For me Sridevi invokes nostalgia. Looking at her posters everywhere, I went back to my college days- In those days I had seen Chandani 4 times! once even in a dingy theater like Vasant. And how angry was I, on seeing one of my friends dozing despite being a Sridevi fan himself! I was & will always be envious of Rishi Kapoor in ' Chandani' as he had that entire room full of such beautiful photos of hers! I have seen any type of her movies- from Khudagawah (the only movie that I saw all alone!) to ' Nagina '..
Our world then would be divided between whether one liked Madhuri or Sridevi. And from that time,I developed the habit of being on the right side & therefore in minority by siding Sridevi! I think there is no other actress of our times who could lit the screen with her electrifying performances. The song sequence of Mr. India- the antakshari- is good enough an example. Yes,I agree, she has some problem of accent or she is not gifted with best of voices! But that she more than makes up with acting & dancing skills. And her smile through her eyes is just amazing! According to me, no actress would have carried roles of 'Lamhe',' Laadla' & 'Judai' so convincingly as what she did. There was a time when she would carry movies entirely on her shoulders and the heroes in those films were reduced to being just decorative.
But after being on a peak, she suddenly disappeared from the scene, obviously for personal reasons. Then she returned with English Vinglish'! So once the posters of 'English Vinglish' were in circulation, I was morally obliged to see the movie..
For me Sridevi invokes nostalgia. Looking at her posters everywhere, I went back to my college days- In those days I had seen Chandani 4 times! once even in a dingy theater like Vasant. And how angry was I, on seeing one of my friends dozing despite being a Sridevi fan himself! I was & will always be envious of Rishi Kapoor in ' Chandani' as he had that entire room full of such beautiful photos of hers! I have seen any type of her movies- from Khudagawah (the only movie that I saw all alone!) to ' Nagina '..
Our world then would be divided between whether one liked Madhuri or Sridevi. And from that time,I developed the habit of being on the right side & therefore in minority by siding Sridevi! I think there is no other actress of our times who could lit the screen with her electrifying performances. The song sequence of Mr. India- the antakshari- is good enough an example. Yes,I agree, she has some problem of accent or she is not gifted with best of voices! But that she more than makes up with acting & dancing skills. And her smile through her eyes is just amazing! According to me, no actress would have carried roles of 'Lamhe',' Laadla' & 'Judai' so convincingly as what she did. There was a time when she would carry movies entirely on her shoulders and the heroes in those films were reduced to being just decorative.
But after being on a peak, she suddenly disappeared from the scene, obviously for personal reasons. Then she returned with English Vinglish'! So once the posters of 'English Vinglish' were in circulation, I was morally obliged to see the movie..
15 years of sabbatical from movies is a big gap to cover.. But She has done it effortlessly as if she had never really left the scene! It was so reassuring that some things do not change with time! And what a launch vehicle she has chosen! I guess, this role is her best so far.. Life begins at 50, then! The story is simple, but the director has handled it sensitively. There is no melodrama, no histrionics- which used to be there in Sridevi's southern remakes. Here she is mature & calm.The woman's desire to be not just loved but to be respected.. the efforts that she takes to overcome her weakness & create a different identity.. the understated love.. that helps a person to rediscover good about oneself.. all is amazing! There is also something for us- the husbands- who take wives for granted so easily & don't even realise that we by making mockery of wife & her work every now & then,underestimate her so much & inflict so much of hurt! All in all, a must watch movie.. if you don't see it, you will certainly miss a lot!
15 years of sabbatical from movies is a big gap to cover.. But She has done it effortlessly as if she had never really left the scene! It was so reassuring that some things do not change with time! And what a launch vehicle she has chosen! I guess, this role is her best so far.. Life begins at 50, then! The story is simple, but the director has handled it sensitively. There is no melodrama, no histrionics- which used to be there in Sridevi's southern remakes. Here she is mature & calm.The woman's desire to be not just loved but to be respected.. the efforts that she takes to overcome her weakness & create a different identity.. the understated love.. that helps a person to rediscover good about oneself.. all is amazing! There is also something for us- the husbands- who take wives for granted so easily & don't even realise that we by making mockery of wife & her work every now & then,underestimate her so much & inflict so much of hurt! All in all, a must watch movie.. if you don't see it, you will certainly miss a lot!
Here's the trailer of the movie-
तुझ्या आधीच्या ब्लॉगवर माझी कमेंट आहे हे बघून उडालोच...कारण मला त्याची अजिबात आठवण नव्हती...वय झालं असं समजायला आता आडकाठी न केलेली बरी... :)
ReplyDeleteबप्पी लाहिरी कडे ड्रम वाजवणारा तुझा तो वर्गमित्र वगैरे सगळं एक एक वाचल्यावर आठवलं...बप्पीचा उल्लेख वाचून उगाचच चर्रर्र झाल्याशिवाय राहिलं नाही...या माणसाला पण भेटायची फार इच्छा होती बरीच वर्षं...जरी मी त्याचा अगदी फॅन नसलो तरीही एक प्रथितयश संगीतकार म्हणून...आता ती वेळ कधीच येणार नाही...त्याची अगदी हाताच्या बोटांवर मोजण्याइतकीच गाणी मला खूप आवडतात. पण माझ्या माहितीप्रमाणे हा माणूस पुण्यात अगदी फार फार क्वचित आला होता त्यामुळे असेल कदाचित...पण नाही भेटता आलं...भेटीचा योग नव्हता हेच मला जास्त डोक्यात रहातं...पंचम पुण्यात आला होता तरी त्यालासुद्धा मी कुठे भेटू शकलो? योग नव्हता म्हणून मनाची समजूत काढतो झालं. असो.
लॉकडाउन मध्ये इंग्लिश विंग्लिश बघून घेतला. खरंच खूप आवडला. "श्री" ने खरंच अप्रतिम काम करून तो सिनेमा एकहाती पेलला. तिच्या अभिनयाचा मी फारसा चाहता नसलो तरी मॉम, सद्-मा, मि. इंडिया यांतल्या श्री प्रमाणेच इंग्लिश विंग्लिश मधली श्री पण भावली...आता दोन एक वर्षं झाली असतील तिला जाऊन...पण असा एखादा सिनेमा लागला की पुन्हा एकदा अभिनय म्हणजे काय याचं प्रात्यक्षिक बघताना नक्कीच आनंद होतो. तुझा ब्लॉग वाचून पुन्हा एकदा हा आनंद घेतला.
योगायोगाने बप्पीचा उल्लेख झाला आणि बघ... श्रीदेवी, जितेंद्र आणि बप्पी लाहिरीची गाणी यांनी अल्पकाळ का होईना पण बॉलिवूडच्या पडद्यावर धुमाकूळ घातला हे कोणी नाकारू शकत नाही...हिम्मतवाला, तोहफा, जस्टीस चौधरी, मवाली ही चटकन आठवणारी नांवं...तू त्यातला दादा आहेस ... तुला नक्कीच आणखी काही आठवतील...
असो. धन्यवाद.
- श्रीपाद गांधी