Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Dear Amit Uncle, I still remember the first time I cried in a movie hall. It was in 1975, when I watched you die in Dharam chacha’s arms in Sholay. After that, for years, your charismatic presence and that voice which rattled off power-packed dialogues with unmatched fluency, drew me back to the movie halls over and over again like millions of your loyal fans. You had the power to make me laugh hysterically and weep uncontrollably for all the time that you cast your spell on me, in film after film.
Last night, I cried again. I walked into a movie hall to watch you recreate that magic yet again in Major Saab — undeterred by Mrityudaata and Mirinda. But Uncle, pardon my ignorance, I couldn’t understand what the film was all about. Mercifully, you had clarified at the outset itself that although you were playing a Major and had shot portions of the film at the NDA, the film did not, in any way, reflect life in the army. So, you and Tinnu Anand uncle had the artistic licence to infuseall the regular filmi masala. What was your exact role in this film? Your clothes made it look like you were participating in a fancy dress drama, your beard weird and the wig didn’t fit. And your trademark histrionics too looked a pale shade of your old self. Apparently, you spent your time at the NDA training cadets like Veeru (Ajay Devgan), whose leitmotif is to make your life miserable, that is, when he is not harassing Nisha (Sonali Bendre). He makes his way out of the academy every night to woo her, and his methods are charming — throwing garbage on her head and shoving her all over some exotic location. Of course, you thrash him out of his arrogance and he soon becomes your and wife Priya’s (Nafisa Ali) favourite. Naturally, when Nisha’s brother Shankar (Ashish Vidyarthi) refuses to let her marry Veeru, you then lead your cadets into his house and `rescue’ her. Then when some kohl-eyed Bihari (Mohan Joshi with a Mrityudand hangover) kidnaps her to make her his bahu, you and Veeru storm into his castlewith the army weaponry and loyal cadets in tow and to save her again. Like always, the army takes note of your deeds only after the job is done.
Uncleji, I walked out of the hall and wept all the way home. Because after being mesmerised by you for years, it was impossible to believe that you could have lent your presence to this monumental mess.
Yours respectfully,
A die-hard Bachchan fan.
Director: Verinder Raj Anand
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Nafisa Ali, Sonali Bendre, Ashish Vidyarthi and Mohan Joshi
Showing at: Metro
