The Filmfare Awards 2018 took place recently, and Vidya Balan surprised no one by winning the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female). No one that has seen Vidya act will question or challenge her win, but the award means more than just another win for a deserving actor. This is indeed a big win for the art and the artist, but it is also a big win for women and for body positivity. At a time where most Bollywood actresses are judged and appreciated more for their looks and their bodies than they are for their performances, this win signals a message of acceptance for diverse body types, and validates Vidya being happy in her skin without succumbing to the pressures of the industry. Whether it is Jacqueline Fernandez, Fatima Sana Sheikh, Katrina Kaif or Alia Bhatt, most actresses seem to be in a blind mechanical race to achieve the perfect body, while most celebrity Instagram accounts seem flooded with workout routines and diet regimes. While their goals and discipline is admirable, it is hardly relatable for the rest of us, making it almost painful to watch them doing workout after workout to meet the expectations set by society. On the other hand, Vidya’s Instagram is a relief from the star-studded circus; it is refreshing and makes one feel like what you see is what you get. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd14ghtHsIT/?hl=en&taken-by=balanvidya The lesson is empowering. Hating your body type and constantly questioning why you don’t meet the “ideals” set by society won’t take you anywhere; in fact, the distress will ruin your peace of mind. We are breathing in a society where the biggest billboard on a traffic signal is always of a skinny woman measuring her ideal waist, and promising you that you too could look exactly like her if you have a certain brand of green tea. Seeing Vidya, a confident and extremely talented woman, prove that you don’t have to live by the rules set by the marketing gurus and by societal expectations in order to be taken seriously, is as exhilarating as it is surprising. Thanks to surgeries, diets and workout regimes, beauty has now become a stock. It is like a stagnant idea that we have all collectively fixated upon, leading to all popular heroines looking the same. In an effort to blend in and be accepted, all individuality is lost, and you can hardly tell one from the other. More often than not, a woman’s weight is treated like a pertinent issue, instead of treating it like what it is – no one’s business. Discussing and commenting on weight is like a norm, making women feel like their self-worth is reliant on their body type, and not their ability or intellect. For instance, upon her entry into Bollywood, Kareena Kapoor Khan was frequently shamed for her weight, until she finally put in a lot of effort to drop it, after which she was criticised for being a “size zero”. Even new mothers aren’t left off the hook. We all remember how Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was scrutinised and body shamed for her weight gain at Cannes after her daughter was born. Postpartum is quite obviously a sensitive time for women, but now there is also the added pressure of participating in a race to lose the added weight as early as possible. Kareena, too, was shamed for her weight and her “fat legs”, at a time when she was working out despite being a new mom. She was then applauded for going to the gym regularly and gaining her “body back” after giving birth, but what about her millions of followers who don’t have the facilities to meet those same expectations? Pakistan, too, is falling behind when it comes to body positivity and media representation for diverse body types. Whenever we see a plus-size person, it is usually to make fun of them and having their weight become the butt of the joke. It is as if we are incapable of seeing plus-sized people as beautiful or of taking them seriously. After all, how many times do you see a plus-size woman reading the news or hosting a show? What Bollywood did to Aishwarya and Kareena, we did to morning show host Sanam Jung, with her weight gain after giving birth to her first child becoming a topic of discussion and constant monitoring. I have no bearing against having a healthy lifestyle, but an obsession with a healthy lifestyle is also unhealthy. The idea of suggesting that one type of body is perfect and thus attractive, is a very negative way to perceive things. Celebrities are part of media representation and advertising, which is what sets the mindset about what is or is not acceptable when it comes to beauty. In an age where simply having a belly could lead to the implication of being pregnant, where people are obsessed with getting rid of the little tummy that is naturally left behind after a woman births children, and where most things we see on social media lower the self-esteem for regular women, Vidya is our champion. During the promotions of Tumhari Sulu, Vidya was more often than not asked questions pertaining to her weight, and she managed to answer all of them with dignity, confidence and humour. To see women like her – women who look more like the rest of us than Katrina ever will – on the big screen is enough to make us feel more empowered and valuable. When we see the smiling, light-hearted and enduring Sulu on our TV screens, we too want to believe in ourselves. Thus, the characters she plays are as powerful as Vidya is a force to reckoned with, both as a star and as a person. She plays strong, independent, complicated characters where her weight is neither the focus nor the punch line, making her no less than a Wonder Woman in this era of self-doubt, self-loathing, diet fads and surgeries. Celebrities unquestionably wield a lot of influence over us, and thus have an immense responsibility when it comes to influencing the mindset of their followers. When they use their platform to spread messages of positivity, and to highlight that you should love yourself no matter what, it deserves to be commended. What makes Vidya a rare species in the entertainment industry is to see her being so comfortable in her skin and still winning the world. It is high time that women start loving their bodies and focus on being healthier, rather than just running after society’s ideal size and torturing themselves in the process. As Rujuta Diweker, Kareena’s dietician, wrote on Instagram,

“Because what matters in the beginning, middle and end is that you smiled and laughed, and not that you had a crisp jaw line, double chin or triple chin.”

South Asia’s film industries have failed to produce a war film of international impact that would contribute to the myths indispensable to a culture’s self-image and provide a viable soft power platform. Films narrowly focused on jingoism and self-righteousness only preach to the choir. They quickly degenerate into self-indulgence. The paucity of South Asian war films and their quality leaves much to be desired. Whining about Hollywood cultural assaults discounts the entertainment quality of its movies and the innumerable, politically anti-American, Hollywood war-movie fans worldwide. The Naked and the Dead, The Great Escape, From Here to Eternity, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Saving Private Ryan, Heartbreak Ridge, The Thin Red Line, Pearl Harbor, Men of Honor, The Dirty Dozen, Rambo, Inglorious Basterds and, many other heroic Hollywood movies have had world-wide impact, confirmed by box-office figures. Simply put, the movies are very well made and jingoism is subtly woven into the fabric without overpowering its entertainment value. For example, Harvey Weinstein’s Seal Team Six was labeled “a political stunt” by Michael Cieply and Brian Stelter in The New York Times, October 23, 2012. Along with Zero Dark Thirty, both films are generally considered to have been “enablers” for Barrack Obama. Yet, they were financially successful and internationally popular. South Asia, as one of the world’s oldest civilisations, has had more than its share of wars – from pre-Vedic to present times. Retrievable heroes of all hues, patiently wait to make a competent movie-maker’s dream come true. South Asia’s handful of war movies have failed to attract non-partisan audiences. Their vast natural resource of war history provides the raw material needed for quality movies but remains underexploited. The handful of war movies suffer from four major weaknesses. Firstly, the choices of roles and actors in the movies is inappropriate. Hollywood’s war heroes usually represent the rank and file of an army – hard-bitten sergeants and warrant officers with hearts of gold. The message is light-handedly embedded in the action, carried by the quality of the entertainment and, as such, is effective. The heroes of Pakistani war movies look like middle-class boys on a biryani overdose. In Bollywood’s LOC, Om Puri’s acting is great, but as the only prominent JCO (Junior Commissioned Officer) in the movie, he comes across as a thick, yes-sir subordinate – a cheap shot. Secondly, despite the availability of perhaps a few hundred thousand ex-soldiers – all potential advisors and ‘stunt-artists’ –technical errors and sloganeering contaminate the art of filmmaking. In an acclaimed Pakistani war movie, commandos give naara-e-takbeer (slogan of God) battle cries before infiltrating. In another one, just before sky-diving, the commander leads battle cries with the aircraft door open. When in reality, once the aircraft door is open it is so noisy that even the jumpmaster has to use hand signals! In actuality, there is an unexploited talent pool within Pakistan. Army units celebrate several national and regimental days, marked by March Pasts, sports competitions, a communal meal called a bardha khaana, and skits presented by the unit’s ‘Drama Party’ – raw materials waiting to be put to use. They could provide supporting cast and technical advisors for the movies, even if they stop short of ‘hero’ material. Thirdly, the protagonists’ moral and patriotic discourses are ill-timed and misplaced, with little or no reach beyond a domestic audience. They sound like bigoted schoolmasters under the tutelage of a mean-eyed headmaster. Lastly, the economic aspect of failing to exploit a renewable gold mine is surprising. Wars there are, and wars there will be. They are ugly, dehumanising events, the scars of which have to be courageously borne. Yet, human endeavor, courage and loyalty can only be retrieved from tragic, high-stress situations, which is one way of describing a war. John Steinbeck was only able to retrieve greatness from the 1930s Depression Era dust-bowl catastrophe of the United States’ Great Plains area. His novel, The Grapes of Wrath (1939), drew attention to a human calamity and led to his Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. South Asia is uniquely placed to produce universally appealing war movies. Nearly four million South Asian warriors fought in the two world wars to uphold western democracy. Their battle records and gallantry medals, already the stuff of myth and legend, languishes at the door of South Asia’s film production studios. Retrieving the exploits of these sons of mothers and brothers of sisters is not just respect and social service. Using the full potential of cinema, it is big business with guaranteed success. Myths precede art, language and writing by millennia. They preserve heroism, and moral values, and embody core truths, the reality of which need not be physical. They demystify cultural episodes, identify a people and provide them with role models. Storytellers and writers created myths, now succeeded by cinema which, in South Asia, is not a British handout. In 1896, the French Lumière brothers, inventors of cinema, chose Mumbai as the venue for their representative’s demonstration, leading to South Asia’s first (short) film, The Wrestlers in 1899. During World War II, Hollywood produced superior and more effective movies than the hyperbolic heavy masala churned out by Goebbels’ boys in Hitler’s Germany. During the Cold War, Hollywood heroes were even popular in the Soviet Union. That speaks for the professionalism of their production and high entertainment value. Pakistani cinema, also known as Lollywood, needs to step up and produce war movies that captures the attention of audiences worldwide, preferably before Bollywood does. We have to make use of the resources (and the history) that we have been given; if anything, it can only help Pakistani cinema flourish.

