Doppelgangers abound on Facebok this week, and they're on my mind.

Feb 2010

1995

(the 2002 Nick Nolte one is just too scary for me to have online, but it captures the spirit of messy hair a little better)

Tags: Shah Rukh Khan, Hugh Grant

I've been traveling in India for about 3 weeks and made a little time while I'm in Mumbai to catch the release of "Dulha Mil Gaya."
Result? http://www.planetbollywood.com/displayReview.php?id=f010910023508

Caught the Apsara Awards rehearsal here too - the show should have some surprises (and a lot of bad jokes). Preity did her best to cut some of the worst ones.

Tags: Shah Rukh Khan, PlanetBollywood

With a little asking, I agreed to write a more extended editorial about some of the insights that are suggested by Shah Rukh Khan's detention by Customs and Border Patrol in New Jersey.

http://planetbollywood.com/displayArticle.php?id=s082009113752

Tags: Shah Rukh Khan, PlanetBollywood

Yesterday Shah Rukh Khan was stopped and secondarily screened at the Newark, NJ airport.
http://in.reuters.com/article/bollywoodNews/idINIndia-41779220090815?feedType=RSS&feedName=bollywoodNews

I'm working under multiple writing deadlines, and don't have a lot of time to comment, so here are just a few thoughts.

It would be hard to buy this kind of publicity for his next film, My Name is Khan, which is about, er, a guy who gets treated unfairly by US Immigration at an airport because his last name is Khan.

Check this report - the assumption is he's already promoting the film, not going for an appearance at another event. I think it's an error (there are a few in here, including SRK's age- go US media!). The film won't be out until Feb 2010 or so. And it doesn't hurt to start raising the profile for the film.

Whether lots of the different American audiences will be much exposed to news of the event is hard to say, partly because they may not be following stories like this, and partly because the story may not get a lot of wide coverage in America. It has been a firestorm among people who do follow Indian film.

I've wondered if the inspiration for the film script came from the news reports from time to time about Indian celebrities and politicians getting stopped as they come through airports. SRK himself has commented on being searched even before this film was announced.

I found this article comparing US and Indian expectations, esp. about the idea of VIP culture, instructive. I've witnessed differential treatment at a lot of the high-ticket (or mixed ticket events I go to that involve Indian celebrities, and had no idea it had been named. I need to look for more info on this, and info about whether it's accurate that US celebrities DON'T get special treatment at security points.)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4897426.cms

I'm also struck by the comparison between Khan and others being quoted as saying they were singled out for their Muslim name, and the story from last week that a lot of the same people were snickering in the press at the charge that Emraan Hashmi didn't get a house because he's Muslim.
http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?663649
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/04/emraan-hashmi-bollywood-s_n_250899.html
Is it possible that the same people who find it totally credible that US officials would discriminate on the basis of religion have a hard time believing it happens in India? Hashmi's case may or may not have legs, and I find the relative disparities in, say, the education levels of Muslims relative to other religions in India troubling. I'm also troubled that profiling happens in US airports, where I think everyone should be treated with respect, and informed about what to expect from the screening process.

on a mildly related note: Zounds! SAAWARIYA on Encore Love cable channel at 8:15 am Sunday, meanwhile GHAJINI on IFC started at 7. Who needs the Indian channels package? Just in time for "Jab Se Tere Naina."

Tags: Shah Rukh Khan

At its core, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008, dir. Aditya Chopra) is a story of good people trying to make the people they care about happy. How they do it is full of fumbles, bumbling, well-intentioned goofs, mistakes and the conundrums of logic that go with plans that seemed logical at the moment but fall apart once you put people, including yourself, into the mix. This kind of story generally makes me happy too.



Taani’s busy trying to kill the bubbly effusive free spirit she was because she believes the love in her died with her first love. Suri’s life is bounded by lonely, quiet routines of dry toast breakfasts and work in a cubicle, hunched over his laptop. The only hint of passion in him is that Balwinder, er Bobby, a brassy salon owner, is his best friend. Suri must have a personality in there somewhere to get along with someone like Bobby.

