony for validation or approval.
Satyajeet Dubey is the most authentic figment of the Mumbai Diaries universe. With not much meat and meaning of his character to the bigger scheme of things, Dubey’s performance is a sounding board for all other characters. For his is the most flawed, frailest and most human character in the entire narrative. Every time a character falls to folly, there’s a bit of Ahaan Mirza in them. There’s a bit of Ahaan Mirza sprinkled all across the mood, environment of this universe. Where everyone is racing to fill a void.
Ahaan just valiantly wears his fallacies on his chest. Making him a second-self, an alter ego of every character in this story. Satyajeet Dubey is a massive credit to this industry, for he brings a type of nuance that’s not only unheard of in such brief appearances but the skillsset of a performer who has the tools to take this art form forward.
Mumbai Diaries is of the floods and calamities but not entirely about them. Strip away all the dressings, peel away the optics and you find the battle between rage and fear working inwards. When life throws a curve ball, even the most virtuous rattle for blinkers. For everyone wants the oblivion of mortality. That’s where hope sides. That’s were miracles are born.
Loneliness, fear and poverty are the biggest diseases. All cured by the same antidote – Hope.
And the wait is finally over! Pooja Entertainment, synonymous with gripping and engaging cinematic experiences, has unveiled the highly anticipated trailer of Mission Raniganj and it has not only lived up to its promise and hype but has exceeded all expectations! The heroic Jaswant Singh Gill played a significant role in rescuing surviving miners trapped inside a flooded coal mine in Raniganj in November 1989 which was a successful rescue mission in Bharat against all odds.
The recently released motion poster of Mission Raniganj had already piqued immense curiosity among audiences, eagerly anticipating this gripping rescue thriller based on a real-life story.
The trailer, which is nothing short of a cinematic spectacle and edge of the seat experience, lives up to the tremendous hype that has surrounded the film. It is a roller-coaster ride of emotions, drama, inspiration, courage, and soulful music, all beautifully woven together with terrific performances from the cast.
The rescue thriller starring Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra, boasts the massive cast and promises to be the most remarkable coal mine rescue operation ever depicted on the silver screen.
One of the major highlights of the trailer is the brilliantly shot water sequence featuring Akshay and the impressive cast giving us a glimpse into the rescue mission. Each frame also showcases the great ensemble of talented cast supporting Akshay’s character Jaswant Singh Gill in every frame, which is truly heartwarming! It’s a nail-biting and edge-of-the-seat experience that will have viewers hooked from start to finish.
Producer Deepshika Deshmukh adds, “I am absolutely thrilled to present the trailer of ‘Mission Raniganj.’ This film has been lots of brainstorming sessions with tech teams , hard work and meticulous planning , and I couldn’t be happier with the way it has turned out. It’s an inspiring story that needs to be seen, felt, and celebrated on the big screen. I can’t wait for the audience to experience the heart-warming journey of courage, human spirit and determination that ‘Mission Raniganj’ offers.”
Director Tinu Suresh Desai adds, “As a filmmaker, I feel happy and extremely proud to showcase the trailer of ‘Mission Raniganj’. It talks about the relentless spirit and determination of the human spirit. I’m eagerly looking forward to sharing this thrilling and inspiring tale with audiences on the big screen.”
Starring Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra, Kumud Mishra, Pavan Malhotra, Ravi Kishan, Varun Badola, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Rajesh Sharma, Virendra Saxena, Shishir Sharma, Ananth Mahadevan, Jameel Khan, Sudhir Pandey, Bachan Pachera, Mukesh Bhatt and Omkar Das Manikpuri, Mission Raniganj is an ode to the resilience, determination, and valor of the human spirit and engineering minds. The film also marks Tinu Suresh Desai’s next thriller after Rustom, which won Akshay Kumar his first National award and the team massive critical and commercial acclaim.
Produced by Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh and Ajay Kapoor, Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue is directed by Tinu Suresh Desai and music on Jjust Music. The coal mine accident that shook the nation and the world, and the relentless efforts of the rescue team led by Jaswant Singh Gill, will be released in theatres on October 6th 2023.