From Airlift (2016) to Rustom (2016) and from Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017) to recently released biopic Padman, Akshay Kumar is portraying inspirational characters and filmgoers are loving his selection of movie subjects. His latest thought-provoking venture Padman revolves around a taboo topic – menstruation. The movie skilfully highlights basic hygiene that is necessary during menstrual cycles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K9ujx8vO_A Based on Twinkle Khanna's short story The Sanitary Man of Sacred Land, Padman is about Tamil Nadu’s Padmashree winner, Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social activist who not only empowered the village women but also created inexpensive sanitary pads. The film has been appreciated all over India for drawing attention to a vital health issue. However, in Pakistan, Padman has been banned due to its “unmentionable sensitive content”. According to Central Board of Film Censors,

“We cannot allow a film whose name, subject and story are not acceptable yet in our society.”

Pari will be Anushka Sharma’s third production under her banner, Clean Slate Films. Pari, as the name suggests, is not at all a feel-good movie, or a fairy tale as the poster warns, about an angel; it’s the complete opposite – a horror movie. Sharma’s last production, Phillauri, also revolved around a supernatural entity and it performed decently at the box office. This might be why she is taking on another project surrounding the supernatural – to replicate those results this time around too. The trailer of Pari dropped recently and it has left me unimpressed to be quite honest. The 90-seconds long trailer didn’t even get a single fright out of me. Although the trailer looked visually appealing with good quality scenes and makeup, but a horror movie’s trailer has one job and one job alone, to scare the viewer, but unfortunately, Pari wasn’t able to do that. It was a little confusing as well. We know from the trailer that Sharma’s character is a troubled one who believes that a one-eyed man (Rajat Kapoor) wants to kill her. Another man, played by Parambrata Chatterjee, falls for Sharma’s character, even after he’s been warned of her behaviour, and wants to somehow protect her. There are scenes where Sharma is seen pouncing on her victims with mediocre wire work and running around long corridors with intense music in the background. We get a glimpse of a deformed creature which might actually be the “devil” himself. I have assumed from the trailer that Sharma is both the victim and the host of a demonic entity. What makes this trailer a let-down is the fact that Sharma has mostly played bubbly characters throughout her career, and with her outlook, it is very hard for viewers to get frightened. Also, the only thing the filmmakers do to give her a scary look is a bunch of scratches and blood blotches on her face. Frankly, Sharma doesn’t have the face to pull off a frightening character. Whenever she’s on screen, I still view her as Shrutti from Band Baaja Baraat or Jaggu from PK and not someone who is possessed by some sort of a demonic entity and is considered as a threat. Will Pari bring something new to the horror genre? I really doubt it. Would it be one of Anushka Sharma’s best movies? I don’t think so. Would it rake in moolah at the box office? Maybe. The audience has always had a craving for horror movies and that might work in the movie’s favour if almost everything else is against it. Pari is scheduled to be released on March 2, 2018. All photos: Screenshots

The moment the posters for Irrfan Khan’s upcoming dark comedy Blackmail were released, with the actor wearing a paper bag over his face while he stood bare chested in his boxers, I knew it then and there that we were in for a treat! Khan rarely misses that quality movie mark and the kind of movies he does are always a little different than what Bollywood usually has in stores for us. The trailer of the movie released recently, and as expected, it seems like one hell of a ride. The trailer, with a 150-second runtime, is hilarious and quite intense. Usually, Bollywood comedy movies are light-hearted at their core, but that is not the case with this one. The trailer starts with Khan, a middle class man, learning about the fact that his wife, played by Kirti Kulhari (Pink, Indu Sarkar) is cheating on him with another man, played by Arunoday Singh (Jism 2, Main Tera Hero). Khan, instead of choosing between the two obvious yet insane options of either killing the other man or killing his own wife, opts for a third and the most bizarre alternative. He decides to blackmail both of them and demands one lakh rupees, but little does he know that his wife and her lover are both broke. In a twist, Khan, the blackmailer, starts getting blackmailed for blackmailing his wife by another person. Insane! I know! Thus begins the comedy of confusions. There is an interesting and funny scene in the trailer where Khan is seen running on the street with his face covered with a paper bag and wearing only boxers while being chased down by goons. As I said, this is not your usual light-hearted comedy which is why there are knives, gunshots and blood.  As this is not a Bollywood magnum opus, the trailer is pretty simple and the movie will be highly dependent on the plot and the performance of the cast. From the looks of the trailer, this one seems to have all the ingredients to become a real winner. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] Blackmail has been directed by Abhinay Deo of Delhi Belly fame and also stars Divya Dutta and Omi Vaidya. Deo’s movies post Delhi Belly have not worked any wonders at the box office and neither have they impressed any of the critics. Hopefully, things will change for Deo when this madcap comedy finally hits the theatres. What really seems to work for this movie and makes the trailer stand out is the fact that the flick has both suspense and comedy, which is quite a rare combination. I am sure Khan will hit yet another bullseye with this one and bag more accolades as well. Blackmail releases on April 6, 2018. All photos: Screenshots

