Saturday, August 31, 2013

लेकिन अमृता....


(To Amrita - On her birth anniversary)



तुमने समाधि का वरदान नहीं
भटकन की बेचैनी का शाप पाया

इमरोज़ को लिखे गए तुम्हारे खतों ने 
कितनी रात मेरे तकिये और मन को भिगोये रखा

लडकियां जब शरीर के मिलन की रातें सजाती
तुम अपने ख्वाबों में अपनी कलम से पूछा करती
"तुम मेरा साथ दोगे? कब तक मेरा साथ दोगे?" 

तुम्हारी याद का हर शब्द ऐसा है
मानो कोई शरीर से चुभी सुइयां निकाल रहा हो

तुमने 'भूरो' की विरह-चीखों को शहनाई बनकर गाया

हाथ पकडने 
और हाथ थामने 
के बीच का फर्क तुम्ही ने मुझे समझाया

तुम्हारी कहानियों के रोष की रस्सियों ने बटकर मुझे बनाया है

औरों का मैं कह नहीं सकती 
कि किस हद तक
पर तुम्ही से थोडा कुछ मैने सीखा
हदों से आगे बढ़ना, सरहदों को पार करना और परछाईयों का पीछा करना

अब भी कर रही हूँ
करती रहूंगी... 
उम्मीद में

लेकिन अमृता
कहना चाहती हूँ
तुम्हारी तरह… 
हर किसी को इमरोज़ नहीं मिलता।

Monday, August 26, 2013

Certainly 'one-of-its-kind' but hope not the last. - Madras Cafe.

In today's time, where every film-maker/director claims his 'film' as one-of-its-kind, (with all due respect to their hard work and its outcome), here comes a director who doesn't go over-board and let the film allow to do the talking.

Shoojit Sircar's Madras Cafe is one who leads (as I think in my little opinion). As a director, his second-timer lives upto the expectations, while handling with a walking-on-tight-rope subject.

Unlike his first directorial 'Vicky Donor' with an acid-like-subject-dipped-in-humor, Madras Cafe narrates the story of a nation dealing with political tension while the other one is facing civil war, plus, a conspiracy that will change the future of both the nations. With both his films, Sircar's message as a director/filmmaker is clear :
1) THAT his first success was not a fluke.
2) That he has taken a secret vow that he won't take his audience for granted (unlike his other contemporaries do).
3) THAT he will not bow down to stereotypes story-telling narratives and remains true to what it claims to capture.. that too, without sensationalizing the plot.

Madras Cafe's takes us on a ride of how, what & when of the-then Lankan war, a conspiracy that kills a nation's prime-minister.. without taking names OR sides (APPLAUSE). Yes, the characters in the film have their personal setbacks but Sircar manages to steer ahead the plot without being melodramatic.

It will be an injustice if I won't mention John Abraham's role as a producer-cum-lead-role. During his (almost) a decade of acting tenure, his acting skills has not only been questioned many-a-times but also 'labelled' as inconsistent. John's choice(s) as a producer introduces us with his new face. A welcome change, I say! (Having said that, How I wish to bow before John and congratulate him for being a rarest-of-rare-case of model-turned-actor-turned-producer).

Miss Fakhri (unlike in her debut 'Rockstar') not only breaks the ice of being a sheer disappointment but also, contributes to the story.

MADRAS CAFE brings a fresh air in this sheer mayhem of 100cr. club and all that jazz, a change so pleasant that certainly is one-of-its-kind but hope not last.

Last but not the least, as this old saying goes, "you cannot stop people from watching bad cinema but you can always spread a word-of-mouth and increase the viewership of good cinema'.

Here's to the new face of Bollywood. Hail Bollywood!

P.S.: ONE MUST AVOID 'Madras Cafe', if:
1) You think, it's just another film based on real events/characters/facts.
2) You are looking for bollywood typical patterns of unreal fight sequnces OR irrelevant conflict scenes.

3) You think, you should ignore this post and give 'Madras Cafe' a shot (and believe me, my friend, I will brim and brew happiness if you do so).