This autumn the Royal Shakespeare Company brings their acclaimed play The Empress by Lyric Hammersmith Theatre Artistic Associate Tanika Gupta to the Lyric for four weeks only from 4 October.
Transferring directly from the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and directed by Pooja Ghai, Artistic Director of Tamasha, this new production of The Empress takes you from the rugged gangways of Tilbury docks to the grandeur of Queen Victoria’s Palace, whilst unveiling the long and embedded culture of British Asian history.
TheEmpresswas written by TanikaGupta. The production is directed by Pooja Ghai with Design by Rosa Maggiora. Lighting is by Matt Haskins, Music and Sound by Ben and Max Ringham, Movement by Wayne Parsons, Dramaturgy by Pippa Hill, Fights and Intimacy by Rachel Bown- Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown, and Casting by Matthew Dewsbury CDG and Martin Poile.
Rachel O’Riordan, Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre said: “We’re so excited to be welcoming the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of The Empress by our very own Artistic Associate, Tanika Gupta and directed by Pooja Ghai. This is an exciting time for West London, we are so pleased to host the RSC here in Hammersmith for this sweeping story through British Indian history.”
The Empress is another impressive play in Tanika Gupta’s ever-growing canon of work. Tanika’s acclaimed adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House opened my first season here at the Lyric in 2019. We are honoured to be the London home of this epic production that unveils the long and embedded culture of British Asian history in nineteenth century Britain and we cannot wait for audiences to see this story come to life in our beautiful Victorian Frank Matcham Theatre.”
Spanning 13 years over the ‘Golden Era’ of Empire, this story blends the experiences of Indian ayahs (nursemaids) and lascars (sailors) who worked on the ships carrying trade goods, alongside the first Indian politician to be elected as a Member of Parliament.
It is 1887, the year Queen Victoria celebrates her Golden Jubilee.
Sixteen year old Rani Das, ayah (nursemaid) to an English family arrives at Tilbury docks after a long voyage from India, to start a new life in Britain. On the boat, Rani befriends a lascar (sailor), Dadabhai Naoroji, an Indian politician, and Abdul Karim, a royal servant destined to serve the Queen. Full of hopes and dreams of what lies ahead, they each embark on an extraordinary journey.
Willtheir expectationscometrueorwillthey have to forge a different path in their new country?
Tanya Katyal plays Rani Das. Her theatre credits include When Mountains Meet at Cottiers Theatre, Glasgow. Television credits include Netflix’s Eternally Confused and Eager for Love.
Raj Bajaj plays Abdul Karim. Raj’s previous RSC credits include Tamburlaine, Tartuffe andMuch Ado About Nothing. Other recent theatre credits include Wildfire Road (Sheffield Crucible), Tartuffe (Birmingham Rep), Hobson’s Choice (Royal Exchange Manchester), Rapunzel (Stratford East), Lions & Tigers, The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare’s Globe), East is East (Northern Stage/Nottingham Playhouse) and Bend It Like Beckham (Phoenix Theatre).
Alexandra Gilbreath plays Queen Victoria. She is an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company, where her credits include; The Provoked Wife, The Rover, Shakespeare Live!, A Midsummer Night’s Dreaming, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night for which she received an Olivier award nomination-for Best Supporting Actress, Merry Wives – The Musical, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tamer Tamed, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, The Winter’s Tale, Cyrano de Bergerac, Ghosts, The Country Wife, Love’s Labour’s Lost. Other theatre includes; The Sugar Syndrome at the Orange Tree; The Fever Syndrome, Mother Christmas at Hampstead Theatre Downstairs; The Lie at Menier Chocolate Factory; Dessert at Southwark Playhouse; The Wars of the Roses, Hayfever at the Rose Kingston; The Invisibles at the Bush; A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Hong Kong Philharmonic; The Village Bike, Disappeared at the Royal Court; Shallow Slumber, God’s Dice at Soho Theatre; Othello at Sheffield Crucible; and Playhouse Creatures at Chichester Festival Theatre.