When you are a young boy, you tend to hang pictures of people in your room whom you admire and love. Whose picture goes up on your wall depends on how old you are. When you are between five and 10, it is normally superheroes like Superman, Batman and so on. Then, as you age beyond 10, posters of superheroes get replaced by real life figures, like sportsmen and male movie stars. Then, at a certain time, normally when you are well into teen years, pictures of female movie stars also start appearing. Of course, it coincides with adolescence and the time when you start developing interest in courtship and romance. The first picture of a female movie star or singer is often of a person who is also your first massive crush. Just like all boys, I went through the same cycle. At one point, pictures of Spiderman and Superman were replaced by that of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Imran Khan. However, there wasn’t any picture of a female star despite me being well into my teens. Then I watched Lamhe. Next day, I remember going to the shop and buying a huge poster of Sridevi Boney Kapoor. I loved the movie and even more than the movie, it’s incredibly talented and beautiful star. Sridevi was mesmerising in the movie and showed exceptional range of acting skills coupled with an amazing diversity of facial expressions. I don’t remember how many times I rented the video cassette (those were the VCR days!) and watched it. During those times, it was the one movie I could never get tired of watching. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] I became obsessed with the star and started to watch her older movies also. I watched Chandni, a movie revolving around a love triangle. She was brilliant and outshined both Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna, despite the fact that both of them were also established actors. I loved her in Mr India, which could easily have been called Ms India as she literally stole the show from Anil Kapoor. I was amazed by her acting abilities in Chaalbaaz where she played a double role of women with extremely different personalities. One role was of a docile and timid woman while the other of a strong and extremely confident woman. She played both roles with incredible ease. She was brilliant and looked incredibly pretty in Gumrah too. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="496"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] Back then I was so obsessed with her that I actually started to dislike Madhuri Dixit, an equally brilliant star and her fierce rival in those days. My close friends of that time used to tease me about my infatuation with her, as in their opinion, it was bordering obsession. I would go to bookshops to browse through Indian magazines like Filmfare and Stardust just to find about box office standings of her releases. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Bollywood actor Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit attend Grand Finale of TV Show Jhalak Dikhala Jaa Season 5 at Filmistan, Goregaon, on September 25, 2012, in Mumbai, India. Photo: Getty[/caption] Showbiz stars are incredible as they are perhaps the only kind of people who transcend the borders in an age of hyper-patriotism. Here was a Pakistani lad having a hopeless crush over an actress who belonged to the supposedly “enemy” country. But for me, for that matter for millions of other Pakistanis fans of her, it was of no concern. She belonged to the entire subcontinent. After she got married in 1996, she decided to settle for domestic life and was hardly seen on the big screen. With age, I also got over the level of infatuation which I used to feel for her. However, the affinity remained. After all, you don’t forget your teenage heroes and crushes! With the advent of internet, I would at times Google her name just to keep up with what was going on with her. Since she was not working, most of the news about her consisted of her appearing at some party or the other. I would never fail to notice how gorgeous she continued to look despite being well into her 40s. In fact, with age, she looked better and better. After hiatus of so many years, she made a return in the memorable English Vinglish, in which she again gave a masterly performance. English Vinglish is beautiful story of a house wife who arrives in the US but cannot speak in English, a deficiency which often leads to her family making fun of her. She seeks respect from her family and in the process learns to speak the language. The speech in English she gives at the end was so beautiful and touching. Ironically, the first time I watched the movie was when I was on my flight was when I was coming to the US for my PhD. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="455"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] All her movies including English Vinglish had one thing in common – she was the central figure. This by no means is a trivial thing as back in those days (for that matter even now) movies used to be completely male-centric and the heroine was just a sidekick, often added for increasing glamour quotient of the movie. This was, however, not the case for Sridevi. All her movies were women-oriented or at least had her in a very strong, central role. I remember Khuda Gawah, which paired her with the legendary Amitabh Bachchan who always used to work in movies which completely revolved around him. However, even in that movie, Sridevi played an equally strong role. I remember one Indian movie journalist wrote,

“Khuda Gawah is a Sridevi movie which happens to have Bachchan in it!”

Sometimes filmmakers tend to bank on projects having similar names to attract viewers, be it in India or Pakistan. This occurred recently in Pakistan, where a horror film called Pari was released a full month before the Indian version of the same name. We witnessed the power of the curse of the same name when Pari’s trailer received millions of views on YouTube, only for everyone in the comments to wonder, “where is Anushka Sharma?” Similarly, Indian filmmakers have come up with Veerey Ki Wedding and managed to release it before one of the most awaited films of 2018, Veere Di Wedding, which stars Kareena Kapoor Khan and Sonam Kapoor. Director Ashu Trikha (Deewanapan) and writer Dilip Shukla (Andaz Apna Apna and the Dabangg series) joined forces to create a wedding comedy in the form of Veerey Ki Wedding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytsHyHD_vWs The film is a love story between Veer (Pulkit Samrat), an eligible bachelor in Delhi who falls in love with Geet (Kriti Kharbanda). Unfortunately, Geet’s father (Satish Kaushik) does not have a good first impression of Veer, whom he considers a quarrelsome boy and a bad influence. The situation further complicates things for Veer and Geet’s romance with the arrival of Balli (Jimmy Sheirgil), Veer’s older brother, as their families continue to fight amongst each other. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much it for the plot, and there isn’t much to tell about what actually happens in the film. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] Coming to performances, Pulkit Samrat, the film’s lead, fails to impress with his charms. I’ve said this before about Samrat and will say it again; he needs to stop replicating Salman Khan’s body language and mannerisms. It’s time for him to offer something unique that we have not already seen before in the performances of other actors. The lead actress, Kriti Kharbanda, looks great on screen, but that’s pretty much it. The only saving grace in the film, and the most dedicated performer in the entire cast, is Jimmy Sheirgil. Given the calibre of Sheirgil’s talent, it’s sad to watch him in such lousy films where the script is half-baked. Actors like Satish Kaushik have tremendous potential, but once again, the film fails to utilise the talent at hand. Yuvika Chaudhry, who started her innings with Om Shanti Om and then bagged the leading role in Toh Baat Pakki, returns to the silver screen but does not have much to offer to this lacklustre affair. For Ashu Trikha, this is yet another instance where he fails as a director, after previous disappointments like Baabarr, Enemmy or Koyelaanchal. The film offers nothing of substance to cinegoers. The let-down is particularly strong from Dilip Shukla, as there was a time when he wrote scripts for cult classics like Damini and Andaz Apna Apna, in comparison to which Veerey Ki Wedding has no potential at all. For a movie catering to the wedding season, the music of the film is neither pleasant nor memorable. The strictly below average soundtrack doesn’t stay with the audience at all, as one constantly wishes for both the songs and the movie to be over soon. It will not be going too far to name Veerey Ki Wedding as one of the worst wedding films of the season. Veerey Ki Wedding is a forced entertainer; a film that possesses all the ingredients to entertain yet fails to make good use of them, resulting in a bland movie. The film does try too hard to make the audience laugh, but unfortunately, barely comes close to making people smile. With films like Veerey Ki Wedding and last week’s Welcome To New York, Bollywood keeps reminding viewers that despite the strength of the industry, it continues to have filmmakers who just want to create films with no regard for the good quality. If you are a film buff who doesn’t skip a Bollywood film, feel free to try your luck with Veerey Ki Wedding. If not, it is in your best interest to save your time and hard-earned money and skip this one out. All photos: Screenshots

