tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post2191033021897657751..comments2024-03-09T15:11:29.350-08:00Comments on Exotic and irrational entertainment: Bollywood Rewatch 3: Kandukondain KandukondainPessimisissimohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04223566131580795337noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post-42210213363725206862013-10-07T06:08:30.796-07:002013-10-07T06:08:30.796-07:00I don't know where you can find the script for...I don't know where you can find the script for <i>Kandukondain Kandukondain</i>, but as I mention in the post, thanks to Rajshri Films you can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuU_wy1csRA" rel="nofollow">watch the film with English subtitles for free on YouTube</a>; perhaps that will help.<br /><br />Good luck with your paper!Pessimisissimohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04223566131580795337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post-79155655258214876182013-10-06T04:18:24.831-07:002013-10-06T04:18:24.831-07:00Hi everyone! I am trying to analize this movie for...Hi everyone! I am trying to analize this movie for a paper that I have to write for my university. But I have a problem... I can not find the movie script and I really need it. Do you guys have any idea where I can find it?<br /><br />By the way (and the most important part), I really like to know that there is more people out there focusing on the Indian movie industry. That makes me really happy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post-77504015020685365402013-09-08T07:13:38.513-07:002013-09-08T07:13:38.513-07:00Miranda, I'm very glad you watched both Kanduk...Miranda, I'm very glad you watched both <i>Kandukondain Kandukondain</i> and <i>Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam</i>, and enjoyed them. I hadn't noticed the synchronization and dynamic problems in the rerecorded vocals in HDDCS, but I think Sanjay Leela Bhansali's style of filmmaking—his camera is often tracking in and among the characters as they move through the sumptuous sets—may make recording live sound difficult. SLB is also justifiably famous for the striking look of his films, but I think his focus on visuals may mean that he pays less attention to way his actors deliver their lines. That may partly explain Salman's jarringly manic performance, which seems to have been spliced in from <i>Hum Aapke Hain Koun...!</i>.<br /><br />I'm glad you found KK to be as delightful as I do. Both Meenu and Sowmya are tested by experience, and have become stronger and (as you say) wiser by the end. Your point about the egalitarianism of both relationships is also well taken, and it's not only an emotional equality. Unusually, as they enter their marriages both women are economically independent (Meenu with her music, and Sowmya with her software designing). It's another reason to have hope for the future of both couples. <br /><br />In terms of other <i>Sense & Sensibility</i> adaptations, I remember quite liking the 2008 BBC version with Hattie Morahan as Elinor, Charity Wakefield as Marianne, and Janet McTeer as their mother. I haven't seen it in several years; perhaps I should give it a post-KK rewatch.<br /><br />Now, where's that Indian <i>Persuasion</i>?<br /><br />Best,<br /><br />P.Pessimisissimohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04223566131580795337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post-16033877772060135742013-09-06T21:28:34.044-07:002013-09-06T21:28:34.044-07:00P, I was inspired to follow up on your post and fi...P, I was inspired to follow up on your post and finally watch HDDCS and KK. I wasn't disappointed by either, and I definitely see the links between them--particularly regarding the "chastened by experience" character Aishwarya plays in both films. <br /><br />HDDCS was pretty painful I felt for the first hour or so. From other films I've watched of SLB's, I am starting to realize that he has absolutely no idea how to show humor, or for that matter, happiness. When he tries to depict "normal" happy folks, he creates this rapid bipolar tone that's apt to give one a whiplash. (Like Hrishikesh Mukherjee's happy characters on steroids . . . with none of the delicate themes or dialogues to save the scenes.) Salman certainly doesn't help matters, and the ADR is of that manic 90s category that drives me nuts(where everyone's voices don't match their lips, and has not been corrected in post-production for proper ebbbs and flows/dynamics of normal speech). However, that said, the film got better as it went along, and the tone evened out more and more as the characters got more miserable and conflicted in their motivations (something SLB IS very good at portraying). Ajay Devgn pretty much saves the film, and there are enough scenes in the rest of the film between him and Aishwarya that really bore the weight of the whole story. Without their interactions, I think this would have