Jaanemonth - Veer-Zaara

 It's common in Indian cinema for the titles of historical romances to be the names of the lead characters, without any pesky ampersands.  Examples include Bajirao Mastani, Jodhaa Akbar, and of course Veer-Zaara (2004), a movie set in the glamorous and distant past of 1982.

Prisoner 786 (Shah Rukh Khan) is an Indian man who has been confined to a prison in Pakistan for the last twenty two years.  Officially, his name is Rajesh Rathore, and shortly after being arrested, he signed a full confession and hasn't spoken a single word since.  Getting Prisoner 786 his freedom is the first case for newly minted lawyer Saamiya Siddiqui (Rani Mukherjee), and it already looks hopeless.  However, Saamiya does have one advantage: she knows that Prisoner 786 is really named Veer Pratap Singh.

After hearing his own name spoken after so long, Veer starts to speak.  First he talks about planes, and  his days as a rescue pilot for the Indian Air Force.  But Saamiya wants to hear the story of how Veer wound up in prison, and to tell that story, he has to start with Zaara.

Zaara Haayat Khan (Preity Zinta) is the daughter of the wealthy and respected Jehangir Haayat Khan (Boman Irani.)  She is young and carefree and convinced that nothing will ever change her, and she sings a song to that effect.  And then things start to change.  Her beloved governess Zahida (Zohra Sehgal) dies, and her last request is that Zaara take her ashes to Punjab and immerse them in the Sutlej River.  Zaara can't refuse, and she sneaks off to India, leaving her maid/sidekick Shabbo (Divya Dutta) to cover for her.

In India, Zaara's bus crashes, and she's rescued by handsome Indian Air Force rescue pilot Veer Pratap Singh.  She drops her bag during the rescue and insists on retrieving it; after they've made it to safety, Veer scolds her and stomps off.  That's not the end of the story, though; she bumps into him later, apologizes and explains that her bag contains Zahida's ashes, and Veer decides to help her on her journey so that he won't have to spend his life wondering what happened to that Pakistani girl.

After further delay and misadventure, Zaara succeeds in performing last rites for Zahida.  She asks Veer how she can ever repay him for his help, and he asks her for another day.  He takes her to his home village, introduces her to his aunt Saraswati (Hema Malini) and uncle Choudhary (Amitabh Bachchan), they celebrate Lohri, and everybody has a wonderful time and grows much closer.  It is really obvious to Choudhary that Veer loves Zaara, and he urges the younger man to confess his feelings before it's too late.

The next day, it's time for Zaara to return home to Pakistan.  Veer takes her to the train station, but before he can confess his love, they are met by Zaara's fiance, Raza (manoj Bajpal) and she quickly explains that her marriage has already been arranged.  Veer confesses his love anyway, but makes it absolutely clear that he doesn't intend to interfere with her wedding, and he goes away.

Of course Zaara loves Veer as well, and after she returns home she starts feeling his presence everywhere she looks; once again, there's a whole song about it. Shabbo can't stand to see her falling apart like this,. so she quietly contacts Veer.  He promptly leaves the Air Force (since an active officer can't visit Pakistan), crosses the border, and appears at one of the pre-wedding ceremonies.  Zaara runs to embrace him, while her husband collapses from shock.  Normally, that would be the end of the movie, but Veer-Zaara is three hours long, and there's a lot of crying still to come.

Zaara's mother Mariyam (Kirron Kher) approaches Veer and asks him to leave in order to save her husband's life (and political career, but she doesn't dwell on that.)  Veer is a noble soul, and agrees.  He talks to Zaara, and they decide to go their separate ways, live the best lives possible, and just keep loving one another hopelessly forever.  

They part, but when Veer boards the bus to take him back to India, he's arrested as a spy and dragged off to jail.  There Raza shows up to gloat, and tells Veeer that if Veer signs the confession, he'll ensure that Zaara has a blissfully happy life, but if Veer doesn't sign, he'll do everything possible to make her life hell.