Today we celebrate International Women’s Day; a day to appreciate and acknowledge the women around us and discuss female empowerment. As we do this, it is hard to ignore the contribution of the media, which is perhaps the best tool in our means to depict the society around us. However, having empowering female characters is not a new phenomenon in either the Indian or Pakistani film industry. On the contrary, filmmakers in India and Pakistan have consistently tried to come up with subjects and films which celebrate and empower women. From the inception of the film industry in this region, there have been many women-centric films where the true strength of the gender is portrayed as the strongest pillar of our society. The following are just a few of such films we have seen over the past decades: 1. Mother India (1957) A classic tale of love, sacrifice and discipline, this film is considered the finest classic in Bollywood, and showcases the hardships a woman goes through in her life as a wife and a mother. Nargis outdid herself in making the character of Radha feel authentic and relatable; a character that remains a timeless tribute to mothers in South Asia and developing nations. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: India Today[/caption] 2. Saheli (1960) This may be a tale of two friends who fall in love with the same man, but the elements of friendship and love in the film, along with the added dimensions to the female characters, makes it function as a great window to the lives of women. As an added bonus, their impeccable performances in the film led to Shamim Ara and Nayyar Sultana becoming two of the most prominent leading ladies of the 60s, as they continued to bless us with more female greatness. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="439"] Photo: YouTube[/caption] 3. Bandini (1962) After making classics like Do Bigha Zameen and Devdas, Bimal Roy made Bandini, a film that would inspire many to follow in his vein and tell stories about women. A prisoner serving life imprisonment, Bandini is strong-willed and selfless at the same time, and her distress over her actions makes the audience acknowledge that women do not have to be one-dimensional characters for the audience to like them. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: The Hindu[/caption] 4. Zarqa (1969) Riaz Shahid’s Zarqa, featuring Neelo in the titular role, is a story of a woman during the Palestinian liberation movement against Israel. The film truly acknowledges the role women can play in the political sphere, and even today, Raqs Zanjeer Pehan Kar Bhi is a song that triggers nostalgia for millions across the country. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="441"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] 5. Pakeezah (1972) Yet another classic that tells the tale of a strong woman who has the ability to go through any situation in life on her own. One of Meena Kumari’s most unforgettable characters, the movie depicts women in a strong and positive light not very frequently seen in the film industry. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: YouTube[/caption] 6. Society Girl (1976) Sangeeta’s debut film as a director, this film was way ahead of its time, and featured the kind of strong women that Pakistani audiences were not ready for. However, the way it was penned and executed, along with the brilliant performances, have made it a cult classic. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="430"] Photo: The Hotspot Cafe[/caption] 7. Khushboo (1979) Nazar Shabab’s take on women in Khushboo was interesting to say the least. He depicted women on two opposite ends of the spectrum – on one hand, there is a damsel shackled to her role in society, while on the other is a woman who breaks the mould and fights for what she wants. The film is beautifully written, with applause-worthy dialogues that remain relatable and applicable to our society today. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: YouTube[/caption] 8. Umrao Jaan Ada Mirza Hadi Ruswa’s novel Umrao Jaan Ada was so powerful that both Indian and Pakistani filmmakers couldn’t resist making a film of the same name. In the Pakistani version of 1972, Raani played the lead role, justifiably portraying the charisma, charm and beauty of Umrao Jaan. In the Indian version of 1981, Rekha mesmerised audiences as the titular character. Both films were very well made, even though both showcased Umrao Jaan’s character in completely different yet empowering ways, unlike the 2006 version with Aishwariya Rai, which failed to hold its own. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="421"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] 9. Namkeen (1982) With actresses like Waheeda Rehman, Sharmila Tagore and Shabana Azmi, Namkeen is an amazing film to watch and learn from. The film highlights four different women in different phases of their life, and remains one of the few films where a woman’s perspective is executed with flawlessness. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Mubi[/caption] 10. Bol (2011) Shoaib Mansoor’s Bol is a film which not only elevated the standard of movies made in Pakistan, but also talked about women in a different light; one our industry was unused to. It was encouraging to see important questions pertaining to women finally being asked, such as, why are women looked down upon in our society, or why is this society obsessed with sons while daughters are disregarded? [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] 11. English Vinglish (2012) One of Sridevi’s most discussed recent films, English Vinglish, is about a simple woman who loves to cook and fails to speak the desired standard of English in our society. Not only does this film showcase the ability of a woman to surprise society at any age, but is subtle yet powerful in the way that Sridevi’s character empowers herself. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="540"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] 12. Mardaani (2014) This film depicts one woman’s fight against female trafficking and forced prostitution. When the antagonist underestimates Shivani Shivaji Roy (Rani Mukherji) because she is just a “woman”, she becomes his ultimate nightmare. Not just the movie itself, but the Mardaani anthem too is pretty empowering for women. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] 13. Dukhtar (2014) Talking about the very serious issue of child marriage in Pakistan, Afia Nathaniel’s Dukhtar is a very well made film that every Pakistani should watch. The story of a mother and daughter who run away to prevent the girl from being married off to a tribal leader, the most poignant aspect of the film is the mother’s desire to protect her daughter from the harshness of the reality of being born female. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] 14. Queen (2014) One of the most empowering films to come out in recent times, Queen is the simple tale of a young woman dumped by her fiancée, who then decides to go on her honeymoon by herself. The journey is quite literally empowering, as Rani (Kangana Ranaut) travels the world and realises that she does not need anybody in her life to depend on but herself. This film is definitely one that all women and men should watch once! [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] 15. Neerja (2016) A true story based on the life of Neerja Bhanott, a flight attendant on Pan Am flight 73, which was hijacked by terrorists. The fearlessness and courage of this one woman led to the passengers’ lives being saved, as she protected the people and performed her duty till her last breath. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: IMDb[/caption] 16. My Pure Land (2017) This is one of those films that can be described as the most feminist, most empowering tales to emerge out of the industry in recent times. A tale of women in rural Pakistan uniting against scheming male family members and mercenaries, and holding them off despite limited resources, My Pure Land highlights the potential our industry has to shed light on women’s issues and their perspective, as well as successfully making a film that can best be described as a feminist western.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480"] Photo: Giphy[/caption]

When it comes to India and Pakistan, one comes across an array of academicians and scholars in western campuses with piles of research on the Kashmir problem, Siachen and Sir Creek. But one hardly comes across any serious initiative to explore what unites India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan are inheritors of a common civilisation and hence we have an ocean of shared heritage in literature, philosophy, music, food, and mysticism. These days, it seems we have completely forgotten the days when we regaled ourselves over the melodies of Noor Jehan, Mehdi Hasan, Ghulam Ali and Ataullah Khan Esakhelvi. Even the days of yore when Ali was bitterly opposed by Shiv Sena were not this disturbing because Balasaheb Thackeray never shied away from confessing his secret admiration of Ghazal maestros like Ali. Then the times came when the shared social and cultural traditions of music, food, costumes, festivals and mysticism got uprooted from the popular discourse and found a safe refuge in initiatives like “Aman ki Asha” (hope for peace). However, in the course of time, even such safe houses met an untimely death and with a heavy heart gave way to the discourse dominated by surgical strikes, Hafiz Saeed, Maulana Masood Azhar and tactical nukes. The only respite left is cricket and the tales of Imran Khan’s wives. Even that seems to be waning fast. As an Indian born and brought up in a state bordering Pakistan, and overfed in Delhi with both the punctured intellectualism, and the chicken karhai of Kareem’s, I can lay a decent claim to at least have a feeling of Pakistan’s cultural, social and religious heritage. At Cornell University, I experienced this feeling first hand. In the early days of homesickness and during the arduous process of cultural adaptation, it wasn’t a group of Indian engineers from Southern India who came close to me. The Rajasthani inside me could easily strike a chord of comfort and friendship with gregarious and gourmand hearts of Lahore, Karachi and Multan. I must say there is a range of peculiarities that unite us and some of them can be quite embarrassingly hilarious. One can begin with doodh patti (type of tea), almost a daily ritual for us in the morning and evening. No amount of Darjeeling tea, black coffee and green tea can fix a South Asian head in the evening, after a rigorous day of statistics classes which had already robbed him of his afternoon siesta. Only my Pakistani friends would understand my existential crises when I was looking for some doodh patti and was served champagne instead, at the morning and evening seminars. But for such occasions, we sneaked out to get some strong chai. The “goras” (white people) found the reason for our collective disappearances much later, after a thorough investigation. It was us Indians and Pakistanis who had taken a vow to arrive late, slog just a day before the exam, and as a last resort, make sufficient preparations to cooperate with each other like all good and pious human beings, in the exam. It was the most terrific Indo-Pak alliance and all the western surveillance equipment could never bust it. And, of course, we hated toilet paper and helped each other out by secretly arranging a mug in the toilets. Raza sahab, a diehard Lahori, my friend, philosopher and guide, threw amazing parties. The idiosyncratic philosopher inside him would first take a long walk and then devote long evenings to cooking bhindi gosht, chicken karhai and chicken kali mirchi. Everything was cooked in pure desi ghee, something which is equally dear to both Indians and Pakistanis. His tales of food, fashion and literary evenings of Lahore always reminded me of Ghalib’s Delhi. I felt that both the cities have similar vibes of love, sensuality, ideology and politics. And then, I met Sophia and I felt she is another cosmopolitan girl from Mumbai, but she turned out to be from Karachi. In her Memon-styled cooking, I got the flavour of dal sweetened with jaggery, a famous Gujarati dish that we, hot chillis-addicted Rajasthanis, have always feared. The flavour of caste from Pakistan can also be very exciting for an Indian. My friends Raza and Wasiq proudly claimed their Rajput ancestry with their fondness of shikaar (hunting) and guns; it felt as if they hailed from a typical Rajput feudal household of Rajasthan. When my friends Hajra, Hira, Wasiq and Raza celebrated Holi and Diwali with us, it seemed as if they knew it right from the dawn of the civilisation in the subcontinent. I was absolutely thrilled to find in my friend Wasiq a huge fan of Bollywood. He could narrate dialogues of Amitabh Bachchan and Amrish Puri with a feeling that made me realise that we have the same DNA after all. Raza had a penchant for Kishore Kumar and Rajesh Khanna, whom he lovingly addressed as “Kaka Khanna” all the time. My stories of Pakistan will be incomplete without the mention of Dr Fatima. The cigarettes, poetry and tea we shared over heated discussions on India-Pakistan melted into a sublime love when I sat for meditation and she said her last namaz (prayer) of the day, and I guess a mere mention of this is enough to silence those who use religion to fight. From this side of the border, I would like to mention that each and every Indian who has crossed the border either for marriage, cultural events or cricket tournaments, tirelessly tell about Pakistani hospitality and the delicacies of Lakshmi Chowk in Lahore. I am even told that many shopkeepers do not even charge money from Indians. Even in these days, when India is supposedly believed to have taken a sharp right turn, our private evenings are not without the melodies of Mehdi Hasan and Malkha Pukhraj. My friend, Mr Bhargava, a staunch Narendra Modi follower, speaks fluent Urdu with a feeling of near reverence and loves his whisky if it drains with the mesmerising Hasan. Until recently, Pakistani serials such as Zindagi Gulzar Hai and Humsafar were driving Indians crazy. As someone born and brought up in an Indian middle class family, I have grown up with the stories and individuals who blamed Pakistan’s intelligence for everything unexplainable or uneasy in India. It could be anything from the monkey man of Delhi or diarrhea of celebrity politician, to overflowing sewerage lines or a train accident due to poor maintenance. My perception of Pakistan was completely shattered when I had a chance to interact with my colleagues from Pakistan at Cornell University. Through this story, my idea is to bring forth the importance of our shared cultural and social traditions. Such a dive into the shared traditions may not solve our long-standing political problems, but it can circulate a fresh breeze of love, giving us an occasion to smile at each other and feel happy about what unites us rather than slit each other’s throats over what divides us. Unfortunately, resolving political disputes appears highly unlikely in the near and distant future. Both the countries seem to be approaching a near dead end-like situation on the geo-political front. Given this situation, the only hope left for normalising the situation between the two South Asian arch rivals lies in exploring the shared cultural, social and religious traditions.

