My Take on Dear Zindagi and a look into some of the classic Coming-of-Age Films

"Hey, should you judge a book by it's cover?"
"Of course no goose, let alone the book release first!"

Yes, that's right. The film - Dear Zindagi hasn't release just yet but, not pointing the fingures to anyone they didn't release the full trailer too! So, in the parlance of literary greats, I'm just providing my interpretation of the teasers.
Firstly those who hasn't watched the teasers yet, here are the links:

Dear Zindagi - Take 1
Dear Zindagi - Take 2
Dear Zindagi - Take 3
Dear Zindagi - Take 4

The film does not have an official trailer as of now and the movie is about to release next week, 24th November 2016. I don’t know what they are waiting for? May be for the film to release! :-p

Anyways so, there are four teasers of the film, each adding different layers in our mental imagery story of the film.

Some trailers always make you feel ecstatic and it boosts up our desires to see the film. For me anticipation isn’t the only thing that suffice me whenever I see the trailer of a film. Often I go an extra mile by constructing a mental image which depicts my own version of the film and make a Bohemian Rhapsody out of it.  

My first impression of Dear Zindagi teasers was a really good one and it led me to believe that it is a coming of age-drama film. I will come to this film by Gauri Shinde later, first let me dunk my biscuit into the tea and take you back to the past and tell you about similar coming-of-age films that have been released over the years.

Boyhood (2014) was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, winning Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress for Arquette. It also was nominated for five BAFTA awards, winning for Best Director and Best Film. Additionally, it was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Hawke and Best Supporting Actress for Arquette, which she won.

Last year we witnessed one of the fantastic coming of age-drama film, I’m talking about Boyhood (2014) here, directed by Richard Linklater. Boyhood shows every ingredient of parenting and adolescences. But, what more outstanding about that film was that it was shoot from 2002 to 2013, depicting the childhood and adolescence of Mason Evans, Jr. (Coltrane) from ages six to eighteen as he grows up in Texas with divorced parents. All though not even a single independent director or a studio has ever produced such a movie in India and not even in Hollywood, yikes! But, is Dear Zindagi the starting point?

Interestingly Richard Linklater also made a coming-of-age (coa) film in 1993, Dazed and Confused.

A climax scene of The Breakfast Club (1985)

Speaking about the troubles that one face during the adulthood, The Breakfast Club (1985) by John Hughes vividly covers every aspects. Five high school students, all different, meet in detention (library), where they pour their hearts out to each other, and discover how they have a lot more in common than they thought. The film takes us back to our very own teen hood and makes us think that how naïve we were. The choices that we made often makes us question our very self. But, not until we are 25 or 28 we realize, it was all about learning from the mistakes and no mater how good or bad we become the society has the very own perception of us and they would stereotype us the way they want to. The last letter from one of the protagonist sums up:

Respected,
We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole saturday in detention for whatever we did wrong. But we think that you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us. In the simplest terms, and the most convenient definitons. But what we found is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? 

Sincerley yours,
The Breakfast Club
  

In fact it also makes us realize that even though we are from different pasture but, we as a dandelions share same problem! We all try to swing in our own way but, most of time we end up swinging in the direction of wind. How many students in their early years are forced to do what society and parents wants them to do? Almost all! Have you seen Udaan (2010) by Vikramaditya Motwane? or Tamasha by Imtiaaz Ali? Both these films beautifully depict how society cannot come up to the terms that you can be good and get success from doing what you're good at. 

Most of us have seen the Udaan film but, only a few know that it is loosely based on the life of Anurag Kashyap.

Who will believe that Aunt Mimi used to scold John Lennon saying,
  
"The guitar is allright John but, you'll never make a living out of it."
 

Wake Up! Sid (2009) Poster

Other than the cynical side Bollywood has also brought the positive story on the screen, like Nil Battey Sannata (2015) by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and Wake Up! Sid (2009) by Ayan Mukherjee. Hey! Is Ayan Mukherjee is our Richard Linklater or what? 

So, in all of these films we witnessed how the protagonist’s growth from his/her youth to adulthood, learning important lessons in the hand All those Coming of age genre films tends to emphasize dialogue or internal monologue over action, and are often set in the past.I would recommend you to see the films mentioned below if you are interested to explore the coming-of-age genre of films

• Goodwill Hunting (1997) by Gus Van Sant
• Scent of a Woman (1992) by Martin Brest
• Ferris Bueller's Day off (1986) by John Hughes
• What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) by Lasse Hallström
• Boyz n the Hood (1991) by John Singleton
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) by Stephen Chbosky

