Capturing the unspoken expressions - Rockstar

“Rockstar” is the journey of an awkward teenager, Janardhan Jakkar to a rock star, Jordan. The movie delves into the reality of being a star - money, fame and crazy fans that the world sees but a vacuum deep-inside that only the star will know. The movie is well crafted; the music, the art direction, the acting, the overlapping scenes, the photography, and the direction. Aarti Bajaj (editor) has played well with the film’s chronology and her non-linear narrative cuts are brilliant.  Overall, the movie is magical and it truly belongs to Ranbir Kapoor. He lived the character of Jordan and dominates every pixel of the screen, from the beginning to end.

After an initial hesitation, Heer (Nargis Fakhri) develops an affection for Janardan (Ranbir Kapoor). She is about to get married but wants to let her hair down once, before she settles down. Janardhan aka Jordan helps heer. He goes to Kashmir for her wedding preparations. It is her wedding day. Jordan enters the room. Heer looks at him through the mirror and something strikes her.

Jordan - “Kya?”

Heer (turns around) - “kya?”

Jordan - Itni senti kyo ho rahi hai?”

Heer - “Shaadi kar rahi hoon.”

Jordan - “Itni takleef ho rahi hai to mat kar shaadi.”

Heer – “Phir?”

Jordan - “Darwaza khula hai, bhaag le.”

Heer (immediately gets ready) - “Chal”

Jordan didn’t expect this and appears confused. 

Heer - “Kuch mat puchna mujhe, warna mai sach bol dungi”

Jordan - ”bol de sach, darta kaun hai”

Heer (after a short pause) - “Haan.”  

Jordan - “Haan?”

Heer changes the topic. Jordan plays along.

Jordan (later) - “Kahi tu mere pyaar vyaar me to nahi pad gayi?”

Both look at each other and camera waits for heer to say yes but she again changes the topic.  She later asks him “bhaag chale?” Jordan doesn’t reply. The scene ends with an unspoken expression of love. Jordan sings his way out with the song “Phir se ud chala.”

Heer replying to the unasked question - Jordan understanding it – the audience getting the message. The emotions are portrayed beautifully through spoken/unspoken dialogues, performances and the direction.  We are left to draw our own interpretations.  We have heard the unspoken and felt the unseen. May be, the director, Imtiaz Ali wanted to continue his rebellion against the conventional way of proposing love, reminiscent of his previous movies (Socha na tha, Jab we met, Love aaj kal).

This is a crucial scene for the movie for two reasons. First, Jordan comes to know that heer loves him and also realizes that he also loves her.  But, neither of them admits.  Jordan’s heart needs to be broken to bring out the artist in him. Second, if any of them had confessed then the movie would have taken a different turn. They might have eloped and married.  Jordan could have become a singer but not a true Rock Star (like Jim Morrison), the one he always dreamt of being.  

Photo source: Onesmallwindow

The essence of a song

Some directors have an uncanny knack of visualizing and filming songs in a way that blends into the narrative (of the movie). They use unconventional song-filming styles to wow the discerning viewer. When I think of this, the first few that come to my mind are Vijay Anand, Raj Khosla, Manoj Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Mani Ratnam and Zoya Akhtar. I still remember when I first listened to some of the songs, I couldn’t imagine the way they might have been shot.  Their songs don’t follow the trodden track.  For instance, Waheeda Rehman truly lived the song “Aaj phir jeene ki tamaana hai” on screen, celebrating the newfound freedom. Or Raj Kapoor pioneering the dream sequence in the song “Ghar aaya mera pardesi” in Awara. “Ae ji, O ji” from Ram Lakhan, gave Anil Kapoor, one of the best introductions a hero could have asked for.

The song that I want to talk in more detail about is from Abrar Alvi’s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. Rehman essayed the role of a husband/zamindar (Sahib), Meena Kumari - the lonely and complex Choti Bahu (Bibi) and Guru Dutt - the confidante (Ghulam). The movie, set in a feudal era portrayed the ambiguous relationship between the biwi and the ghulam.  The debate whether Guru Dutt ghost-directed the movie or not is still alive.