October, starring Varun Dhawan, Banita Sandhu and Gitanjali Rao, is not your clichéd love story, as the trailer highlights; it’s more along the lines of a story about love itself. We’d only be able to tell what exactly the story is once the movie is out, however, the trailer does manage to set the mood and theme of the movie and what viewers should expect from it. The movie will not be akin to Bollywood movies that include a boy, a girl and a love story entwining their faith. Dhawan plays an employee of a hotel, probably a five-star hotel, aspiring to move up the ladder in his profession. It would be interesting to see the life of hotel employees from the point-of-view of Dhawan’s character, Dan. The movie also reveals the life of Dan’s friend, Shiuli, played by debutant Sandhu, who is in the ICU. A certain level of mystery hangs in the trailer regarding Shiuli’s health as the curiosity of what really happened to her will perhaps be the question for which viewers will watch this movie. Judging by the trailer, it seems romance takes a backseat in this movie while feelings of compassion and longing will be evident. Although Dan is a young employee at the hotel, it seems that the character will experience ‘coming of age’ while trying to adjust in his personal and professional life. It might be that his concern for Shiuli's well-being will make him mature enough to understand his responsibilities. This is just my opinion and what I grasped from the trailer. October’s trailer opens with Dan asking his friends about someone and why they hid a certain secret from him. Perhaps, it is in this secret that lays the friendship of Dan and Shiuli. Furthermore, it seems the movie will have ample shots of beautiful sceneries that will add to its production value. Shoojit Sircar, the Director of October, has previously made Bengali films; however, this movie is his sixth movie as a director and the first that he has made with Dhawan. It will be interesting to note how much value he has added to the movie while keeping in mind that Dhawan, apart from being a popular name, is an actor who is all about intensity, which shows both in his dialogue delivery and facial expressions. On the other hand, Juhi Chaturvedi, the writer of October, has only written three movies before taking up October as her career's fourth venture. However, the movies she worked on, including Vicky Donor (2012) and Piku (2015), did earn various awards in the Best Story and Best Screenplay category. Here is hoping that October meets the same faith! While the trailer for the movie highlights witty dialogues, one can never be too sure until they watch the movie. All in all, I am personally looking forward to watching October for it will show us a new perspective on love and romance. October is set to release on April 13, 2018. All photos: Screenshots

Rani Mukerji’s interesting new movie Hichki hit the theatres recently, and if there is one thing I’d say about her, it is that Mukerji has still got it! This is her first movie in four years, as she was last seen playing a leading role in Mardaani (2014), and yet she is the scene-stealer! If anything, the break proves that despite spending a few years away from the big screen, she still has the acumen to deliver a performance reminding us why she is one of the ‘greats’.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLSaCFlXn-g Directed by Sidharth P Malhotra and produced by Maneesh Sharma, Hichki focuses on Naina Mathur, a young woman who suffers from a rare disease which has made her life publicly tougher and her dream harder to achieve. Suffering from Tourette’s syndrome, Naina aspires to become a teacher, but due to her condition, she is rejected by every educational institute she goes to for an interview. Eventually, however, she lands a job at a school, and somehow, her life becomes an even more daunting challenge. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] Naina lives a life full of challenges in which she has to juggle between her personal and professional life, and more often than not, the line is quite blurry. The challenges in her personal life are spoiler territory, and will be revealed during the movie. The film itself, however, will teach viewers some important life lessons, especially when it comes to taboo topics such as dealing with illnesses and still trying to live life to the fullest. Moreover, the film also highlights the real-life struggles instructors have to face while teaching inattentive students who are fond of creating a ruckus in class. It is in Mukerji’s character that we find a teacher who we can relate to, and one we all wish we had. Though struggling as a teacher, Naina reminds us,

“There are no bad students, only bad teachers.”

When two legendary stars of Indian cinema come together for a movie after 27 years, you know something wonderful is in the making. Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor, two Bollywood veterans with multiple hits and accolades to their names, have united for the first time since 1991, when they starred together in Ajooba. Both actors have starred together in films before as brothers, but this time around they will be portraying father and son. The movie, titled 102 Not Out, looks nothing like what usually comes out of the Bollywood factory. The movie is directed by Umesh Shukla, who was also the man behind the highly acclaimed and thought-provoking film, Oh My God. The trailer starts off with Bachchan planning to become the longest living man on earth, with only 16 years left before he breaks the world record of a Chinese man. Yes! Big B portrays a 102-year-old father in this movie. While Bachchan plays an optimistic old man with high hopes, Kapoor plays his 75-year-old son who has accepted his old age and is a dispirited man. The father later decides to send his son to an old age home, which is when things go a little wild. There’s also a love angle involving Kapoor, who has parted ways with his wife, while his father encourages him to write a love letter to her. A love letter which, as pointed out by Big B, even though is written in Hindi, is not really in Hindi. The trailer is thus full of light moments and witty one-liners. The scenes involving Bachchan and Kapoor are quite funny and clever. The movie also promises to have some emotional moments, as Bachchan’s character can be heard saying,

“If your children grow up to be rascals, then forget them. Just remember their childhood.”

