'Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon' is a movie many I know have not watched. I have been advertising this film ever since I watched it but my reputation of recommending 'weird' films meant even those who would have watched the film wouldn't. Chandan Arora directed this film.
'Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh' is also directed by Arora but somehow I missed this fact and am so am yet to watch this film.
'Striker' is directed by Arora and I knew he directed 'Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon' so I anticipated a good film. I have watched Siddharth in 'Boys' (hated the movie) and 'Rang De Basanti' and so was looking to forward to watching him again. To watch a film with carrom as an integral part of the film was another reason to watch this film. In an interview Siddharth explained how much research has gone into the film and how 'real' (cliche so didn't fall for this) everything is in the film. The film was supposed to show us a film about life in Malvani and how carrom is big in this part of Mumbai, this carrom bit being a lifestyle in a certain place seemed intriguing. So, it was all about Chandan Arora, Siddharth, Malvani and carrom with most of my anticipation being about carrom in the film.
What was I expecting? I was expecting a child who grows up on carrom, gets involved in some kind of betting related to it which shows me that the gangsters in Malvani made their money off carrom and not cocaine. Somehow I thought the film would climax with Siddharth's character playing a game for his family and his life. I expected a slick thriller. Now I was in for a few surprises.
Going by Chandan Arora's first flick I should have expected a simple flick but clearly didn't. I liked the way 'Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon' ends. Chutki makes a B-grade comedy with the critics and urban audience don't fall for, but the film does reasonable business in rural parts of the country and she breaks into the film industry. It's that simple. It's about one girl's fascination with being a hip-swinging chest-jerking film star and a simpleton who is in love with her. It's just that. She doesn't bring Bollywood to her feet. Nothing big happens in the film. 'Striker' is similar. It doesn't go too far out of Malvani. Surya pretty much remains where he started his life. The gangsters around him are small crooks really. They don't have big contacts, don't have MP or MLA friends or have the police in their pockets. It's a small world. These gangsters don't show up in the media, the country doesn't know someone called Jaleel is terrorizing residents of Malvani. Life is Malvani seems to be independent of life outside Malvani. I love this aspect of the film. The stage is small and believable. There is nothing fantastic.
I feel the film is not a complete thriller nor does it gives a strong feel for the characters. I read a bit of Khalid Mohammed's review of the film and he felt it could have been a shorter film, I guess he wanted to see a thriller. Personally I'd liked to have seen a longer version. I want to know what Chandra does for a living, what his father did, how Madhu runs her business, etc. The characters, I feel, are not fully explored. Even Malvani is not fully developed. The film seems to scratch the surface in these aspects.
Of course Surya's character is finely developed. It reminded me of Henry growing up in 'Goodfellas'. Siddharth is sincere. Aditya Pancholi, I thought, is terrific in the way almost every antagonist in such films is.
Some specifics;
- The line of work Surya does in this film is intriguing. Clearly he is taking risks and he accepts that. At the same time he feels he is okay since he isn't stealing or murdering. This makes his taking to gambling over carrom seems convincing. So this is a positive.
- I loved the transformation of 'Ideal Carrom Club' to 'Ideal Video Game Parlour'. India had moved on from 1977 to 1988. No one was interested in carrom, just like today I guess, and even Master asks Surya to play video games much like today's generation.
- As expected as it was for Surya to marry Madhu it made sense. Although Surya isn't 100% honest he does know what is right and advices Zaid against his activities. So marriage overcome by guilt is okay for Surya.
- I like the gambling set-up by Jaleel for Diwali. It's not overly sophisticated. There is no MLA or MP there, just regular looking people. Like I said earlier the stage is small and I like it here.
This is a very good movie that could easily have been a great film. But one should keep in mind that even a very good film is a rarity.
Rating 3.5/5