All the songs from the movie are beautiful but this song deserves a special mention – “Saaqiya aaj mujhe neend nahi aayegi.” It was sung by Asha Bhosle and was filmed on Minoo Mumtaaz. Behind the camera was V K Murthy, the famous cinematographer, who contributed to most of the iconic scenes in Guru Dutt’s movies (the famous crucifix scene from Pyaasa or the beam shot in the song “Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam”). At the first go, the song looks like a usual mujra; zamindar relaxing on a sofa, blowing a hookah and sipping wine, while the dancers in bright sequined dresses are dancing.

When you look closely, you will realize that there is more to it than what meets the eye.  Lights and shades are used to maximize the effect. The main dancer minoo mumtaz is focused in light while the background dancers are all in silhouette, almost like the director is asking the audience to focus on the main character, both in the song and the movie. This song continues the mystique that forms the central theme of the movie.  The dark undertones that dominate the story are amply reflected in the song through effective use of shadows. This song tells us what can be done with black and white.

Does anyone want to see the song in color?

  

The opening scene from the movie "Dil Se"

Mani Ratnam made his bollywood debut with Dil Se (from the heart), a love story set against the backdrop of insurgency in North East.  Another masterpiece from him on terrorism after Roja and Bombay. It won critical acclaim but failed at the box office in India, largely due to its unusual theme and the lead actress portraying a suicide bomber.

Many scenes from the movie stood out for me but one particular scene left a lasting impression - the opening scene of the movie. The movie starts off with a taxi (with shahrukh inside) approaching a police barricade. After the police check, the taxi drives away to the railway station. Shahrukh has to take the barrack valley express; the train is late and he decides to wait on the platform. It’s a cold and windy night. He wants to light a cigarette and calls out to a passenger who is sitting on the adjacent bench, “Bhaisahab, machis hai?”  The camera pans out at an angle such that we are asking for the matchstick ourselves. The other person remains silent. Shahrukh continues talking but there is still no response. The camera remains besides shahrukh and doesn’t take us to the next bench to see who the other person is. This camera technique makes you feel that you are a part of their conversation. While shahrukh is talking, a sudden gust of wind pushes him and at the same time, the shawl falls off the other person. To our surprise, it’s a woman, the lead actress – Manisha Koirala. Shahrukh looks at her and is at loss for words. 

The camera now starts bridging the gap and moves towards manisha, giving us a closer look. She looks fresh.  Her face is covered but there is a hint of smile in her closed eyes.  Now, the camera pans across to give the viewer, the feeling that they are with manisha and watching Shahrukh. Shahrukh walks towards her and again asks “aapke paas machis hai?” She doesn’t reply. There is no sound other than the howling of the wind, adding to the screenplay. Shahrukh is talking continuously. The scene is refreshingly different from the usual boy meets girl situations, I have seen in the past. Shahrukh’s charm is at work. A smile slowly spreads on manisha’s face and she covers her face again. She can’t resist looking at him. And, when he asks, “mai tumhare liye kya kar sakta hoon?” Her lips part and she quietly says, “Ek garam chai.” The camera doesn’t move. And there, standing beside manisha, we see shahrukh going away to get a cup of tea. As he gets to the tea stall, he hears the sound of the incoming engine. He is in a dilemma. Should he run to manisha as she might take the train or wait for the tea? He waits for the tea, takes it and runs back to the platform. He sees three men alighting the train, picking manisha’s baggage and boarding the train with her. One will notice similar conflicting emotions quite a few times in the movie - shahrukh will try to win her heart, she will avoid him, later she will surrender herself, then she will avoid him again and will go away.  Coming back to the scene, shahrukh watches her from the platform. Train leaves and manisha remains an unknown.

It is raining and the drops of water are falling into the tea making a tinkling sound. Shahrukh says almost to himself, “Duniya ki sabse choti prem kahani.” He drinks his tea and “Jinke sar ho ishq ki” starts in the background. The scene cuts to the train and the most famous song of the decade “Chal Chaiya Chaiya” begins, seamlessly transitioning from the opening scene.

This is one of the best openings, I have seen in movies. This scene gives a sneak peek into the storyline. If you watch the movie and come back to the scene, you will notice that this scene, in a way summarizes the movie. The police barricades signifies the tense situation. The protagonist tries to win the love of the actress. The actress, shrouded in mystery, runs through bouts of cyclical emotions – avoidance, liking and avoidance again. The howling of the wind suggests a stormy relationship. Was this scene a coincidence or intentional?