It is undoubtedly a sad time in the world. One of the most “respected”, “kindest” and “greatest” people on the planet has been convicted of a crime he committed some 20 years ago. Obviously, we are all in mourning as we see the harsh punishment sentenced to “a great human being”, whose only taint on his record includes domestic violence, hunting illegal animals and killing an innocent man sleeping on the footpath (allegedly, as we are all aware). Of course, these tragic times have compelled fans from all over to defend Salman Khan and protest the harsh laws that exist to punish criminals. Topping the list of defenders was our very own actress and woman who thinks human rights lawyers shouldn’t have a job, Mawra Hocane. https://twitter.com/MawraHocane/status/981854564579205121 It is indeed a sad day when courts in India, not known to deliver justice frequently, finally follow through on their judicial system and sentence Salman to some jail time. In a world with ‘no’ human rights, why are Indian courts trying to improve the world order by punishing people for their crimes? Yes, Salman killed an animal, but have we forgotten the major contributions that he, being the “saving grace” of humanity, has done for the world? After all, his campaign is called ‘Being Human’, not ‘Being Animal’. Salman may have illegally killed an animal, may have allegedly domestically abused Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and may have allegedly run over a man sleeping on the footpath, but are these crimes anything compared to how much he does for people? What does he do for people precisely, you ask? A lot, his fans will inform you, and leave it at that. Interesting how we’re all ignoring the law stating that because he is the ‘Bhai’, he is automatically acquitted of all crimes, even the ones he hasn’t committed yet. Because Bhai can never be in the wrong. Bhai is most definitely God’s right hand. Thus, Bhai fans are observing a day of mourning as they worry how Salman, a man innocent of everything but his crimes, will survive in prison. The Bollywood fraternity, on the other hand, is worried, for who will be the new Johnny Bravo of the industry? Now that Salman is in jail and can’t dance awkwardly or take off his shirt to utter a cheesy dialogue, writers in the industry will have to come up with an actual script to make money. The best part of this hullabaloo, as always, has been Twitter. If one wants to really see how to make the best of a ‘horrible’ situation, they should turn to this social media site! The following are just some of the best jokes made on the internet after the revelation of this sad, sad news. 1. Shah Rukh fans happy they picked the right ‘Khan’ Everyone knows about the rivalry between fans of all the iconic Bollywood Khans, making this the perfect opportunity for fans of King Khan to celebrate. If this doesn’t count as a victory for Shah Rukh, we don’t know what does. https://twitter.com/Sanjit11/status/981778739347513344 2. When Salman’s films provided the perfect opportunity for a joke All of Salman’s films have become iconic in some way or the other, but we’re pretty sure this is not how he intended for them to be memorable… https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedIndia/status/981849841780178951 https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedIndia/status/981849537303101440 https://twitter.com/idheerajjuneja/status/981822764926537729 https://twitter.com/riyanmansuri19/status/981822431588306948 3. Vivek Oberoi was (rightfully) brought in We’re sure Vivek has always been jealous of Bhai, but then who wouldn’t be jealous of the acting skills hiding all the way underneath his muscles? Unless you live under a rock, you must be aware that umpteen years ago, Salman used to date Aishwarya. After they broke up due to his abusive behaviour, Aishwarya eventually started dating Vivek. Because he is such a good person, Salman ensured that Vivek paid for this relationship by threatening his career. After the passing of so many years, Vivek may have forgiven Salman (we hope not), but the internet, on the other hand, never forgives an opportunity for a good joke. https://twitter.com/fakingnews/status/981776648185016320 https://twitter.com/BollywoodGandu/status/981789118173761536 4. The previous hit-and-run case didn’t escape everyone’s notice either The irony of Salman getting acquitted in the hit-and-run case (after being convicted, no less) and then randomly getting convicted for the case everyone had forgotten about, was clearly not lost on Twitter. After all, Bhai wasn’t drunk, the car was! https://twitter.com/SmokingSkills_/status/981779612547117056 https://twitter.com/QweenOfHells/status/981795127667691520 https://twitter.com/subhashish06/status/981760048438235136 https://twitter.com/Ojasism/status/981797610284609536 5. It was easy to empathise with the blackbuck Who knew blackbucks were so cute? https://twitter.com/jonbarfeela/status/981775064373706753 https://twitter.com/QuintNeon/status/981810780503867392 6. There were obvious concerns about Salman’s movie schedule

“Ek baar jo bhai ne commitment kardi, toh phir woh Judge ki bhi nai sunta”

“Don ko pakarna mushkil hi nai, na mumkin hai…” (Catching Don is not only hard, it is impossible...)

Oops, sorry! Wrong Khan. 

There is no doubt Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has a larger than life persona. Very few people in India are ambivalent about him. They either love, adore, and worship him, or they absolutely detest him. Like every other individual, he is complex and probably has multiple facets to his character. The grapevine is filled with stories of his viciousness and callousness, but at the same time, tales of his generosity and large-heartedness have acquired an almost legendary status. https://twitter.com/RiaRevealed/status/982363460280471552 https://twitter.com/SonuSood/status/982525545660534784 https://twitter.com/ElliAvrRam/status/982511467684446208 Interestingly, all of these aspects are incidental to his acting prowess, which ideally ought to be the most significant yardstick for him, given his profession. In reality, Khan simply plays himself in every movie, and seems to make virtually no effort to create layered and contrasting characters, much unlike his peers. But the fact remains that his movies sell, and they sell well. He has legions of followers who watch his mediocre fare with great relish, just because of his presence. The finer aspects of the craft of filmmaking, such as the story and the performance, are irrelevant to them. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] For this extremely large and vocal group of people, he can do no wrong. Box office success notwithstanding, Khan has had a notorious run over the last two decades. He has rightly been called controversy’s child. In addition to numerous incidents of insensitivity, arrogance and retribution for personal grudges, which one might overlook, he stands accused of several serious offences. There have been allegations of domestic abuse, which should be viewed as an extremely serious offence, and deserves tough punishment. Unfortunately, society in India allows its male idols to get away quite easily with chauvinism. Ironically, Khan’s female fans – a group who should be outraged by such behaviour – either blame the victims of his abuse, or simply reject the allegations. https://twitter.com/sadhavi/status/982532152725254144 https://twitter.com/maurya888/status/982522355137171456 Then there are the hit-and-run charges for which Khan even got convicted in court, only for the conviction to be overturned on appeal. Through all of this, there has been intimidation of witnesses and potential influencing of the outcome of the investigation. Yet Khan, the Teflon coated superstar, has simply gone about his merry ways. Undoubtedly, Khan has worked quite hard to ‘change’ his image, including starting his charity, Being Human. However, behind his charity and generosity, there is the undeniable edge of notoriety. After all, he has boasted of his underworld connections in the past. Furthermore, the frequency with which he courts trouble in itself indicates a propensity for flouting the rules. Quite clearly, the law in India has seemed to be unwilling to hold him accountable. Until now, when out of the blue came his conviction in a 20-year-old poaching case, and Khan found himself in jail, yet again. His fans have gone crazy, to put it mildly. The entire Bollywood fraternity has once again closed ranks around him, deeming the punishment too harsh. Others cannot get over the fact that hundreds of crores are riding on Khan and his various projects and endorsement deals. https://twitter.com/IndiaToday/status/982495846284455936 https://twitter.com/rampalarjun/status/981836877685821445 https://twitter.com/RahulDevRising/status/981953995873882112 However, none of these arguments should matter to the law. If he’s been found guilty of a crime, then he must do the time. Nevertheless, justice in India works in funny ways. For one, after spending two days in jail, he has been granted bail. He was sure to appeal his conviction, and the court has likely granted him bail while his appeal is under consideration. https://twitter.com/CNNnews18/status/982553406689521664 What happens next? Now, Khan will probably bring to bear all his influence – monetary and coercive – to alter the investigation and ensure his appeal gets him a “not guilty” verdict. There are numerous precedents to suggest this is a very likely outcome. If this scenario were to indeed unfold, it would be a terrible travesty of justice. Khan getting away scot-free would encourage millions of impressionable young men to continue to imitate his cavalier behaviour and further diminish the fear of the law. Safe to say, this the last thing India needs. It is important for the courts to stand by this conviction, even in the face of all the pressure that is likely to be put on them. Arguments like financial losses for many producers and threats of suicide by Khan’s demented fans needs to be dealt with in a firm manner. If the Padmaavat controversy has taught India anything, it is that we should not be held hostage to public sentiment, especially when it comes to upholding the law. https://twitter.com/TimesNow/status/982472584800305152 A good example is how Sanjay Dutt’s case was handled. He was given time to complete all his pending projects, but then had to serve out his sentence. This is how this case must be approached as well. It has taken 20 years for the case to reach this stage, and it should not be allowed to meander on for another 20. https://twitter.com/HaramiParindey/status/982525393579266048 For the sake of those whom Khan has tormented, hurt, harmed, or eliminated, let’s hope justice prevails, even if belatedly. A serial offender must be reminded he is not above the law, and he can’t wantonly bulldoze his way past those who get in his way. On a brighter note, maybe, if Khan ends up actually doing his time, he will display some maturity in his acting and make better movies. Now that’s a win-win for everyone!  