Veer signs without hesitation, and becomes Prisoner 786.  The bus he was supposed to be on drives off a cliff, leaving no survivors, so as far as the world knows, Veer Pratap Singh no longer exists.  In the present Saamiya tries to convince Veer to let her get Zaara to testify, but he is a man of his word and won't do anything to risk her happiness.  Saamiya knows the case is probably lost without Zaara, but Veer is stubborn, so instead she travels to India, hoping to find someone from his village who can identify him.  She is not prepared for what she finds there.

Raza is terrible, but the real villain of Veer-Zaara is . . . okay, the real villain is still Raza.  He's the absolute worst, and he stands out even more because nearly all the other characters are so nice.  But the other real villain of Veer-Zaara is the border itself; one of the key themes of the film is that the only thing that really separates Pakistan's Punjab from India's Punjab is the border itself.  The land looks the same on both sides of the border, and the people share a culture and values, but that line on the map is enough to let Raza destroy a man's life out of spite.

One of the advertising taglines for Veer-Zaara was "A New Love Legend," and the film is definitely pitched as "grand, sweeping romantic drama."  It mostly succeeds, do ion large part to the cast; Shah Rukh is in his element here, showcasing goofy charm and teary nobility.  Preity made her name as the bubbly carefree love interest, and Zaara gives her the chance to transition form that to very much not that.  And Rani Mukherji is here to show sincerity and marvel at the noble spirits of the star-crossed lovers, and she sells sincere marveling completely.

That's not to say the movie is perfect. The script is suitably epic, but some of the plotting gets a bit muddled; the biggest unexplained plot hole is just how Saamiya knew Veer's name in the first place.  Also, the old age makeup used for present day Veer and Zaara is a bit distracting, especially since both characters are in their mid-forties at most.  But these are tiny issues.  Veer-Zaara promises grand romance, and it keeps its promises.

Jaanemonth: Bajirao Mastani

Bajirao Mastani (2015) is a big, sweeping historical epic, which means that viewers can expect grand battles, even grander passions, love, needless tragedy, and plenty of stupid vows.  And of course it delivers.  However, Bajirao and Mastani are unusual tragic protagonists, so there's a bit of a twist.

Bajirao (Ranveer Singh) is the Peshwa, or Prime Minsiter, of the Maratha Empire.  He became Peshwa at the age of twenty, and while he's quite young for the role, he's also a brilliant military leader, skilled diplomat, and clever politician.  Bajirao is married to Kashibai (Priyanka Chopra), who is beautiful, devoted, and perhaps a bit insecure.  They also have a young son, Nana, who conveniently disappears from the narrative for a while.

On the road to Sironja, Bajirao's troops are approached by an emissary from nearby Bundelkhand, asking for help against an invading army.  Bajirao refuses, until he discovers that the emissary is actual factual warrior princess Mastani (Deepika Padukone), daughter of the king of Bundelkhand.  Seeing Mastani's courage, determination, and fighting skills in action, he agrees to make a detour.

During the battle, Bajirao sees Mastani lunging in his direction, sword in hand, and he strikes out of instinct, only to discover that an enemy soldier was sneaking up behind him and Mastani just saved his life.  The battle has been won, and Bajirao carries a wounded Mastani to safety in dramatic fashion.  he stays in Bundelkhand long enough to celebrate Holi, and frequently visits Mastani, using his dagger to cauterize her wound.  Then he gives her the dagger, which turns out to be his first mistake.

It's tradition in Bundelkhund that when a man gives a woman his dagger, it's considered a proxy marriage.  Mastani knows that this isn't the custom in Maratha, but she still considers the gift a valid marriage, and she travels to Bajirao's home in Pune to join her husband.  

In Pune, Mastani meets Bajirao's mother Radhabai (Tanvi Azmi), who isn't allowing this Muslim Rajput woman anywhere near her son.  She goes out of her way to be as cruel as possible, sending Mastani to stay in the courtesans' quarters and humiliating her whenever possible.  That is definitely a mistake; Mastani uses her new living quarters to perform a dance for the court, which is how Bajirao discovers that she's there.  He asks her to meet.