Coming to Dear Zindagi, from Teaser 2 you will come to know the names of the protagonists of the film. Shah Rukh Khan plays Jahagir Khan (Khan - from the epiglottis) and Alia Bhatt as Kayra. All the teasers will tell you that Alia is playing the role of the young girl who is going through some emotional strain in life, may be a break up or by the demise of a person close to him. Interestingly you can also see that Alia is fetching an education in fine arts and is working part time or may be as a part of her curriculum with film production company. To fight her anger or anxiety issue she comes in contact with Jahagir Khan who in turn not only heals her but they together form a special bond. This plot might sound a bit similar with Goodwill Hunting (1997) by Gus Van Sant but, hey! I'm just playing ball here :-p

Anyway I'm expecting a lot out of this movie, ever since I've watched Goodwill Hunting I want a hindi film to be made and I want our production house to go fearless now! Big banners films like Haider and GoW (part 1 and 2) have already shown that our audience is changing. May be the time has come.
Anyhow I'll not be surprised if I see Alia and King Khan sitting by the sea shore and the later dishing out some great life philosophies. Who knows?

A perfect frame! Isn’t it?

Randeep Hooda Added Every Color From His Pallette In Shankar

 

There was more of Shankar rather than just a swanky young matured Jatt Blood Thief mafia. What really stands out of the Hindi film Laal Rang (2016) apart from its fresh script and vivid characters that floats in the movie like lifelike images is the depth Randeep Hooda and the director Syed Ahmed Afzal has given to character, Shankar.

Shankar is a gutsy, witty, smart, badasss mafia yet big hearted. He resides in an old abandoned house in Karnal, Haryana and there is nothing fancy about his house. Yet he is liberal to his friends. He Bestows gifts and money. His character is one of those like of Leonardo DiCaprio from Blood Diamond (2007), the one who plays the villain card and sometimes acts as a messiah of poor. A man with extreme generosity and wickedness. Two souls in one body. This can be again seen when he opens up his locker as throws all the money and leaves the room in front of his greedy friend who had just grabbed his collar for not giving him fair share. This shows the magnanimous attitude he carried.  

He keeps calm at most of the time even though he is Jatt! Quite a contrast. There is a scene in the movie in which when he gets up late in the morning, carries his tape recorder, plays it, lights his cigarette and watches the aquarium tank. Now a tape recorder is ok and so is the cigarettes but why fishes? In case you don’t know many people use Aquarium as it provides potential health benefits. It is called Aquarium therapy. It has been scientifically proved that watching fishes in an aquarium tank can reduce tremendous amount of stress and anxiety. Beside it also reduces muscle tension and pulse rate. But the main question is from where all the stresses of the world runs into him? Now that interesting question. I’ll tell you why.

Tell me what does Shankar deals with all day long?

Blood

What is the color of blood?

Red

Now I don’t know if you are aware or not. Psychology says red color increases the pulse and heart rate, and raise your blood pressure. The interesting thing about red color is that it is active, aggressive and outspoken. I know what you are thinking. Dear reader I’m not bluffing if you don’t believe me have a look at it.

https://www.psychologistworld.com/perception/color.php

Moreover in a job as riskier as his and as stressful as his, he has found his own therapeutic method. And there is no point in a movie in which he loses his cool unnecessarily. I love when there is a lot of thinking by directors and actors in development of a character. That’s what makes the character larger than life and becomes cult when the coming generations watch it. Isn’t that is quite thoughtful from the director’s part. Moreover red is such a color that it can create an obsession once you are into it. The last line of the movie which happens to be of Shankar again justifies it.

“Chai chor diya, cigarette bhi chor diya par ye lal rang na chute he mujse!”

So how is Shankar as a lover? I think none better than this short scene would sum him up.

Rajesh: Kya hua bhai?

Shankar: Aaj Breakup ho gaya bhai. Final wala.

Rajesh: Kaise?

Shankar opens up message box of his phone and reads the SMS from his girlfriend out loud

“Shankar mere mummy papa tumhe kabhi nahi accept karengey. Aur me apne parents ka dil nahi tod sakti. Ho sake to muje bhul jao. Please understand”

Rajesh: Toh bhai? Ab Kya Karengey?

Shankar: Understand!

Chori he yaar. Jo bole wohi karengey

Totally cool. Although it may sound careless lover but inside his heart you can see an ardent lover in him which is evident as he keeps his girlfriend’s photo inside his safety deposits, in his wallet and thinks about her every time when he is alone.

There is something different in the way Shankar carries himself. With the way he walks you can notice some sort of Sashaying attitude just like Johnny Depp character in one of his recent movie The Rum Diary (2011). White watching Laal Rang I sensed there was some conjugation between both of the characters. Both were avid smoker and used to keep their calm by keeping their mind limbered from all the stressful environment by their own way.

I think none better than Randeep Hooda could have played Shankar. Especially if we considering all the colors he had to fill in the character. Shankar is like white light. Filled with many humanness colors of emotions which are only visible when it passes through a reality check called prism. There was so much in him to be explored by the audience than just an obsessive and passionate red color.