फ़ैन: अभिनय हावी, फिल्म हवा!! [3/5]

कुछ भी तो नया नहीं है. बस शाहरुख़ खान साब वापस लौट आये हैं. ‘चेन्नई एक्सप्रेस’ और ‘हैप्पी न्यू ईयर’ वाले उबाऊ शाहरुख़ नहीं, ‘बाज़ीगर’ और ‘डर’ वाले प्रयोगधर्मी शाहरुख़! एक लंबे अरसे से जहां उनकी सारी मेहनत-मशक्कत अपने स्टारडम की चकाचौंध से अपनी और कुछ अपने ही लोगों की औसत दर्जे की फिल्मों को बॉक्स-ऑफिस पर सफल साबित करने में जाया जा रही थी, इस बार काफी हद तक अपने दोनों किरदारों को परदे पर जिंदा रखने और जिंदा दिखाने की कोशिशों में ज्यादा कामयाब होती नज़र आती है. मनीष शर्मा की ‘फ़ैन’ शाहरुख़ के उस बेजोड़ ललक, लगन और अभिनय के प्रति लगाव को हवा देती है, बॉलीवुड की बादशाहत हासिल करने में जिसने एक बड़ी भूमिका निभाई है. शाहरुख़ बेझिझक इस मौके का पूरा फायदा उठाते हैं. पर अफ़सोस, एक फिल्म के तौर पर ‘फ़ैन’ अपनी छाप छोड़ने में उतनी शिद्दत नहीं दिखा पाती.

दिल्ली की तंग गलियों में एक छोटे से मोहल्ले का हीरो है, गौरव! फिल्मस्टार आर्यन खन्ना का हमशकल और फ़ैन. लोग उसे ‘जूनियर आर्यन खन्ना’ बुलाते हैं और वो आर्यन खन्ना को ‘सीनियर’! मासूमियत का आलम ये है कि उसे लगता है मुंबई पहुँचने पर आर्यन उसे पलकों पर बिठा लेगा, पर अपना फिल्मस्टार तो उसे अपनी जिंदगी के 5 मिनट देने से भी मुंह मोड़ लेता है. एक-दो बेवजह के रोमांचक एक्शन दृश्यों को छोड़ दें तो यहाँ तक की फिल्म आपको पूरी तरह अपने गिरफ्त में जकड़े रखती है, पर इसके तुरंत बाद जब वाहियात और उल-जलूल की नाटकीयता का दौर शुरू होता है तो आपके पास भी एक वक़्त बाद फिल्म के ख़तम होने का इंतज़ार करने के अलावा बहुत कुछ करने को नहीं रह जाता.

‘फ़ैन’ को आप बड़ी आसानी से ‘प्री-इंटरवल’ और ‘पोस्ट-इंटरवल’ में बांट कर देख सकते हैं. दोनों एक-दूसरे से उतने ही अलग-थलग दिखाई देते हैं जितना आर्यन और उसका डुप्लीकेट गौरव. फिल्म के पहले हिस्से में हबीब फैसल साब की राइटिंग आपको दिल्ली के मिडिल-क्लास तबके के आस-पास ही भटकने की इजाज़त देती है. और इसीलिए इस हिस्से से आपका जुड़ाव जबरदस्ती का नहीं लगता. गौरव साइबर कैफे चलाता है, ठीक उसी तरह के सेटअप में जैसे ‘दम लगाके हईशा’ में आयुष्मान कैसेट की दूकान. हैरत तब होती है जब फिल्मस्टार को उसकी जगह दिखाने और उसके अहम को सबक सिखाने की पूरी भाग-दौड़ में दिल्ली का मिडिल-क्लास नौजवान विदेशों में एक मंजे हुए कॉन-आर्टिस्ट की तरह अपनी सनक भरी हरकतें अंजाम देने लगता है. आपका लगाव अब जमीनी किरदारों से हटकर भारी-भरकम एक्शन दृश्यों की सफाई पर टिक गया है. जबरदस्त शुरुआत के बाद, ‘फ़ैन’ अब अंततः एक औसत फिल्म बने रहने की ओर तेज़ी से लुढ़कने लगी है.

फिल्म के कमज़ोर पक्षों में शामिल हैं, फिल्म की लम्बाई, बेवजह का ड्रामा, ठूंसा हुआ एक्शन और लचर स्क्रीनप्ले, खास तौर पर इंटरवल के बाद! इसके बावजूद, ‘फ़ैन’ देखने का अगर आप कोई भी बहाना ढूंढ रहे हों तो वो शाहरुख़ का अभिनय ही हो सकता है. हालाँकि हॉलीवुड एक्सपर्ट्स का मेक-अप दोनों किरदारों को बखूबी एक-दूसरे से अलग नज़र आने में मदद करता है, पर शाहरुख़ जिस संजीदगी से दोनों किरदारों को परदे पर जीते हैं, आप हैरान हुए बिना नहीं रह पाते. सुपरस्टार आर्यन का जिद्दी अक्खडपन, गौरव का डराने वाला पागलपन और इनके बीच लगातार रंग बदलते शाहरुख़, इसी की कमी तो अब तक खल रही थी, शाहरुख़ के चाहने वालों को भी और उनके आलोचकों को भी! [3/5]  

DAAWAT-E-ISHQ: Not-so-regular! Not-so-surprising! Strictly Enjoyable! [2.5/5]

Boy follows the girl for a week or so. Girl waits for him to propose. And finally, it happens. A month later when both the actual parties in business [Marriage as they call it socially] meet in a restaurant to discuss further nitty gritties, the only reaction boy in love could come up with on his parent’s demand for dowry is, “My education in abroad needs only 60 lakhs. Why are you asking for 80 then?”…and you see a big banner being unveiled in the background that reads, “Sale 70% off”. That’s one aspect of this ethically corrupted-practically accepted malpractice we aren’t much vocal about recently. But there has to be the other side of the coin. This one too has its own.

