“Six degrees of Shahrukh Khan” is much, much easier than “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon."
The Bollywood film industry is the largest in the world, but there are
only so many actors to go around. When actors do three or four films
in a year, it’s easy to find connections, even when you’re not looking.
For instance, last week’s film, Paheli, was written and directed by Amol Pelakar, who also played the romantic lead in Baaton Baaton Mein (1979). I had not planned on an Amol Pelakar binge, but it seems I have one anyway.
In Baaton Baaton Mein, Pelakar plays Tony Braganza, a young up-and-coming graphic artist. Running late one morning, Tony has to take the 9:10 train to work, and it’s then that he catches a glimpse of Nancy (Tina Munim, who is very slender and beautiful in the way that some women aspired to in the late 70s.)
Tony and Nancy are both Good Indian Youth, and so they can’t become acquainted without the help of a meddling relative. Nancy’s Uncle Tom does the honors, and while Nancy is initially standoffish, Tony is soon a regular visitor to her house.
Love does not immediately bloom, though, because Nancy has a Dark Secret, which caused her to swear off love entirely. I am about to reveal her Dark Secret, so if you do not want the Dark Secret to be spoiled for you, you should turn back now.
Are they gone? Good. Nancy’s Dark Secret is this: she was dating someone for a while, and he eventually married someone else. Yep, that’s it. That’s the Dark Secret which caused Nancy to swear off love forever, and she speaks of it in hushed and serious tones despite the fact that her romantic history is less sordid and interesting than mine. There’s no real resolution to the Dark Secret plotline; she just kind of gets over it as she and Tony move into a romantic relationship.
And that’s when the real trouble starts. Tony and Nancy become a couple, and her relatives can’t help but notice that there’s been no talk of marriage, and that they haven’t met any of his family. part of the problem is that Tony’s mother thinks he’s too young to get married, he has issues of his own. Lame issues. Tony is afraid of commitment, so he’s perfectly happy to let the relationship drift aimlessly rather than make a decision one way or another.
So, will Tony ever make a decision? Will Nancy be swayed by Henry (Mazhar Khan) and his unfortunately tight pants? You could certainly watch Baaton Baaton Mein to find out, but chances are you can guess the answers.
The film is subtitled “A Casual Affair”, and the title fits. Everything is very laid back, including the dialogue. ("Have some fruit. No, really, have some fruit. How about grapes? You like grapes, don’t you?")
And then there are the songs. Bollywood’s relaxed attitude towards plagiarism isn’t restricted to borrowed story lines. At times, a music director in a hurry will borrow part of the melody from a Western song, since most of the Indian audience will not have heard it before. Sometimes it’s fun for a Western viewer to guess where a song has been lifted from, but it can be a bit distracting when the people onscreen are singing to the tune from “Polly Wolly Doodle” or “The Ants Go Marching One by One”.
Baaton Baaton Mein is harmless. Tina Munim is very pretty, the languid pace is a definite change from the frenetic nature of some Bollywood, and it could be a lot of fun if not for the fact that the characters all take themselves so very seriously.
(Oh, and in case you were wondering:
Shahrukh Khan was in Bollywood Bound (2001) with Richard Gere
Richard Gere was in Cotton Club, The (1984) with Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne was in Mystic River (2003) with Kevin Bacon)
In Baaton Baaton Mein, Pelakar plays Tony Braganza, a young up-and-coming graphic artist. Running late one morning, Tony has to take the 9:10 train to work, and it’s then that he catches a glimpse of Nancy (Tina Munim, who is very slender and beautiful in the way that some women aspired to in the late 70s.)
Tony and Nancy are both Good Indian Youth, and so they can’t become acquainted without the help of a meddling relative. Nancy’s Uncle Tom does the honors, and while Nancy is initially standoffish, Tony is soon a regular visitor to her house.
Love does not immediately bloom, though, because Nancy has a Dark Secret, which caused her to swear off love entirely. I am about to reveal her Dark Secret, so if you do not want the Dark Secret to be spoiled for you, you should turn back now.
Are they gone? Good. Nancy’s Dark Secret is this: she was dating someone for a while, and he eventually married someone else. Yep, that’s it. That’s the Dark Secret which caused Nancy to swear off love forever, and she speaks of it in hushed and serious tones despite the fact that her romantic history is less sordid and interesting than mine. There’s no real resolution to the Dark Secret plotline; she just kind of gets over it as she and Tony move into a romantic relationship.
And that’s when the real trouble starts. Tony and Nancy become a couple, and her relatives can’t help but notice that there’s been no talk of marriage, and that they haven’t met any of his family. part of the problem is that Tony’s mother thinks he’s too young to get married, he has issues of his own. Lame issues. Tony is afraid of commitment, so he’s perfectly happy to let the relationship drift aimlessly rather than make a decision one way or another.
So, will Tony ever make a decision? Will Nancy be swayed by Henry (Mazhar Khan) and his unfortunately tight pants? You could certainly watch Baaton Baaton Mein to find out, but chances are you can guess the answers.
The film is subtitled “A Casual Affair”, and the title fits. Everything is very laid back, including the dialogue. ("Have some fruit. No, really, have some fruit. How about grapes? You like grapes, don’t you?")
And then there are the songs. Bollywood’s relaxed attitude towards plagiarism isn’t restricted to borrowed story lines. At times, a music director in a hurry will borrow part of the melody from a Western song, since most of the Indian audience will not have heard it before. Sometimes it’s fun for a Western viewer to guess where a song has been lifted from, but it can be a bit distracting when the people onscreen are singing to the tune from “Polly Wolly Doodle” or “The Ants Go Marching One by One”.
Baaton Baaton Mein is harmless. Tina Munim is very pretty, the languid pace is a definite change from the frenetic nature of some Bollywood, and it could be a lot of fun if not for the fact that the characters all take themselves so very seriously.
(Oh, and in case you were wondering:
Shahrukh Khan was in Bollywood Bound (2001) with Richard Gere
Richard Gere was in Cotton Club, The (1984) with Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne was in Mystic River (2003) with Kevin Bacon)
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