Screen credits include; Becoming Elizabeth, EastEnders, Father Brown, Casualty, WPC56, In Search of Shakespeare, Rites of Passage, Inspector George Gently, The Commander, The Waltz King, Happiness, The Project, Trial and Retribution, Midsomer Murders, Absolute Power, Life Begins, The Bill, Monarch of the Glen, Out of Hours, A Wing and a Prayer, The Art of Love, Lair, Warhol, Dead Babies, The All Together, A Hundred Streets and Tulip Fever.
Completing the company are: Francesca Faridany (Lady Sarah), Aaron Gill (Hari), Anyebe Godwin (Serang/Lascar), Miriam Grace Edwards (Charlotte/Susan), Oliver Hembrough (Lord John Oakham/William/Painter), Avita Jay (Firoza), Tom Milligan (Freddie/Ensemble), Sarah Moyle (Mary/Susan Matthews), Chris Nayak (Jinnah/Singh), Lauren Patel (Ruby/Asha), Simon Rivers (Dadabhai Naoroji), Anish Roy (Gandhi/Lascar), Nicola Stephenson (Lascar Sally), Premi Tamang (Lascar/Ayah), and Joe Usher (Lascar).
Tanika Gupta has written over 25 stage plays that have been produced in major theatres across the UK. Her critically acclaimed adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House set in colonial Calcutta launched Rachel O’Riordan’s first season as Artistic Director of the Lyric in 2019. She was awarded an MBE for Services to Drama and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She is an Artistic Associate at the Lyric and was recently announced as one of two new Writers in Residence at the Bush Theatre in 2023.
Pooja Ghai is Artistic Director of Tamasha, and artistic associate at Kali. Prior to this she was Associate Director at Theatre Royal Stratford East. Her most recent directing credits include Hakawatis and Lions and Tigers at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse; Lotus Beauty at Hampstead Theatre; Seriously Annoying by Mark Thomas for Tin Cat Productions, 2020 at Tara Theatre, Approaching Empty at the Kiln (Tamasha/Kiln/Live Theatre) and Rapunzel, Counting Stars and House of in Between at Theatre Royal Stratford East. Awards include Best Director for Lions and Tigers at the Eastern Eye Arts, Culture and Theatre Awards (ACTA) in 2017. Pooja is a Dramaturg for Voxed, Meeting, Out Late, Vestige and It’s Not Me.
The playtext was recently added to the GCSEdrama syllabus following a campaign aided by participation from the RSC’s Youth Advisory Board and is now one of four new plays by writers of the global majority to better reflect the diversity of playwriting in the UK. The text was introduced by AQA in 2022, the largest examination board in England. Tanika’s 2019 production of A Doll’s House was previously added to the national curriculum by Pearson in 2021 alongside works by Bola Agbaje, In-Sook Chappell and Roy Williams.
YOUNGLYRIC
In response to The Empress, Young Lyric will create a series of teacher CPD sessions for secondary schools across West London which examines Gupta’s text and curriculum links. The production will be accompanied with a complimentary teacher’s guide exploring The Empress as a set text on the AQA Drama curriculum, this guide will be created in collaboration with RSC Education.
The cheerful and upbeat song “Ve Fukrey” from the movie Fukrey 3 is out now. The actors from the film, including Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma, Manjot Singh and Pankaj Tripathi, are featured in the song, sung by Dev Negi and Asees Kaur and choreographed by Bosco Martis.
Tanishk Bagchi has composed the soundtrack of the film with lyrics of “Ve Fukrey” by Shabbir Ahmed.
Fukrey 3 has an ensemble cast, where Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma, Manjot Singh, Richa Chadha, and Pankaj Tripathi return in their previous roles, as is the third instalment of the renowned Fukrey series.
The previous Fukrey soundtrack had Sona Mohapatra’s rendition of the song Ambarsariya, which became an instant smash.
Excel Entertainment production presents Fukrey 3, produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, co-produced by Kassim Jagmagia and will hit the silver screen on 28th September, 2023.
This man revives the industry. This man disrupts the industry. This. Man. Is. The. Industry.
