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September 28, 2006
What’s on…
FILM
Yun Hota Tau Kiya Hota? is the much-admired thespian Naseeruddin Shah’s directorial debut and tells four separate tales that briefly touch upon each other and culminate (sort of) one fateful day. The movie’s ensemble cast includes Paresh Rawal, Ratna Shah (the director’s wife), Konkona Sen Sharma, Jimmy Shergil, Irrfan Khan, Ayesha Takia, Tinu Anand, Saroj Khan (the well-known choreographer), and Boman Irani.
All the four stories –– cutting across social, class and economic lines –– are interesting in their own right and that’s because each features characters that are fully fleshed out and have histories that inform them. This keeps us engaged and wanting more. In fact, wouldn’t have minded watching four separate movies about each one of them, especially the one about a new bride (Sharma) whose husband (Shergil) waits for her in America leaving her alone in India to deal with his dysfunctional family and the one about a small-time businessman (Rawal) whose business is to “facilitate” visas to America for his “clients” by having them pose as performing artists.
One can’t fault Shah’s storytelling and all the performances are first-rate. My only issue with the movie was its ending which felt like a copout. Still, certainly worth checking out for something different.—Khusro Mumtaz
OR
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehnaa certainly stretches the boundaries of mainstream commercial Mollywood cinema with its subject of marital infidelity and for featuring lead characters that are actually unlikable at many moments of the film. Writer/director Karan Johar deserves plaudits for his courage in this regard. But the same can’t really be said of his execution of the project.
Dev (Shahrukh Khan) and Maya (Rani Mukherjee) are the two people who get involved in a relationship outside of their marriages and the story revolves mainly around them. But I have a suspicion that while Dev and Maya may have somewhat valid reasons for straying the audience’s sympathies would lie more with their respective spouses, Rhea (Preity Zinta) and Rishi (Abhishekh Bachchan). In any case, the movie is at its strongest when it is depicting the marital turmoil in the lives of the two couples –– some of the things that these people have to say to each other are cutting and hurtful but have the ring of truth to them.
You can believe these scenes and these characters in these moments. This is not the saccharine or the melodrama that infuses most Mollywood films and the movie is all the better for it. The music by Shankar-Ehsan-Loy, is also pretty good and our own Shafqat Amanat (of Fuzon fame) lends his voice to one number.
Where Karan Johar lets himself –– and the movie –– down is in his attempts at ‘kewl’ comedy which end up being irritating or even, as in the case with many of the early scenes with Amitabh Bachchan, embarrassing. Some other scenes also go over the top. Shahrukh Khan, typically, overplays his hand, too. I know what he is trying to do here –– Dev is an angry guy and he is so wound up with anger that it spills out all the time –– so there is a method to his madness. Unfortunately, the method doesn’t quite work and ends up as more of a distraction than anything else. And while the relationships (or the lack of same) between the married couples is believable the relationship between Dev and Maya is less so –– it’s never quite clear why they fall for each other. That being said, sometimes you need no other reason than that the new person isn’t the person that you’ve fallen out of love with. Overall, I’ll give the movie a pass –– but just barely.—K.M.
SINGLE
Bands that flourished in the `90s like Goo Goo Dolls, Hootie & The Blowfish and Gin Blossoms delivered top-notch Adult 40 pop and timeless music but seem to have disappeared with the decade’s end.
Gin Blossoms were a true success story with a string of hits including Alison Road, Hey Jealousy and Found Out About You. Now, after an unsuccessful break-up, a reunited Gin Blossoms is releasing Major Lodge Victory, their first new album in over 10 years.
First single Learning the Hard Way is sheer triumph with a great melody, phat guitar hooks, seamless production and has “hit” written all over it. Yes, it’s clichéd. Yes, it’s formulaic. But, yes, it’s also brilliantly infectious and your ears will perk up when you hear the breezy opening chords and lead singer Robin Wilson’s familiar light vocals.
The track begins with Wilson singing, Summer came too early/Springtime came too late/Weather went from freezing/To bleached out summer days and leads into the catchy chorus. A classic uptempo rock-pop single, Learning the Hard Way is an ideal choice for first release and comeback hit.
It may be the end of summer but the Gin Blossoms are very much in bloom once again.—T.U. Dawood
ALBUM
Iron Maiden has built quite a fan base in their over 30 years of being in the business. The heavy metal band’s latest album
A Matter of Life and Death is their 14th studio album and while it is more progressive rock in some ways than typical heavy metal, the CD is a must-have for fans.
Their evolution as artists is evident in the album’s cohesive theme and the larger than life feel of its sound. Essentially an anti-war album, A Matter of Life and Death is full of underlying depths that when combined with the renewed energy and fire fueling the band’s three guitarmen, elevate the disc and underscore why the group has such respect in the industry.
There are three tracks that run over nine minutes long but are well worth it. Epics For the Greater Good of God and The Legacy are two of the best songs the band has done in years. The Longest Day, a single about leaving home for war, packs a powerful punch as well and fans should enjoy the Middle East-inspired The Pilgrim.
Produced in London by Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, The Black Crowes), the disc was actually recorded live and clocks in at over 70 minutes.
Abroad, this disc is being sold with an accompanying “Making of” DVD, but in Pakistan currently just the CD is available.
—T.U.D
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