What happens when a hotel management student working at a leading hotel has to juggle between spending time with a sick friend and trying to climb up in a dead-end job? October, starring Varun Dhawan, shows exactly how a stubborn yet loving man would manage this situation realistically. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vracgLyJwI Directed by Shoojit Sircar and written by Juhi Chaturvedi, the film stars Banita Sandhu and Gitanjali Rao alongside Dhawan. The movie, which can aptly be described as a story of hope, narrates the tale of Dan (Dhawan) and Shiuli (Sandhu), who work together at a hotel. Unfortunately, one day a tragedy leaves Shiuli in the hospital; an accident that leaves a deep impact on Dan. Interestingly, though they worked together, they did not share a particularly strong relationship; neither were they good friends, nor did they show any romantic interest in each other. While Shiuli is in the hospital, Dan visits her every day, caring for her and naively hoping she will recover soon. Dan’s support for Shiuli in such challenging times creates a bond of friendship and gives her hope – the hope of survival, and the hope of a lasting friendship. While taking care of her, Dan becomes so close to Shiuli that her family believes he is her love interest. However, despite him clearing their confusion, their doubts remain, due to the extent of his love and concern for her. It is Dan who keeps running from pillar to post to get medicines for Shiuli, and talks to her nurses and doctors about her condition and her progress. Dan even confronts one of Shiuli’s uncles when he complains about the possibility of Shiuli not remembering anyone after coming out of her coma. Defending her, Dan exclaims,

“So what if she doesn’t remember who you are? At least all of you remember who she is.”

Some days ago, I received a clip on Whatsapp of a scene from a Pakistani movie titled Lahore Se Aagay. The lead character, played by Yasir Hussain, tries to make the dialogue ‘funny’ by mocking the speech related disorder generally known as stuttering or stammering. Upon further inquiry, I discovered Hussain has played the role of a guy who stutters several times in his career. In another movie, Karachi Se Lahore, which is the prequel to Lahore Se Aagay, Hussain tries to seem hilarious by stammering to the character’s advantage. Though he believes his portrayal is empowering for those who stutter, it certainly does not seem like it from the movie itself. Even if unintentionally, it appears the phenomenon of stuttering is simply being used as a device to add comic value to his movies, and to me, this is a really disturbing idea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDQvgjAzvWs However, using a speech disorder as a ‘funny’ plot device isn’t limited to the Pakistani entertainment industry – Bollywood has been doing the same for quite some time as well. For example, Golmaal, one of the most famous series in India’s comedy genre, has a character with a speech disorder for audiences to laugh at. This is problematic because the character is not particularly doing any comedy or cracking jokes despite his speech disorder for the audience to laugh at. No, in Golmaal, the disability itself is used as the punch line. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MKngFmoUS8 The same way I have never understood why it’s so ‘funny’ to see men in drag (in female clothing); I am unable to fathom why it is socially and morally permissible to portray a naturally occurring disorder as a laughing matter, with no consequences or backlash whatsoever. This is not to say cinema should never portray characters with such disorders, only to request filmmakers and comedians to be more cautious and aware about the way they present sensitive issues. After all, there is a fine line between comedy and mockery. It is possible to portray characters and make films about people with any form of disability without any form of derision; Bollywood films such as Black and Khamoshi are proof of this. A particular example is of the Bollywood movie Kaminey, in which Shahid Kapoor’s character has a speech disorder, but it is not presented as a joke or a device to add humour to the film. Rather, even though others make fun of him for being a “totla” (stutterer), he proudly embraces and accepts his condition and challenges those who only see him as the punch line. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIEXrGzzHXo Similarly, Rani Mukerji’s latest film, Hichki, is centred on a character with a disorder, but the movie doesn’t crack jokes at the expense of her condition. Instead, it depicts the life of a woman living her best life and pursuing her dreams without letting her condition hinder her. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLSaCFlXn-g Unlike all other forms of disabilities, it is the speech disorder that has found itself a frequent outlet for comedy. What makes speech disorders an easy target perhaps is the fact they are seen as less serious than all other disabilities. Maybe because the individual can speak, even though they have limited control over it? This disorder is most common in school going kids, and is often made worse by the bullying they have to face as a result of it. Treating speech disorders can take time. Can you imagine a little kid taking speech therapy sessions for rehabilitation, and yet being the butt of the joke in the classroom, because his or her peers have recently seen a movie where their condition is presented as a joke? Emotional strain can negatively impact the child’s treatment, and can even further aggravate their condition. By joking about such disorders, bullies are given a free pass, and the only people who suffer are the ones already suffering. Even if the stuttering goes away in the future, the child has to bear with taunting comments and derogatory remarks, which can dent their personality forever. Speech disorders can be treated in a relatively easy manner, with no requirement for high-tech medical equipment or rare medical practitioners, and only the need for some good, sustained speech therapy. However, like most conditions, treating this one requires time and patience as well, and encourages the patient to speak more in order to fix the problem. However, it is hard to encourage those who stutter to speak when they are constantly faced with the possibility of people laughing at them for doing so. How are children to speak more, if they constantly face their peers and bullies laughing at them and bashing them for doing so? Will this not negatively impact children and simply force them to grow quieter? Given that speech disorders largely impact kids, this should be taken quite seriously, but the reality is the exact opposite. It’s considered “cool” to mock someone for stammering. Adding insult to injury, the funny faces made by the movie characters while stuttering provides more fuel to typical school bullies, who try the same for some ‘fun’ in the classroom. It is hard to comprehend why people cannot see how unethical this practice is, and continue to take this matter lightly. Why are we not treating this condition as seriously as we do others? How often do you see a movie where the joke is on a character who is blind, or physically disabled? Speech disorders are quite common and treatable, but that does not imply they aren’t serious. If it seems funny to you, please visit rehabilitation centres, and witness how hard parents try to get their children better. If the media wants to absolve itself of responsibility and not try to highlight such issues in a proactive manner or educate people, the least it can do is try to not make things worse by making it seem like such conditions are a laughing matter. For now, the real step forward would be for the censor board to ban such films from releasing in the country. If we can ban Padman and Pari for their content, the least we can do is ensure such negative messages are not spread to our masses in the name of ‘comedy’. Children are very sensitive and need care and confidence in their formative years to prepare for the challenges ahead. In a society already plunged with negativity, we can’t allow kids going through a speech disorder to also go through a world that thinks they are a joke. What we do need is for their elders and peers to support them, and to provide a safe space for them to comfortably rehabilitate at their own pace. None of this is possible until we all realise a speech disorder is not a joke, and it certainly isn’t funny.