Now that I’ve got my fandom out of the way, let’s try understanding Jawan. Shah Rukh Khan’s latest nationwide house party.
Note – I’ll not be talking about Shah Rukh Khan’s performance here as that will be a separate, forthcoming standalone article.
You can’t term it otherwise. Shah Rukh Khan’s fanbase has transcended the realms of being a mere legion. It is so well connected, not just virtually but on an emotional plane too that it could be considered a nationwide inner sanctum at least if not a family.
While it could’ve been fairly easy for Red Chillies Entertainment and Atlee to deliver a subpar film and play by the numbers advantage, the reward here is effort. To tell a story, to entertain and to create a value proposition.
Jawan mostly succeeds because it is an honest film that accepts it’s multitude of flawed facets.
A social redemption story perched atop the reliable shoulders of vigilante drama, Jawan is pulsating from the word go.
Unleashed to deafening roars, the film sets off onto it’s course of rabid action pieces and rapid swerves. The lead in to all songs is visibly gimmicky and the treatment demands you to suspend disbelief, what saves the film is Atlee’s conviction.
Every frame is designed principally with elan, no matter how far fetched. Atlee’s confidence and earnest will to hold his audiences’ attention anyhow becomes rewarding as he owns the shortcomings of his film by tuning up its entertainment to levels that you’re too overwhelmed and content to complain.
A certain set piece looks over the top? There’s suddenly another action piece or entry that pulls a whistle out of your wind pipe like local train TCs pull out commuters without tickets.
Jawan, on a mood plan front, feels like steroids are on steroids. Take prime Undertaker from WWE and put him on crack. That’s SRK in every frame, that IS every frame in Jawan.
Even though not author-backed, the women in Jawan have a lot to chew on. They represent all they key arcs and development of the story but fall victim to the edit job which has to fit all the high octane material along with some very mid and needless songs.
The soundtrack is a heavy downer. Zinda Banda needed a better singer. Chaleya is fine but not an unforgettable track. Faratta wasn’t needed. Catering to commerce, galleries and a bit of research makesit lag in places led by its disappointing album score. But equally redeeming is it’s thumping background score. Timed and tuned to perfection, the BGM is the final character of this film that enhances the experience. But the minor gripe remains.
Music cost the film some valuable screen time that was butchered in some key moments like the confrontation or the comeuppance craving climax.
Deepika Padukone is a natural. She has earned the right to have her own action franchises. Note the plural.
She takes this extended cameo and outshines everyone in the film. Even Khan to some extent.
Nayanthara has always been an actor who reads the room like a ninja. And here she knows her job is to complement Khan as an equal, oft rival and she succeeds in both.
It is a delight to watch Priyamani every time. Flawless, she is for all the meat that is provided to her.
Sanya Malhotra seems to have made a career out of turning roles without meat into pivotal characters of the films. Her performance in Jawan is a classic case of turning chicken shite into chicken salad – proving that for great actors even a single sequence is enough to smash it out of the park.
The only bummer though is the lack of female involvement in the climactic fights. Noting how some of the most exhilarating reactions in theatres all over were when the ladies kicked ass, the heavy lifting should have been shared equally too.
Nevertheless, this is a step taken in the right direction. Ladies in Jawan aren’t damsels in distress. They are legit ass-kicking machines.
Vijay Sethupathi. Acts with his forehead. Kills with his gaze. Doesn’t even bat an eyelid, for real. By now he has aced the menacing goon to an extent that he could play such roles in his sleep.
The accented Hindi just adds to his portrayal of the Diabolical Kalee Gaekwad. An arms dealer who dupes his own nation is the perfect foil to elicit the apt nationalistic emotions and enthuse one to rally for the avenging hero.
But it is not merely the nationalism of Jawan that works well but also the perfect balance of desire and defiance. The film unapologetically makes very strong and fair political statements antidotal for a multilingual, free spirited, liberal, bohemian and welcoming country that India is originally known to be.
In a move that only he can, Shah Rukh goes meta while addressing the people in the film’s universe and and outside it with a plea that most of us want to put forth in this day of dilapidated discourse. Jawan is an anti-eshtablishment, socially aware film that rechristens the angry young man character for a newer generation. The results are heartwarming. The right kinda India represented by its favourite Hero.