Suri’s already bottled up and Taani’s desperately trying to get there herself. They aren’t dead, but not really alive either.

The tensions of the film revolve around Suri’s plans to keep Taani happy, which dovetail with his wish that in so doing she’ll remain the person he fell in love with at first sight, laughing and dancing on her wedding day. He knows she’s trying to change, and doesn’t want it. She’s told him she has no love in her and in seeing her unconscious laughter at the Dhoom ripoffs they watch together in theatres, he hatches a plan to make himself a “hero” for her so she’ll be happy. He tries to take on the persona one morning in his generic work shirt, khakis & cheap track shoes, rolling up his sleeves and flexing a little, but her self-absorbed self doesn’t notice the difference at all.

So Suri takes it up a notch, asking Bobby to turn him into a film hero type so she’ll love him. That’s the first idea. He doesn’t want her to change AND wants her to love him for who he is. Somehow the plan makes sense in his mind – he’ll go out with the new look, watch her unnoticed at her dance class, then meet her at home with the surprise of his new look, and of course she’ll love him. Problem solved! But this happens at 40 minutes into a 2.5 hour film – you know there’s got to be more…

Suri becomes not-Suri, and after luck, er, Rab sees him partnered with her for a dance contest, on impulse he decides to change the plan. He’d rather continue to dance with Taani as this different person than to follow his Plan A. Making it up as he goes along, he steps (no pun intended) into the role of Raj ("नाम तो सुना होगा/naam to suna hoga"), namechecking both Dil To Pagal Hai and Om Shanti Om). Rationalizing that Suri is the cause of her dard (pain) by reminding her of the tragedy that brought them into marriage, he thinks as Suri his plan is bound to fail. As Raj that baggage is gone and he has the chance to make her happy. This is his reasoning – as Raj he can say what he can’t as Suri. Following so far? Good.

And clearly Suri’s looking out for himself here too- he’s now dancing with Taani and admitting that as Suri he’s not so good at expressing himself. So hey, why not be somebody else?

And Suri builds this shaky foundation. He’s hoping his wife will accept Raj’s love as a proxy for Suri’s, without knowing they are the same. It sounds like a plan for more pain – he’s virtually encouraging the woman he loves to fall in love with someone else.

As a viewer, it’s tempting to judge and think gee, if you can be so charismatic and vulnerable as Raj, why not just change Suri to act as Raj rather than hide Suri when you are Raj? Wouldn’t she love Suri looking as he does and acting as when he’s Raj? In his success as Raj, clearly Suri has those qualities already inside. It’s not like he goes to acting school to figure out how to be Raj.

The transition is almost instantaneous, helped by the external stylings of shoes, torn jeans, tight rivet tees, and gold highlights supplied by Bobby. So why does he prefer to keep the daily charade of mild Suri and dancing Raj at night? Isn’t that more work? Touchingly, Suri is still convinced of the value of mild Suri, and his desire to be loved in that form, without the flash of Raj. But what he believes and what he does don’t seem to be talking to each other.

Suri’s interpretation of his plan shifts with time, as he becomes increasingly invested in his split self. One night at the salon, about to change back into Suri, a drunken Raj taunts his empty work shirt that Taani is pulling in closer to Raj: “To ji, ab main Taani partner ka haat pakar ke karoonga dance de romance 5,6,7,8. Aur aap tiffin paka re khush lena” (So, you – after taking Tanni’s hand I’ll be dancing and romancing – 5,6,7,8. And you’ll be happy with your tiffin). Then he sobers up to ask what if in falling in love with Raj, Taani forgets Suri? She will have run away with the wrong film hero and Suri won’t have Taani there.

It seems like an obvious question given his plan to show her Suri through Raj. And one that could have a very painful answer since Taani has indeed begun to dream a chirpy Raj at the theatre instead of the potboiler melodrama on screen (a catchy flashy number with the requisite cameos that leaves me a little flat as it seems calculated to crank up the emotion off the viewers’ nostalgia for classic films and stars).