Radhabai continues to try to humiliate Mastani, proclaiming that she's been accepted as the new court dancer. Bajirao is having none of it; he won't have a guest treated that way, let alone the woman who saved his life.  And after he discovers why she's there, he tells Mastani that Kashibai will always be the first wife, and that the court will never accept her, but if she is willing to accept her situation, he will accept her as his second wife.  

Bajirao tells Mastani that they need to stay apart until he explains the situation to Kashibai.  It's not the easiest conversation to have, though, and Radhabai and others in the family keep disrupting his communication with Mastani.  They tell her that he's ill and won't see anyone, prompting a late night visit to check on him, which leads to Kashibai learning the secret in the most painful way possible.

And so it goes.  Bajirao is frequently away at war, and despite his best efforts, the court is actively terrible to Mastani whenever possible.  Kashibai strives for the bare minimum of civility, but she's clearly deeply hurt by the situation.  Despite that, both wives give birth to sons within a few months of each other.  

And speaking of sons, Kashibai's oldest son Nana returns, now an adult and played by Ayush Tandon, and he hates Mastani even more than Radhabai does.  Aftar an assassination attempt on Mastani that is only foiled by a timely warning from Kashibai (and Mastani's own skill with a blade) Bajirao has had enough.  He declares that his price to remain Peshwa is that the court accept both his wives.  They don't,. so he steps down.

That's a problem for Maratha, since the empire is now being threatened by the new Nawab of Hyderabad.  After much pleading, Bajirao agrees to fight one last battle.  And basically the moment he's out of sight, Nana and Radhabai have Mastani arrested and chained up in a tower somewhere, which means everybody's made their last mistake, and tragedy is pretty much inevitable.

In tragedy as explained in High School English classes, the tragic hero is basically virtuous but with a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall.  That's not really what happens here; Bajirao and Mastani aren't exactly blameless, they both try very hard to find a compromise that's at least livable for everyone, and they are instead met with constant, unrelenting, and downright cruel and petty hostility from nearly everyone.  The real tragedy here is that Bajirao's family are such jerks.

That is not a flaw in the movie, however.  Bajirao Mastani hits all of the "historical epic" notes almost perfectly.  The sets, costumes, and actors are gorgeous, the battles are big, and the emotions are even bigger.  It's a very strong cast at the top of their game, and that makes it all the more impressive when Priyanka Chopra manages to steal the entire movie.  Her Kashibai is the most complex, and probably the most admirable character in the entire movie, torn between the desire to see her husband happy and her pain at apparently being replaced.  Kashibai is smart enough to know that her name is not going to be in the title, and it's heartbreaking to see her realize that.

Jaanemonth: Dil Chahta Hai

 On June 12, 2003, Turner Classic Movies continued its "Hooray for Bollywood" marathon, and I was . . . not really paying attention, honestly.  The movies looked interesting, but subtitles can be hard to follow if you're not used to them.  And then, in the middle of Dil Chahta Hai (2001), they played a song.  It was a pitch perfect skewering of romantic tropes while simultaneously being frothy, fun and sincere.  It was a love song that included the line "I think you are deluded."  And it ended with a sudden crumbling of the fourth wall, and suddenly I was paying very close close attention indeed.  Twenty years later, here we are.

Dil Chahta Hai unfolds as a series of flashbacks.  In the framing story, Sid (Akshaye Khanna) reunites with his old friend Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) at the hospital, after a sudden, tragic, and as yet undisclosed event.  They talk about their mutual friend Akash, whom Sid is certain will not be coming, and reminisce about days gone by, starting with their college graduation party.

At the party Sameer quickly establishes himself as the hopeless romantic, currently besotted by his controlling girlfriend Priya (Suchitra Pillai).  Akash is smooth, kind of a jerk, and doesn't believe in love.  He's currently being pursued by Deepa (Samantha Tremayne), but he doesn't take her seriously.  And Sid is the sensitive artist who ignores the drama going on around him because he's busy sketching a girl he spotted across the room.  

