Mr. India
Some time back I revisited those "Sunday-Afternoons-On-DD" times ... or ... those "Watching-Movies-On-VCR" times ... when accidently I stumbled upon the Filmy channel ... showing Mr. India.
There are some things Mr. India has in common with the western superhero scripts:
- a normal, true citizen assumes powers by serendipity;
- the lead lady is in love with the super-hero but has no idea who he is;
- the lady, though, knows this guy in real life;
- the lead-lady works for a daily ...
... but this film is so bollywood-ish and yet so enthralling. One of today's kids might write the same thing about the movie Krissh ... but for me, Krissh is, simply, a third-class super-hero movie when compared to Mr. India. Rakesh Roshan might be a director in his own right - but Shekhar Kapur's Mr. India is a timeless piece ...
Coincidently, I also saw one of those television magazines ask Shekhar Kapur if he will make a sequel to Mr. India ... to which the man replied, "Can't ... without Amrish as Mogambo ... just can't." How very true .. isn't it?
I can never imagine a director of today ever trying to put these things in one film - and make it atleast watchable. These following things are also my cherry-picked, most-memorable items from the movie:
1) Mogambo! It's been around a score of years, and it might take another score to create a legendary villain like Mogambo. Credit to Amrish Puri, or the writers (Salim-Javed, who also created Gabbar Singh), or Shekhar Kapur - but the reality is - there will be no one like him!
2) The funny missiles located at some weird island - all pointing towards the 4 corners of India! :)
3) The bunch of innocent children (where's the innocence gone from the children of today??)
4) The parody of old Hindi numbers that becomes, and remains till today, the best parody of all. All know that Aftab played a cool role in this movie, but you can also see Ahmed Khan, today's big-time choreographer, dancing in this song (the child with the ever-smiley face ... which has stuck with Ahmed Khan till today)!!
5) Calendar! (Reminds me of another one very funny name in Rekha's Khoobsurat. The role was played by Keshto Mukherjee ... and the name was, "Asharfi Laal")!
6) Anu Kapoor - the editor! You just can't forget the famous scene when Mr. India steps into his office, can you?!
7) Jai Bajrang Bali - need I say more about this scene?!
8) Sridevi as Charlie Chaplin - Think about it - can you imagine any actress from today's bakwaas era doing a Chaplin like Sridevi did it?!
9) Kaate Nahin Kat-te - Again, the least said about this 'chiffony' song, the better!
10) Zindagi Ki Yahi Reet Hai - Kishore's very memorable, and pleasing song. The lyrics are as true as they are simple.
11) The Hawa Hawaii song! Again, hats off to Sridevi's sense of comic! It probably runs in her blood. Bring her on today and she will do it again! Probably this was one of the best songs sung by Kavitha Krishnamoorthy, and she sung it with such a tickling voice! But here's something equally tickling - the lyrics of the opening stanza - look what all was penned by Javed Akhtar to make things sound Chinese,
"Chee Haw Haw Honolulu Lu Lu Lu Lu Honolulu,
Hing bi ki, Hong Kong, King Kong,
I see Nucy, you see Lucy,
असि तुसि लस्सी पिसि (I lyuvvv this one!!!)
Mombasa, Ping Pong!!"
God!!
12) The Bracelet - The multi-gemmed, disco-lighted gadget!
Have been waiting to write about Mr. India for quite some time - and for some reason I felt like writing today. Out of the 3-4 people who read this blog, I dedicate this post to Chadha on his birthday!
Chadhe! Happy Birthdays to you and Ishmeet - and probably you can drink lassi together and sing, "असि तुसि लस्सी पिसि!!"
Here's the signoff:
Egotist: a person more interested in himself than in me.
- Ambrose Bierce
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Comments
It should be "assi tussi pissi lassi" :) well Mr. India was indeed a masterpiece. I can never forget "Calender bhook lagi hain khana lao" and Shekar Kapurs mastery in showing that scene when the kids are hungry and Sridevi brings food for them. The point of lost innocence is so true mate...kids these days are on drugs...
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