Totally Filmi

you're the one (for me): formidable

Because I'd been kind of busy lately, I'd not actually got around to listening to the Aladin soundtrack -- I've heard what snips there are in the trailer, and a bit of the "Genie Rap" (which I love), but it took a post by Aspi of Aspi's Drift, in which he discussed Vishal Dadlani, who along with Shekhar Ravjiani composed the soundtrack, to actually get me to head over to the Bollywood Hungama site to listen to it on streaming.

And I was struck by something.

Okay, first of all, I love the whole soundtrack.  Love it.  I am so buying it when my next DVD order goes in.

But while most of it is fun and funky, there's the one track that Aspi singled out, the song "You May Be", sung by Vishal Dadlani (and also featuring Shekhar Ravjiani).

"You May Be" is a love song, and as such, it's got a kind of sweeping ballady feel. Yet, as Aspi points out, it also has Vishal's voice, which is an interesting voice.  Not interesting in the way Sukhwinder Singh's voice is, perhaps, but it's got....something...

And frankly, the song immediately reminded me of one by Charles Aznavour, "For Me Formidable".  What I love about "For Me Formidable" is how effortlessly it switches back between French and English, often mid-phrase, and yet is so skillfully written that it all sounds perfect and makes perfect sense.  I can't help wondering if the song works best if one is bilingual (which I am).  But there are other songs that do this, that throw English in, and that sound, frankly, dorky.  "For Me Formidable" does not; Aznavour was and is too skillful a songwriter for that.

I'm reminded, too, of the fact, that Aznavour -- today considered one of France's finest composers and vocalists -- well, early on, Aznavour was told he'd be better off doing something else, that his physique and his voice would never allow him to go very far.

How wrong that was.

And that comment about Aznavour's voice is what struck me when I read Aspi's post about Vishal Dadlani and the realism in his voice -- because it's that realism, that ability of a voice to reflect all sorts of reality from the gritty to the romantic -- it's precisely that quality that allows us, as listeners to feel the full sweep of that.  Perfect voices are lovely to listen to; but it's intersting and unusual and simple voices like those of Aznavour and Dadlani that go to the very heart of us.

"You May Be" gave me chills -- because of the emotion Vishal projects, because of the connection I made with Aznavour, because of the effortless way the song tips back and forth between Hindi and English.  And the way that the song is sweeping and emotional and yet simple and sweet and not treacley (though I'm basing that more on the sound of the music than on the lyrics, because as we know, I'm still taking baby steps with translations here).

And I think it's going to be beautiful in the film.

the elephant in the screening room

So, I went to see Do Knot Disturb today.  And I think I have some things to say about it.  Actually, I think I need a lot of time to think about it, which suits me just fine, because I'm still making my way through watching/re-watching the previous Dhawan directed/Govinda starring films (I'm up to Coolie No. 1, though I've not got all the previous podcast episodes recorded and/or edited yet.  I decided to take my time, in the end.)  And I think I'll need some perspective to really think about this.

But.  Some thoughts.  Okay, first off:  I've seen most of David Dhawan's films with Govinda before.  I know what to expect from these films.  And I'm prepared to be *very* forgiving.  And I am a fan.  Can I be Govinda's Fan No. 1?  No, probably not, but I am still a big fan.

And you know, I rather like Lara Dutta -- actually, I thought she was just lovely in Billu, and hoped to see more good work out of her. 

And what can you say about Riteish Deshmukh?  I think he's terrific.

And Sushmita Sen:  true confession time.  I think Sushmita Sen has the most gorgeous voice, ever.  Ever.  I would pay for a recording of Sushmita Sen reading the phone book, so delicious and soothing and lovely is her voice.  And her voice in this film is a balm amongst all the noise.

And Ranvir Shorey?  Like (oh, especially in Aaja Naachle).

And Rajpal Yadav?  Like.

And I don't even mind Sohail Khan in small doses, and mercifully, here, he is dosed out sparingly.