just been an early version of Saawariya. As it was, I was surprisingly moved by the end. <br /><br />Kandukondain Kandukondain was not at all the mixed bag of HDDCS. It turned out to be the very first adaptation of Sense and Sensibility that I have actually liked and would choose to re-watch. Of course, it's a pretty film, and has some lovely songs. But I've never had a problem with the production quality in S&S adaptations. As I said above, in most versions, I feel Marianne becomes a shell of her former self . . . which just doesn't sit well with me at the end, and I have trouble cheering for her "happy ending." <br /><br />But in this, she is not beaten down by her experiences, but rather she just wises up. Instead of going numb, she gets smart. I liked Meenu more and more as the story went on--esp as eh comes into her own self power and self knowledge by the end. The final romantic choice is the same as always of course, but how this version chose to frame her journey towards that choice, and the woman she grew into--felt so different to me. And I agree with your assessment--the Major and Meenu are a match that will face issues, but also seem to be surprisingly capable of facing those issues head on. Side note: I also liked the egalitarianism present in both major relationships by the end. If I can dare to say it . . . I might even stamp this movie with my feminist approval. <br />Miranda https://www.blogger.com/profile/13418800569507952654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post-83188417059163184452013-08-31T06:09:19.861-07:002013-08-31T06:09:19.861-07:00Miranda, many thanks for your thoughts on Austen a...Miranda, many thanks for your thoughts on Austen and Indian movies. Your comment on the ending of <i>Sense & Sensibility</i> made me think about the number of times a young woman is chastened by experience in Austen's books. Marianne Dashwood is one of the more extreme examples, but Elizabeth Bennet, Emma, Catherine Morland (in the delightful <i>Northanger Abbey</i>), and Anne Elliot (in <i>Persuasion</i>) also learn the unpleasant news that they've been mistaken. (Only <i>Mansfield Park</i>'s Fanny Price has the mixed pleasure of discovering that she was right all along.)<br /><br />It's all too human to make mistakes, of course, and it's one of the things that makes Austen's characters so vivid and so endearing. But as you say, Marianne seems to lose, as well as gain, by her experience.<br /><br />That's the ambiguity in <i>Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam</i>, as well. Nandini loves music and dancing—they seem to be an essential expression of her nature—and we can't help wondering at the end of HDDCS whether she will continue to perform. I don't have the same concern in <i>Kandukondain Kandukondain</i>, since Major Bala (in another hint, perhaps, at a deeper compatibility with Meenu than is apparent on the surface) gives Meenu a tambura to encourage her musical studies.<br /><br />I think you'll find HDDCS very much worth watching for its visual sumptuousness, the performances of Aish and Ajay, and the wonderful musical numbers (the soundtrack was composed by Ismail Darbar). However, be forewarned that Salman Khan's Sameer can be hard to take.<br /><br />As for your suggested cast for an Indian <i>Northanger Abbey</i> (which has one of the most sympathetic leading couples of any of Austen's novels) I'm so glad you mentioned Amrita Rao—I think she would be a perfect Catherine.<br /><br />Best, <br /><br />P.Pessimisissimohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04223566131580795337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post-43394205591922808082013-08-30T15:51:35.206-07:002013-08-30T15:51:35.206-07:00Oh, yes, Martin Henderson isn't much as a Darc...Oh, yes, Martin Henderson isn't much as a Darcy--though I think few actors could measure up to Colin Firth! B&P does have some very nice moments and a couple of cute songs, and I like how they treated the Wickham/Lydia subplot pretty well. But overall it just doesn't hold up all that well.Jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post-3620452732383227352013-08-30T15:45:45.497-07:002013-08-30T15:45:45.497-07:00I would love to see an Indian version of Persuasio...I would love to see an Indian version of Persuasion. That strikes me as a wonderful plot for a Bollywood treatment! NA could be fun too. Austen plots really do fit filmi well.Jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post-11254620474201104942013-08-29T21:34:30.628-07:002013-08-29T21:34:30.628-07:00Jean, your "gateway drug" comment is exa...Jean, your "gateway drug" comment is exactly right. For each of us the gateway drug to Bollywood was different (for mine, see <a href="http://exoticandirrational.blogspot.com/2012/03/top-10-shah-rukh-khan-movies.html" rel="nofollow">The Top Ten Shah Rukh Khan movies</a>). But (as in life) objects of our early infatuation don't always withstand a later and more sober