Suri is discovering that the pain of being in love is augmented by the pain of disguising himself to be able to be open to expressing his feelings. Even in accepting Raj’s displays of affection, Suri remains invisible to Taani – how could it be otherwise?, as Bobby points out, predicting that if Suri shows Taani Raj’s love, she will forget Raj. Bobby’s trying to honor Suri’s increasingly complex plans, loaning him his motorcycle and styling him each night even as he tries to impress on him how the deception pulls Suri farther from his goal of being loved as Suri, not Raj. Suri’s logic dictates Raj is supposed to love Taani, Taani is supposed to love Suri. Still following?

And Suri ties the noose around his neck just that much more in his paradoxical stubbornness. He wants her to love him in his mild Suri avatar for his haule haule love. He insists that she recognize him in this way. Somehow in the bright light of Raj’s glow, he wants her to eventually notice the small star that he is. Taani, caught up in grief and perhaps self-pity, trying to repay the huge debt she feels she owes Suri, and losing herself in dancing, doesn’t have this kind of discernment. His love remains off her radar.

This is the gendered catch-22 of the film. Suri, who fell in love with Taani at the first sight of her, wants her to look deeper and love him based on who he is inside. As Suri he refuses to look or act as Raj.

Suri’s going over the question that’s now impossible to avoid – does she love Suri or Raj? They are the same but she doesn’t know they are the same. He used to see them as two parts of one person, and to an extent they were, but he’s enforcing the split and this is the bind he’s made for himself in manipulating the situation on his own. He’s set up two situations that can’t coexist forever – Taani with Raj or Taani with Suri.

And Suri’s fading into the background, or maybe that’s where he always was. Raj and Taani plot to leave together, and Suri plans his own end so that can happen.

If you’ve sent the film, you know the resolution, and if you haven’t seen the film, you may well be able to guess the resolution (I didn’t). I’m of a mind that it makes a certain kind of illogical sense – where everyone’s trying to make good out of a funky situation, with no coordination, no ill intentions & hope, the emotional truth will out (especially in a film).

As Taani finally sees Suri at long last she exclaims: “झूठ. सब झूठ. झूठ कहा ता आप ने मुझसे क्या आप ने जानते प्यार के होते।/ Jhut. Sub jhut. … Jhut kaha taa aap ne mujhse kyaa aap ne jaante pyar ke hote.” (Lies. All lies. You said that you know nothing about love.) He was always close to genuine, just took the long and windy path to the right destination.

-------
I kept myself away from analysis and commentary on this film so I could write this without other ideas coming in – finally I can see what others said. Email me your comments, please.

Here's a posting focusing on Taani as a character: http://buzz18.in.com/showblog/abhishek-mande/why-rab-ne-bana-di-jodi-rocks/105681

Transcriptions and translations mine. I take responsibility for any errors.

Tags: 2008, Shah Rukh Khan, Yash Raj Films, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

I'm the feature story in this week's East Bay Express - a Northern CA weekly.

Namastey East Bay
The local Indian filmmaking community has Bollywood dreams. The goal is not as far-fetched as it might once have seemed.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/news/namastey_east_bay/Content?oid=799102

I'm excited about the feature because the Express is the only one of several local magazines I've been pitching stories about Indian cinema to lately that bit. It's been perplexing to me a little, because as I may write about later, for a whole bunch of reasons I think that N Cal is so ready to read more about Indian cinema. And I'm so ready to write more!

It was great working with the Express- the editors were responsive and sensitive to some of the preferences I expressed (ie: avoiding the word "Bollywood" in my narrative, though you'll notice many of the people I quote use it. Hey - chacun à son goût!), and I felt we worked together well to craft an interesting piece. They originally proposed an article title that included the word "Bollywood," and we compromised for the "Namastey" title and "Bollywood" in the "deck." I love the wink in "Namastey East Bay" - not only does it rhyme, but it's a nod to 2007's "Namastey London," which is one of the films I'll be looking at in more depth in my next book, which is just in its embryo stages.

Working with a paper for the first time I can get a little anxious about the relationship with the editor. I was once commissioned for a cover story interview (for a magazine that doesn't exist anymore) where the editor changed both my quotes AND those of my interviewee to create a story angle she wanted (she was convinced my interviewee was in a secret relationship with the director of a film about her, and wanted that to be the drama of the interview). It tried my abilities to be diplomatic to keep what I thought was the integrity of the piece. And I chose not to work with them again.