Jawan is what the current gen would call wholesome, the previous generation would call reformatory and our generation would call Humne toh bola hi tha SRK phod dega.
Of heartstopping entry scenes, machismo and madness, the film is neither a cinematic marvel nor a thespian’s treasure. It is the celebration of that one thread that binds the nation together – Shah Rukh Khan.
The film has its heart in the right place.
Punya hai ya paap hai. Jawan definitely box office ka baap hai!
In a world transforming exponentially for the debatably better or worse, the great reset of the entertainment space has led things back to square one. A one-man show with Khan atop.
So how did the giant wheel of time avert all incoming diversions and run back to status quo? And how did the biggest possible legion in the world evolve without turning one darn stone? Let’s dive in and try decrypting.
Shah Rukh Khan’s fan base, affectionately monikered the “SRK Universe” comprises lads and lasses from all walks of life. The belief system of this clan is divided into two strict halves – blind devotion and objective rallying.
The blind devotion is a sentiment residing in the younger lot, less journeyed, fervorous more than factual, mostly the heart and soul of this brigade. The objective lot encapsulates all the folks who’ve been fanatics for decades, people for whom endorsing everything Khan does is a part of their lifestyle rather than a motif. Their goal is to get the promotional job done.
Nobody’s alien to the fact that Khan had a string of mis-hits in the decade that passed by. Whilst most of his releases recovered the costs, the wider audience base was left wanting for more.
That “more” nobody could point a finger at.
Still from Zero
Within the timeline, Khan’s passion-project Fan was panned for an overboard post-interval – no songs and his experimental outing Zero had very few takers. Nobody, not even Khan himself could decode what precisely was going amiss all these years.
Add the fact that Khan had no substantial sounding boards beyond his immediate circles, to assess the situation or be the voice of reason to clear the possibility of clouded judgement. Even his legion isn’t to blame in such a predicament. For fans, by design, are conditioned to have a bias – expected to cushion their favourite with care and empathy when the chips are down.
To try decrypting this facet, one needs to zoom out, take a birds-eye view and glance over the general audience. The less passionate-yet more diligent movie goer. Those who might not necessarily ape Shah Rukh’s look, gait and fashion but love him as much – The Hindi film audience.
The demographic that has grown feeding off potboilers and mad-capers. To whom, Khan always seemed like that everyday man from amongst them, with a relatable and inspiring backstory that reached the pinnacle.
Chart back to Khan’s body of work through the 90s – mid 00s and you’ll trace the reflection of the evolving middle class Indian, in a stream that Khan had literally monopolised – The middle cinema.
In early 90s, he was the rebel every enterprising Indian connected with amidst rapid globalisation. Mid to late 90s he was the template Mr. Goody Two Shoes, a wholesome energy everyone either wanted to replicate or find in their close ones.
Still from Pardes
A nation traumatised for centuries by enslavement, partition and poverty, India was in a recuperative space, in dire and regular need of heroes who made the unthinkable seem attainable. It began with our freedom fighters, all the way to Kapil’s Devils igniting our hopes in sport.
An angry young man in Amitabh Bachchan represented every disgruntled Indian that raged against the machine. Across decades, the nation found it’s beacons of hope in commoners who took the plunge and disrupted the norm.
Khan’s type of disruption was more cognitive than tangible. Here was this mid looking TV actor trying to get a foot into the door with roles rejected as leftovers by bigger stars. The predicament was designed for this lanky Delhiite to fail and fizzle into obscurity.
But within the next few years, the chap was a heartthrob, the nation’s sentimental favourite. Was it his fresh take on the bad guy shtick? Or did his films disrupt the norm? Neither. It was his cocksure attitude. The testicular fortitude to bill himself better than the greatest. A demeanour that’d shape the attitude of a generation that was to follow.
Gone were the virtuous men next door. India had found the perfect foil for its time. India had found it’s antihero.
