A group of people got together last week for a meeting somewhere in Delhi (I think) and at the end of it Sudhir Mishra proclaimed something to this effect…
Shahrukh in Swades was not a bad performance. There were other performances also which were good. But here is an actor (Saif Ali Khan) who is approaching a role in a different way.
Anyone with a conscience in that room would have wept blood. Well, if not at that statement, then at least during the next announcement.
…complex and daring attempt to expose the shallow world of Page 3 – a reference to the coverage of celebrities and parties by newspapers – in a savagely satirical and gently ironical way.
I like Saif Ali Khan. I think honoring an actor for a comedy role is commendable. But Hum Tum sucked. And try as I might, I cannot seem to recall what ‘different way’ Saif ‘approached’ to deserve a National Award. And no, I’m not watching it again to jog my memory. I think I’ve had my share of ‘unnecessary, juvenile cartoon interludes in a movie’ for one lifetime.
And ‘Page 3’? This is what Madhur Bhandarkar had to say about the recognition for his effort.
I am especially happy as it was a difficult film, with many issues to talk about in just two hours and 10 minutes
That’s right. 130 minutes of redundancy & polished mediocrity that Karthik & Raja Sen summed up better.
Links to reports:
The Hindu
The Peninsula Online
If Saif Ali Khan deserved an award for Hum Tum, he deserved it for Dil Chahta Hai even more. He started comic roles with that film, and people took notice of him then. So why is he being given an award now? Perhaps he is being given it for having perfected this oft-repeated role.
I can understand that some people find retarded, perplexed acting cute (I thought he was, in DCH)! But why is everyone raving about Page 3? I thought it was an exaggerated depiction of the lives of the rich, famous and the fake! I felt there was just no point to the entire film, and the director just went overboard with the final scenes! bah!
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Hey…u people remember Sharmila tagore is the head of censors…and it all costs her just a phone call to Mishra to get her son’s name in. With having your people at all the right places, you can do all the wrong things in this country.
BTW not just this ..am still wondering what was so earth shattering in that ‘Ovoru pookalume’ lyrics to get a national award.
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Please wipe your memory free of the ghastly Hum Tum & watch When Harry Met Sally – Saif looks better than Billy Crystal (although I would choose a balding Crystal over Saif with the “‘young, cool dude with my-blind-dog-gave-me-a-hair-cut” look that he sports in parts of that movie.
A national award? When Benegal’s Bose get some consolation award? I haven’t watched this movie, but surely, it’s better than a copy of a twenty year old H’wood romantic comedy? Aren’t you glad they made movies like Ankur & Arth when they did, instead of today?
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Roopa: Saif’s tryst with comedy began much much earlier, in ‘Yeh Dillagi’ when Nawab Jr. after an exhausting ‘Hoton Pe Bas’ seduction number with Kajol, passes out with a high-pitched schoolgirl’s yelp after the tranquilizers in his drink take effect. But seriously, except for maybe 2 scenes in DCH, he didn’t really make me laugh. And I’m sure you were being sarcastic when you say that he has perfected that role. I grew up on Mohanlal & Mukesh (& Kamal Hasan) defining to me how good comic lead roles are played. Compared to them, Saif is still light-years away.
Muthuvel: The Sharmila Tagore angle seems plausible. Looks like Mama’s boy got what he asked for his birthday. And as for ‘Ovoru pookalume’, I applaud the committee for having found a lyricist as medicore as its choice for ‘Best Film’ & such.
DoZ: I know how some people are easily annoyed by Billy Crystal. But even with hair on the wrong end of his face, no one will argue that he is funnier than Saif. btw, ‘WHMS’ is in my DVD collection. More so because of adorable Meg Ryan. ;)
I watched ‘Ankur’ & ‘Arth’ when I was still wearing shorts to school. I remember having liked them then. (of couse, ‘Arth’ was remade into the very decent ‘Maruppadiyum’ by Balu Mahendra). I should convince my local DVD-wallah to buy these movies for my viewing pleasure.
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‘Hoton pe bas’….oh my god…you remind me a lot…Ajay Devgan please spare me this time…I remember watching it in the celebrated ‘Superhit muqabla’ ,sunday nights..DD.
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Ofcourse! You can’t even compare the likes of Mohanlal and Sreenivasan.I quite liked Saif Ali Khan in DCH(now there is just too much of him!), despite the fact that Akshay Khanna was my favorite character in that film! There is this movie called Ek Haseena Thi, which is probably my favorite Saif movie. He wasn’t extraordinary. But atleast it was a different role.
Hoping to catch Pareenita. More interested in Raima Sen though. She is a brilliant actress; a fact I discovered with Choker Bali.
*returns to watch more movies*
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