Check it out - I'm interested in your feedback.

Tags: Kunal Kohli, Yash Raj Films, Shah Rukh Khan, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic

I recently saw the first episode of "Khatron Ke Khiladi " - "Fear Factor" Indian style (lit: Dangers' Players). The show is a little different from the American version, which I vaguely remember from a brief time that - God knows why - I got into it in the early 2000's. The American version was hosted by a "comedian" who seemed to delight in the failure of the contestants to be brave or to compete. The show hyped up the bitchiness between contestants, often cutting away to one or the other of them trash talking while someone was at the challenge. Why I watched this show more than once is a mystery to me now. Maybe it was on just before bedtime?

In KKK, host Akshay Kumar works with two groups, the female contestants and the Indian Army officers (male and female) who are their trainers and cheerleaders. As with the American version, all contestants watch each other try the stunts, which in the episode I saw included jumping to a water target from a helicopter flying by, and bobbing for plums in an aquarium filled with snakes. This version, though, has a very different feel from its US cousin. Akshay talks about the contestants as they go out to their tasks, saying things like "She's very tough and I know she can do it." After each stunt is completed, the contestants clap for the person as she comes back - whether she made the target or not. Kumar salutes them, says "great job!" & he's proud of them. Their Army buddies say great things about them. It's with a palpable sense of reluctance that he counts up who has the most points and who has the least and will have to go.

"Unfortunately you have to return home," he tells the loser, and gives her a little gift. Akshay thanks them for playing, and they thank him too.

I can't help but think about another summer game show, "Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain," the Indian version of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" Despite being hosted by Shah Rukh Khan, also one of the biggest film stars, the show had bad ratings almost from the start. Some said this was because it was up against the newly-launched Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket games, but my sense was that no one felt this was anything but an excuse. Something went wrong that couldn't be predicted. As he often does when things go wrong, SRK took all the responsibility, and had many celebrity guests towards the end of the run that I can only guess helped the ratings.

But what sticks with me in thinking about this show is commentary I read that part of what hurt Paanchvi Pass is that it was seen as mean. Required to stick to the US format as part of the franchise, KAPPSTH did not offer multiple choice questions (at least at first - I think it added them in later) like "Kaun Banega Krorepati" (Who Wants to be A Millionaire, also hosted by Khan) had. You had to know the right answer off the top of your head or use up one of your three cheats off the smart fifth grader.

And worse, contestants who got a question wrong and had to leave the show were forced to face the camera, recite their name, their accomplishments, and then say "I am not smart enough to pass 5th grade." This was a tough one for many. Some would forget to do it, and have to be prompted by Khan walking them through each of the three steps of the admission:
I, (insert your name), PhD in Economics, director of a school, winner of such and such award ..... am not smart enough to pass 5th grade.

After a show full of SRK's graceful hosting, joking, and kids helping, along with gift giving and the occasional song, dance, hug or kiss as the show went on, many guests were choking on their emotions, and Shah Rukh seemed to try to make their speech more of a laugh, sometimes to weak effect. If they resisted saying all the speech parts, he would draw them back to repeating each one.

The format of reciting all your accomplishments, followed by the admission that you can't pass 5th grade, seems like a weird class resentment holdover that comes from the US but may not be too logical in the Indian context, where being educated seems to hold more regard (from my own anecdotal research).

I note here too that in America "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" was hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, who's built his career on using the working class as protagonists, even if to a sometimes pejorative effect. What Cheech Marin does about Chicanos, Foxworthy does for rednecks. With America's general animosity for "intellectuals," the show's talk of shame makes a little more "sense" to me, though I think it's lame in any context.

I'll probably keep watching KKK for morale reasons - I'd rather hear Kumar tell contestants "I'm here to give you encouragement and to tell you to never fear anything in your life" than watch most of what's around on US terrestrial. Colbert Report and The Daily Show excepted. Oops- those are cable.

Tags: Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, television, Khatron Ke Khiladi, Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain