Kabir Singh - The violent debate

The trailer had left me squirming and irritated. There is a seemingly out of control alcoholic with anger management issues who seems to maintain his Six packs despite all that guzzling and who consequently falls in love with a demure girl. It did not around any curiosity in me other than to cringe every time the hand smashing into someone’s face was regulated by equally strong base sound of a cargo smashing to the ground.

So I desisted. Then began the self-indignant interviews by the NDTV Anchor, a lot of twitter noise over belittling of the women, a strong bitter interview by the hurt director to one review writer abusing another review writer calling him names for his physicality.

Also noted writer friends on Facebook squabbling over their opposing views. It got me anxious not because I was missing out on possibly an artistic movie whose intentions I probably misunderstood but about the most debated movies in recent times that seems to be overflowing at the box office. Surely some chord struck with the masses and the self-appointed moral cops were worried. Then a friend from the aggrieved section who should have been annoyed was agog over the movie and felt it was to be watched. That got me completely curious. I needed to change my stance of not wanting to watch it.

So I did on the last show of the movie in my town too late to write a review that could matter to anyone.I came out of the theatre with completely mixed feelings. It was a roller coaster of quality. With some great highs and some really pathetic unwanted parts in the storyline. There was a fresh touch to the bohemian love story propped by some superlative acting and yet the story suddenly lapsed into some disgusting overtones of immoral standards of behavior in society.

The argument is that it is a story as told by the director whose vision it is. There are gangster movies, bank robbery movies or even violent love stories that have been prevalent over time. So why does this stand out for persecution.

The answer lies in the recent headlines in our country and I think the movie makers cannot ignore the situation around us and move on ignoring the undeniable fact that the movies can have a copycat impact on impressionable minds in society.

Shahid Kapoor is an alcoholic surgeon (not sure which comes first) who has in his final year at the medical school fallen in love with a demure first year student while all the time sleeping around sometimes even attempting sex at knife point. These are points where the story seems to derail. Not because they show the character as bad but because they show the characters infringement on women safety as comical and turn serious sexual harassment / near rape scenes for raising laughs. When the almost psychotic and sex crazy doctor chases his house maid for breaking a glass it is diminished to a ridiculous comic moment with even a dialogue about maid unions thrown in. It was to me absolutely irrelevant as it did not help to establish the character in anyway.

The hero walking into a class and marking his territory with his new found affection is as unbelievable as it is repulsive. Had there been a reaction of either protest or acceptance by the girl it could have perhaps neutralized the impact and worry of copycat mimics in real life but the movie seems to admire its male protagonist and follows him admiringly as he goes around in a maniacal manner forcing the girl out of class and she follows him inexplicably like a little lamb. IT is never made clear that she admires him secretly but seems to submit to his aggression to buy peace.

It is perhaps the director’s intentional silence at this stage that triggers rage and fear in the watchmen of social morality.

The reason why it cannot be simply ignored as a story and enjoyed thus is because of the dangerous society we live in today. A society where girls big and small are no longer safe in villages or cities. 

Where the abuse is no more restricted to just rape but violence and fatal injuries of the most heinous kinds. Exposure to high speed internet, uncontrolled content on the net has got people ignore the law and not fear it. They seek the pleasures they see on their little screens as a right to be attained with violence if necessary. A mental disease seems viral.

Movies which celebrate such psychotic behavior may help to encourage and reassert the criminal behavior in such elements as movie is seen as a socially acceptable and admired value benchmark for fashion and attitude.

But then why does the movie make a mark with the masses. Because post the first half of psychotic hormone propelled behavior of the hero, the second half actually moves into saner phase and chronicles the pangs of a distressed hero very well and also attempts to put the women in a stronger position as the hero desperately tries to win her back. It is here that the director is in the right bracket and where he makes the movie work for the most part.

Kiara does not make any artistic attempts to act besides sticking to the requirements of the role strictly

But it is Shahid Kapoor who is simply outstanding delivering the dictates of the director with unerring ease and sliding into the role as if born for it. Despite his less than bulky physique he can make you believe that he can bash up people and be really violent. He is very good and probably delivers the best role of his career.

The director Sandeep Reddy knows his art and has a flair for invoking freshness into love scenes or creating possibility of intense drama with a pulse on human interaction and obviously allowing space to his main protagonist to evolve. He does a superior job here than in the Telugu version.

He should perhaps desist from getting annoyed with review writers who he goes after abusing them for their physicality. I do not think Rajeev had any ill intentions other than to artistically review the movie professionally. Anupama made an effort to reach out to him to get his views despite also not really going gung ho over the movie.

There is a middle of the road path that movie makers should tread with Review writers.

Super 30 – Lagaan of Education .

Stories of achieving success against all odds make great stories. Usually there is a noble and brilliant protagonist fallen on bad ways who in a triggering moment decides to pick up a challenge and turn his students/followers/disciples around. There are Hollywood stories galore and closer home there has been Chak De India, Bhag Milkha Bhag, and Mary Kom…all stories of people achieving greatness in the face of harrowing odds.

But Super 30 moves out from the sports field where such stories usually abound to education where a live story continues to create waves in real life in a curious mix of evoking sense of awe and dangerously treading the line of negative feedback due to attacks by alleged vested interest.

A brilliant mathematician born in Bihar yearns to earn fame but is harnessed back by the cruel pull of poverty. The efforts fail in the face of touching efforts by his father who works in a postal department and his admission letter to the University of Cambridge.

Hritik Roshan stripped of all his glamour, completely and sadly devoid of all his exquisite dance moves or action scenes approaches with utter sincerity, the role of the poor mathematician Anand Kumar, who is wallowing in tragic circumstances till he hits jackpot with a local business of training children for IIT. But somewhere his value system catches up with him and he is seized with the need to create a platform for poor but brilliant children who can attempt the IIT entrance and get into the premier institute. A tall task if one looks around at the diligent approach adopted by special classes that train students from a very early age to crack the entrance exams. But then Kumar is no lame duck and evolves ingenious ways to keep the special free classes that he starts for the economically poor class. There is almost a vengeful streak in Kumar to ensure his class succeeds

But before that happens he has to go through a lot of trials and tribulations that includes strong threats from politicians who run educational business establishments and find his free education a serious impediment for their money making.

How Kumar goes about it and continues to this date forms the crux of the movie. You feel a sense of appreciation for Hritik one of our most handsome action heroes who boldly takes on meaningful roles and takes a crack at making honest contribution to cinema.

He is supremely sincere in his efforts here and the story which is exaggerated as are most of these “winning against all odds” stories still holds your attention. True to their journey they also make attempts to expose the “Dhanda” of education.

You cannot but remember Lagaan as the leader of the pack Aamir puts together a bunch with varied skills to counter a skilled rich team. Anand Kumar does it here for education and his knowledge and efforts are truly laudable. The story is apparently known to skim over details which are not palatable and proceeds to silly eye rolling scenes where students fight back Hooligans with scientific tricks. Yet Kumar’s teaching approach using day to day awareness of activities around us is commendable.

What is sad is like Lagaan we hardly remember a single student and that is because the camera is busy following Anand Kumar all around and it reduces the impact the tragic stories of the children could have had.

It is certainly detoxifying to watch this after the controversial Kabir Singh which aroused a nationwide debate.

Watching the movie also raises the question of whether the true worth of a future india is in glamorizing a handful of outstanding institutes or in creating bountiful of good educational institutes all over the country so that only a handful are not made privileged to learn and earn.

Watch it as the Lagaan of Education and for Hritik’s earnestness