It is no secret that Raj Kumar Hirani shares a strong bond with Sanjay Dutt, having worked with him in Munna Bhai MBBS (2003), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) and PK (2014). All three films were critical and commercial successes. So when Hirani decided to helm the movie based on Dutt’s life, it made complete sense and didn't come as a surprise. Hirani has a very successful track record as a director. All of his movies have amounted to ground-breaking cinema and record shattering box office numbers. The addition of Ranbir Kapoor to the film as Dutt was another breakthrough as we know that this heartthrob's talent has no bounds. The movie, which was referred to as Dutt’s biopic, was revealed to be titled Sanju and the very first teaser trailer dropped just recently. The teaser, just shy of 90 seconds, gives us a look at Ranbir in different Dutt avatars. Saying that Ranbir nails every single one of these looks would be an understatement. The teaser begins with Dutt (Ranbir) being released from prison and telling the viewers that his life has been like the snakes and ladders board game and has had many ups and downs. Then he sheds further light on the rollercoaster of a life he has lived. From doing drugs at an age of 22 to building a good physique, from travelling in chartered planes to begging for a single bus ticket, and from living in high-rise buildings of New York to living in a prison cell without any windows, Dutt has gone through it all. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] The teaser then shows us glimpses from different phases of Dutt’s life. In one particular scene, Ranbir is seen slapping a random guy while in the other he’s seen sitting in a police station where he gets slapped by a police officer. The movie will shed light on some controversial aspects of Dutt’s life, such as his connection to the 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai, his imprisonment under the provisions of Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act and his love life. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480"] Photo: Giphy[/caption] Ranbir is supported by a huge ensemble cast that includes Dia Mirza, Paresh Rawal, Manisha Koirala, Sonam Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Vicky Kaushal and Karishma Tanna. In an interview, Ranbir had once said that the Dutt biopic should fall under the science fiction genre, considering the kind of life Dutt has lived. By the looks of the teaser, Ranbir’s statement wasn’t really far-fetched. The teaser promises a movie which will not only rake in moolah at the box office, but will win the hearts of the audience as well, and Ranbir will surely win plenty of accolades for his portrayal of Bollywood’s ultimate bad boy. I for one cannot wait to get my ticket! Sanju hit the screens on June 29, 2018. All photos: Screenshots

The much anticipated trailer of Veere Di Wedding is out and after the first viewing you can tell that it’s a film of the women, by the women and for the women. A chock-a-block with lots of sarcasm, foul language and jocularity, this female buddy romcom will definitely enthuse you to chill out with your girlfriends. Director Shashanka Ghosh’s latest venture has gone viral after its trailer became an instant hit among moviegoers. The theme is about the age-old concepts of proposals, marriages and how 21^st century women, particularly close friends, love to chitchat about relationships and freely express their inner feelings with each other. The trailer shows four characters, who are close friends, share their life and relationship experiences with each other. All the four friends are facing personal crisis in their lives and are gathered at the wedding of Kalindi. Among the famous names, Kareena Kapoor Khan is the bride-to-be but is looking for a way to stop this shaadi waadi (wedding), while Sonam Kapoor is playing the role of an uncommitted individual who has set her bars too high. Their two other friends are also in a whirlpool of watershed. Swara Bhasker is on the verge of divorce, while Shikha Talsania is a mother who is not happy with her intimate life. They exchange their know-hows, pithy expressions and question why life is considered unaccomplished without a marriage certificate, all in a funny and engaging way. This is truly an innovative concept for Bollywood. It is another attempt to bolster feminism and women liberation. However, the cuss words in dialogues are not helping but making it harder to digest the colloquy. Veere Di Wedding would remind you of Sex and The City and the middle class mothers of Bad Moms (2016). Sometimes, you would relate it to Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis starrer The Hangover (2009), friends who travel to celebrate the bachelor party of their friend’s forthcoming marriage. However, this Bollywood story is a little bit different as it shows the female leads breaking the conventional theories, which shackle women from doing or getting involved in certain affairs purely due to gender inequality. A huge segment of South Asian women can relate to these characters, who are lamenting and mocking against social set-ups. The dialogues, such as “no matter how well educated you are, your life is incomplete until you have a ‘mangalsutra’ (sacred jewellery worn by a married Hindu woman) in your neck”, are very close to the hearts of many young women. Screenwriters Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri tried to put forward the hypothesis of frank behaviour and thought process of modern educated women. The characters are showing their dislikes, unwillingness and reluctance towards notions of relationships, marriage, extravagant weddings and misogyny, which is due to social marginalisation, gender discrimination, antagonism, and of course, androcentrism. Producers Ekta Kapoor and Rhea Kapoor’s Veere Di Wedding is indubitably a subject-oriented film, jam-packed with amusement. So if you have those feminist instincts for women rights and social equality of the sexes, then you should not miss attending this wedding. The movie releases on June 1, 2018. All photos: Screenshots

What happens when two of the most versatile actors of our time join forces to bring us a family comedy, the likes of which has perhaps never been produced in Bollywood? If you’ve ever asked the universe this question, 102 Not Out is here to answer your prayers.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrks9Zu0f1w Amitabh Bachchan stars as Dattatraya Vakharia, a 102-year-old man who is obsessed with a 118-year-old Chinese man, Ong Chong Tun Peng, and aspires to break his record of being the oldest man alive. The problem is simple: he has 16 more years to live before he can break the world record. Rishi Kapoor, on the other hand, plays the role of 75-year-old Babulal Vakharia, Dattatraya’s son. 102 Not Out is an unusual story of a father and son, where both share an exceptional relationship. It is interesting to note that there is nothing fancy about this movie. There are no outdoor scenes shot in scenic settings, nor are there any death-defying stunts. There is no thrill, nor is there any mystery. However, what is nestled at the heart of the story is the life of a father and his son who, despite sharing their differences, refuse to leave each other. On the other hand, staying together leads to quarrels, which ultimately provides the spice (and the comedy) to the story. The personalities of both father and son are somewhat opposite. While Dattatraya is high-spirited, frivolous and exuberant, Babulal is quite pensive, and is more gloomy and low-spirited. While both father and son live together and try their best to harmonise each other’s clashing personalities, the story takes a harsh turn when Bachchan decides to send his son to a retirement home. What led him to take this decision, and the impact it has on their relationship, is for you to find out. Though the movie is essentially a comedy, and offers many scenes of comic relief, at the same time it also has powerful scenes that can seem too intense. While the audience will get to see the fun-loving side of Bachchan as Kapoor’s father, they will also see a strict and serious man who did his best to ensure his son turns into a fully functional and responsible adult. The best aspect of this movie is undoubtedly the acting prowess of both Bachchan and Kapoor, who reunite on the big screen after 27 years. Interestingly, even though Bachchan’s character is 102-years-old, he has the heart and the energy of a 20-year-old. To the amazement of audiences, Bachchan shows his young and jovial side in his performance, despite his real age being 75. His on-screen chemistry with Kapoor is also worth mentioning, as the two characters blend together to keep the storyline moving forward. Furthermore, it is the charisma, allure, and appeal of both Bachchan and Kapoor which ensures they deliver their dialogues with perfection and give their best to portray a father and son. In between these two old men and veteran actors is Jimit Trivedi who plays Dhiru, a young chemist who visits Dattatraya’s home quite often. Despite being a stranger to Dattatraya and his son, Dhiru’s caring nature and respect for both father and son helps him create stronger ties with our protagonists. 102 Not Out, based on a play by Saumya Joshi, is a movie with multiple messages for its audience. The first is that one should leave unpleasant memories in the past, where they belong, and instead dwell on the sweet ones that build relationships and make life happy. The other message is conveyed to us through Bachchan’s character, who wants to live each day of his life to the fullest, and despite his old age remains happy and young at heart. On the other hand, Kapoor’s character is always living in the past; therefore, losing out on all the fun life has to offer in the present. The first half of the movie is a bit dull and boring. The story sets in during the first half as the characters are developed and their arc is set. The scenes here can seem a bit monotonous. However, the fun begins during the second half, when both father and son celebrate life in the most unusual of ways. Despite the great performances, after watching the movie you come out of the theatre feeling as if something was missing. And perhaps there was, for even with two veteran actors sharing the screen together, the film does not match the viewer’s expectations. All photos: Screenshots  

Earlier this year, I had just finished two heavy novels, both on the topic of slavery and the struggle of African Americans today. Thus I found myself in desperate want of a ‘lighter’ read. The Perils of Being Moderately Famous by Soha Ali Khan then came to my attention, and even though I read a review saying it was a pointless book, I’m glad I gave it the benefit of the doubt. I had my own assumptions of course.

“Isn’t this title a little pretentious?” “What exactly have I got in common with this royal celebrity?”