So you'd think there'd be a lot to like right?

Okay, first.  Let's deal with a couple of things. 

First, I was really wrong about many of the picturisations (I wish I weren't, but then, it's not my film, is it?).

Second, there's the matter of the question I raised back in July, when I suggested, after reading the plot summary and watching the trailer, that Do Knot Disturb was a remake of French film-maker Francis Veber's film La doublure (released in English as The Valet).

So now that I've finally seen Do Knot Disturb, I can answer that question: it is a remake, and it isn't.

Okay, it isn't actually a remake, not in the sense that it was copied scene for scene and dialogue for dialogue, in the same way that the earlier film Raja Babu was a remake of the Tamil film Rasukutti, scene by scene, dialogue by dialogue -- heck, even three of the songs were remade in similar settings.

So no, Do Knot Disturb is not a remake of  La doublure in that sense.

That said, the plot of the film (a rich businessman hides his affair from his wife by hiring someone to play his girlfriend's boyfriend) is the same.  And many key scenes from La doublure are recreated in the first half of Do Knot Disturb.  But there the resemblence ends.  In fact, the second half of Do Knot Disturb owes more to Weekend at Bernie's, I think, than it does to La doublure.

And call me crazy, but I think that's a shame.  No,wait -- what I think is a shame is that whoever was responsible for the script, the story, and the film -- and I don't know where to look, whether it's at director David Dhawan, or at Yunus Sejawal who wrote the screenplay, or at both of them.  But obviously one or the other of them *saw* Francis Veber's film (and it is obvious, from the scenes that were taken from the original), and what troubles me is that they, as storytellers, couldn't look at another film and truly see what was essential to making the story tick, to what was essential to making the story work, and what was essential to making the story funny.

And because of that, they took fragments of the original, and then, I suppose, had to figure out what to to do to string them all together, and along the way, they squandered the considerable talents of Govinda, along with the talents of all the other actors in the film.

I will save the complete analysis of the films for the podcast -- and I can assure you, I will give an analysis of why Veber's film worked so well, and where Dhawan's film fell apart.

The bottom line?  I think my reaction can be summed up best by this image from the film:

 

As a complete aside, I couldn't help wishing I'd been privy to the brief sent to choreographers Bosco-Caesar for the number "Mere Naal", which probably went like this: "Bright, flashy, New Year's Eve dance number featuring Govinda, Lara Dutta and Riteish Deshmukh.  Lots of Punjabi flavour, lots of dhol, and oh, yes, a dead guy in a wheelchair."  I'm betting the looks on their faces were not unlike the ones in the photo.
 

Okay, so what exactly *is* the elephant in the room here?  At first, I thought it was the issue of the remake, and I suppose that's part of it.  Consider it one of the elephant's legs.  The other three legs, though?  As follows:

First:  what was with Sushmita Sen's weight?  She was, apparently, asked to put weight on for the role, and I'm troubled by that thought.   Troubled because the only reason I can think of for that is that, in the minds of the filmmakers, the only reason a husband would stray is that his wife has put on a few pounds.  I can assure them, there are lots of reasons why husbands cheat, and the reason in this case was that he was suffocated by her.  She controlled everything, she dictated everything, she owned everything.  The affair was his outlet.  So it was in the Veber film, so it could have been, perhaps should have been here.  And was, actually.  So why make the actress gain weight for the role?

Second:  the fact that Lara Dutta's character, Dolly, decides to return to her ex-boyfriend, Diesel (Sohail Khan).  She left him, she tells us, because he was violent.  And in the end, she decides that this is proof of how much he loves her, and goes back to him.  No.  No.  Even the Tech Guy found this lacking in any sense.

And third, the scene I've been avoiding like the plague:  the constipated guy on the toilet.  It. Was. Not. Funny.  In. A. Million. Years.  I'm open to low-brow humour, I'm open to low wit, but it has to have a place and a purpose, and this did not.  At all. And it set the bar for the rest of the film very, very low indeed.