Still from Don
A cocky, upstart unabashedly taking over tombs and pillars of the establishment was the tailor-made template India enroute globalisation needed. A new hero for a brand new level of the game. Henceforth, anything Khan touched forged gold.
People rallied behind him for they wanted their favourite underdog to reach atop the food chain. His films became gospel for the youth and his ascension, a movement. The audience, within a few years were successful in anointing Shah Rukh Khan as the undisputed king of the entertainment megapolis.
The pinnacle was attained, fever pitch hit and a mission accomplished. The disruptor was now the dynasty. The invader had now become king.
This coronation was immediately followed by an inevitable polarisation. The legion was now divided into fanatics, viewers and critics. Fanatics and viewers would still crusade for every release of his with an emotional obligation to help his outings sail. The ones bereft of any solid cause to uplift the now-uplifted King gradually turned into critics.
Unable to fully relate to a ridiculously talented actor draped in fame and fortune, Khan didn’t seem like the same old, vulnerable underdog they could vouch for. Their favourite star had achieved practically everything and then some more. They sought what seemed non-existent – a challenge.
Hence rose their foolish outcry to rope more projects like Chak De! India. They wanted Khan to put something at stake, his acting chops and mettle to say the least – in an otherwise fairly easy career of a bulletproof, financially immune Superstar. Then broke the floodgates of expectations, where Khan fell short most of the times.
Still from Chak De! India
Cos for his legion – Shah Rukh Khan’s 10% = Everybody else’s 90%.
What ensued next is a flurry of disappointments despite of solid revenue spin and growing grandiose on each occasion until a global health emergency intruded and detoured Khan’s halt into a hiatus. For almost half a decade, the King went incognito.
And in these 5 years, the division of the legion – Diehards, fans and critics began dissolving. Mostly for all these folks were now growing into the most crucial and defining years of their lives.
While Khan was on his sabbatical, his fanbase went from parental guidance to being parents themselves; either kids or pets. People now in their 30s – 40s, hardened by realities of life and grappled into selflessness by their personal series of losses, for them, little and simpler things in life brought joy; glory got swapped with gratifying experiences, success became a choice and not destination.
The yearning for their long-absent star was now less for box office triumph but more for the warmth of his presence. And then, close to 5 years out, Khan was ready to return. Not without a final bump, an arm shot to his personal life where his grace and dignity outplayed all incoming vices and exemplified his character – a survivor. The one who outlives all.
Perhaps why a strictly mediocre film like Pathaan ripped the global box office into shreds. His return was a celebration for people whom he’d been inspiring for decades, obviously helped grow up into sane beings ready to give back to their unassigned mentor.
And Khan being the visionary he’s always been chose to nosedive into a trajectory where he could just have fun and let it be.
Still from Pathaan Post-Release Press Conference
A look at the Jawan prevue and his loyalists are grinning at the smartness of their hero who’s always known how to play with the market’s optics’ fascination. A man who’s tasted every media frenzy from Doordarshan to Netflix, an elusive style neither AI nor human can replicate (see actors failing to emulate the king of romance shtick in recent releases), Khan has somehow regularly managed to pioneer the media & communications space and the golden run continues.
The gall to launch Jawan‘s teaser in 4K HDR proves how confident and ready Red Chillies VFX team is with the visuals. Simply put, it’s proven, the man knows his shizz, ahead of time.
The relationship between Khan and a nationwide, oft worldwide legion has transcended the realms of success, glory, dominance and parked itself neatly in the laps of oneness. A legion and their star who now intend to and are growing old together.
A Star – Fan relationship is quite familial where the latter feels like a parent, in front of whom the star is born. And a parent-child dynamic is akin to that of a bow and arrow. The closer you pull an arrow, the farther it moves away from you.
Still from Jawan
For decades, the “SRK Universe” has pulled Shah Rukh close to the soul, protected his legacy. Now, it’s a point in time when the little star is all grown up. And, it’s time for the parent to let loose of the strands, time to let go. Woh ab bada ho gaya hai. Khud sambhaal lega.
Interesting times to be a Shah Rukh Khan fan. Now, immune to payoffs, attuned to love.