The girl rejected countless proposals now has a wicked and impish plan to teach all the ‘dowry demanding sharks’. Weapon is the anti-dowry Law Section 498a of Indian Penal Code. Change your identity. Locate a well off dowry-starved party. Record all the proceedings of the verbal trade about the deal, get married and blackmail the parent for an out-of-court settlement with heavy money in exchange. Simple from the word go but then enters the spoiler. True love! What a filmy plot! Isn’t it? Do not dare you ask me what happens next.

Habib Faisal’s DAAWAT-E-ISHQ definitely has a delicious mix of new & age-old authentic flavors to lure his viewers but incidentally it is a half-cooked, strictly average dish you would not prefer to spend your special evenings with. Story by Faisal himself smells quite alike in nature at various fronts with similarly plotted LADIES Vs RICKY BAHL (Known for being Parineeti’s debut vehicle; Faisal was one of the co-writers), but the screenplay, dialogues and the characters more than performances are worth mentioning as they do a lot of damage control here.

Parineeti Chopra as the carefree & convinced Gulrez Qadir is energetic yet enigmatic as always. She shines like a fine cut diamond in most parts where playing the original character but the moment she slips into her another ‘fake’ character in the film, her charisma gets lessen and lighten by the overtly done character-sketch. Too shiny, too bright-eyed to be believable! Anupam Kher apparently is more into the character without being loud, his common setback with the most portrayals! Aditya Roy Kapoor looks every part of a Lucknow based restaurentier. His flirtatious presence on screen brings sheer energy in the plot. I wish he had given more room to show the emotional side of his character. TV heartthrob Karan Wahi makes his debut and does full justice to his extended special appearance.

DAAWAT-E-ISHQ scores big with the dialect and the dialogues! The vernacular touch of Hyderabadi Dakhini and the ‘shaayrana’ Lucknowi is very well achieved. When was the last time you met someone from Lucknow calling it ‘Nakhlau’? I know, it’s not in expected practice anymore but still. And then, the all known & loved authentic Mughlai dishes forcing and enticing you to rush towards the nearest and locally famous Biryani & Kebab vendors.

At the end, Habib faisal does dare to put some soul in the plot by raising a social issue we have been insensitive about for a long time now. Hope if he could have restricted himself from being tempted to filmy formulas of a happy-ending love-story. At best, it is one of those buffets that send you back home with an enjoyable break from regular dinner at home but will not keep you entirely-full or fully-pleased till you get anything better to overcome it. Strictly Enjoyable! [2.5/5] 

BEWAKOOFIYAAN: A film too easy to celebrate its existence! [1.5/5]

Every creation of art; be it of a pure commercial aspect or for the approval of one’s inner conscious, needs to have a motive, a reason behind its very existence. Sadly, YashRaj Films’ BEWAKOOFIYAAN doesn’t show any sign of having it. I tried looking for it, genuinely. In fact, it is one of those rare romantic comedies where you find the contagious essence of romance missing from the air. All you take out from this dull, unexciting, blatantly too easy love-story is disappointment, exhaustion, drowsiness and a sense of doubt on your sensibility as why did I make the decision to bet my money on it at the first place.

Just before getting sacked from his well-paid job in the airlines sector, Mohit [Ayushmann Khurrana] had enough convincing reasons to make his life a big blasting party. A never complaining girlfriend Mayera [Sonam Kapoor], well almost; promotion in the job, brand new car and a Gold ranked credit card with massive credit-limit! Life is smooth, fast and lavish. Until comes his soon-to-be father-in-law [Rishi Kapoor, the only relief] in the scene; a strict retired IAS officer having close connections with Home Secretary and the head of Police in the state. No prizes for guessing, the love-story takes the much expected turn to be on the ‘Meet the parents’ route. As if it was really manageable, Mohit is jobless due to recession hitting the aviation industry. Next is the potholed ride to impress the father and keeping the love alive between two.

Directed by Nupur Asthana, BEWAKOOFIYAAN is a big let down for Habib Faisal who adeptly has been a pillar in the writing for DO DOONI CHAAR, BAND BAAJA BAARAT & ISHAQZAADE. The wit, rust and textured appeal to the lingo is not a complete miss here but not sharp enough too to create some stimulation. It is a film that runs at a certain pace and forgets to take off. The only part that manages to pull my attention to add some novelty to the part is where Mayera bursts in complain over Mohit for doing her bit of ‘sacrifices’ to not go shopping for a new pair of sandals since his ‘jobless’ status. It is funny but more than that, it has a connecting authenticity to Sonam’s character. I was looking for more of this kind.

Performances here are absolutely average at the most. Sonam’s role of a less crabby-all supportive girlfriend has some unseen flares but with her limitations, it goes for a toss. Ayushmann too is very constrained in terms of exhibiting his emotions. Though, he does seem comfortable in comic parts. If anyone here is really much more than what one expects, is the inimitable Rishi Kapoor. His energy, his aura and his gifted ability to slip in the characters he plays is terrifically tranquil even in such shaky circumstances. Some relief!

Romantic comedies are judged best by the youngsters in love, provided it does have some blazing romantic scenes, an exploding chemistry between the lead, hardcore emotions and some good laughs to make their time together a pleasurable experience to cherish. Deeply dejected in my heart and with all my guts gathered at one, I announce that BEWAKOOFIYAAN lacks most of the above. Watch it on DVD, if you must! [1.5/5]