Tuesday, September 27, 2016

PINK : Mr. Amitabh Bachchan’s flamboyant confidence and baritone continues to endorse his trademark once again ~ by : Niilesh A Raje



So what if someone says, “You are as black as a crow” by putting in baseless, false and fabricated charges against you. That’s fine. Well, but please can you come and stand inside the witness box to prove your point. And when you have someone a maverick lawyer like Deepak Sehgal (Amitabh Bachchan) who acts as the defense attorney to assist the trio rise from the embarrassing situation in the movie Pink then it’s obviously not going to be an easy win.

Returning back home post watching the movie too many thoughts started crossing my mind. So how safe are today’s women when they are commuting all alone in cab or auto in the darkness of  the night. In today's age of social media the journey for  "No" means "No" starts right from the time the guy sends his Facebook Add Friend Request to the girl he wants to get friendly with. In the initial he knows it's very unlikely that his add friend request might get accepted but if it does it's good for him. But on the contrary if the response towards his add friend request is "No" and if  it gets declined then it hurts the male ego. Imagine if  the impact of  "No" as the answer can be so high on social media like Facebook then what it would mean as  "No" for these boys in the movie Pink who were expecting to have some good time with the three  girls post their drinks and dinner party.

In the initial part of this movie Pink it’s not the voice but the energy in the eyes the death stare of this retired lawyer Deepak Sehgal that’s sufficient enough to amplify his emotions where we see him just observing the three girls who are staying in the opposite building. These three working girls Meenal (Taapsee Pannu), Falak (Kirti Kulhari) and Andrea (Andrea Tariang) are sharing an apartment in a plush South Delhi neighbourhood.  In the later half of the movie the retired lawyer  Deepak Sehgal  decides to return back as the defense lawyer for these three girls staying in his opposite building wearing his black coat reflecting the epitome of dignity, honour, wisdom and justice.

Once the courtroom drama unfolds it’s the lawyer Deepak Sehgal (Amitabh Bachchan) whose rich baritone voice resonates inside the courtroom. Not only that but we also see this retired lawyer return to form who showcases his ability to ask blunt and pointed questions to the petitioner or respondent appearing inside the witness box. He questions a woman, “Are you a virgin?” in the court room in front of everybody with full determination and absence of fear. Septuagenarian and Superstar Mr. Amitabh Bachchan’s flamboyant confidence and baritone continues to endorse his trademark once again in this movie. The attackers are represented in the courtroom by Piyush Mishra (Prashant Mehra)
  
The movie Pink ends up on a very positive note. It tells you that whether a woman is a sex-worker, wife or slave, if she says 'No' to being touched then no man has the right to force himself on her. In today’s world of emerging and competitive corporate markets women be it working or housewife they all should have the freedom to walk  freely in the society and never under the chamber of fear. One of the scenes in the movie when I witnessed the hairs on my arms bristles is when Taapsee Pannu  is forcefully taken into a van and molested till she begs and pleads the men to leave her alone. The way the courtroom drama is portrayed indeed reflects that the film maker’s director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and producer Shoojit Sircar of this film have met several lawyers to ensure that procedures and legal language adhere to the real life scenario.

The movie Pink indeed brings out the reality and attitude towards these women is quite repugnant. Can this be absolutely avoidable?

Sunday, September 11, 2016

"In school I always excelled and got highest marks in English Literature" admits the legendary film, stage actor and director Mr. Naseeruddin Shah in freewheeling chat with writer Niilesh A Raje



It was indeed a delight for all the book lovers in Mumbai who had come down to be part of the vibrant book launch event held during the Ganpati week end which marked the Marathi book release titled “Ani Mug Ek Divas”. This Marathi book about the legendary film, stage actor and director Mr. Naseeruddin Shah has been successfully translated by the eminent director, screenwriter and prolific author Padma Bhushan Awardee Ms. Sai Paranjpye. The book has been published by Popular Prakashan. The English version “And Then One Day” (A Memoir) penned down by Naseeruddin Shah was released earlier in 2014.

It was all started one day when the author Sai Paranjype received the phone call from this legendary actor Naseeruddin Shah asking, “Sai I need to meet you. Let me know what time suits you the best”. Sai was bit curious to know why Naseer wants to meet her. Without asking anything Sai gave him the time and on the said date and time Naseeruddin Shah came to meet her.

The journey to pen down the English version of this book was never a planned activity and it started in the year 2002 when Mr. Naseeruddin Shah had been to Prague the largest city in Czech Republic for six month long shoot of a big budget Hollywood Film namely, “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”. Apart from the shooting and with nothing else to do in city like Prague where it gets dark too early Mr. Shah penned down the English version of his autobiography mostly during shootings, post shootings or while waiting for his next shot. It took him almost 12 years before the English version of the book was released in 2014. In 2016 we now have the Marathi version of his book well translated by the prolific writer Ms. Sai Paranjpye.

During the course of this book translation Sai realized that Naseeruddin had fascination for English words depicting his good hold on the language and words which were mostly unheard or those that were not used in regular conversations. Sai used to make note of all such words where she had difficulty in translating them. And, instead of calling Naseeruddin daily she used to make note of these words as observations. Once her work was completed they both met again that’s when she cleared all her observations to get the meaning of the words and sentences right.

No doubt while in school Naseeruddin always excelled and got the highest marks and won awards in English literature whereas getting good grades in Maths or Physics used to be a distant dream for him. He remembers getting either 0 or 5 marks in these subjects. His father aspired him to become a Doctor.  As the book states while in school Naseeruddin had good observational skills. He used to listen to his teachers intonations, the way they dressed or the way they wiped the blackboard. These things used to appeal him more rather than what subject was the teacher trying to teach to the class and conveying.

Readers must be wondering now having written his autobiography what’s the next book title Naseeruddin would like to work upon. Would it be a sequel to this first one? No. On the contrary what Naseeruddin would like to do is to pen portrait of how he has seen and experienced his association with the Film Industry from close angle in the 40 years of his glorious journey. A topic which he feels might be interesting to him but must be disappointing to many others.

Book Title          आणि मग एक दिवस
Publisher           Popular Prakashan
Author             Naseeruddin Shah
Translated By             Sai Paranjpye
ISBN                           978-81-7185-086-0

Price                           Rs 650 / -