After a frenetic song and dance about how they're young and carefree and nothing is ever going to change them, Akash makes his move on the mystery girl, who turns out to be named Shalini (Preity Zinta.)  Turns out he's not as charming as he thinks he is, and he winds up getting punched by Shalini's fiance Rohit (Ayub Khan.)  

Priya is horrified by Akash's behavior (fair!) and demands that Sameer never speaks to him again (less fair!).  Things don't work out the way she planned, however, and after the breakup Sameer joins Sid and Akash on a road trip to Goa.  It's one of the most beloved and iconic sequences in the movie, but very little actually happens, apart from some foreshadowing about life taking the friends in different directions and Sid giving Deepa some very good advice.

After the road trip, life starts taking the guys in different directions.  Sid's art career begins to take off.  At the same time, he finds himself drawn to his new neighbor Tara (Dimple Kapadia), who is beautiful, troubled, divorced, and a good fifteen years older than he is.  He has no intention of pursuing a relationship, but he does tell Sameer and Akash about his feelings.  It doesn't go well.  Akash makes a very inappropriate joke, Sid punches him, and that leg of the friendship triangle is basically gone.  Sid leaves for an artist's retreat soon after.

Akash is sent to manage the family business in Sydney, and on the plane he's seated next to Shalini, who's off to visit her uncle Mahesh (Rajaat kapoor).  Akash apologizes for his behavior at the party, and by the time the plane lands they're friends.  They spend a lot of time together, much to Rohit's dismay, but he's in still in India and can't really interfere.  Akash is still his cynical self, but Shalini is a romantic, despite (or perhaps because of) her impending loveless marriage, and so she dedicates herself to convincing Akash that love is a thing that exists.  They even debate the issue in song.

And Sameer has been left alone all this time, which is usually a recipe for trouble.  His parents try to arrange a marriage for him with Pooja (Sonali Kulkarni), but but while Sameer is instantly smitten (as usual), she's got a boyfriend, so Sameer becomes her friend instead.  He's still carrying a torch, and there's definitely a spark there, but when he tries to confess his feelings, she doesn't take him seriously . . . until they go to a movie and watch a certain life-changing musical number.

Meanwhile in Australia, Shalini demonstrates her thesis by taking Akash to the opera, explaining the plot, and when Troilus stands at the gates of heaven begging to be allowed one last moment with Cressida, she asks Akash to close his eyes and picture the one person he would give up everything for.  He does, and spoiler: It's Shalini.

Of course, when they're walking home from the opera and Shalini asks him who he saw, Akash can't resist making a joke out of it, spoiling his one perfect chance.  And that's when Rohit appears.  Akash tries to be graceful, and doesn't stand in the way as Rohit and Shalini return to India.  But Akash is utterly miserable, and it's clear that the situation is not going to resolve itself for him; this is a Bollywood movie, and he's got a wedding to crash.

Dil Chahta Hai was a moderate success during its initial run in the theaters; young urban people loved the movie, but it didn't do well in the villages.  However, the critics adored the film, and it quickly became one of the most influential films in Bollywood history.  The production values were a step up form the industry standard of the time, but the real innovation was the dialogue.  Writer-director Farhan Akhtar worked very hard to ensure that his young Mumbai-dwelling characters spoke like real young people who live in Mumbai, and as a consequence the acting was more naturalistic than the melodramatic filmi standard.

While the new and slick style changed the industry and launched a fleet of imitators, though, it's the movie's heart that really makes it work.  Sameer's plotline is a little underdeveloped compared to the others, but all three romances work, because they all grow naturally.  It's no coincidence that all three plotlines feature the respective couples starting out as friends, and love doesn't come for free to anyone.  Both Shalini and Sid argue at various points that love is something that happens rather than something you choose, but in each case love is something you have to work at if you want it to succeed.  And as it turns out, maintaining and reviving friendships takes work, too.