reconsideration. I remember being brought to tears early in our Bollywood viewing by <i>English Babu Desi Mem</i> (English gentleman, Indian lady, 1996), a Shah Rukh Khan and Sonali Bendre vehicle. When I rewatched the movie not long ago I had a somewhat different reaction (although I'm still a fan of both actors). <br /><br />That's why I started the "Rewatch" post series on E & I: to see which films held up to repeated viewing. I haven't seen <i>B & P</i> again, but I remember it as having some charming moments (mostly featuring Aish). I have a strong memory, though, of it being weighed down by the stolid Martin Henderson, who (in my view, anyway) didn't have the necessary charisma for Darcy—especially in comparison to, say, Colin Firth (who, of course, played Darcy in the superb 1995 BBC adaptation of <i>Pride & Prejudice</i>, which I first watched around the same time). Too bad a Bollywood <i>P & P</i> wasn't made in the 1950s or 60s— <a href="http://bollyviewer-oldisgold.blogspot.com/2012/08/lets-make-pride-and-prejudice-in-hindi.html" rel="nofollow">Bollyviewer</a> has come up with the perfect casts.<br /><br />Thanks very much for your comment!Pessimisissimohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04223566131580795337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post-36887318139598768572013-08-29T09:20:40.939-07:002013-08-29T09:20:40.939-07:00I didn't have KanduKondain KanduKondain at the...I didn't have KanduKondain KanduKondain at the top of my watch list (nor even in the middle) before this, for two reasons. And those two reasons happen to be two movies--both of which I hated: Aisha and Bride and Prejudice. <br /><br />I saw Bride and Prejudice around the time it came out years ago, when my friends sat me down for a showing. That one showing was my first experience with anything Bollywood-related, and because of how much I disliked the film, I was effectively turned off to Bollywood for about 8 or 9 years. <br /><br />Aisha was also early in my real-Bollywood watch experience (free on Hulu! So I was suckered in) but didn't do anything except waste my time, as I had already seen enough good Bollywood to know not to judge the whole industry by one bad egg (Even if it did have Abhay Deol being delightful as usual). <br /><br />However--that said--after seeing your screencaps of KK alone, I think I need to give the Jane Austen filmi adaptation another go. After all, something so pretty can't be a total loss ;) (Tabu and Aishwarya unapologetically exoticized in Kollywood locations? Count me in.)<br /><br />I'm also even more interested to see the SLB film mentioned above than I was before. Maybe I should move that up the queue as well. <br /><br />As to your excellent thoughts above:<br /><br />I, too always find the Sense and Sensibility ending problematic. Not that I love Willoughby (despised the fellow from the start) but I feel like Marianne loses all her life by the end of the story, and almost grows old before her time. Hence, perhaps, why she is suddenly a better partner for Col. Brandon. But maybe that is indeed, too modern a way of reading the story. <br /><br />I'm also kind of mystified that Jane Austen hasn't found more of an obvious place in Indian cinema, given the Victorian-esque ideals espoused in many of the popular narratives. I am not crazy about all Jane Austen (more of a Bronte fan), but my friends ARE. So I've sat through more BBC and Hollywood adaptations than I can count. For me,I think that the regency-period could really be livened up by some Bollywood song and dance--without ever losing it's original social themes or commentary. <br /><br />My pick for the next adaptation? Personally, I'd like to see a version of Northanger Abbey. Star-wise, though, I don't know who I'd pick. When I think of the current star line-up, I cringe at most possibilities. Maybe Abhishek and Amitabh as the Tilney father and son pair, and Amrita Rao as Catherine. <br /><br />Unfortunately, the casting is more likely to be Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, and Anushka Sharma . . . and if so, I probably would just skip it. <br /><br />In general, whether it's a Hollywood remake, or an literary adaptation--the casting and the writing is key . . . Classics can't be re-imagined with star power and popularity alone. <br /><br />~Miranda Filmi~Contrasthttp://filmi-contrast.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post-77096154920207450122013-08-29T07:05:58.257-07:002013-08-29T07:05:58.257-07:00I love Kandukondain Kandukondain, and it was one o...I love Kandukondain Kandukondain, and it was one of the first filmi I saw. I think I need to watch it again!<br /><br />B&P was another one I saw early on, and I agree with your assessment--I think of it as a decent gateway drug, but it just doesn't measure up once you get to see some really good Bollywood movies.Jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14247515387599954817noreply@blogger.com