With all that, though, Dil Chahta Hai feels effortless.  It shifts between clever and naturalistic dialogue and the world's most filmi musical number and it makes the shift look easy.  It's not a perfect film, but even after twenty years, it still feels fresh.  I am still paying attention.

 

Jaanemonth: Chaar Din Ki Chandni

Chaar Din Ki Chandni (2012) has a classic Bollywood romance plotline; one half of a star-crossed couple must live with the family of their intended under false pretenses, along the way healing rifts, overturning prejudices, and ultimately winning over their stern and volatile prospective father in law.  It's the basis of several great movies, many of which star Shah Rukh Khan.  Unfortunately it's also the basis of a few crummy movies.

This time around, the star crossed lovers are Veer (Tusshar Kapoor) and Chandni (Kulraj Randhawa).  Chandni will be playing the SRK part this time; she's the daughter of caring and eccentric Punjabi stereotypes Fatoor Singh (Om Puri) and Pammi (Farida Jalal).  Veer, on the other hand, is the son of Rajput aristocrat Chandraveer "CV" Singh (Anupam Kher), who alternates between Kher's typical cuddliness and pointing rifles at the people who have disappointed him.

Veer's sister Divya (Shruti Sharma) is getting married, and Veer thinks that it's the perfect time to bring Chandni around to meet the family.  His mother Devika (Anita Raj) advises the couple to just get married quietly and settle in London instead; CV is so devoted to preserving aristocratic Rajput culture that he ended a long friendship with Paan Singh (Johny Lever!) just because Paan's son married into a non-Rajput family.  

Still, Veer is determined, up until the moment when he meets his father face to face.  Rather than tell the truth, he tells his father that Chanbdni is a reporter from London, here to do a story on the wedding.  (In the very next scene it's established that Chandni and Divya are friends, which would have been a much better and easier cover story, and nobody would have to wear a fake beard.  But, heat of the moment . . .)

Everybody thinks Chandni is great.  Veer's three brothers (Mukul Dev, Sushant Singh, and Chandrachur Singh) are immediately smitten, though his uncle Shaitan (Rahul Singh) thinks that something is going on between Veer and Chandni.  And then things get really complicated.  Chandni's parents arrive, thinking that Veer and Chandni have become engaged.  Veer introduces them as a famous Punjabi decorator and his assistant, and Fatoor and CV quickly become friends.

So far Veer has been doing all of the ill-advised lying, but now it's Chandni's turn.  CV asks her about her marital prospects, and she tells him that an astrologer told her if she doesn't get engaged in the next four days.  CV vows to find her a man, and his method is to ask Fatoor if he knows any good Punjabi guys, without explaining why he's asking.  Fatoor invents Pappi Sardar, but when it's clear that CV expects him to actually show up, Veer has to step up and play a double role.  At which point wackiness ensues.

Chaar Din Ki Chandni isn't a great romance; Kapoor and Randhawa have very little chemistry together, and spend most of their screentime dealing with their eccentric families.  Which is fine.  It wouldn't be the first romantic comedy that had to lean heavily on the comedy side.  Unfortunately, most of the jokes revolve around either unfortunate ethnic stereotypes or Veer playing vicious pranks on his brothers and uncle.  There are a few moments of genuine humor, mostly supplied by Johny Lever, and a few early jokes get satisfying payoffs, but the less said about the genuinely offensive subplot with the flamboyant wedding planner, the better.  

So, romance is out, comedy is out.  Family drama?  Not much.  Veer eventually learns to stand up to his father, and CV gets over his marriage issues, but that's really the only character development that happens here.  At the end, everybody is basically the same person, and most of those people are jerks. 

 

Jaanemonth 2023.

 It's February, and here at the Gorilla's Lament we are celebrating Jaanemonth, a month long celebration of Bollywood romance.  Join us for gratuitous musical numbers, noble sacrifices, and Shahrulh Khan standing with his arms extended.